Temple Tuesday: Tobin and Temple

Today’s image is from the Los Angeles Public Library collection and shows our gal Shirley dedicating a bridge. From the September 24, 1938 publicity blurb:

Shirley Temple, child film star, and Mayor Maurice J. Tobin, of Boston, are shown dedicating a new Los Angeles bridge just built on the 20th Century-Fox studio lot in Westwood in a ceremony witnessed by studio executives and employees. The bridge will cross Olympic boulevard when it is extended westward through the studio lot to West Los Angeles and the ocean.



What the heck was a Boston Mayor doing in Hollywood for a bridge dedication? Tobin served as Mayor of Boston from 1938-1945. Shirley had visited Boston one month before during her summer vacation; she had received this letter from Tobin in July 1938:



The auction house blurb:

A 1938 letter addressed to Shirley Temple at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Boston from Mayor Maurice Tobin, inviting Shirley to participate in the Field Day to be held at Fenway Park on August 1st. "These exercises are to be conducted to aid needy men, women and children". Along with a photograph of Mayor Tobin and Shirley Temple during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.



Here’s a previously posted shot of Shirley during her August 1938 trip to Boston:



Tobin visited Fox in late September of 1938 and lunch at the Café de Paris on the Fox lot. He was in town for the Legion Convention with his wife and State Senator Donahoe and Capt. Flaherty of the Boston police. He also helped Shirley dedicate the bridge. Then they went back to the bungalow and she gave out police badges. He'd been asked by Joseph Schenck to participate in the bridge dedication. Here is Shirley dining with Tobin at the Café de Paris:



With a little online sleuthing, I found more images at the Willis Henry Auction site. Actor Jack Haley (the Tinman from “The Wizard of Oz” and two-time Temple co-star) stopped by the table to say hello.



Another shot of Tobin and Temple:



Mrs. Tobin was apparently there, too:



Back to the bridge; unfortunately, I was not able to find that this bridge still exists today (or else I was looking in the wrong area). I did find this odd tidbit though on the KPCC website:

As civic leaders pushed construction of Olympic Boulevard to the west, they ran into a roadblock: the movie studios of 20th Century Fox. The city of LA and Fox struck a deal: build a bridge to connect the studio on either side of Olympic, and Fox would donate the right of way. Matt Roth, historian at the Auto Club, says the bridge opened in 1937 with a bit of movie glamour. "Basically what they did," he says, "is they either hired or invited two starlet types to pose on the bridge with sweaters and skirts, no skin showing, but form.

The photo of Shirley is definitely from 1938, and I don’t see any starlets around. Maybe a different bridge, or maybe a ceremony for the initial construction of the bridge. Below is a screenshot from some rare color footage showing Shirley cutting the ribbon:



You can view it at 5:09 in this 1981 segment of the show “That’s Hollywood” with Tom Bosley narrating.

While I didn’t find the bridge, I did find something else new to me. In Century City near the Fox lot, there is a 5 block stretch of road titled “Shirley Place” before it becomes Spalding Drive. Coincidence? I doubt it!

During Shirley’s 1938 summer vacation out east, she wore the same dress that she did during the bridge dedication, as seen in this previously posted shot of her at Mount Vernon:



The dress was auctioned off in 2015; here’s how it looked:



And the auction description:

Of fine royal blue wool/linen, the jumper is constructed with a high waist, flat front panel with full-length side pleats, attached sash with back ties, double straps with inset panels of silk to match the blouse, and embroidered heart decorations at the top edge; with matching blouse of ecru with colorful heart designs, and with embroidered hearts on the blouse collar, with original studio inventory label "14725 Shirley"…. The dress was worn by Penny (Shirley Temple) in [“Just Around the Corner”]. A favorite costume of Shirley Temple, it was worn at a number of events, including her July 1938 interview for the Saturday Evening Post, in which the reporter named her "Little Miss Miracle". The costume designer for the film was Gwen Wakeling.



And that’s it for the Tale of Tobin & Temple!

See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.

Back to Catalina, Pt. 1

My first trip to Catalina Island was back in June 2004 and I was still using a film camera! I had a decent time, but I remember being fairly bored before even the first day was over. My initial impression was beautiful...but not all that much to do. The photo above shows where we spent most of our Catalina visit back in 2004.

When my workout group talked about spending a weekend there, I decided what the heck…update and improve my photos and get out of town for a bit. Next thing I knew we were boarding the ferry at Long Beach and on our way! It wasn’t long before the Avalon Theatre and Casino were in view:

Once settled at our lodging, we began exploring the island with a good long hike. What views!

The weather was better than it had been in 2004; and I was much more enthused about the hike in 2020 than I was on my first trip. I am holding the souvenir bandana in my hand that our bus tour gave us; today, it serves as one of the rotation bandanas I use as a face mask. Who knew it would be useful to me some 17 years later?

Back to the present: it was also a goal of mine to explore new things that I’d missed on my first trip, and lo and behold there were plenty, including Bird Park:

While it wasn’t open for exploring the interior, there was plenty to poke around and see on the outside:

LOVE the Catalina tile that decorated the structure:

The Metropole Hotel (where I stayed on my first visit) was still in operation:

A night time view of the Casino (taken while we got ice cream):

Turns out you CAN go back…and improve a previous experience. More to come!

See more Catalina Island photos at my main website.

Friday with Fonda

This color image from 1967 shows Jane Fonda filming “Barefoot in the Park” in New York City. While many of the exteriors and all of the interiors were filmed on the soundstages at Paramount Studios, there is quite a bit of footage that takes place on location. The star can be seen going under the Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village as she attempts to find her drunk husband (Robert Redford). Naturally she finds him walking barefoot in the park.

Here’s a vintage 1949 image from my collection of Washington Square:

…and one that I took myself back in 2011. Jane Fonda decided not to meet me there.

See more photos at my main website.

Holiday Movie Reviews

Christmas was a rare occasion this year when I relinquished host/cooking detail to my friends, who set Willis and I in front of the TV to watch three Christmas movies in a row. Today’s post is my review of those films, beginning with one I can’t believe I had never watched all the way through before this:

 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

I LOVE the first/original “Vacation” movie; did not care for “European Vacation,” so my expectations for this one were not very high. Naturally, the two kids had been re-cast once again (apparently in this franchise, the two kids never age). Interesting to see Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory”) and Juliette Lewis as the Griswold kids before they made it big. Neither one of them could hold a candle to the original duo (Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron).

William Lewis, a favorite of mine from “Prizzi’s Honor,” plays Clark’s chain-smoking Uncle. He was  a highlight of the film for me, as was veteran actress Mae Questel (best known as the voice for cartoon characters Betty Boop and Olive Oyl back in the 1930’s) in her final film role as Aunt Bethany. Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn were back as Ellen’s (Beverly D’Angelo) cousins. Few play white trash better than Randy.

On a scale of 1-10, I’d give the film a 6. Fun to watch, but not as clever as the original; just more of the same, repackaged for the Christmas holiday and dumbed down to boot.

A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)

Since I hadn’t seen the original “Bad Moms” film, I had no idea what to expect with this one. With Mila Kunis as the lead, I knew it had to be at least half decent. This one definitely exceeded the expectations. The three moms (Mila, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn) get visits from their mothers over the holidays. Each mother-daughter relationship has its own problems.

Amy (Mila) and her mom, Ruth (Christine Baranski) have different views of how the holiday (and life) should be played out. Ruth wants every tradition in the book done to the hilt, no matter if anybody else wants them and regardless of the cost or blood, sweat, and tears involved to pull them off. Ruth was also overly critical of her daughter, endlessly pointing out her faults.

Carla (Hahn) and her mother, Isis (Susan Sarandon) have a very different relationship. Isis only shows up when she needs money; it's apparent that she was not a good mother during the formative years, and that Isis has been burned many times over the years getting sucked into her mother’s scams. Kiki (Kristen Bell) and her mother, Sandy (Cheryl Hines) have the most uncomfortable relationship; Sandy can’t bear to be away from her daughter, and wants them to be 24/7 besties, going so far as to buy the house next door.

This was probably my favorite of the three films I watched that day; while it has its preachy and stupid moments, it is more often that not spot-on about the struggles of navigating unhealthy parental relationships...through humor, of course!

Office Christmas Party (2016) was the final film I watched before dinner was served, and by far the least favorite of mine. Starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, I found it extremely uneven, going back and forth from juvenile to extremely dark to preachy to...well, it was just all over the bleeping board. I had no idea how this one was going to end up. Briefly...Clay (T.J. Miller) was the spoiled kid and Carol (Aniston) the neglected one who has had to be the responsible sibling for their late father’s company.

Can Clay save the company from layoffs, a cancellation of the annual Christmas party, and the cutting of bonuses? I found myself not caring, and the journey wasn’t all that riveting.

There were some decent performances: Kate McKinnon as Mary, the head of human resources shines, as does Jillian Bell as psycho pimp Trina (I found myself looking forward to her scenes).

It would have taken a lot of rewriting to make this one any good. My advice: skip it.

Next year, I think I’ll go back to “A Christmas Story;” it never fails to entertain.

See more classic movie and television photos at my main website.

Sherry for the New Year

The Sherry-Netherland Hotel was the tallest hotel/apartment building when it opened in 1927. Today’s first image shows MGM actress and singer Jane Powell standing in front of the hotel as the bellman hails her a cab. Judy Garland used the hotel for a little get together with reporters in 1945 to promote her dramatic film “The Clock.”

Here she is again at the Sherry with Sid Luft on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1952. She was in town to sing at Ann and Jack Warner’s party for their daughter Barbara, held at the St. Regis Hotel. The private New Year’s Eve party at The Sherry was given by “Friends of Charlie Cushing,” and guests included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The Duke and Judy harmonized at the piano; that must have been something to witness in person!

Judy’s February 1964 stay at the Sherry was not quite as pleasant; she slipped in her three-room suite, resulting in a mild concussion which required a hospital check-up. Here’s a contemporary exterior view from 2016 that I shot during one of my visits to NYC:

Scrolling through ebay, I found a few vintage promotional items, like this ashray:

A matchbook:

This delightfully vintage advertisement. Don’t you love the pretentious alliteration? “Distinctive Domiciles for People of Distinction.”

See more Sherry-Netherland Hotel photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Lucky Penny

For Shirley’s 1938 movie “Just Around the Corner,” costume designer Gwen Wakeling created this little gem with flower appliqués that bordered the color, covered the front buttons, and highlighted the puffed sleeves. So cute!



Want to know what this outfit looked like in color? Here you go!

While this outfit didn’t surface in the 2015 Shirley Temple auctions from her estate, a few of the original composition Ideal dolls from the 1930’s have survived, like this 18" gem from the collection of Melissa (aka “The Colonel”):



Besides being a rare outfit, Melissa’s “Lucky Penny” doll is in AMAZING condition. Just check out the details on each one of the little flowers - talk about craftsmanship!



If you’re wondering where the name “Lucky Penny” came from, the film’s original script was called “Lucky Penny,” after Shirley’s character, Penny Hale.

Inside the film’s press book…



you can see this vintage ad for the “Lucky Penny” doll:

Many thanks to Melissa for sharing these images (and doll) from her collection!

See more Shirley Temple doll photos at my main website.