Thursday, December 29, 2005
An eerie looking gothic style corridor which was located inside the former Camarillo State Hospital, in Camarillo, California...Which had closed it`s doors in 1997 and is now a state university...But no one can erase the memories of all the cruelty that once went on there and the barbaric practices that were performed on the helpless "so-called patients"...The former state hospital was built in 1936 and it resembled a medieval dungeon while it was in use...a very depressing place to be, or to even visit, for that matter...And the hauntings still go on there today even though it is no longer a state hospital...
"The Window" (1949)...
Bobby Driscoll and Arthur Kennedy in "The Window" (1949)...The film noir classic from RKO...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Bobby Driscoll (1937-68)...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bobby Driscoll (United States, 1937-68)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hollywood has many sad stories about child actors who were unable to make the transition to adult film careers. Perhaps the most tragic is that of Bobby Driscoll. Bobby was born March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was perhaps the best known child star in the 1940`s and early 50`s. Bobby's parents moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and a local barber insisted that Bobby should audition for the movies. As a result Bobby landed a small role in "Lost Angel" opposite child star Margaret O'Brien. A hard worker and natural actor, he soon had offers from different studios. Unlike some of the sickingly-sweet 1930`s child actors, Bobby delivered charming, believable performances. He played in "So Goes My Love" with Myrna Loy and Don Amechee. Loy remarked, "He has so much charm, if Don Amechee and myself aren't on our toes all the time, we know that the audience would be looking at the youngster and ignoring us." Ameche said, "He has talent and I've worked with a lot of child actors in my time, but none of them bore the talent that seems apparent in young Driscoll." His performances in "Song of the South", "The Window", and "Treasure Island" are Hollywood classics.
Family:
Bobby was born March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I know very little about his family life. One report indicates that his parents were very strict, even abusive. His mother was the driving force behind his film career.
Film Career:
He was perhaps the best known boy child star in the 1940`s and early 50`s. The best known girl at the time was Margaret O'Brien. Bobby is remembered for some classic performances in "Treasure Island" and "The Window". I remember him best for his performance in "Song Of The South", unfortunately now rarely shown. Bobby's parents moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and a local barber insisted that Bobby should audition for the movies. His mother was very interested and thanks to her tireless efforts he landed a small part in MGM's "Lost Angels". His performance was noticed by none other than Walt Disney. Bobby became the first human actor to sign a long-term contract with Disney in 1946. It was with Disney that all of his better films were made, with the exception of The Window. Bobby apparently was a real trooper and carefully supervised by the Disney people. His mother recalled, "People weren't ever allowed to use a swear word in front of him. He had a great deal of love for Walt Disney. And he always did what ever the director told him to do." She explained that during the filming of "Miss Susie Slagle's" (1946) when he was about 10, he caught his foot and wound up hanging from a box. He cried his eyes out, but didn't make a sound until he was discovered because the director told him that noise costs money. That same year while filming "O.S.S" (1946) he was sent to the basement for a sack of coal. "Stay there until we need you," the director told him. When they broke for lunch no one remembered Bobby, he remained quietly in the basement. Bobby as a young actor had it all. He was good looking, alert, and intelligent and ready to try anything a director asked. He had a great a sense of humour. He also had intuitive acting skills.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Films:
Bobby appeared in quite a number of films, including several Disney classics: "Song Of The South", "So Dear To My Heart", and "Treasure Island". His most impressive performance was probably the non-Disney thriller--"The Window" (1949)...
"Lost Angel" (1944)
Bobby landed a small role in "Lost Angel" for his first film. He played opposite child star Margaret O'Brien. While he had only a small part, his talent was obvious. A hard worker and natural actor, he soon had offers from different studios.
"So Goes My Love"
Unlike some of the sickingly-sweet 1930`s child actors, Bobby delivered a charming, believable performance. He played in "So Goes My Love" with Myrna Loy and Don Amechee. Loy remarked, "He has so much charm, if Don Amechee and myself aren't on our toes all the time, we know that the audience would be looking at the youngster and ignoring us." Ameche said, "He has talent and I've worked with a lot of child actors in my time, but done of them bore the talent that seems apparent in young Driscoll."
"Song Of The South" (1946-47)
Bobby's first film with Disney was "Song Of The South". He wore a velvet suit and lace collar. It is "Song of the South" that I best remember him. Burl Ives's songs in "Song of the South", including the popular "Zip-a-dee-Doo-Dah". The movie which combined animation and live actors was a big success. The film today is one of the lesser known Disney films. The Uncle Remus story is considered racially insensitive and is unlikely to be re-released in the United States in the near future. "Song of the South" was, however, in many ways a ground breaking film, both in the mixing of live action and animation and, for the 1940`s, a rather progressive mixed racial film. The message of a boyhood friendship between a white and black boy and the loving and wise elderly black man was also different than the way black people had been portrayed in films. Johnny wears a burgandy velvet Fauntleroy suits and lace collar--which he detests. There is a major scene in the film about that lace collar. He also appears in a sailor suit. Despite the fact it was very progressive film when made, it has unfortunately proven controversial in our modern day. It is less an indightment of the film than a desire by some to rewrite history.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So Dear to My Heart" (1948)
Another success was "So Dear to My Heart". Like the "Song of the South" there are animated sequences. Unlike "Song of the South" it is the "live" story that dominates the film. It is set on the small Kincaid farm in 1903. Twin sheep are born one white and one black, but the mother sheep rejects the black lamb. Jeremiah Kincaid (Bobby Driscoll) adopts the the black lamb and names it Danny after the great trotting horse Dan Patch. The lamb grows up to be a bit of a problem on the Kincaid farm. Jeremiah's grandmother (Beulah Bondi) wants the boy to get rid of his pet. Jeremiah's only ally is kindly blacksmith Uncle Hiram (Burl Ives), who also worked with Bobby in "Song of the South". Uncle Hiram encourages Jeremiah to enter his lamb in blue-ribbon competition at the county fair. Money is tight and Grandma is opposed to the idea. Jeremiah decided to earn the money to pay his own way. Then the plot thickens. During a storm, Danny runs away. Granny refuses to let Jeremiah from searching for him. Granny is convinced that Jerimiah wants to enter the state fair contest for selfish reasons rather than love for his pet. She warns that the Lord may not let Danny survive the night. The next day, however, Danny returns. Jeremiah decides that he won't attend the county fair because he had promised that he'd forget about the competition if Danny was spared. Of course this is a Disney film and a happy ending is required. Finally Granny comes around. Danny attend the Fair and while he doesn't win, his real prize is far more important than the blue ribbon. The musical score included a hit song, "Lavender Blue", which co-star Burl Ives retained added to his standard repertoire. Hal Erickson The New York Times saluted the way Bobby filled the movie "with the eager charm of an idealized childhood."
"The Window" (1949)
Bobby was also memorable in Ted Tezlaff's thriller "The Window". He was 12-years old at the time. The New York Times exclaimed, "The striking force and terrifying impact of this RKO melodrama is chiefly do to Bobby's brilliant acting." As a result he won an Oscar for the outstanding juvenile actor in 1949. Bobby Driscoll plays a boy who witnesses a murder through a window, but no one believes him. The film established Bobby as the dominant boy child star of his era, certainly one of Hollywood`s finest child stars. The studios were still dominant in Hollywood, although their importance was waining. Disney "loaned" Bobby to RKO for this film. Many believe this was his finest movie. As a result he received a special Academy Award in 1949. Remade as "The Boy Cried Murder." Bobby wears a long sleeve striped "T" shirt in the film. These long-sleeved "T"-shirts were popular in the Fall, but here is being worn during the summer. This was a very popular style in America during the 1940`s and early 50`s. I'm not sure that it was worn in other countries. In a tragic ending to his life, an adult Driscoll was found dead in an abandoned New York City tenement not unlike the setting of "The Window" of an apparent drug overdose.
"Treasure Island" (1950)
Bobby most important Disney role was his engaging depiction of Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island". He was 13-years old. Of all the film versions of "Treasure Island", it is Bobby's performance that really makes Jim Hawkins come to life. There was an especially vivid scene in this production, perhaps the goriest of any Disney production. A terrified Jim shoots a murderous pirate between the eyes. It was so gory that the scene had to be cut when "Treasure Island" was re-issued in the 1980`s so that the film, which had been passed and approved by the 1950 censors, could qualify for a "G" rating. His performance earned him his star on the "Walk of Fame". This was his last important film.
Television:
Bobby appeared in many television programs, most after his film career had begun to decline. But then television was just beginning to come into its own at the time. None of his TV appearances were particularly notable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boyhood Clothes:
I'm not sure what kind of clothes Bobby wore as a boy when not in costume for one of his films. The available photogaphs suggest that he dressed like the average American boy.
Teen Films:
Bobby's career faltered when he reached his teens. An acne-faced teenager, Bobby had increasing difficulty obtaining roles. He was the voice and model for Disney's animated "Peter Pan" (1953). This was his last work for Disney. His last film was "The Party Crashers" (1958), a rather over-blown juvenile delinquent melodrama starring Frances Farmer. It was unsuccessful. Bobby moved to New York to try stage work and turned to alcohol and drugs. He found himself unable to get work, a shock for someone that as a boy had been so successful. He dropped from public view. Drug addiction, hospitals, jail sentences and poverty followed. Bobby simply couldn't deal with this. He was unable to adjust to the loss of stardom that he had come to take for granted.
Adult Life:
Driscoll married Marilyn Jean Rush in 1956. They has three children. She divorced him.
Tragic End:
One source says that he was abused by his strict parents. Even at a fairly young age (14) he was experimenting with drugs. As he matured his problems multiplied and he was unable to adjust. His drug problem became increasingly severe. He was arrested several times for a variety of matters and lived as a vagrant in and out of jails, emaciated and sick. He was finally found dead in an abandoned tenement. The setting tragically reminds one of "The Window". It was not until more than a year after his burial that he was identified as a result of his finger prints. Surely one of the saddest stories of any child actor, especially distressing when you see the lovely little boy in his films. I will never forget that charming boy in "Song of the South" with the beautiful smile dressed in the velvet suit and lace collar. He is buried in a pauper's grave on an island in New York City...
HBC
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main movie star]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Bibliographies] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Activities] [Countries] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Created: January 2, 2000
Last updated: February 28, 2003
Bobby Driscoll (United States, 1937-68)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hollywood has many sad stories about child actors who were unable to make the transition to adult film careers. Perhaps the most tragic is that of Bobby Driscoll. Bobby was born March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was perhaps the best known child star in the 1940`s and early 50`s. Bobby's parents moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and a local barber insisted that Bobby should audition for the movies. As a result Bobby landed a small role in "Lost Angel" opposite child star Margaret O'Brien. A hard worker and natural actor, he soon had offers from different studios. Unlike some of the sickingly-sweet 1930`s child actors, Bobby delivered charming, believable performances. He played in "So Goes My Love" with Myrna Loy and Don Amechee. Loy remarked, "He has so much charm, if Don Amechee and myself aren't on our toes all the time, we know that the audience would be looking at the youngster and ignoring us." Ameche said, "He has talent and I've worked with a lot of child actors in my time, but none of them bore the talent that seems apparent in young Driscoll." His performances in "Song of the South", "The Window", and "Treasure Island" are Hollywood classics.
Family:
Bobby was born March 3, 1937 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I know very little about his family life. One report indicates that his parents were very strict, even abusive. His mother was the driving force behind his film career.
Film Career:
He was perhaps the best known boy child star in the 1940`s and early 50`s. The best known girl at the time was Margaret O'Brien. Bobby is remembered for some classic performances in "Treasure Island" and "The Window". I remember him best for his performance in "Song Of The South", unfortunately now rarely shown. Bobby's parents moved to Los Angeles in 1943 and a local barber insisted that Bobby should audition for the movies. His mother was very interested and thanks to her tireless efforts he landed a small part in MGM's "Lost Angels". His performance was noticed by none other than Walt Disney. Bobby became the first human actor to sign a long-term contract with Disney in 1946. It was with Disney that all of his better films were made, with the exception of The Window. Bobby apparently was a real trooper and carefully supervised by the Disney people. His mother recalled, "People weren't ever allowed to use a swear word in front of him. He had a great deal of love for Walt Disney. And he always did what ever the director told him to do." She explained that during the filming of "Miss Susie Slagle's" (1946) when he was about 10, he caught his foot and wound up hanging from a box. He cried his eyes out, but didn't make a sound until he was discovered because the director told him that noise costs money. That same year while filming "O.S.S" (1946) he was sent to the basement for a sack of coal. "Stay there until we need you," the director told him. When they broke for lunch no one remembered Bobby, he remained quietly in the basement. Bobby as a young actor had it all. He was good looking, alert, and intelligent and ready to try anything a director asked. He had a great a sense of humour. He also had intuitive acting skills.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Films:
Bobby appeared in quite a number of films, including several Disney classics: "Song Of The South", "So Dear To My Heart", and "Treasure Island". His most impressive performance was probably the non-Disney thriller--"The Window" (1949)...
"Lost Angel" (1944)
Bobby landed a small role in "Lost Angel" for his first film. He played opposite child star Margaret O'Brien. While he had only a small part, his talent was obvious. A hard worker and natural actor, he soon had offers from different studios.
"So Goes My Love"
Unlike some of the sickingly-sweet 1930`s child actors, Bobby delivered a charming, believable performance. He played in "So Goes My Love" with Myrna Loy and Don Amechee. Loy remarked, "He has so much charm, if Don Amechee and myself aren't on our toes all the time, we know that the audience would be looking at the youngster and ignoring us." Ameche said, "He has talent and I've worked with a lot of child actors in my time, but done of them bore the talent that seems apparent in young Driscoll."
"Song Of The South" (1946-47)
Bobby's first film with Disney was "Song Of The South". He wore a velvet suit and lace collar. It is "Song of the South" that I best remember him. Burl Ives's songs in "Song of the South", including the popular "Zip-a-dee-Doo-Dah". The movie which combined animation and live actors was a big success. The film today is one of the lesser known Disney films. The Uncle Remus story is considered racially insensitive and is unlikely to be re-released in the United States in the near future. "Song of the South" was, however, in many ways a ground breaking film, both in the mixing of live action and animation and, for the 1940`s, a rather progressive mixed racial film. The message of a boyhood friendship between a white and black boy and the loving and wise elderly black man was also different than the way black people had been portrayed in films. Johnny wears a burgandy velvet Fauntleroy suits and lace collar--which he detests. There is a major scene in the film about that lace collar. He also appears in a sailor suit. Despite the fact it was very progressive film when made, it has unfortunately proven controversial in our modern day. It is less an indightment of the film than a desire by some to rewrite history.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So Dear to My Heart" (1948)
Another success was "So Dear to My Heart". Like the "Song of the South" there are animated sequences. Unlike "Song of the South" it is the "live" story that dominates the film. It is set on the small Kincaid farm in 1903. Twin sheep are born one white and one black, but the mother sheep rejects the black lamb. Jeremiah Kincaid (Bobby Driscoll) adopts the the black lamb and names it Danny after the great trotting horse Dan Patch. The lamb grows up to be a bit of a problem on the Kincaid farm. Jeremiah's grandmother (Beulah Bondi) wants the boy to get rid of his pet. Jeremiah's only ally is kindly blacksmith Uncle Hiram (Burl Ives), who also worked with Bobby in "Song of the South". Uncle Hiram encourages Jeremiah to enter his lamb in blue-ribbon competition at the county fair. Money is tight and Grandma is opposed to the idea. Jeremiah decided to earn the money to pay his own way. Then the plot thickens. During a storm, Danny runs away. Granny refuses to let Jeremiah from searching for him. Granny is convinced that Jerimiah wants to enter the state fair contest for selfish reasons rather than love for his pet. She warns that the Lord may not let Danny survive the night. The next day, however, Danny returns. Jeremiah decides that he won't attend the county fair because he had promised that he'd forget about the competition if Danny was spared. Of course this is a Disney film and a happy ending is required. Finally Granny comes around. Danny attend the Fair and while he doesn't win, his real prize is far more important than the blue ribbon. The musical score included a hit song, "Lavender Blue", which co-star Burl Ives retained added to his standard repertoire. Hal Erickson The New York Times saluted the way Bobby filled the movie "with the eager charm of an idealized childhood."
"The Window" (1949)
Bobby was also memorable in Ted Tezlaff's thriller "The Window". He was 12-years old at the time. The New York Times exclaimed, "The striking force and terrifying impact of this RKO melodrama is chiefly do to Bobby's brilliant acting." As a result he won an Oscar for the outstanding juvenile actor in 1949. Bobby Driscoll plays a boy who witnesses a murder through a window, but no one believes him. The film established Bobby as the dominant boy child star of his era, certainly one of Hollywood`s finest child stars. The studios were still dominant in Hollywood, although their importance was waining. Disney "loaned" Bobby to RKO for this film. Many believe this was his finest movie. As a result he received a special Academy Award in 1949. Remade as "The Boy Cried Murder." Bobby wears a long sleeve striped "T" shirt in the film. These long-sleeved "T"-shirts were popular in the Fall, but here is being worn during the summer. This was a very popular style in America during the 1940`s and early 50`s. I'm not sure that it was worn in other countries. In a tragic ending to his life, an adult Driscoll was found dead in an abandoned New York City tenement not unlike the setting of "The Window" of an apparent drug overdose.
"Treasure Island" (1950)
Bobby most important Disney role was his engaging depiction of Jim Hawkins in "Treasure Island". He was 13-years old. Of all the film versions of "Treasure Island", it is Bobby's performance that really makes Jim Hawkins come to life. There was an especially vivid scene in this production, perhaps the goriest of any Disney production. A terrified Jim shoots a murderous pirate between the eyes. It was so gory that the scene had to be cut when "Treasure Island" was re-issued in the 1980`s so that the film, which had been passed and approved by the 1950 censors, could qualify for a "G" rating. His performance earned him his star on the "Walk of Fame". This was his last important film.
Television:
Bobby appeared in many television programs, most after his film career had begun to decline. But then television was just beginning to come into its own at the time. None of his TV appearances were particularly notable.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boyhood Clothes:
I'm not sure what kind of clothes Bobby wore as a boy when not in costume for one of his films. The available photogaphs suggest that he dressed like the average American boy.
Teen Films:
Bobby's career faltered when he reached his teens. An acne-faced teenager, Bobby had increasing difficulty obtaining roles. He was the voice and model for Disney's animated "Peter Pan" (1953). This was his last work for Disney. His last film was "The Party Crashers" (1958), a rather over-blown juvenile delinquent melodrama starring Frances Farmer. It was unsuccessful. Bobby moved to New York to try stage work and turned to alcohol and drugs. He found himself unable to get work, a shock for someone that as a boy had been so successful. He dropped from public view. Drug addiction, hospitals, jail sentences and poverty followed. Bobby simply couldn't deal with this. He was unable to adjust to the loss of stardom that he had come to take for granted.
Adult Life:
Driscoll married Marilyn Jean Rush in 1956. They has three children. She divorced him.
Tragic End:
One source says that he was abused by his strict parents. Even at a fairly young age (14) he was experimenting with drugs. As he matured his problems multiplied and he was unable to adjust. His drug problem became increasingly severe. He was arrested several times for a variety of matters and lived as a vagrant in and out of jails, emaciated and sick. He was finally found dead in an abandoned tenement. The setting tragically reminds one of "The Window". It was not until more than a year after his burial that he was identified as a result of his finger prints. Surely one of the saddest stories of any child actor, especially distressing when you see the lovely little boy in his films. I will never forget that charming boy in "Song of the South" with the beautiful smile dressed in the velvet suit and lace collar. He is buried in a pauper's grave on an island in New York City...
HBC
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main movie star]
[Introduction] [Activities] [Bibliographies] [Biographies] [Chronology] [Clothing styles] [Activities] [Countries] [Contributions] [FAQs] [Glossaries] [Satellite sites]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Created: January 2, 2000
Last updated: February 28, 2003
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
"The Big Country" (1958)
Movie poster for "The Big Country" (1958) with Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Charlton Heston, Charles Bickford, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker and Chuck Connors (an all-star cast) and directed by William Wyler, from United Artists...I saw this classic western film when it first came out in the theaters and I fell in love with the soundtrack, so much so that I had to go out and buy the LP record album version of the soundtrack to play on my hi fi set, at the time...
"Sons of the Desert" (1939)...click this link for my 4th weblog
Movie poster for "Sons Of The Desert" (1939) with Laurel and Hardy...Classic comedy...
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Ronald Defeo...
This is Ronald Defeo who killed his entire family from inside the Amityville, New York infamous haunted, demon possessed house on Ocean Avenue in 1974...Afterwards he claimed to not even remembering having done it and said he was possessed at the time...Defeo is now serving a life prison sentence... 
"The Amityville Horror" (1979)...click this link for my 2nd weblog...
Movie poster for "The Amityville Horror" (1979) with James Brolin and Margot Kidder... 
George and Kathy Lutz who moved into the Amityville, New York demon possessed house two years after Ronald Defeo killed his entire family inside the same house on Ocean Avenue in 1974...The Lutz`s were drivin out by the same demons who allegedly had also possessed Defeo and they had to leave their entire belongings behind and never to return to reclaim them...
The infamous house on Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York...
George and Kathy Lutz who moved into the Amityville, New York demon possessed house two years after Ronald Defeo killed his entire family inside the same house on Ocean Avenue in 1974...The Lutz`s were drivin out by the same demons who allegedly had also possessed Defeo and they had to leave their entire belongings behind and never to return to reclaim them...
The infamous house on Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York...
"The Public Enemy" (1931)...
James Cagney in "The Public Enemy" (1931) from Warner Brothers...The film classic which put Cagney on the map as a gangster type actor during prohibition times...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Jon Provost...(click this link for blog #1)...
Jon Provost who replaced Tommy Rettig as Lassie`s caretaker in 1957...Provost was living on east Lincoln Avenue, near Washington Avenue, in Pomona, at this particular time, and I, myself, was also raised in Pomona, California...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Monday, December 26, 2005
Historical Dodge House...
The Historic Dodge House, Council Bluffs, Iowa, where I once lived before the family moved to California some years ago...Dodge was actually the name of a famous high commanding officer in the American Civil War...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
"Grand Hotel" (1932)...
The great Wallace Beery with Joan Crawford in "Grand Hotel" (1932), with an all star cast, including Jean Harlow and Marie Dressler, from MGM...Beery and Crawford both successfully made the cross-over from the silent era to the talkies...Beery died in 1949...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Joan Crawford (early profile photo)...
The great Joan Crawford, early 30`s profile, born 1904, died in 1977...There was always an ongoing fued between herself and the great Bette Davis...The only time they ever worked together was in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" in 1962, where they were really acting out their real life fued on the big screen for all to see...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
"The Mechanic" (1972)...
Movie poster for the 1972 film "The Mechanic" with Charles Bronson as a hit man for the mob...Good downtown Los Angeles, Main Street (Skid Row) scene where Bronson does someone in from across the street in a run-down, "flea-bag" hotel...
"The Gay Divorcee" (1933)...
A scene from "The Gay Divorcee" (1933) with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire...The dance number is "Night and Day"..Excellent classic musical from RKO...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
"Rear Window" (1954)...
A scene from "Rear Window" (1954) with James Stewart and Grace Kelly...An Alfred Hitchcock classic which was actually taken from the film noir classic "The Window" (1949), with Bobby Driscoll, who witnesses a murder being committed in his New York City apartment building while sleeping outside on the fire escape, and "Rear Window" has an identical plot to it only Jimmy Stewart suspects a murder has been committed as he looks out of his window and observes what is happening in the apartment across from him, on the other side...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Sunday, December 25, 2005
"Song of the South" (1947)...
Movie poster for "Song Of The South" with Bobby Driscoll when he was Disney`s number one child star, of the late 40`s era...This film is rarely shown today for the same reason you never see any "Amos and Andy" television reruns of the early 50`s and the reason being that blacks find it offensive and sort of stereo types blacks..But I do not agree with that as these films are a work of art and should be viewed by all...However Bobby Driscoll`s life was a tragic one..After he was tossed aside by Disney in the early 1950`s, he found it difficult to find work so he turned to drugs...He dropped out of sight in the 1960`s and then he was found dead, and identified as a John Doe, in New York City, in an abandoned apartment building, of a drug overdose, in 1968, at the age of 31...No one knew it was Bobby Driscoll at the time until his mother demanded that an autopsy be performed and his fingerprints then identified him...Driscoll is still buried in New York City in a pauper`s grave...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
"The Snake Pit" (1948)...
A scene from "The Snake Pit" (1948) with Olivia de Havilland and Leo Genn...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Norms Restaurant...
Norms Restaurant Chain in Southern California...Very Good Eating At Reasonable Prices....
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
The Egyptian Theater, Hollywood...
World Famous Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, built during the 1920`s...I bought tickets for the entire family to go here, in the year 1960, to see "Ben Hur" (1959) with Charlton Heston when it first opened during the month of May of that year...The family was living on Elaine Street in Pomona, California at that particular time...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Please click on photo for larger image...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)