Category: Interesting Stories

Telling the story of millionaire socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert), who falls for a raffish newspaper reporter named Peter Warne (Clark Gable), Frank Capra’s screwball romantic comedy It Happened One Night was one of the most successful movies of the 1930s. Now considered one of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s greatest films, here are some […]

King Kong was the first film in box office history to be re-released. The original 1933 movie proved so popular that RKO decided to maximize on its success and release it again five years later, adding to its box office gross takings, and amazing audiences a second time around with its groundbreaking special effects. When […]

In 1929, while filming Hell’s Angels—an early silent epic based on the events of the First World War—Hollywood starlet Jean Harlow met a 42-year-old MGM writer, producer, and director named Paul Bern. On Bern’s recommendation, Harlow was taken on by MGM on her 21st birthday in 1932, on an impressive $30,000 contract. But by then, […]

Clark Gable and Joan Crawford’s steamy affair wasn’t the only such scandal in the early days of Hollywood. Here are some more of the movies’ most famous on- and off-screen pairings. DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS AND MARY PICKFORD Douglas Fairbanks was one of the most popular stars of the silent era, while Oscar-winner Mary Pickford was the […]

The on-again-off-again relationship between Joan Crawford and Clark Gable reportedly lasted more than 20 years and is one of the most famous affairs in Hollywood history. Although nothing long-lasting ever came from the romance, the rumors surrounding the pair’s off-set relationship captivated audiences in the 1930s and 40s. It helped make them some of the […]

Off the set and out of character, Hollywood legend Lon Chaney was a handsome and effortlessly charming man, with a broad chin, jet black hair, and debonair style. On set and in the early days of the movies, he was often barely recognizable—and utterly, utterly terrifying. As well as being an actor, writer, and director, […]

Filmmaker Thomas H. Ince was one of the true pioneers of the early cinema. As a scriptwriter, actor, producer, and director, he was involved in as many as 800 silent pictures and became known as the “Father of the Western” for his work on many early Wild West pictures. He was the first movie mogul […]

Known for his larger-than-life comic roles in early Keystone movies, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle was—quite literally—one of the silent era’s biggest stars. At one point, the comically rotund actor was commanding a fee of $1,000 per day, and in 1918 he signed an unprecedented $3 million multi-picture contract with Paramount Studios (equivalent to more than twelve […]

Even in the silent era, Hollywood had its fair share of scandals, but few were more scandalous than that of one of cinema’s first great power couples, Jack Pickford and Olive Thomas. The younger brother of the silent movie starlet Mary Pickford, Jack was a promising young star who had cultivated a “boy next door” […]

In a 70-year career, Charlie Chaplin appeared in both silent and talking pictures—in both comic and dramatic roles—and was as prolific off the screen as he was on. As well as starring in all his movies, he also wrote, directed, produced, and even composed the music for many of them. He even found the time […]