Charlie Ruggles, Oh My, My, My

I have always loved Charlie Ruggles (1886 - 1970) and his wonderful, lilting voice. My early recollection of it may have been hearing his voice as a narrator on "The Bullwinkle Show" around 1961. Once you have heard his voice, you will never forget it.

Ruggles' acting career goes way back to the silent era. His first film is believed to be The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) written by L. Frank Baum (1856 - 1919) who also wrote the rest of the Oz books, including the story for The Wizard of Oz (1939). In Patchwork, Hal Roach (1892 - 1992) played the Cowardly Lion in one of his nine movies as an actor. Hal then went on to produce nearly 1,200 great movies with the best stars you can imagine, including his very own Rascals, Harold Lloyd and of course, Laurel and Hardy.

Charlie's first talkie was Gentlemen of the Press (1929) starring Walter Huston (1883 - 1950). In the 1930s he made three films with W. C. Fields; If I had a Million (1932) also starring Gary Cooper and Charles Laughton, Alice in Wonderland (1933), and Six of a Kind (1934) which featured George Burns and Gracie Allen. Six of a Kind is well worth seeing for Fields' pool shooting routine.

You may remember Ruggles of Red Gap (1935). It is a great film, but even though Charles Ruggles was in it, Ruggles was played by another Charles, this one was Laughton. I bet that was confusing at the time. Ruggles (Charlie, that is) made about 14 films with Mary Boland (1880 - 1965), who played his wife here.

One of Ruggles' biggest films was, perhaps, Bringing Up Baby (1938) starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Ruggles played Major Applegate.

With a career spanning nearly 60 years and about 150 titles, I won't mention every film here. Charlie went heavily into television in 1949,  including his own series called "The Ruggles." He also made three films in 1961, All in a Night's Work with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, The Pleasure of His Company with Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, and The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills.

Ruggles made five films late in his career with Walt Disney Studios. The Parent Trap (1961), Son of Flubber (1963), The Ugly Dachshund (1966), and Follow Me Boys (1966 and his final movie) were feature length, and he also made an animated short as the voice of Ben Franklin in Ben and Me (1953) with Sterling Holloway as Amos the Mouse. I guess Mickey was busy on other projects.

I am sure you know this wonderful Bit Actor, who never made any really big films, but was loved by everyone. Let me know your fond memories of Charlie by using the Comment button.

Dean Stockwell - Bit Actor

I watched the Academy Awards, as I'm sure most everyone who reads blogs about classic movies did. I was glad to see that The Artist won five awards. It was a movie, not a way to show off CGI mastery. (Even though I did like Hugo.)

Another film that was talked about was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, starring Daniel Craig (b. 1968) and Rooney Mara (b. 1985). Mara only has 16 titles to her name, so she may still be a Bit Actor. Titles being what they are, this title reminded me of The Boy with Green Hair (1948). I don't know why.

The boy who had that green hair was played by veteran child actor, Dean Stockwell (b. 1936). Stockwell started on film working with Greer Garson, Gregory Peck and Lionel Barrymore in The Valley of Decision (1945). and next up was Anchors Aweigh (1945) starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelley.

In 1947 he appears as Nick Jr. in the final Nick and Nora film, Song of the Thin Man. By 1950 he was receiving star billing in some movies...at age 14...including the title role in Kim, also starring Errol Flynn (1909 - 1959). In 1951 he was in Cattle Drive starring Joel McCrea (1905 - 1990).

And then...nothing. Until he shows up on television in 1956 at age 20. He works on TV in many teleplays and some series', while making a few more films. He co-stars in Compulsion (1959) with Orson Welles (1915 - 1985).

Dean Stockwell

A big role as Katherine Hepburn's son is a boost to Stockwell's career. In Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) he appears also as Jason Robard's brother in Eugene O'Neill's classic. But also at that time, according to info found on Wikipedia, Stockwell spends some time as a hippie, which was probably not a good choice for a serious actor.

He eventually came back to acting and entered the medical field as Dr. Rudy Devereux on "Dr. Kildare." There are good roles and some really bad roles in Stockwell's future. One particularly bad film was The Werewolf of Washington (1973) which only rated a 3.7 on IMDb.

Dean continued to work hard. He has a total of 193 titles listed on IMDb. But his choices, or perhaps the projects that are offered to him, are not always A titles. You can find him in Paris Texas (1984), The Legend of Billie Jean (1985), and the TV movie "The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues."

Not all was bleak, and there were some better titles. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Married to the Mob (1988), plus a strong role on "Quantum Leap" helped him considerably. In 1997 he appears in Air Force One with Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close, and also in The Rainmaker with Matt Damon and Danny DeVito. Not bad, but maybe not great. At least he's in very good company, and it is obvious that he is recognized as being able to turn in a credible performance.

Dean Stockwell may still show up in new work. His last listed film is The Deal (2007) starring Penelope Ann Miller (b. 1964), and he is in a few television roles up to 2009 including "Battlestar Galactica." Stockwell has a long and varied career, and against all odds, he was able to transform from a child star, to a reliable Bit Actor.

Abraham Lincoln on Presidents' Day

Today is Presidents' Day 2012. Presidents' Day was an evolutionary federal holiday, starting as Washington's Birthday first set by congress in 1879. It was celebrated each year on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. Some states celebrated Lincoln's Birthday as a holiday on February 12th, but it was never a federal holiday by Act of Congress.

Members of congress in the 1950s originally toyed with the idea of making March 4th a holiday to honor all of the presidents, since that was the original election day. It didn't get very far because it would have meant February 12, February 22, and March 4 would then all be holidays.

In 1971 the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect. The third Monday in February was designated as Washington's Birthday, but there was still no federal holiday for Lincoln. To this day, the official name for the day is Washington's Birthday, but you will find that name only on official government forms and web sites.

I had fun in July 2011 going through the films depicting George Washington. I have mentioned some films where Lincoln is honored but not in detail, so let's look at Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) in the movies.

There are over 300 titles listed for the character Abraham Lincoln on IMDb. More than twice those for Washington. Perhaps being assassinated is more desirable for a movie than dying of a cold. Either way the end is the same. Both presidents gave their all for our country and I would be hard pressed to say which was the better man. They tie on my list...both at Number One.

We see the first cinematic Lincoln in 1911, two years after the first screen appearance of Washington. The film was His First Commission, starring Charles Brabin (1882 - 1957) in the Edison short film. Brabin may be best knows as the husband of Theda Bera (1885 - 1955). Brabin only appeared in six films, but he was a notable director and writer. He directed Boris Karloff (1887 - 1969) and Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) in The Mask of Fu Manchu in 1932.

Lincoln's character is in quite a few silent films. There are several films listed in the early part of the second decade on the 20th Century starring Ralph Ince (1887 - 1937) and Francis Ford (1881 - 1953). Ince was also a director but had a long film career, including Little Caesar (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson. Ford was John Ford's older brother and he appeared in almost 500 films and television shows. A true Bit Actor, many of Ford's roles were uncredited.

In 1915, D. W. Griffith released The Birth of a Nation, one of the great silent films. Lincoln is portrayed by Joseph Henabery (1888 - 1976), another director who has only 22 acting credits ending in 1916.

The first talkie to show Lincoln was Two Americans (1929) starring Walter Houston (1883 - 1950) as Lincoln. From what I have read, Lincoln's actual voice was fairly high and squeaky. For public speaking he would tend to start on a high note in his voice to attract the attention of his audience, and then let the voice lower a bit to where it was more comfortable. I have often wondered how many actors got that right.

Two Americans was produced by Paramount, and the next year Walter Huston is Lincoln again in D. W. Griffith's production called Abraham Lincoln. This was meant to be a biography, but in 1930 my guess is that the story may have been embellished a bit to make it more enjoyable.

Henry Fonda played the part in Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) and Raymond Massey (1896 - 1983) was in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940).  Lincoln was also portrayed by Charles Middleton (1874 - 1949) and John Carradine (1906 - 1988) in that era.

In the 1950s television brought Lincoln to the small screen, and many actors tackled the part. My favorite may have been Royal Dano (1922 - 1994) in the series "Omnibus." Dano has a great, deep voice, absolutely wrong for Lincoln, but perfect for his story on TV.

Here are some interesting titles where you can find Lincoln on TV.
"Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond"
"The Twilight Zone"
"The Rifleman"
"Doctor Who"
"The Ed Sullivan Show"
"The Time Tunnel"
"Star Trek"
"Love American Style"
"The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence"
Is nothing sacred?!?

A bit later we see Lincoln as the respected, dignified person he really was. In 1985 Hal Holbrook (b. 1925) played Lincoln in the series "North and South," and let's not forget the 1990 Ken Burns series "The Civil War" starring Sam Waterston (b. 1940) as the voice of Lincoln.

This year there are two releases to note here. Abraham Lincoln vs. the Zombies with Bill Oberst, Jr. (b.1965) and Lincoln starring Daniel Day Lewis (b. 1957) and directed by Steven Spielberg. I'll stick to the second one.

B4 They Were Stars - William Shatner

Yes, he was once not a star. William Shatner (b. 1931) made some good stuff before leaving the Earth to take command of the Star Ship Enterprise on the original "Star Trek" series in 1966.

Everyone knows he was born in Canada and started acting on the stage and in early television. His first appearance on screen was in a movie called The Butler's Night Off (1951). It has been described as forgettable with "...no entertainment value..." But it was work.

The Shat (I didn't make that up) worked in Canadian television, and in 1953 appeared in "Space Command" along with his future Chief Engineer James Doohan (1920 - 2005), the first time they worked together. The next year Shatner is on "Howdy Doody," and he appears in some episodes of "Encounter" with Patrick Macnee (b. 1922) of "The Avengers" fame.

His next film was Oedipus Rex (1957) a Canadian production starring Douglas Campbell (1922 - 2009) where Shatner was in the chorus. In 1958 he has a much bigger break and co-stars in The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner (1920 - 1985). That film was made by MGM and is all American...except for it being a Russian theme with Brynner who was also Russian.

Back to television, where Shatner is starting to find a home.  We are still in the late 1950s and he has guest spots on "Suspicion," "Climax!," "Playhouse 90," "Kraft Theater," and "The United States Steel Hour." He also appeared a few times on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "One Step Beyond," and also in "Thriller" hosted by Boris Karloff.

I would say that 1961 was Shatner's best pre-Trek film year. He stars in The Explosive Generation as a teacher, with Patty McCormack (b. 1945) and Beau Bridges (b. 1941), and then appears in Judgement at Nuremberg with Spencer Tracy, which I believe is his first role as a captain (but not of a star ship).

His next film was The Intruder (1962) a Roger Corman production about integration in the South. Probably not a great film, but it was work and star billing. Also in the early 1960s you will find Shatner in his most famous "Twilight Zone" episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" plus one previous appearance on that series. Shatner was on all of the popular television suspense shows, including "The Outer Limits."

Do you remember the 1963 hit movie of Tab Hunter and Frankie Avalon called Operation Bikini? Bill Shatner was the narrator.

Next there were a few regular roles on several TV shows.  Look for Shatner in "77 Sunset Strip," "The Defenders," and "Dr. Kildare." He even starred in a one season series called "For the People."  He has some addition guest spots on "Route 66," "Burke's Law," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Gunsmoke," "The Fugitive," and "Twelve O'Clock High." That's not a bad way to make a living.

There was one more film before Gene Roddenberry cast him in his defining role. Incubus (1966) was a horror film made entirely in the forgotten language of Esperanto (for some reason). I think I'll pass on that one.

That brings us to 1966 and Star Trek's five year mission to explore strange new worlds. The mission only lasted three years, but look at what it started.

Charles Ogle and Frankenstein

The year was 1910. Edison Studios made the first screen adaptation of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. I would have wanted to be there.

The film was only about 15 minutes long, but that was fairly normal for 1910. I have not seen it, but I understand that a nitrate copy was restored a few years ago, so there is still hope. The special effects were achieved by melting a wax figure of a man, and printing the negative backwards so he emerges from the goo and becomes The Monster.

Augustus Phillips (1874 - 1944) played Dr. Frankenstein. This was his first film, and he went on to make over 140 titles in a dozen years.

The part of The Monster was played by Charles Ogle (1865 - 1940) early in his film career. Most likely he did his own makeup. I hesitate to say IMDb listed it as his eight film, because that simply may not be true. In the early days, studio records were spotty and anyone walking past a set may be called in to action. IMDb lists over 300 films for Ogle, but the number is surely higher than that.

Charles Ogle as The Monster (1910)

In addition to becoming the first Frankenstein Monster on film, Ogle appears in the very first movie serial, What Happened to Mary, made by the Edison Company in 1912. It was a dozen monthly one-reelers starring Mary Fuller (1888 - 1973) who also appeared in Frankenstein. Fuller made over 200 films in a span of only ten years starting in 1917. According to IMDb, Fuller and Ogle made 78 films together, which would not be unusual for contract players working at a silent film studio.

Charles Ogle played Bob Cratchit in the 1910 version of A Christmas Carol. It was not the first film adaptation of that famous Dickens story. Tom Ricketts (1853 - 1939) made the first one in 1908 at the Essanay Studios made famous by Charlie Chaplin.

Ogle was able to work with many early film stars. He was in two films with Mae Murray (1889 - 1965), and in 1920 appeared in Treasure Island with Lon Chaney. He is in five films with Mary Pickford (1892 - 1979), about 14 with Noah Beery (1882 - 1946), and he worked with Fatty Arbuckle, Jack Holt and William Boyd as well.

Ogles final film was The Flaming Forest (1926) and he passed away two years later. While none of his films will ever be as popular as they were back in the silent era, you may be able to catch him on a DVD or at a silent film festival. It is worth the time to research people like Ogle. The films we watch today have greatly benefited from the work of the stars in the early days of Movie Magic.

Double Indemnity

In June of 2011 I wrote about Tom Powers (1890 - 1955) and his role in Double Indemnity (1944), but I didn't touch on the rest of the Bit Parts in that wonderful film noir classic. The only thing I didn't like about the film is Barbara Stanwyck as a blonde, and I don't think I'm alone.

I won't discuss the stars here. Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson don't need any of my words. But who else was part of making this film so good?

Porter Hall (1888 - 1953) played the witness, Mr. Jackson, who saw Neff on the train. It is interesting that Hall was in Going My Way the same year as Double Indemnity. Going won seven Oscars and Double didn't win any. Check out my last post about Porter from October 2010, where I outlined his fabulous career.

Jean Heather (1921 - 1995) played Phyllis' step-daughter Lola, who was much more loved by her father than by Phyllis. Jean only made eight films, and her next role was in, you guessed it, Going My Way. The rest of her pictures weren't much to write about, but she did get to act with some great stars including Dorothy Gish, Beulah Bondi, Charles Ruggles, Marjorie Main, Olivia DeHaviland, Gene Autry and others, all in a five year acting career.

Byron Barr (1917 - 1966) played Nino, Lola's boy friend.  He didn't play much else, with only 19 titles listed to his credit.

Richard Gaines (1904 - 1975) played Edward Norton, Jr. He is the father of Virginia Holden, who was later adopted by William Holden. With almost 70 titles on TV and in movies, Richard always seemed to appear in less than top notch films. Again, in the era of the large production studios controlling their stars, he was able to work with some great actors and actresses. In the 1960s he frequently appeared as a judge on "Perry Mason."

Another Going and Double alumnus is Fortunio Bonanova (1895 - 1969). He has over 90 titles listed and did appear as a vocal coach to Dorothy Comingore in Citizen Kane (1941). In 1957 he appears in An Affair to Remember, but his is a name you probably won't.

Don't forget to look for Raymond Chandler (1888 - 1959) sitting in the hallway at the insurance office as Neff walks past. It was the only cameo filmed for Chandler, who is renowned as a novelist and wrote the screen play for Double Indemnity. He's the one reading a paperback.

And finally, there is the Dictaphone. It plays a key role in this movie, and as our younger generation starts watching film noir, we can only hope they learn something about history and how things worked in the early half of the 20th Century. Neff uses multiple cylinders to record his story, and these can be seen in the final few shots when Keyes confronts him in his office. If some youngster asks what that thing is, please fill them in. A Dictaphone is way cooler than an iPhone.

I have spoken before about how Bit Parts help to make great movies. In the case of Double Indemnity, it appears that the Bit Actors played second fiddle to the incredible story. I just watched the film a few weeks ago, and I was struggling to remember who played which part. This movie belongs in the 100 Best Movies list, and I am glad it was selected by Library of Congress to be in the National Film Registry.

Me and The Sons of the Desert

It has been a rather busy week for me. As a card-carrying member of the Sons of the Desert, I was increasingly disturbed by the lack of a web site for my own local Tent. I spend a fair amount of time on the Internet researching Bit Actors, and I expect many other people do as well. We need a presence.

A word of explanation may be in order, if you are unfamiliar with the Sons. In 1933, Laurel and Hardy released what was probably their very best feature film, Sons of the Desert. It was about a fraternal organization The Boys belonged to, and they were having a convention in Chicago. All of the California members took a solemn oath to attend...without consulting their wives! You can imaging what they went through to make the trip (without their better halves) and the consequences they reaped upon their return.

Fast forward a few years to the 1960s. Writer and historian John McCabe was working on his biography Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy, and in speaking with Stan Laurel at his home, McCabe suggested creating a group of Laurel and Hardy admirers who would celebrate their films. The Sons of the Desert was born. Other founding members included Al Kilgore, Orson Bean and Chuck McCann.

The first meeting took place in New York City in 1965, a short time after Stan passed away. The SotD grew and each new city was to start what is called a Tent, and they would name it after one of the L&H films. I am in the Philadelphia, PA area and ours is the Two Tars Tent, named after a silent film from 1928.

Our Tent is now in its 41st year. We had a web site a few years ago, but since this is a completely volunteer organization (based on Laurel and Hardy!) the web site was not looked after properly. It was nobody's fault because people get busy. Then, I opened my BIIIG MOUTH (sorry for stealing your line, Jackie Gleason) and got the job! The important thing is that The Two Tars Tent now has a functioning web site, thanks to the ease of Google Sites. I was helped by two of our board members, Roger Gordon and Bob Rooney. Thanks, guys!

The address is a bit unwieldy, but Google Sites is free, so I won't complain.
https://sites.google.com/site/twotars14/home
Google Sites has a number of nifty features and it should be easy to maintain.

On the site you will find a calendar that I hope will fill with important events regarding old movies, especially in the Southeastern PA area. I am also adding the birthdays of many old stars. I am still posting photos from past events, and there are some links to other movie related web sites on the links page.

I hope you will stop by the new web site and let me know what you think. If you love to laugh, you may want to look for a Sons of the Desert Tent in your area and get to some meetings. You will find a welcoming atmosphere and a great bar where you can park your camel and have "one for the desert."

The Artist - Silent Still Works

I have seen my share of silent films. If you belong to the Sons of the Desert, you learn the charm of screen acting without dialog. After you see a few good silents, you start seeking them out, looking for the most famous...for the best of the silents.

I would say that City Lights (1931) was one of the best. Chaplin used every trick he learned in his career to bring a touching story to the screen, and it really didn't need words. Although he made it after talkies had become the norm, he was convinced that silence was golden for the movies. His character, The Tramp, was mute, so film should be as well.

I had the pleasure of seeing The Artist (2011) last weekend. We went to the Ambler Theater in Ambler, PA, which was opened in 1928 as a Warner Brothers theater. The first film shown there was Our Dancing Daughters (1928) starring Joan Crawford (1905 - 1977). It was a perfect place to see The Artist.

This was our first visit to The Ambler and I was impressed. Please check out their web site, especially if you are in the Philadelphia area. The theater has undergone a complete restoration and many aspects are recreated as they were in 1928. The neon sign was removed in the 1960s so it was reconstructed to look just like the original.

As far as the new Oscar nominated film, The Artist is everything you can imagine. The two stars, Jean Dujardin (b. 1972), and Berenice Bejo (b. 1976), each have less than 40 films to their credit. There are a few actors and actresses in the film who are well known. Penelope Ann Miller, John Goodman, James Cromwell, and Malcolm McDowell come to mind. But in this film, I would have to call them Bit Actors. Malcolm McDowell has one short scene early in the film with Bejo as she auditions for her first movie.

It seems that everyone wanted to be part of this new...or rather old idea. Cromwell said that he jumped at the chance to make a film like this. He knew it would be special.

In the LA Times blog, 24 Frames, on January 24, 2012, this explanation caught my eye -

As costar John Goodman has pointed out, silent films by their nature are best experienced in a crowd, where the emotions produced by the music and the emotive nature of the acting get naturally amplified as they bounce from person to person. In an age when watching movies alone at home is a given and watching them regularly on your cellphone is being touted as one of the glories of the future, academy voters likely found it exhilarating to be reminded of the special nature of the theater-going experience.
Finally, for more than one reason, “The Artist” is that almost unheard of film that makes voters feel good about what they do for a living, that makes them take pleasure in working in the industry when so little else does.

For the record, I will NEVER watch a movie on my cell phone, but the article hits the nail on the head. And it was so nice to go to a theater and not have to push through a crowd of teenagers! I do suggest that teenagers interested in movies should see this film, with an open mind, and after watching The Artist check out City Lights. They will be impressed.

As an added plus, the locations used to make the film are historic. The mansion used toward the end of the film was the home of silent movie star Mary Pickford (1892 - 1979), and the studio used as a set was actually a 1920s movie studio...perhaps it was Chaplin's, I am not sure. Don't even get me started on the cars. (Two beautiful Cadillacs.)

As an added plus, the film was shot in the correct aspect ratio for most silent films of the old days, the titles and inter-titles were period correct, and most of all, the dog, played by Uggie, was perfect!

The parallels with Charlie Chaplin cannot be missed. The star of The Artist also has a problem with the advent of talkies, and he is able to (eventually) make the switch. I won't say how, but see this film!

This is the first silent film since the end of the silent era to be nominated for an Oscar. I wish I could vote! I wish I could buy the poster, too.

Vertigo and The Lady Eve

Back in May of 2010 I started writing my blog about the wonderful Bit Actors who entertain us in film and on television. In less than two years I have had over 25,000 people from all over the world look at my posts. Even though there are many blogs that blow that number away, I am thrilled and humbled by it.

I started this blog more as therapy than to become some sort of authority on film. I am the first to admit that I have never studied film history, but I do appreciate a good movie. (Heck, I like all films!) In fact, I think I may have been inspired by the film Julie and Julia (2009) to do this. I like to cook as well! I find writing relaxing, and I have fun doing the research.

One of the best things to come out of this effort is the friendship and collaboration that I have found by joining the Classic Movie Blog Association. We all write about movie related topics. Some are pretty general and some are aimed at particular stars or genres, but all are interesting and enjoyable.

There are occasional Blogathons as well.  That is when several writers get together and write about the same topic. I am currently honored to be part of a Vertigo Blogathon at The Lady Eve's Reel Life site. After reading the posts that preceded mine on her site, I was a bit apprehensive about appearing in the company of people who are so familiar with the topic, and are also such wonderful writers.

I hope you will stop by and read my post, and also all of the other posts in the month long series. It is an incredible banquet of all things Vertigo, and provides insight and explanations of all aspects of that wonderful 1958 film, and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitch was a master, and some of the posts will give you a new appreciation of him. After the month of posts is completed, I am sure I will be watching Vertigo one more time, if only to see it from a more informed perspective. I hope you will join me!

If you are new to my site, pick a name from the list on the right and read my post. Sorry the list is so long, but it seems my subject matter is quite extensive. Comments are always welcome.

B4 They Were Stars - Tony Curtis

I would like to fill in some bigger stars with details about their career before they gained stardom.  That's why I have added the label B4 They Were Stars to my list at the right.  I thought I would write about someone today, but I am struggling to find the right star.

Cary Grant first came to mind.  He was a stage actor before coming to the movies, and when he first appeared on screen, he was an instant hit.  He made some early films with Mae West, and he did have a short spell of work that wasn't the best.  But his popularity, particularly with West, helped to save Paramount, so I don't think he could ever be considered a Bit Actor.  I wonder what would have happened to him if he retained his real name, Archie Leach?

My next thought was Katherine Hepburn.  Same basic story.  Her first film, A Bill of Divorcement (1932) with John Barrymore made her a star.

You can't think of Hepburn without thinking of Spencer Tracy.  Another star from the start!  He made a few early short films in 1930 and was seen by John Ford who gave him the lead in Up The River (1930).

Maybe in those early days of talking films, if you had so much talent and stage acting experience, it was easy to make it big on screen.  The depression was just starting and it was much easier for the cash-strapped public to go to the movies than the theater, so the studios needed great talent to promote in all the films they were pushing out.

Let's try a few more recent titles and see where those stars came from.  Jack Lemmon started his screen acting on television in 1949.  It wasn't until 1954 that he made his first movie.  That was It Should Happen to You, starring Judy Holliday and, you guessed it, Jack Lemmon.

Intense, and Handsome

I can't think of Jack Lemmon without thinking of Tony Curtis (1925 - 2010) and that actress, Marilyn something-or-other.  Maybe Curtis will fill my need.  Curtis' first film was a 16mm documentary short called How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border (1949)  Anyone who would be in a movie with that title must either be a Bit Actor, or a friend of Jerry Lewis.  It was, in fact, the first film directed by Lewis, and it was shot at his house.  No Oscars were awarded.

Tony's early films were either uncredited or he was billed at Anthony Curtis.  He did make quite a few films before catching on, or rather, before the public caught on to his considerable talent and good looks.  In 1950 he was in Francis, a story about a talking mule, but it was a Donald O'Connor film.

Winchester '73 (1950) is one of my favorite Jimmy Stewart westerns, and Anthony had a small part in it, along with a Native American named Rock Hudson.  Curtis made two films in 1950 with Audie Murphy.  He then stars in The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), Flesh and Fury and No Room for the Groom both in 1952, but they were not big hits and those films didn't really include any other big stars.

These early starring roles may not have been blockbusters, but they are a proving ground for a young actor who is working out his character.  After Son of Ali Baba (1952), he has the title role in Houdini (1953) and I believe that may have been a turning point for him.  As with most actors, not every film is a success, but he went on to complete about 130 titles over a 59 year span of work.  And let's not forget Jamie Lee.  Another one of his successes!