#SUTS - Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

TCM's Summer Under the Stars features a star a day every day in August. August 15 features the films of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. beginning at 6 a.m. and ending at 6 a.m. the next morning. I'm pleased to be taking part in the 2015 TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Please check out Journeys in Classic Film and read some great articles by Kristen and also follow the links to other interesting material on the classic stars featured this month on TCM.

Douglas Elton Fairbanks, Jr., KBE, DSC (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor and a highly decorated naval officer of World War II.

He was born in New York City, the only child of actor Douglas Fairbanks and his first wife, Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy Rhode Island industrialist Daniel J. Sully. Because there could be only one Douglas Fairbanks, his father and mother referred to their child as "the boy." His Irish nurse pronounced it "bye," and from then on he was called Bye by his family and friends. His parents divorced when he was nine years old, and both remarried. He lived with his mother in New York, California, Paris and London.

He initially intended to be an artist, studying painting and sculpture under private tutors in London and Paris, and declared that he did not want to follow in his father's footsteps. Largely on the basis of his father's name, Fairbanks, Jr. was given a contract with Paramount Pictures at age 13 and made his screen debut in Stephen Steps Out.

Although his father had been against his making films, especially in the same genre as his own, Fairbanks, Jr. managed, especially after the death of his father in 1939, to prove himself as a romantic adventurer. In films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1939), Gunga Din (1939), The Corsican Brothers (1942) and Sinbad the Sailor (1947) the spirit of his father seemed to glow within him.

Between 1923 and 1951 he acted in (and often helped to produce) 75 films, appearing opposite some of the greatest names in Hollywood, including Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Irene Dunne, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. But apart from the titles mentioned above, only a handful of his other films - Howard Hawks's The Dawn Patrol (1930), Henry Koster's The Rage of Paris (1938), Richard Wallace's Young In Heart (1938) and Max Ophuls's The Exile (1948) were of enduring quality.

Although celebrated as an actor, Fairbanks was commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Navy at the onset of World War II and assigned to Lord Mountbatten's Commando staff in the United Kingdom. (More on his World War II service later.)

In the early 1950s, Fairbanks, Jr., a confirmed Anglophile, retired from the cinema and moved to London. From 1953-1957, he introduced and sometimes acted in a British TV drama series Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Presents, from which he made a lot of money to add to the fortune gained from the manufacture of popcorn, and from the rights to his father's films.

Fairbanks, Jr. toured in My Fair Lady in 1968, and in The Pleasure of His Company several times, including tours in the U.S. in 1970-72 and the 1977 Australian production with Stanley Holloway.

He wrote his autobiography, Salad Days, in 1988. In addition, Fairbanks, Jr. wrote a chronicle of his experiences during the Second World War, A Hell of a War (1993).

He was married three times and had three daughters.

1. Joan Crawford (June 3, 1929 - May 12, 1933) (divorced)
2. Mary Lee Eppling (April 23, 1939 - September 14, 1988) (her death) (3 daughters)

Daphne Nancy-Beth Fairbanks (born April 8, 1940), Victoria Susan Fairbanks (born 1942) and Melissa Louise Fairbanks (born October 25, 1947).

3. Vera Lee Shelton Fairbanks (May 30, 1991 - May 7, 2000) (his death)

On the morning of May 7, 2000, Fairbanks died at the age of 90 of a heart attack and was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California, in the same crypt as his father.

Father of the Beach Jumpers

Beach Jumpers were United States Navy special warfare units organized during World War II by Lieutenant Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. They specialized in deception and psychological warfare. The units were active from 1943–1946 and 1951–1972.

The concept for Beach Jumpers came about as a result of Lt. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. having been detached from "blue water" duty on the high seas and assigned to duty with British Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's Combined Operations Commandos in England.

Fairbanks' assignment was to be one of those temporary duty officer exchange programs where American officers would acquaint themselves with the training, planning, and execution of raiding parties, diversions, and deception operations. Fairbanks however did more than just observe the workings of these commandos. He trained with them at the aptly named H.M.S. Tormentor Advanced Training and Amphibious Operations Base, and at the Commando Training School at Ancharry Castle, Scotland. Subsequently, he participated in several cross channel harassment raids from the Isle of Wight which was the forward base for such activities. It was during these raids that Fairbanks gained a true appreciation for the military art of deception.

Lt. Fairbanks was subsequently transferred to Virginia Beach where he came under the command of Admiral H. Kent Hewitt who was supervising the training of U.S. Naval forces in preparation of their deployment to North Africa and the Mediterranean.  It was here that Fairbanks pitched his idea for a similar unit of specialists trained to conduct tactical cover, diversionary and deception missions.  Admiral Hewitt immediately saw the advantages of such a unit and agreed to support Fairbanks. All that was required now was to sell the Navy brass in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, Fairbanks was at his persuasive best. Inspired by the success of British commandos in using sonic deception on raids against the Nazis and Fairbanks' concept of operations, Admiral Ernest J. King issued a secret letter on March 5, 1943 charging the Vice Chief of Naval Operations with the recruitment of 180 officers and 300 enlisted men for the Beach Jumper program.

The recruiting effort identified four general requirements: (1) no seasickness,  (2) experience in small boat handling, (3) enough electrical knowledge to fix a home radio, and (4) at least fundamental knowledge of celestial navigation. The announcement further stated that  "The Navy is requesting volunteers for prolonged, hazardous, distant duty for a secret project."

On March 16, 1943, the volunteers reported to the Amphibious Training Base at Camp Bradford, Virginia and Beach Jumper Unit-1 was commissioned.  The basic mission of Beach Jumper Unit-1 was: "To assist and support the operating forces in the conduct of Tactical Cover and Deception in Naval Warfare."

The best theory as to how the Beach Jumpers got their name came from Harold Burris-Meyer, Theater and Sound Research Director for the Stevens Institute of Technology. The Stevens Institute was working on a Navy contract to study the physiological and psychological effects of sound on men in warfare. During a high level conference, Mr. Burris-Meyer responded to a question concerning the purpose of their work by stating: "To scare the be-jesus out of the enemy." His engineering team used the "B.J." factor thereafter in their planning which is said to have led to the inspiration for the cover name Beach Jumpers.

Unfortunately for Fairbanks, as a Lieutenant he did not have the rank to command a Beach Jumpers unit. He was assigned as Special Operations Officer and Assistant Chief of Staff and Operations Officer to Captain Charles L. Andrews who had assumed the Command of all Beach Jumper activities. As Special Operations Officer Fairbanks was responsible for the supervision, training, supplying, and planning for all Beach Jumper activities: all raids, special assault landings, and special operations. As Assistant Chief of Staff and Operations Officer Fairbanks was granted a security clearance level which allowed him access to any information the Beach Jumpers might need.  

United States Navy Beach Jumpers saw their initial action in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. Throughout the remainder of the war, the Beach Jumpers conducted their hazardous, shallow-water operations throughout the Mediterranean.

For his planning the diversion-deception operations and his part in the amphibious assault on Southern France, Lieutenant Commander Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., was awarded the U.S. Navy Legion of Merit with bronze V (for valor),  The Italian War Cross for Military Valor, the French Legion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre with Palm and the British Distinguish Service Cross.

Lieutenant Fairbanks was working on deception schemes to support the scheduled British landings on Singapore when World War II ended. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., retired as a Captain, USNR in 1954.

American military awards
Silver Star
U.S. Navy Legion of Merit with bronze V (for valor)
American Defense Service Medal with "A" device
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Naval Reserve Medal
Navy Expert Pistol Shot

International awards
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom) 1949
Knight of the Legion of Honor (France)
Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil)
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
Croix de Guerre avec palme (France)
War Cross for Military Valor (Italy)

Interview with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - Imperial War Museums - July 31, 1984

Lt. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. - American officer served with Task Force 99, US Navy in Mediterranean and Arctic, 1942; served with Combined Operations in GB and English Channel, 1942-1943; served with US Navy coastal forces in Mediterranean, 1943-1945

REEL 1 (below): Background to joining US Naval Reserve, 1940. Sketch of naval career during war. Aspects of operations as officer with Task Force 99, US Navy in Mediterranean and Arctic, 1942: participation in Malta and Arctic convoys; fate of Convoy PQ 17, 7/1942; conditions for naval crews during Arctic convoys. Aspects of period as staff officer with Combined Forces Command in GB, 1942-1943: reasons for request to join Combined Operations by Lord Louis Mountbatten; friendship with Mountbatten; work with Combined Operations; problems arising from Fairbanks' fame as an actor; work commanding raiding craft flotilla; deception techniques used. Recollections of operations as officer with US Navy coastal forces in Mediterranean, 1943-1945: return to US Navy; assistance given to OSS and Special Operations Executive; deception operations.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

REEL 2 Continues: success of deception operation for Operation Anvil, the invasion of South of France, 8/1944; his role during Operation Anvil. Reflections of service with US Navy during Second World War, 1942-1945: memories of President Theodore Roosevelt and Lord Louis Mountbatten; Anglo-American wartime relations; difficulty of deceiving Germans; his attitude towards naval service during Second World War; problems caused by his celebrity; his American and foreign decorations.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

TCM's Summer Under the Stars - Day 15 - Salute to Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Chances (1931)

D: Allan Dwan. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Rose Hobart, Anthony Bushell, Mary Forbes, William Austin. Entertaining, neatly acted drama of love and war, with soldier-brothers Fairbanks and Bushell both falling for Hobart. Fairbanks in particular is a standout.

Union Depot (1932)

D: Alfred E. Green. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, David Landau, Frank McHugh. Fast-paced, eventful yarn that brings sharpie Fairbanks and stranded chorus girl Blondell together at a bustling train station where a hundred subplots crisscross. Great fun, brimming with early-1930s flavor.

It's Tough to Be Famous (1932)

D: Alfred E. Green. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Mary Brian, Walter Catlett, Lilian Bond, Terrence Ray, David Landau. Pungent story of naval hero who becomes a much-manipulated media celebrity against his wishes. Done with usual Warner Bros. pizazz--and still surprisingly timely.

Narrow Corner, The (1933)

D: Alfred E. Green. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Patricia Ellis, Ralph Bellamy, Dudley Digges, William V. Mong, Sidney Toler, Henry Kolker, Willie Fung. Fairbanks is on the lam, and winds up on an East Indies island where he finds friendship--and illicit romance. Remarkably adult adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham novel (made in the pre-Production Code era), with only minor flaws. Remade as Isle of Fury.

Captured! (1933)

D: Roy Del Ruth. Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paul Lukas, Margaret Lindsay. Fair story of honor and love, switching World War I story from German prison camp, to war front, to society England. Good cast major asset of production.

Having Wonderful Time (1938)

Ginger Rogers and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

D: Alfred Santell. Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Peggy Conklin, Lucille Ball, Lee Bowman, Eve Arden, Dorothea Kent, Richard (Red) Skelton, Donald Meek, Jack Carson, Allan Lane, Grady Sutton. OK film about Catskills resort hotel; Ginger wants culture on summer vacation but gets Doug instead. Arthur Kober adapted his own Broadway comedy, but the original's satiric depiction of Jewish New Yorkers is completely homogenized. Skelton sparkles in his feature debut; Dean Jagger plays Ginger's brother and Ann Miller is visible among the campers.

Sinbad the Sailor (1947)

D: Richard Wallace. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Maureen O'Hara, Anthony Quinn, Walter Slezak, George Tobias, Jane Greer, Mike Mazurki, Sheldon Leonard. Tongue-in- cheek swashbuckler, with lavish color production. Great fun.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in Gunga Din

Gunga Din (1939)
D: George Stevens. Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Fontaine, Sam Jaffe, Eduardo Ciannelli, Montagu Love, Abner Biberman, Robert Coote, Lumsden Hare, Cecil Kellaway. The Hollywood action-adventure yarn, vaguely based on Rudyard Kipling's famous poem, about three soldier-comrades in 19th-century India battling the savage Thuggee cult when they aren't busy carousing and getting into trouble. Water boy Jaffe saves the day in rousing climax. Splendid comic adventure whose story is credited to Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur (who based the relationships of the central characters on the same marriage/rivalry device used in The Front Page); scripted by Joel Sayre and Fred Guiol. For years most prints ran 96m., until film was archivally restored. Shot on location in Lone Pine, California. Also shown in computer-colored version. Remade as Sergeants Three.

The origin of our word "thug" is Hindi and Urdu ṭhag, literally, thief. It's first known use was 1810. Thuggees or Thugs (also Tuggees) were members of a religious organization of robbers and assassins in India. Devotees of the goddess Kali, the Thugs waylaid and strangled their victims, usually travelers, in a ritually prescribed manner. They were suppressed by the British in the 1830s.

Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in Gunga Din

Exile, The (1947)

D: Max Ophuls. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Maria Montez, Paule Croset (Rita Corday), Henry Daniell, Nigel Bruce, Robert Coote. OK swashbuckler with exiled king Fairbanks falling in love with common girl; guest appearance by Montez.

Prisoner of Zenda, The (1937)

D: John Cromwell. Ronald Colman, Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., C. Aubrey Smith, Raymond Massey, Mary Astor, David Niven, Montagu Love, Alexander D'Arcy. Lavish costume romance/ adventure with excellent casting; Colman is forced to substitute for lookalike cousin, King of Ruritanian country, but commoner Colman falls in love with regal Carroll. Fairbanks nearly steals the show as villainous Rupert of Hentzau. Screenplay by John L. Balderston, from Anthony Hope's novel. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Corsican Brothers, The (1941)

D: Gregory Ratoff. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Ruth Warrick, Akim Tamiroff, J. Carrol Naish, H. B. Warner, Henry Wilcoxon. Entertaining swashbuckler from Dumas story of twins who are separated, but remain spiritually tied. Fairbanks excellent in the dual lead, with strong support, ingenious photographic effects. Remade for TV in 1985.

Flight Commander (a.k.a. Dawn Patrol, The) (1930)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Richard Barthelmess

D: Howard Hawks. Richard Barthelmess, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Neil Hamilton. A hotshot World War I flyer almost cracks under the pressure of sending his men on perilous missions.

Parachute Jumper (1933)

D: Alfred E. Green. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Leo Carrillo, Bette Davis, Frank McHugh, Claire Dodd. Former flyers Fairbanks and McHugh strike up fast friendship with Davis, but all three are victimized by involvement with gangster Carrillo. Fast-moving, enjoyable Warner Bros. programmer.

Little Caesar (1930)

D: Mervyn LeRoy. Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Glenda Farrell, Stanley Fields, Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Ince, George E. Stone. Small-time hood becomes underworld big-shot; Robinson as Caesar Enrico Bandello gives star-making performance in classic gangster film, still exciting. Francis Faragoh and Robert E. Lee adapted W. R. Burnett's novel.

Success at Any Price (1934)

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Genevieve Tobin

D: J. Walter Ruben. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Genevieve Tobin, Frank Morgan, Colleen Moore, Edward Everett Horton, Allen Vincent. Interesting moral tract tracing the rise and fall of ruthless businessman Fairbanks as he crushes everyone who gets in his way--and loses sight of the one woman who loves him. Surprisingly contemporary, and still potent, though it reveals its stage origins.

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. on the Radio

"The Prisoner of Zenda" on Academy Award: July 17, 1946 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Virginia Bruce.



"13 Rue Madeleine" on Hollywood Sound Stage: January 31, 1952 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Don DeFore, Craig Stevens, Henry O'Neill.



"The Song of Songs" on Lux Radio Theatre: December 20, 1937 with Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Lionel Atwill, Pedro de Cordoba.



"Brief Moment" on Lux Radio Theatre: February 14, 1938 with Ginger Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Louis Calhern, Paul Harvey, Nigel Bruce.



"The Prisoner of Zenda" on Lux Radio Theatre: June 5, 1939 with Ronald Colman, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Benita Hume.



"If I Were King" on Lux Radio Theatre: October 16, 1939 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Frances Dee, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.



"Nothing Sacred" on Lux Radio Theatre: November 11, 1940 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joan Bennett.



"Third Finger, Left Hand" on Lux Radio Theatre: September 29, 1941 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Martha Scott.



"Cellini" on The Screen Guild Theater: January 21, 1940 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Frank Morgan, Paulette Goddard, Mary Forbes, Margot Stevenson, Roy D'Arcy.



"The Firebrand" on The Screen Guild Theater: May 27, 1946 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Virginia Field, Frank Morgan.



"The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" on The Screen Guild Theater: October 7, 1946 with Ethel Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.



"The Exile" on Screen Directors Playhouse: January 23, 1949 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Janet Waldo.



"The Fighting O'Flynn" on Screen Directors Playhouse: April 7, 1950 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Meg Randall.



"Prince of Foxes" on Screen Directors Playhouse: January 4, 1951 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Joyce McKenzie.



"The Captain from Castile" on Screen Directors Playhouse: May 3, 1951 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Paula Morgan.



"Raffles" on Screen Directors Playhouse: September 14, 1951 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

#SUTS - Rex Ingram

TCM's Summer Under the Stars features a star a day every day in August. August 11 features the films of the actor Rex Ingram beginning at 6 a.m. and ending at 6 a.m. the next morning. I'm pleased to be taking part in the 2015 TCM Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Please check out Journeys in Classic Film and read some great articles by Kristen and also follow the links to other interesting material on the classic stars featured this month on TCM.

Bio

Rex Clifford Ingram (October 20, 1895 – September 19, 1969) was an American stage, film, and television actor.

He was born on a houseboat on the Mississippi River near Cairo, Illinois, when his mother, who was on her way home from a visit with relatives in Natchez, Mississippi, went into labor.

The son of a riverboat fireman, Ingram is said to have grown up working with his father on the steamer Robert E. Lee. He enrolled in Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, in 1912. He graduated from the Northwestern University Medical School in 1919 and was the first African-American man to receive a Phi Beta Kappa key from the university.

After earning his degree, he took a trip to California for some rest; while standing on a street corner in Los Angeles, he was spotted by a casting director and offered ten dollars per day to appear in a movie. He ended up playing an African tribesman in the first of the Tarzan movies (starring Elmo Lincoln), Tarzan of the Apes (1918). Ingram subsequently got a succession of the typical roles available to black actors in the silent era: butlers, porters, and native Africans.  While he was in Hollywood, Ingram worked a number of jobs between films in order to support himself. According to Ebony magazine, he claimed to have been called "the greatest Negro heavyweight prospect since Jack Johnson" when he fought professionally in California in 1921.

Ingram never considered working on the stage until someone suggested it. With help from English actor Alan Mowbray, he got readings and auditions and began studying everything he could find about the theater. In 1929, he made his stage debut on Broadway in Lulu Belle, and he played in Porgy and Bess on Broadway. Other shows in which he performed were Goin' Home, Stevedore, Marching Song, and Once in a Lifetime. He also broke some ground on the sociological and racial front, portraying the Prince of Morocco in a production of The Merchant of Venice that starred Estelle Winwood at the University of Illinois. In addition, he wrote and produced a play, Drums of the Bayou (which closed before reaching New York).

Ingram's big break came when he appeared in the 1936 film The Green Pastures, for which he received acclaim for his multifaceted ability to portray the characters De Lawd, Adam, and Hezdrel.

His role as De Lawd turned him into the most prominent black leading man in Hollywood. He promised himself not to accept any more roles that were demeaning to blacks. He recognized the powerful influence of the entertainment media and wanted to help rather than retard the process of black freedom and acceptance in America. Unfortunately, there were no roles available in Hollywood for strong, powerful, black leading men. The best offer he got was to do a theatrical revival of The Green Pastures, in which he refused to take part. So he left acting, returned to medicine, and planned to go into research. A year later, Ingram was bankrupt. Faced with the need to support his family, he returned to acting, working in stock before heading back to New York and the Broadway stage for productions of The Emperor Jones and the WPA Theater production of Haiti.

In 1939, Ingram was offered a role in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as the character Jim. Despite its racially stereotypical tone, Ingram accepted the role and by the early 1940s, studios were aggressively pursuing him regularly. Ingram became known for his portrayal of powerful, dignified, dominant characters, in films such as The Thief of Bagdad (1940) where he won critical acclaim for his role of the heroic Genie of the Lamp.  Ingram turned the fantasy part of the Genie into a compelling monologue on freedom that resonated far beyond the boundaries of the movie. He also appeared in Talk of the Town (1942), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Sahara (1943),  Dark Waters (1944), A Thousand and One Nights (1948), and Moonrise (1948).

In 1946, Ingram worked in an all-black Broadway stage production of Lysistrata.  It had particular resonance after a war in which many African Americans had served their nation in the armed forces, but had to deal with a segregated army and few opportunities for officers' commissions. In addition, veterans returned to legal segregation and near disfranchisement in the South, as well as more subtle but definite de facto segregation in many northern cities.

Ingram was arrested for violating the Mann Act in April 1949. Pleading guilty to the charge of transporting a 15-year-old girl from Salina, Kansas to New York for immoral purposes, he was sentenced to eighteen months in jail. He served just ten months of his sentence, but the incident had a serious impact on his career for the next six years.

The way back was not easy, and Ingram never again achieved the stardom he lost. However, he did manage to find work, playing an African chief in the television series Ramar of the Jungle (1952) and, in 1955, he did The Emperor Jones on the small screen as part of Kraft Television Theatre. He returned to movies that same year in Tarzan's Hidden Jungle, the kind of film in which he'd started in 1918. There were some good roles in better productions such as God's Little Acre (1958, Anna Lucasta (1959), Elmer Gantry (1960), and Your Cheatin' Heart (1964).

In 1957, he appeared on Broadway in the all-black production of Waiting for Godot. He appeared in the television shows Playhouse 90, Daktari, I Spy, and Gunsmoke. His last role was on The Bill Cosby Show.

He had a heart attack and died at his home in Hollywood on September 19, 1969, at the age of 73, leaving behind his second wife, Dena, daughter Gloria Wagner, and two grandsons.

Ingram's amazing talent, good looks, 6' 2" height, substantial 220-pound build, and powerful voice were definite assets which were badly underutilized because of his race. That's so sad and such a waste.

Factoids

Ingram smoked a pipe and made a hobby of collecting them; he owned nearly 500 pipes.

Not to be confused with the director Rex Ingram.

The first black actor hired as a regular cast member on an American soap opera when he was cast in The Brighter Day in 1962. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled about a month after his first air date.

Played God in one movie, The Green Pastures, and the devil in another, Cabin in the Sky.

Lena Horne and Rex Ingram were brought onto the Screen Actors Guild Board in 1944.

1945: TV-talk at Screen Actors Guild annual meeting. Rex Ingram, John Garfield and Walter Abel.

Moonrise (1948)

I just finished TCM's film noir course and don't want #NoirSummer to end, so I'm going write a bit about a noir Rex Ingram appeared in, 1948's Moonrise.

Moonrise is a 1948 American black-and-white film noir produced by Marshall Grant Pictures, Chas. K. Feldman Group and Republic Pictures. It was directed by Frank Borzage and produced by Charles Haas with music by William Lava and cinematography by John L. Russell. The screenplay by Charles Haas was based on the 1946 novel of the same name by Theodore Strauss. It starred Dane Clark as Danny Hawkins, Gail Russell as Gilly Johnson, Ethel Barrymore as Grandma, Allyn Joslyn as Clem Otis, Rex Ingram as Mose Johnson, Harry Morgan as Billy Scripture, Lloyd Bridges as Jerry Sykes, Harry Carey, Jr. as Jimmy Biff, and Irving Bacon as Judd Jenkins.

Herbert J. Yates, head of Republic Pictures, recognized that viewers tastes had changed post World War II and he needed to change, too. The market for B-Westerns, action films, and comedies was waning. Yates decided to mount some A-cost productions. He hired the talented Frank Borzage to direct and Moonrise was the most expensive movie made by Republic up to that time. John L. Russell's black-and-white cinematography is fine as is Harry Keller's editing. The movie has an extraordinary opening montage.  As some critics have pointed out, the film's formal, experimental blend of neo-Expressionism and rural lyricism anticipates Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter, but unlike Laughton's film, Moonrise strangely retains Borzage's sense of romanticism and transcendence. Composer William Lava, known for his work in the action genre, rose to the occasion here, delivering an inspired score more often associated with Max Steiner.

Rex Ingram's strong performance as Mose Johnson transcends stereotype; though all-wise, he is also a lonely, somewhat embittered character, who says he has "resigned from the human race," and who addresses his hunting dogs as "Mister," because, "There's not enough dignity in the world."

"A Blues Story" Scene from Moonrise




Moonrise (1948) - Entire Film





Let My People Live (1938)

I found this short film starring Rex Ingram at the Internet Archive. I found it interesting and thought you might, too.



This film courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

DIRECTOR: Edgar Ulmer. SPONSOR: The National Tuberculosis Association. PRODUCTION: Motion Picture Service Corporation. CAMERA: William Miller. EDITOR: SOUND: Nelson Minnerly. DRAMATIC ASSISTANTS: S.E. Walker, Edward Lawson. CAST: Rex Ingram, Peggy Howard, Merritt Smith, Erostine Coles, Christine Johnson. Jackson Burnside. Choir - William L. Dawson

Aimed at African Americans and shot at Tuskegee University, this film instructs viewers in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis by focusing on a pair of sympathetic siblings, George and Mary, whose lives are altered by the disease. Starring Rex Ingram as Dr. Gordon, the film suggests that organized religion is an important defensive location in this particular community, and warns of the dangers of the previous generation's superstitions and its fear of medicine. The Health Department prominently featured the film at the 1939 World's Fair. Directed by Edgar Ulmer.

Films Featuring Rex Ingram During TCM's Summer Under the Stars Salute August 11, 2015

Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955) - D: Harold Schuster. Gordon Scott, Vera Miles, Peter Van Eyck, Jack Elam, Rex Ingram. Scott's debut as Tarzan is a competent, if unexciting, outing focusing on his battle with evil hunter Elam who tries to butcher half the animal kingdom.

Watusi (1959) - D: Kurt Neumann. George Montgomery, Taina Elg, David Farrar, Rex Ingram, Dan Seymour. MGM fabricated a sequel to King Solomon's Mines to utilize leftover footage from its 1950 version of H. Rider Haggard yarn.

Escort West (1959) - D: Francis D. Lyon. Victor Mature, Elaine Stewart, Faith Domergue, Reba Waters, Noah Beery, Leo Gordon, Rex Ingram. Fairly good Western with Confederate soldier and 10-year- old daughter heading West, encountering two women who survived renegade attack and saved Army payroll. CinemaScope.

Talk of the Town, The (1942) - D: George Stevens. Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Cary Grant, Glenda Farrell, Edgar Buchanan, Charles Dingle, Rex Ingram, Emma Dunn, Tom Tyler, Lloyd Bridges. Intelligent comedy with brilliant cast; fugitive Grant hides out with unsuspecting professor Colman and landlady Arthur, and tries to convince legal-minded Colman there's a human side to all laws. Splendid film written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman.

God's Little Acre (1958) - D: Anthony Mann. Robert Ryan, Tina Louise, Aldo Ray, Buddy Hackett, Jack Lord, Fay Spain, Michael Landon, Vic Morrow, Rex Ingram. Picaresque Americana from Erskine Caldwell's best-selling book about a lusty, eccentric Georgia family. Amusing, passionate, and highly charged; quite sexy for its time. Some censored moments were restored years after its original release. Wonderful score by Elmer Bernstein.

Thousand and One Nights, A (1945) - D: Alfred E. Green. Cornel Wilde, Evelyn Keyes, Phil Silvers, Adele Jergens, Dusty Anderson, Dennis Hoey, Rex Ingram. Wilde is a genial, singing Aladdin in this slice of Technicolor escapism, with Silvers as his very contemporary sidekick. Keyes is fun as the impish genie who emerges from a magic lamp. Ingram (who played the genie in The Thief Of Bagdad) has a throwaway role here as a giant. Look fast for Shelley Winters.

Rex Ingram as Djinn (Genie) in the 1940's The Thief of Bagdad

Thief of Bagdad, The (1940) - D: Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Michael Powell. Sabu, John Justin, June Duprez, Conrad Veidt, Rex Ingram, Miles Malleson, Mary Morris. Remarkable fantasy of native boy Sabu outdoing evil magician Veidt in Arabian Nights fable with incredible Oscar-winning Technicolor photography by Georges Perinal and Osmond Borradaile, special effects, and art direction. Ingram gives splendid performance as a genie; vivid score by Miklos Rozsa.



Rex Ingram as Djinn (Genie) comes out of his bottle in this clip which also features Sabu. Larry Butler invented the first proper chroma key process for the special effects scenes in this film, a variation on the existing traveling matte process. Rex Ingram performed his role in front of a blue screen.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The (1939) - D: Richard Thorpe. Mickey Rooney, Walter Connolly, William Frawley, Rex Ingram, Lynne Carver. Subdued Rooney fine, Ingram excellent as Huck and Jim in classic Mark Twain tale of early 19th-century America; Connolly and Frawley are amusing as riverboat con-artists. Also shown in computer-colored version.

Green Pastures, The (1936) - D: William Keighley, Marc Connelly. Rex Ingram, Oscar Polk, Eddie Anderson, Frank Wilson, George Reed, Abraham Gleaves, Myrtle Anderson. All-black cast in Marc Connelly fable of life in heaven, and biblical stories which give more meaning to Adam, Noah, and Moses than many so-called biblical films. Ingram is fine as "De Lawd."

Shocking Trailer for The Green Pastures (1936)

Check out how Hollywood (Warner Brothers) promoted a movie with an all-black cast in 1936 without ever showing an African American face or naming the stars of the movie. The trailer for this film is shameful but very much a sign of its time.



Cabin in the Sky (1943) - D: Vincente Minnelli. Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, the Hall Johnson Choir. Stellar black cast in winning (if somewhat racist) musical fable about forces of good and evil vying for the soul of Little Joe (Anderson). John Bubbles' dancing, Waters singing "Happiness is a Thing Called Joe" (written for the film) among musical highlights. First feature for Minnelli (who, with Waters and Ingram, came from the Broadway production).

Sahara (1943) - D: Zoltan Korda. Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges, Rex Ingram, Richard Nugent, Dan Duryea, Kurt Kreuger. Excellent actioner of British-American unit stranded in Sahara desert in the path of Nazi infantry; Bogie's the sergeant, with fine support by Naish and Ingram. Based on the 1937 Russian film The Thirteen (and reminiscent of The Lost Patrol); also made as Nine Men and Last of the Comanches; imitated many other times. Remade for cable-TV in 1995 with James Belushi.

Anna Lucasta (1958) - D: Arnold Laven. Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis, Jr, Frederick O'Neal, Henry Scott, Rex Ingram. Tepid remake of Philip Yordan's play about a prostitute who tries to leave her past behind. Kitt doesn't so much act as pose, but Ingram is excellent as her father.

Your Cheatin' Heart (1964) - D: Gene Nelson. George Hamilton, Susan Oliver, Red Buttons, Rex Ingram. Legendary country-western singer Hank Williams uses alcohol to deal with the pressures of fame.