The Incomparable Carole Lombard
Posted onBarbara Stanwyck said Carole Lombard was “…so alive, modern, frank, and natural that she stands out like a beacon on a lightship in this odd place called Hollywood.” My father agreed. I first learned of my father’s romance with Carole as I was doing research for my book. She had just lost her great love […]
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Posted onMr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) is the quintessential Robert Riskin film and one of my favorites. Written with warmth and humor, not to mention romance, it’s steeped in my father’s philosophy that we should all help each other and especially those in need — the so-called “little people,” an expression my father never would […]
Fay Wray, Hollywood Glamour and the Magic of George Hurrell
Posted onWhen my mother, actress Fay Wray of King Kong fame, was a little girl growing up in the rough-and-tumble mining town of Lark, Utah, she could not have imagined one day she would come to Hollywood and star in one of the most enduring films of cinema history. Although most people remember her best for […]
Meet John Doe
Posted onMeet John Doe – which airs December 8th on Turner Classic Movies – represents a departure from usual Riskin-Capra films in several respects. John Doe was made after my father had gone on vacation to Europe in 1939. On his trip, he had seen first-hand evidence of the euphoria Hitler had created in Germany and the […]
You Can’t Take It With You.
Posted on“Pulitzer Prize plays do not grow on bushes, a circumstance which is bound to complicate their grafting to the cinema.” Frank Nugent, New York Times, 1938. The fact that You Can’t Take It With You, the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart madcap smash hit, was made into a film at all by Columbia Pictures was […]
Will Our Democracy Still Be Bright?
Posted onThis week I was surprised and moved to discover in my mother’s papers, a speech she had given at a rally in late October 1944 in Rochester, New York for the reelection of President Roosevelt. She was encouraging women to get out and vote, especially when “so many of our men are overseas.” Her words are eloquent […]
The Eternal King Kong and Ann Darrow
Posted onIt may never have occurred to the creators of King Kong – producers and directors Merion C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and screenwriter Ruth Rose – nor to my mother, Fay Wray, the damsel in distress in the iconic 1933 movie, that the giant ape would still be captivating, and capturing, New York audiences 85 […]
Fay Wray and Robert Riskin : A Hollywood Memoir…Why I Wrote This Book
Posted onAt some point, I don’t remember when, I had a burning desire to write this book. Like most memoirs, mine too begins in childhood. When I was six years old, my father suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and mentally impaired. My world, which until that moment had been idyllic, turned grey. My […]
Fay Wray Films
Below is a selection of Fay's films I have watched recently-- she radiates sexy innocence -- and I will be posting Blogs with behind-the-scenes stories I hope you enjoy.
- The Wedding March (1928)
- The Legion of the Condemned (1928)
- Behind the Make-up (1930)
- Dirigible (1931)
- The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
- The Bowery (1933)
- King Kong (1933)
- Ann Carver's Profession (1933)
- Viva Villa (1934)
- Mills of the Gods (1934)
- The Clairvoyant (1935)
- Murder in Greenwich Village (1937)
- It Happened in Hollywood (1937)
- Gideon's Trumpet (1980)
Robert Riskin Films
My father's films were totally Riskinesque, romantic comedies infused with a homespun philosophy that delighted audiences. As I uncover stories about his films, I'll share them here.
- The Miracle Woman (1931)
- Platinum Blonde (1931)
- American Madness (1932)
- Lady for a Day (1933)
- Ann Carver's Profession (1933)
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- Broadway Bill (1934)
- The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
- When You're in Love (1936)
- Lost Horizon (1937)
- You Can't Take it With You (1938)
- Meet John Doe (1941)
- Magic Town (1947)
- Mister 880 (1950)