Name the Stars Of The 1950's Quiz.

John

HONDO

                                                                                                                                                                                           Famous star of the 1930s & 1940s

in a 1950s film.

Bruce

I dunno. Maybe Irene Dunne?

David

Bruce said:

I dunno. Maybe Irene Dunne?

I hope not!

HONDO

                                                                                                                                                                                        It is Irene Dunne from the 1950 film The Mudlark. The second last motion picture she every appeared in. It Grows On Trees in 1952 was her last.

It is interesting the image from the German programme  shown above along with other European material show Irene Dunne in character as Queen Victoria. For the Australian daybill where I sourced my original drawing from along with U.S. and U.K. material I have sighted the powers to be decided to modernise and glamorised her image. 

HONDO

                                                                                                                                                                                                She did her best.

David

hmmmmm

HONDO

Clue - An accomplished athlete.

David

Nope...a blank.

HONDO

It helped to have a husband like she had.

Bruce

That last clue jogged my memory!

Vera Hruba was an ice skater from Czechoslovakia, who started in movies performing her ice skating routines, and her English was so limited she was forced to learn her lines phonetically!

After her early ice skating movies, she became the "protege" of Republic Pictures studio head Herbert Yates, and they married in 1952. He starred her in a series of movies, and gave her an added a last name, "Ralston", making her "Vera Hruba Ralston", and later dropped the "Hruba", just becoming "Vera Ralston", and I guess the idea was to make her sound less "foreign".

Her movies were expensive flops (even with John Wayne in some!), partially because she had a VERY thick accent, and Yates was fired from Republic in 1958 (partially because he insisted on starring his wife in movies that lost money), at which point Ralston wisely retired. Yates passed away in 1966 and Ralston inherited $10 million, and she lived until 2003, age 79.

Bruce

And here is the daybill the image came from

HONDO

Very good. Vera Ralston in A Perilous Journey ( 1953 ). A guilty pleasure for me is to view her in Fair Wind To Java in which she co-starred with Fred MacMurray. I have on old  VHS tape complete with horrible colour but viewable.

HONDO

                                                                                                                                                                                           1950 was an interesting year for this actress.

Eisenhower

Good story, Bruce. I love reading about the studio era in the US. Here is a very entertaining book I've been reading the past couple of days...it has short stories about so many of the great stars of early Hollywood as well as other good shorts...and some great drink recipes!



First 2 pages of 4 on John Barrymore, what a character!

David

Good book Mark!

Eisenhower

I only read about 5-7 pages a nite to "savor" it!  had you heard of it before? My friend who recommend it too me said it's fairly popular. 

David

No, not heard of it

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mark-bailey/of-all-the-gin-joints/

Eisenhower

It's a fun and informative read---apparently T. Bankhead had a real fondness for cocaine?!!....her famous quote..."I'm as pure as the driven slush"...

Matt

Looks like a great read, thanks Mark!

HONDO

HONDO said:

                                                                                                                                                                                           1950 was an interesting year for this actress.

To get us back on track after the detour cast your eyes here and concentrate. I am sure someone has the power to solve this. 

David

Eisenhower said:

It's a fun and informative read---apparently T. Bankhead had a real fondness for cocaine?!!....her famous quote..."I'm as pure as the driven slush"...

Coffee table book no doubt

HONDO

HONDO said:

HONDO said:

                                                                                                                                                                                           1950 was an interesting year for this actress.

To get us back on track after the detour cast your eyes here and concentrate. I am sure someone has the power to solve this. 

I have virtually handed the answer over to someone with my previous clue.

HONDO

HONDO said:

HONDO said:

HONDO said:

                                                                                                                                                                                           1950 was an interesting year for this actress.

To get us back on track after the detour cast your eyes here and concentrate. I am sure someone has the power to solve this. 

I have virtually handed the answer over to someone with my previous clue.

                                                                                                                                                                                              Mala Powers in Geraldine ( 1953 ) is the answer. The clue I mentioned twice was the word power. Power as in Mala Powers.