Garbo Laughs, Shearer Swears

[Dave Pitts]

Okay, my title is a teaser, because there's nothing here for Garbo fans. If you're a Shearer fan like me, there's a three minute clip (really a series of clips) of a radio spot she did for the USO during the war. You can find it online by googling norma shearer uso speech with swearing blooper. Yes, she does swear, but don't expect anything like an Andrew Dice Clay moment. It's kind of sweet, actually. And there are some nice close ups of Norma in about 1942.
It was filmed, so maybe it was part of a promotional short that made it into theaters (although, from the looks of it, that's unlikely, because various personnel are seen moving around behind her as she speaks.) The sound is not synced to the image -- it's about a second off.
(If only Thalberg had issued orders to keep all the MGM bloopers -- can you imagine the moments that were thrown away with Marie Dressler, the Barrymores, Cheetah, and Harlow? I'd love to see how Crawford and Garbo handled dialog flubs. And the Marx Brothers -- the mind reels.)

[alicefaye]

That was very enjoyable, thank you. It almost seemed as if they were shooting tests to see whether her speech was better suited to radio or film (or perhaps voiceover): the microphones in the first shot made me think radio at first, but the black backdrop from there reminded me of those modern-day NBC TV spots where current celebrities tell fun facts to the camera. I'm glad to see so many fellow Norma fans in the comment section of the video as well.

[silentfilm]

[Lamar]

This appears to be a rehearsal or sound check for a USO fundraising event held at the Hollywood Bowl on June 29, 1941. Edward G. Robinson donated $100,000 to the cause. This was also broadcast on radio that night over CBS. Here's a pic of Norma wearing the same dress a month earlier https://calisphere.org/item/a5144b3246f ... c9a523602/ Norma looks great in the clip.
Here's a pic of the program https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... -133888003

[s.w.a.c.]

Whaddya expect from those coarse, unrefined Canadians?

[Jim Roots]

Whaddya expect from those coarse, unrefined Canadians?

I am virtually tossing my Timmy's double-double in your general direction, sir. Sorry, eh.

Jim

[oldposterho]

Very revealing and delightful. I now grok what Thalberg saw in her. Before now, it's been elusive to me.

[alicefaye]

Very revealing and delightful. I now grok what Thalberg saw in her. Before now, it's been elusive to me.

I find her able to put across material that, in others' hands, would usually come across as saccharine at best, entirely campy at worst. The Women is a fine example of this. I recall reading that she suffered from extreme insecurity and was obsessively focused on perfecting her bearing and mien - one can see the results in her demeanor on screen. I also like the footage of her with young Judy Garland at the 1939 Academy Awards, as seen at around 5 minutes and 28 seconds into this video:

[busby1959]

Norma is so beautiful and natural here. Is it possible to love her even more than I do?

[Dave Pitts]

Another fun one, for fans of JC (the Metro one, not the Biblical): google joan crawford inebriated airport interview 1968 (I'm not clear on fair use, so I don't post these things.) This one runs about 8 minutes and is poor quality video. Crawford is wheeled out into the airport lobby with an injured ankle. At one point she says it's broken, but at the end she stands up on it to get into her town car. Some guy interviews her, but it's not clear if he's a journalist or some fan who has a movie camera as a private hobby. His questions are inept and repetitive, and he keeps asking Joan how she can make personal appearances with an injured ankle, giving her a chance to refer to herself as a tough broad. She does have a noticeably slurred voice, which accounts for the online title to this thing, but, c'mon, it doesn't have to be Vodka and Pepsi, it could be a pain pill. It could be jet lag.
Some keepers from the video:
1) He asks about her son in Vietnam, and Joan names him (Christopher.) Instantly, all of Christina's readers are remembering the acrimony between Christopher and Joan. The interviewer asks if she ever hears from him, and Joan waves off the question with "Sometimes."
2) She's got a captive six-year-old on her lap, and he asks, "Where did you find her, Miss Crawford?" Joan: "Oh, I always pick up children!" She then extracts a wire hanger from her sewing kit and dangles it in the child's face. I made that last bit up, though.
3) Read the comments list after the video. Several wits put in the expected line: 'But ya ARE, Blanche. Ya ARE in that wheelchair!'