Monday, January 30, 2012

I Live for Love (1935).


I Live for Love (1935). Director: Busby Berkeley. Cast: Dolores del Rio, Everett Marshall, Guy Kibbee and Allen Jenkins.

When, Actress Donna Alvarez insists that her lover Rico Desaro, be cast in her new show. Producer Howard Fabian, lies and tells her they have already hired singer, Roger Kerry to star opposite her. Donna, makes his life so miserable he quits and goes back to singing on the street. While performing, he is discovered by George Henderson, who hires him to sing on his radio show.

Right before, Donna's new show opens, she is asked to perform with Roger on his radio show. When she learns that Roger is the man, who almost landed Rico Desaro's part in her show, she walks out.

Roger, decides to show up at her opening night and later at the nightclub, he gives Donna flowers and his publicist, makes sure photographers are there to take pictures. After Donna's play is a flop, Henderson asks her to do the radio show with Roger.

Henderson and Fabian, come up with a publicity stunt, to have a romance between Donna and Roger. Donna and Roger, decide to really get married, Fabian and Henderson realize they will lose their meal ticket. They send for Rico to stop the wedding. Roger and Donna are in a heated argument about their future, when Rico shows up and Donna agrees to marry Rico just to spite Roger. Will she be able to go through with it?.



I really wanted to see this film because, I'm a huge fan of director Busby Berkeley and actress Dolores del Rio. It is really hard to believe that Busby Berkeley had anything to do with this movie, which has no real dance numbers.

Dolores del Río (August 3, 1905 – April 11, 1983).  She came from an aristocratic family during the Mexican revolution of 1916, the family lost everything they had and emigrated to Mexico City, where Dolores became a socialite. In 1921 she married Jaime Martínez Del Río, a wealthy Mexican and the couple moved to Hollywood where she became an actress and he as a screenwriter. They were divorced after Dolores made her first film, Joanna (1925). After a number of forgettable films, she married Cedric Gibbons, the well-known art director and production designer at MGM studios. Dolores returned to Mexico in 1942, after Hollywood career was over and a romance with Orson Welles, caused her second divorce. Mexican director Emilio Fernández offered her the lead in his film, Flor silvestre (1943), where Dolores Del Río became the most famous movie star in her country. Her association with Fernández', was responsible for creating what has been called the Golden Era of Mexican Cinema. With films, María Candelaria(1944), The Abandoned (1945) and Bugambilia (1945).

Friday, March 18, 2011

In Caliente(1935)


In Caliente(1935), also known as Viva Señorita, is a film written by Ralph Block, directed by Lloyd Bacon, and starred Dolores del Río.

IN CALIENTE (1935), the story takes place in the popular Mexican resort, best known for horse racing and gambling. It stars Dolores Del Rio, in a fluffy story and wonderful choreography by, Busby Berkeley. Berkeley focuses on ballroom dancing popularized by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

The story begins when Larry MacArthur, critic of New York City's smartest magazine, Manhattan Madness, who is well known for writing bad reviews. Harold Brandon, vice president, wants to break up Larry's engagement to gold digger, Clara Thorne. Knowing the upcoming marriage will be a mistake, Harold gets Larry drunk and kidnaps him by airplane to Aqua Caliente, a Mexican resort. While there, he meets Rita Gomez, who he does not know that she is a dancer, that he criticized in his magazine. Recognizing Larry as the man who had given her a bad review, Rita wants to get even with him, with the help of Jose Gomez, her uncle. The situation becomes more complicated when Clara shows up to claim her man.

This very entertaining movie showcases Dolores Del Rio, Pat O'Brien and Edward Everett Horton. Another plus.. is the location filming at Agua Caliente. Chris Pin-Martin, as one of the mariachis, has the wonderful line, "English not so very good looking."

Fun Facts:

The costumes in "The Lady in Red" number were actually blue, but looked "red" when photographed in black and white.


Soundtracks:


•"In Caliente"
(uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel
Lyrics by Mort Dixon
Played during the opening credits
Played as background music
Played on guitar and sung often by the mariachis
(Chris-Pin Martin, C.R. Dufau, L.R. Félix and Carlos Salazar)

•"When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"
(uncredited)
Music by Ernest Ball (1912)
Lyrics by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff (1912)
Sung a cappella by Phil Regan, Pat O'Brien and Edward Everett Horton

•"To Call You My Own"
(uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel
Lyrics by Mort Dixon
Sung by Phil Regan
Played as background music
Whistled and hummed by Pat O'Brien


•"The Lady in Red"
(uncredited)
Music by Allie Wrubel
Lyrics by Mort Dixon
Sung by Wini Shaw, Judy Canova and chorus
Danced by The De Marco's
Sung a cappella by Edward Everett Horton

•"Muchacha"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin
Sung by Phil Regan
Sung and Danced to by Dolores del Rio and chorus

•"She's a Latin from Manhattan"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Used as background instrumental

•"Tango Muchacha"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Used as background instrumental


Del Rio and her second husband Cedric Gibbons.



Cedric Gibbons made the art deco style of set designs popular in the MGM films of the 1920s and 1930s. He also designed the famous Oscar statuette.

After they married in 1930, they lived in a house which he and architect Douglas Honnold designed in the Santa Monica mountains. Del Rio and Gibbons are pictured above in their living room.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

La Cucaracha (1958).

La Cucaracha (1958). Is a story about a Mexican woman (Maria Félix)who loves the commander (Emilio Fernández) of troops loyal to Pancho Villa, but he loves another (Dolores del Rio).

Monday, September 27, 2010

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Video: Dolores Del Rio.

Magazine Covers: Dolores Del Rio.




Flaming Star(1960)

Flaming Star (1960). Western film. Cast: Elvis Presley and Dolores Del Rio. Based on the book Flaming Lance (1958) by Clair Huffaker. It is said that Presley gave one of his best acting  performances in this dramatic role. The film was directed by Don Siegel.

Elvis Presley plays Pacer Burton, the half-white, half-American Indian, son of a Kiowa mother and a Texas rancher father. His family, including a half-brother, Clint, live on the Texas frontier. Trouble begins when the Kiowa tribe begin raiding the homesteads. Pacer soon finds himself caught between the two worlds that forces the Burtons to choose sides with tragic results. .

I agree.. this was a very interesting western with exceptional performance by Elvis Presley who only sings two songs at the beginning film.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Dolores Del Rio Reminds Me of Cher.


Dolores(pictures above)

Cher(pictured above)

Dolores(pictured above)

Dolores del Río (August 3, 1905 – April 11, 1983) was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Later in life, she became an actress in Mexican films. She was thought to be one of the most beautiful actresses of her time.

Cher (May 20, 1946). Singer-songwriter, actress, director and record producer. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a People's Choice Award for her work in film, music and television.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Dolores Del Rio (1929)



Dolores Del Rio, 1929.

Dolores Del Rio, dripping with pearls.


This is a German postcard dating from the 1920s. It shows film star Dolores Del Rio in a beautiful dress dripping with pearls.

The Loves of Carmen(1927)


THE LOVES OF CARMEN(1927). Director: Raoul Walsh. Cast: Dolores Del Rio and Victor McLaglen in a story based on Prosper Merimee's classic story, "Carmen,".

Carmen, is a gypsy girl working in a cigar factory who is loved by Lieutenant Don Jose. Carmen does everything she can to attract Escamillo, a famous matador attention, which ends up with him picking her up and throwing her into a puddle of water. Carmen gets into an argument with one of her female co-workers followed by a physical fight with another after being called "an angel from the gutter." Carmen, ends up in jail for disturbing the peace. Carmen's sentence is cut short as Don Jose helps Carmen escape. For this he is placed on guard duty as punishment by his superior officer, Morales. He later faces a court martial for deserting his post to be alone with Carmen. The two men duel it out with swords, with the commander being killed. Soon after, Don hides in the mountains, in the gypsy camp with Carmen. As Carmen becomes bored with Don, she sneaks away to watch Escamillo in the bullring. This time she becomes his mistress while Don Jose, a disgrace to his regiment, goes into a jealous rage.

Dolores Del Rio, is wonderful in her performance as Carmen, as does Don Alvarado. The sets and costumes capture the mood and period.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Bird of Paradise(1932)- Pre Code.



Bird of Paradise (1932). Director: King Vidor. Cast: Dolores del Río, Joel McCrea, and Richard "Skeets" Gallagher.

As a yacht sails into an island in the South Pacific, the natives sail out to greet them. The natives dive for the trinkets the crew throws out to them. A shark swims by and a young man tries to catch the shark, but accidentally steps into a loop that tightens around his ankle. The shark takes the bait, causing the rope to yank the young man overboard. The daughter of the chief rescues the young man by diving into the water, swimming down to where the man is. He cannot get his foot loose from the tangle, so she pulls out a knife and cuts the rope, saving his life.

The beautiful Polynesian girl named Luana catches the young man's eye, and it is not long before they meet in the middle of the night. They soon discover she has been promised by her father to a prince on another island. An arranged wedding with an beautiful dance number, the young man, runs into the burning fire and rescues her. Bringing her to another island where they hope to live out the rest of their lives.

He builds her a house and fruit, mangos and coconuts, are all within easy reach. Fishing is plentiful. It is like paradise. Their world comes to an end when a volcano begins to erupt.

Fun Facts:

This film was one of the first talkies to have an orchestral film score. The musical director was Max Steiner, who would later work on King Kong (1933) and Gone with the Wind (1939). The native huts in this film were reused one year later in RKO's King Kong.

Bird of Paradise created a scandal when released due to scenes featuring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea swimming nude. This film was made before the Production Code was enforced so nudity could be shown. Orson Welles said del Río represented the highest erotic ideal with her performance in the film.

Monday, May 10, 2010

One of the last epic silent films- The Trail of 98 (1928).


The Trail of 98(1928). The cast; Dolores Del Rio, Ralph Forbes, Harry Carey, Karl Dane, Emily Fitzroy, Roscoe Karns, Tully Marshall & Doris Lloyd.

The western epic begins, in 1896 when gold was discovered in a creek in the Yukon's. Despite the trouble in getting there, over 30,000 people would travel to the boom town of Dawson City, looking to get rich. It would not take long before someone discovered $100,000,000 in gold.

The film story is about the lives of many prospectors, but there is one story that stands out, is that of a gold miner who strikes it rich and is heartbroken when he returns to his true love and discovers that she is dance-hall girl working for a known murderer.

The last of the great silent epics, M-G-M's The Trail of '98 has a wonderful music score, sound effects and a theme song, "I Found Gold When I Found You", by Hazel Mooney, Evelyn Lyn and William Axt. Based on Robert William Service's 1911 novel. The famous scene of the long climb to the Chilkoot Pass is one you will never forget. It is most remembered the harrowing journey down the Whitehorse Rapids. The scene cost the lives of four stunt players, including Ray Thompson, who played the ranch foreman in Buster Keaton's Go West (1925).

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Dolores Del Rio- Biography.



Dolores Del Rio, was a regular guest at Hollywood parties where she met director Edwin Carewe, who thought she wold be perfect in his new film, Joanna (1925). Stardom soon followed, with Del Rio reaching top billing in major silent movies, including What Price Glory? (1927) and The Loves of Carmen (1927). Since Del Rio spoke fluent English, the transition over to sound was no problem for her, though her Hispanic accent did limit her roles. She was cast on her beauty first, talent second. She was wonderful in the film Bird of Paradise(1932) and Madame Du Barry (1934). After her breakup of her second marriage to art director Cedric Gibbons, Del Rio became the most eligible girl in Hollywood. One of her suitors was Orson Welles, ten years her junior, who cast her in his 1942 RKO production Journey Into Fear. In 1943, Del Rio returned to Mexico to star in films, negotiating a "percentage of profits" deal. Del Rio returned occasionally to Hollywood, to perform in a couple of John Fords movies. She maintained her looks through a self-invented diet and exercise program. Even as late as 1960, she looked too young to play Elvis Presley's mother in Flaming Star. Del Rio retired from film making in 1978 to enjoy her lifelong hobbies of writing and painting.

Dolores Del Rio Fashion Icon of her Era.


Dolores Del Rio, was a fashion icon of her era. Women imitated her style of dress and make-up. Gone was the style of heavy pancake and little heart shaped mouths. In its place the angular face, the sculptures look came into vogue.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cheyenne Autumn (1964)



Cheyenne Autumn (1964) Epic/Western. Cast: Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. The film was the last western to be directed by John Ford, who proclaimed it an elegy. Much of the film was shot in Monument Valley Tribal Park on the Arizona-Utah border, where Ford had filmed scenes for many of his films, Stagecoach and The Searchers. The tribal leaders were played by Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland , Dolores del Río and Sal Mineo, Ford hired members of the Navajo tribe for extras in this film.

This beautiful film begins with the Cheyenne Indians in 1970 being moved from their Wyoming home to a Oklahoma reservation. After waiting for a year for Federal aid , the tribe is losing the battle to survive and are dying off from disease and starvation. Wanting to save what is left of their tribe they decide to make a 1,500-mile journey to their Yellowstone hunting grounds. Traveling with them is their friend Deborah Wright, a Quaker schoolteacher. Hot on their trail is a cavalry troop headed by Captain Thomas Archer, Deborah's fiancee, who hopes to end what they believe is an uprising without bloodshed. Cheyenne brave Red Shirt, starts trouble in which several U. S. soldiers are killed. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are pressured into organizing a war party. Sympathetic Earp, purposely leads his posse in the wrong direction. With winter coming on, the Cheyennes split into two groups. Half continue on their long journey and half surrender to the heartless Captain Wessels, at Fort Robinson. Will the Indians survive this historic ordeal.

Films similar to Cheyenne Autumn, try to show that Geronimo, Sitting Bull and others were not criminals, they were only defending the land where they were born and raised.

FUN FACTS:

Ford added the segment with Stewart in place of an intermission. Ford didn't want people leaving the auditorium to go the bathroom or concessions counter, even though the film was long, and so he came up with the Wyatt Earp segment.

John Ford was urged to cast Richard Boone and Anthony Quinn as the Little Wolf and Dull Knife characters, as both had Native American blood. Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland, who were of Mexican descent, were cast instead.

Spencer Tracy was first cast as the secretary of interior Karl Shultz, but had a heart attack and was replaced by Edward G. Robinson.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Marlene Dietrich and Dolores were close friends.



Marlene Dietrich considered Dolores "The most beautiful woman in Hollywood" For many people "She has better legs than Dietrich and better cheekbones than Garbo". Some rumors said that her diet consisted of orchid petals and that she slept 16 hours in the day.

Dolores 1st husband Jaime Martinez Del Rio.


Dolores studied dancing at a French college in Mexico City. She admired the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. While performing as a dancer for the rich Mexicans, she met Jaime Martinez del Rio, from one of Mexico's most important families. They fell in love although he was 18 years older. In 1921, at the age of 16, she married him. The couple spent three years in Europe. In 1924, they returned to del Rio's ranch in Durango. The couple moved to Mexico City. Dolores del Río was discovered by movie producer Edwin Carewe. Carewe sent them both to Hollywood, she as an actress and he as a screenwriter.

Dolores the "Princess of Mexico"


In the Silent film era, Del Rio was often thought of as the female version of Rudolph Valentino. She was known as the "Princess of México".

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Dolores 2nd Husband Art Director Gibbons.


Austin Cedric Gibbons, was an Irish American art director who made a huge impact on motion picture theater architecture through the 1930s to 1950s, the period considered the golden-era of theater architecture. He is credited as the designer of the Oscar statuette in 1928.

In 1930, Gibbons married actress Dolores del Río and co-designed their house in Santa Monica, an intricate Art Deco residence influenced by Rudolf Schindler.

Dolores Del Rio (1928)



Footage filmed in 1928. Dolores appears next to actress Claire Windsor.

My favorite pictures of: Dolores Del Rio.



Evangeline (1929)-Written by Silent.


"Evangeline" (1929) is my favorite romantic drama of the silent era. Directed by Edwin Carewe and based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's famous poem, the film is actually the epic tale of a woman's quest to find her lost love. Dolores Del Rio plays the beautiful Evangeline Bellefontaine who lives with her father, a farmer, in the quiet Acadian village of Grand-Pre in 1740's Nova Scotia. Evangeline is engaged to Gabriel Lajeunesse, played by Roland Drew, but before the marriage date, France and England declare war. The Acadians, loyal to England, but with kinship ties to France, refuse to join the battle. England orders the men of the village deported, and the governor-general burns the village to the ground. In the chaos, Evangeline's father suffers a stroke and dies in her arms. While tending to him, Evangeline is separated from Gabriel. Evangeline, accompanied by the village priest then begins a search across the harsh American wilderness to find her beloved Gabriel. Will Evangeline ever reunite with her lover?

"Evangeline" is a visually beautiful film reflecting the art of the silent cinema at its peak. The cinematography is simply breathtaking in a number of different shots, particularly of Del Rio and the deportation scenes. The use of selected color tints are highly effective in conveying the mood of the different sequences. The film score includes many lovely French folk songs and only at the very end is there a brief moment when Del Rio actually speaks. Del Rio is quite beautiful and gives a highly passionate performance. She is the only woman in the principal cast and her portrayals of emotions have more depth than in many other silent films of that time. Roland Drew as her lead makes the most of his small part. What I love most about this film is it transforms a historical tragedy into a human and personal drama. Intensely emotional and romantic, "Evangeline" is a true tearjerker.


Dolores Del Rio. Film Debut: Joanna(1925).


Using her married surname, Del Río made her first film in Joanna, directed by Carewe in 1925. Hollywood first thought of her as a sex siren. Del Rio, did not like the "Mexicali Rose" image. Despite her small performance in her first film, Carewe arranged for huge publicity for the actress. In her second film High Steppers, del Rio took the second female credit after Mary Astor. These films helped increase del Río's popularity. Carewe's intention was to transform her into a star to match Rudolph Valentino.

Flying Down To Rio(1933)




Flying Down to Rio (1933). Musical. Director: Thornton Freeland. Producer: Merian C. Cooper and Lou Brock. Music was composed by Max Steiner. Cast: Dolores del Río, Gene Raymond, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The song "Carioca" was written for the film by composer Vincent Youmans and lyricists Edward Eliscu and Gus Kahn. The tango-song "Orchids in the Moonlight" sung by Raul Roulien.

Composer and womanizer Roger Bond and his orchestra are performing in Miami, with singer Honey Hales. Even though the assistant band leader Fred Ayres, has warned Roger, he leaves the stage to dance with the beautiful Belinha, sitting in the audience. Angry, Dona Elena, Belinha's chaperon, arranges for Roger and the band to be fired. Roger, who will not be stopped, takes the band and chases after Belinha all the way to Brazil, where they are hired to play at the Hotel Atlantico in Rio de Janeiro, owned by Belinha's father. Roger flies Belinha in his private plane, which he fakes engine trouble, forcing them to land on an island. While there, she tells him that she is already engaged to be married.

Back in Rio, during rehearsal, Fred is told by police that the hotel does not have an entertainment license. Roger sees a plane flying overhead, and comes up with the idea of strapping dancing girls to planes, with Fred leading the band.

Will the show be a great success for the hotel ?

Will Rodger celebrate with Belinha?
FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933) movie trailer
FLYING DOWN TO RIO MOVIE CLIP.
This film is known for the first pairing of dance partners Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Two unknowns who really smoked up the screen in a dance number called "The Carioca," which received such a wonderful reviews from critics and fans that they performed in nine other films.


Soundtracks:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Music Makes Me"
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Performed by Ginger Rogers

"Carioca"
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Song performed by Alice Gentle, Movita and Etta Moten
Dance performed by Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, chorus

"Orchids in the Moonlight"
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Performed by Raul Roulien
Danced by Fred Astaire and Dolores del Rio with Ensemble

"Music Makes Me"
(uncredited)
Instrumental reprise
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Sung by Ginger Rogers
Dance performed by Fred Astaire

"Flying Down to Rio"
(uncredited)
Music by Vincent Youmans
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Edward Eliscu
Song performed by Fred Astaire
Dance performed by chorus