Celebrate the holidays classic movie clips

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
with Classic Movies

Georges Méliès: The Christmas Angel (1904)


Santa shows up early with My Favorite Wife, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Gail Patrick; Celebrate nontraditional Christmas movies

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Desk Set

Cocktail Recipes film star ideas named drinks 1930s

Cocktail Party Vintage Hollywood Style Recipes

"The Garbo cocktail will make you act like a star? One of Hollywood's little

Bing Crosby
likes the
Bogey best

worries just now is that bartenders, without permission, are naming innumerable drinks for motion picture stars. 

"The Garbo cocktail for illustration has a dash of Swedish bitters in it and six of them would make anybody act, but Garbo never even saw one. There is a Gable cocktail but the suggestion that Gable really should be on the house probably will result in its fadeout. Wallace Beery seems the only big star who is safe for no one will consider putting out a Beery cocktail." -- March 1936

Rosalind Russell supplied the recipe for the Rosalind Russell to Lucius Beebe for his Stork Club Bar Book (Classic Cocktail Books series), a volume that also advertises the Ralph Bellamy Scotch Sour. 

Somehow vintage cocktails, those seen in our favorite films and the ones however they came to be, named for favorite film movie stars can be fun to make, serve and of course to drink.

Have you ordered a champagne cocktail after seeing them in An Affair to Remember? Tried a Gibson after that romantic train ride in North by Northwest? 

Some of these will give you an idea of how times have changed or stayed the same. A few may be less than politically correct. Retro drinks to use if you're planning an event, a movie party or the next time the family gets together. Toast one another over the 'net as you hate a Twitter party while a bunch of you watch movies together virtually.


The Stars Suggest Recipes for Cocktails & Drinks

Norma Shearer's favorite is a frappe consisting of one part cognac and one part grapefruit juice and sugar to suit your taste.

Stuart Erwin and Jane Collyer have a drink they call an Avenue A.
Two-thirds bourbon and one-third vermouth. Shake well and put on ice until thoroughly chilled. Add a sprig of mint.

"'The Upsy-Down cocktail has the potency of a Clara Bow kiss,' promises Richard Arlen. Probably you have never tasted a Bow kiss, but perhaps you have kicked a mule. The effects are the same. Dick's favorite mixture is thus concocted.
 
"'Take the juice of one lemon and disguise in four hookers (a hooker is a small glass about two inches tall) of Scotch whiskey. Add four teaspoonfuls of powdered sugar and one egg. Season with  two dashes of orange bitters. 

"'This should make enough for four people' said Arlen. 'Unless they're college students, in which case you'll only have enough for two. I mixed this for four Hollywood yes-men - and they went right out and said No to Cecil B. DeMille.'"

Clara Bow and Richard Arlen co-starred in Wings, the film that won the first ever Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Picture at the first Academy Awards, 1927.

Sherry Flip; They say Edward G Robinson likes this 
"His friends call it the Little Giant-Cracker Cocktail for Eddie's Benefit.
Take one-half jigger of imported sherry and pour into shaker.
Add one whole egg. (No, not the shell darlings.) Anyway, add one whole egg and one-half tablespoon powdered sugar and a liberal dash of rum. Pour into mixer with fine ice and shake until creamed. Serve in a cocktail glass and decorate the top with nutmeg."
 
The Bogey Cocktail, a favorite of Bing Crosby
Not named for Humphrey Bogart though. It was created when Crosby "entered a motion picture golf tournament." Good old Nineteenth hole, something to follow your game.

"'For each drink served in a ten-oz glass take two jiggers of gin, one part of lemon juice and a spoonful of powdered sugar. Fill the glass with cracked ice then add champagne until the glass is full.
 
"'No shaking, just stir,' says Bing. 'I guarantee this one will make you croon.'" 

The Morning Call
Use a tall shell glass, half filled with shaved ice. Add one-half wine glass of absinthe, one-half wine glass of lemon juice and one-half wine glass of Maraschino. Fill with seltzer water and stir.
"There are several morning cocktails. Here's a neat little number named The morning Call and prescribed by Grant Withers. It's a sure cure for those morning blues." - 1934

Joan Bennett prefers a good old Martini dressed up with a dash of absinthe and served in a glass with both lemon and orange peel.

There are drinks named for the original screen sex symbol, Rudolph Valentino. Included is the Blood and Sand cocktail named for one of his most famous films.
INGREDIENTS
2 oz. blended scotch, chilled
1 oz. Cherry Heering liqueur/Cherry Brandy
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice
1 maraschino cherry, orange or lemon slice garnish
Add ice then shake, strain into 8 oz chilled glass

A fave of Fred MacMurray, suggested 1935
Bridge Punch
"For one serving, the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cubes of ice, pint of ginger ale in a man-sized glass
Float a glass of claret on top and add some fruit"
Guess it's good for when you're playing cards?

Planter's Punch, specialty of The Brown Derby Restaurant
Like fruity drinks? This is made with a jigger of brandy, juice of three limes, a dash of grenadine and Jamaica rum floated on top. Served in a tall glass filled with shaved ice and garnished with cherries and a slice of orange.



Make a layered drink the old fashioned way, with your bar spoon

John Taffer, host of Bar Rescue demonstrated the Layered Cocktail on the Rachael Ray Show  "This Red-and-Green-Layered Cocktail Is Perfect for Christmas" Make drinks that wow the guests at your next party. Find the Rainbow cocktail layering tool below. There is also the VacuVin Cocktail Layering Tool and the good old Black and Tan Beer Layering Tool.

Claudette Colbert's favorite is a Parisian Pousse-café (a layered drink) made in a wine glass with two-fifths curacao, two-fifths Kirschwasser and one-fifth Chartreuse. These liquids should be floated one on top of the other. Ah, somewhere over the rainbow.... 

This and the Wicked Witch seem ideal for your next Wizard of Oz party, especially if you get some of those round ice cubes -- you can see Auntie Em inside. Some non-alcoholic versions are fine for kids -- make them into ice cubes. There are layered coffee latte versions.

Some other layered or stacked drinks include the
B-52
Jellyfish
Angel's Kiss
Wicked Witch
Nuclear Rainbow
Tequila Sunrise cocktail

This reminds me of those Astro pop lollipops they had when I was a kid. Candy Cafe has those and lots of other nostalgic candies.

Final Touch Glass Rainbow Cocktail Layering Tool

Constance Bennett offers the Brandy Blazer:
One lump of sugar one piece of orange peel,
One piece of lemon peel and one wine glass of brandy. 
Serve in a small thick glass, light with a match and allow to burn for 30 seconds stirring it all the while. How's that for a fancy mixed drink recipe.

Christmas 1947, Dana Andrews, his wife and kids are on a fishing trip. 
"Stevie, [his wife] explains wants to catch a barracuda to put in his Christmas stocking. He's got it figured out that if he gives Santa Claus such an elegant fish he'll get more presents.

"Later, much later, when the dishes are washed, Dana Andrews takes off for the Isthmus in the shore boat just to prowl around and maybe drop in at the bar for a Horse's Neck (ginger ale, soda and spiral lemon peel)."

A quick search for the Horse's Neck and I find that like many drinks it can be a nonalcoholic virgin drink or mocktail as described above or it can be made with bourbon or brandy, with a kick. 

The Horse's Neck cocktail is ordered in the 1935 Fred Astaire movie Top Hat, the 1914 Charlie Chaplin silent film Caught in a Cabaret, 1934 Lloyd Corrigan movie By Your Leave and the 1942 ZaSu Pitts' comedy, So's Your Aunt Emma!

Movie stars' Bars After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933:


Joan Crawford and several other stars are now adding wings to their house to make room for bars. A sip or at most two is all that Joan ever takes but her friends will be entertained lavishly in this manner to which they are accustomed. Her barroom will be paneled in natural knotted wood and equipped completely even to full barrels of beer on tap." .... One Christmas Joan Crawford redid an entire room for use by her husband, Franchot Tone.


Prohibition was repealed December 5, 1933. Many people had a Repeal Party
 
"It was a bar if you remember that Mary Pickford prepared as a Christmas surprise present for Douglas Fairbanks only little more than a year ago. When he returned from abroad to spend the holidays with Mary the room was sealed in cellophane and marked 'Not to be opened until Christmas.' A large party attended the opening festivities, the last large party that Mary and Doug gave before their separation.

"In Carole Lombard's newly completed home the bar is done in Scotch plaid with a small upright piano finished in plaid to match. 

At Joan Bennett's and Gene Markey's the bar and barroom are amusingly done in green and white, very modern." Didn't anyone have a basement bar back then? If so it wasn't in this article.

"Clark Gable the ol' mechanical wizard has a gadget that
helps him mix his drinks."
Final Touch 6 Bottle Bar Caddy Liquor Dispenser

"At Ruth Chatteron's and George Brent's the bar has been built into an over-sized closet off the second-floor den. It is all mahogany, delicately carved and a thing of beauty in its own right. Ruth gives only small parties and has no use for a large bar.

"Bing Crosby's bar looks like a music store, with its walls papered with the covers of some of the songs he's introduced. Peggy Shannon and Allan Davis built theirs right on the edge of the swimming pool flanked by dressing rooms and glass-enclosed for comfort on cooler evenings. You can swim to your drinks - and do!"


Jean Arthur, John Wayne A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) - Cactus Milk
Remember to drink responsibly, as they say

Recipes for Cocktails & Drinks named after movie stars

Mary Pickford Cocktail:
Light rum, pineapple juice, grenadine and maraschino cherry juice shaken with ice. Served in a cocktail glass

Douglas Fairbanks:
A modified martini. Plymouth gin, French vermouth. Garnish with both orange and lemon peel.

The Tramp aka The Charlie Chaplin
[Recipes differ 1 ounce each vs ¾ ounce each]
¾ ounce Broker's London dry gin
¾ ounce Plymouth sloe gin
¾ ounce Marie Brizard Apry apricot liqueur
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
It is supposed to be pretty tart. One site suggested adding dry vermouth. 
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

An article in Slate said, that the Charlie Chaplin cocktail should be "adjusted if it is to please a palate conditioned by Modern Times," (italics added by me.) Modern Times is one of Charles Chaplin's most famous films.



Clive Brook needs to go shopping, but he's been creative in decorating his bar

Do you have a drink shaker? They come in all different shapes and sizes. 

The Barware Styles® Classic, Elegant Stainless Steel 3-Piece Martini and

Cocktail Shaker Set is a cool style. Easy to clean and it's safe to use. It gets high ratings, good comments from buyers. Great price...
Included: Free Jigger, eBook.
Not Included: Strainer, Bar Spoon/Masher or Wooden Muddler for crushing fruits, etc.

Some recipes call for specific brands. Many of the recipes can be found in slightly different versions in different places. Use the finest ingredients that you can afford, whatever is right for your budget and your event.

Next, it may not be the first drink named after a celebrity, but it may be the first one you ever had. A mocktail, it's nonalcoholic.

The Shirley Temple
3 ounces lemon-lime soda
3 ounces ginger ale
Dash grenadine
Maraschino cherry for garnish

The Roy Rogers is very similar to The Shirley Temple. You substitute cola for the lemon-lime soda and ginger ale. 

The Ginger Rogers
1 ounce dry gin, 1 ounce dry vermouth, 1 ounce apricot brandy, 4 dashes lemon juice. Pour into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Will Rogers
Gin, dry vermouth, orange juice and a few dashes of curacao. 

Not necessarily old-school far as I know but The Royal Resort Hotel in Las Vegas has The Barrymore Restaurant and it offers, steady now .... The Barrymore cocktail. They say it is "a spin on the Manhattan, combining Gentleman Jack, blood orange liqueur, and orange marmalade with a splash of vermouth." 

Looks like a pretty cool place with a vintage Vegas atmosphere. Maybe the ghosts of Ethel, Lionel or John Barrymore will chat or even party with you?

The Bob Hope cocktail
Offered in 1962 Paramount Studio's commissary
It consisted of tomato juice, yogurt, a dash of steak sauce topped off by strawberries.  Interesting.

Where are the cocktails named for Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre? 


Nick Charles gives a lesson in shaking your martini, a different rhythm for every shake
William Powell, Myrna Loy, The Thin Man

The Jean Harlow:
Light rum, shaken with sweet vermouth. Served with a lemon peel garnish. 


How to serve them:

If you choose to drink out of a slipper or stiletto, you can say you're partying in the style of the flappers of the 1920s.

"Never serve sweet cocktails before dinner," says Claudette Colbert. "Cocktails are an appetizer and should not dull appreciation of the meal to follow. 

"We were compelled to disguise some pretty horrible stuff with syrups during Prohibition. Now that is no longer necessary, why not give the cocktail its rightful function again?"


Temperature of Wine, more

"Be careful of the temperatures of the wines you serve," is Loretta Young's warning. "Ice only Rhine wine and champagne. White wines should be merely chilled. Fifteen degrees below room temperature is correct. Red wines should be at exactly room temperature. 

"But never warm any wine too suddenly. It loses its bouquet. Just place the bottle in the dining room several hours before you need it and let it be warmed gradually." Film stars aren't the only ones with good legs. Wine can have 'legs, tears or curtains,' just some of the jargon used by lovers of the grape.

How About Ice? Anyone thinking Frozen?

Kikkerland Gentleman's Silicone Ice Cube Tray
Thinking Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton
or Breaking Bad?
Cool sunglasses and Bow Ties are hot

Assortment of Round Ice Cube Trays and Molds 
There are round ice ball molds, too. Jon Taffer and other bar specialists
suggest round ice cubes may be best for using in drinks. They tend to be more clear. Add something like berries? Your guests may have never seen ice cube balls or spheres.
They often melt more slowly, too.
What size do you need?
Will you use them for anything besides ice cubes? Some you can use for desserts for instance.

"Never put ice in a glass with any liquor except for highballs, rickies and mixed drinks." This is advice from Gloria Stuart. "The one cordial exception if creme-de-menthe, into which a bit of ice should be dropped."


Irene Dunne suggests you consider having beer at your next party

 

Star Wars: Darth Vader Bottle Opener

Final suggestions... 

"Never fill a wine glass to the brim," Peggy Shannon will tell you. "Part of the function of the glass is to hold the bouquet of the wine and thereby dispense enjoyment of the odor as well as its flavor. Two-thirds full is correct."

"It is criminal to gulp down good wine," John Miljan says. "You might as well swallow your food without chewing it. Wine should be sipped if for no other reason than as a consideration to the host."


Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as Jeeves and Wooster. Do you have a good recipe for a hangover remedy?

The New Drinking Code; OK to say 'I Don't Drink'

"At a mixed wine dinner, you must never serve more than two glasses with any course." This from Hedda Hopper. "You are not striving for the stupefaction of your guests; you are merely garnishing your food.

Wine is a palatable addition to a good meal but it cannot fully disguise a bad one no matter how much liquor you serve."

The repeal of Prohibition has had far-reaching effects. For one thing over-indulgence is no longer smart. If you don't like it, stay away from it. No stigma is attached these days to the simple statement, 'I don't drink.' 

"You may be surprised at the names appearing on the Hollywood list of avowed drys. Girls such as Lois Wilson might be expected, when you think of her screen roles. But the roster also includes such names as Mae West, George Raft, Jeanette MacDonald, Estelle Taylor and Rita LeRoy all of whom if you judge by their screen characterizations would go in for the intoxicating things in life."

 



Water sommelier; Bottled Water with a Difference

Many people would probably think that water is all the same, but one Berlin connoisseur has a different opinion. Water sommelier Jerk Martin Riese co-authored a book on the subject. Die Welt des Wassers He sampled various bottled waters for euromaxx. Not sure if the book is available in English or other languages.


Modern Times Charlie Chaplin (The Criterion Collection) Stream instantly or purchase the film on DVD


Eat Drink Movie Meals Eat along with your favorite film characters - Dinner and a Movie at Home  Making movie night special: Meal, Snack Ideas, Video Clips; Some drinks

The Frog and Blue Peach, Pub Naming Ideas

Holiday Menus: Different Hollywood Stars celebrated with varying styles of drink, if you party with May Robson, it's bring your own coffee, tea, lemonade or ginger ale. But you still get jollification.


Holiday Gift Guides, By Person, Price, Popular Brands, Type of prodct, monogram, funny, etc. Retro/Contemporary, Customize

"There's Still Time: Custom Gifts by Christmas" Holiday Shipping Deadlines: When will my gifts arrive? Customize if ordered today from Zazzle. Helpful! By type of item, For Her, Him, Posters, Tablet Cases, Shirts, Gifts :: By department and then by each item

DIY Create a Unique Zazzle Drinkware Gift Item Mug 
Personalize coffee mugs beer steins, 2 color combos and frosted mugs Zazzle 

Hollywood Vintage Louise Brooks Flasks  
See additional hip flasks

Notes: These recipes originally came from a variety of sources, have been merged into this list.
Anything within quotes is as it was in articles; commentary, italics, etc.  

** Please do drink responsibly, prepare to spend the night and/or call a taxi. Many cabs, etc offer free service this time of year. There was an accident in our neighborhood just last evening. It isn't worth hurting yourself or anyone else.

Sources The Milwaukee Journal, March 27, 1936 
Movie Classic 1934 
New Movie Magazine 1935 
Slate Magazine online, About.com, flickr

Shop, Wrap with Old Hollywood Stars

They're getting ready for Christmas

Claire Windsor suggests
we shop early for Christmas

"The first local indication that the big day is nigh is the physical change in Hollywood Blvd. From La Brea to Vine on either side of the street each block is decorated with six huge lighted Christmas trees. 

"From December tenth through January first the famous street is not known as Hollywood Blvd. To everyone in southern California it is known as Santa Claus Lane." 

"The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is going to spend over twenty thousand dollars in decorating the streets alone. They are having specially designed Christmas trees constructed to fit around the electroliers on Hollywood Boulevard. These will make the boulevard look like one long row of old fashioned Christmas trees with a golden glow in their center." 

It's the late 1920s and early-mid 1930s. What is (or would have been) on your shopping list?

Christmas Shopping with stars from Hollywood's Golden Age: 

"I believe it is this hectic last-minute rush that is responsible for so many of the useless presents from which we all suffer at this season of the year! 

"A gift that is not wanted and that is no earthly good to the recipient is worse than no gift at all because after all, it is the thought behind that matters and it is a poor compliment to a friend if we don't take the trouble to find out what he or she would most appreciate." ...

"Pretty blouses and undies always make acceptable gifts and here the individual tastes of those who are to receive them should be carefully studied. Favorite colours should be remembered as well as the style of the garment. There is no sense in giving a pair of pyjamas however pretty to the girl who you know prefers to wear a nightie."
-- Ruth Roland, 1925

Example of an unfortunate gift: The previous tenants who lived at the home of Madge Evans had left a young alligator in the pool. "It was cute and we thought it an added attraction, but presently it began to grow and we had a terrible time getting it out of the pool. I lost my enthusiasm for it when it threatened to bite the dogs. I have four dogs, you know."

"Shirley Temple is doing her shopping by telephone this year. Last year she and her mother ventured out on one trip because she longed to see Santa Claus. As soon as she entered the toy dept of the store there was a shout from a group of youngsters who noticed her and Santa was forgotten. 

"Shirley had to get down behind a counter until the excitement died down."  Maybe Santa will visit the studio sometime for the children who work in the movies? (1937)

The average star sends out anywhere from 500 to 1,500 Christmas cards. They prepare their lists carefully. They forget no one on the set or the lot whom they feel should be remembered. Hairdressers, cameramen, police, prop men, grips, electricians, the man who parks their motor car, the gate man, publicity boys, all receive appropriate gifts. 

Hollywood has become far more practical minded in the past few years. Celebrities also make donations to charitable causes particularly at Christmastime.

Jean Harlow has already presented Powell with a set of handkerchiefs
Here they're on the set of Libeled Lady

Jean Harlow, now a brownette, has all her personal gifts made to order from her own design. Jean is giving Bill Powell a silk scarf on which she has embroidered his initials. 

In the movie Desk Set, Katharine Hepburn's character buys a bathrobe and embroiders her boyfriend's initials on it. Norma Shearer will make the rounds of several of the smaller shops. Sometimes custom items take a little longer. Regardless when ordering anything, check to see what information they need and when it's supposed to be ready.

Joan Crawford will go to a department store and take a private room. With a salesgirl, the same one now for four years, she will go over a previously made list. Different varieties of articles Joan has listed will be assembled, from which Joan makes her choice.

Carmel Myers giving evening bags as gifts in 1925

In 1936 lucky Dick Powell and Joan Blondell knew somebody connected with one of the big department stores. They spent some time on a pre-Christmas Sunday as the store's only customers.

"Sometimes the stars prefer to shop in a group. Madge Evans and Una Merkel usually shop together. Promise not to tell anyone, but this year, Una is giving handbags and fitted cosmetic cases while Madge is giving quilted chiffon velvet bed jackets which she brought back from her from a recent trip to London."

A magazine told a story of some ladies who followed actress Irene Dunne all around a department store and bought all the clothing that she bought. The reporter suggested that they would be disappointed to find that Miss Dunne wasn't buying things for herself but for "a servant's birthday." 

This year Wallace Beery will surprise little Carol Ann Beery with a collection of dolls, one from almost every country in the world which Wally collected himself on his recent trip to Europe. Robert Montgomery is giving some gifts that he purchased while traveling in the East. His wife is giving compacts, scarves and pocketbooks. When this article was written, Elizabeth Montgomery was three years old.

Garbo herself was seen buying a man's wristwatch and a dozen necklaces. No one asked who the wristwatch was for. John Barrymore is looking a new motor cars. Stuart Erwin is also shopping for a car to surprise his wife, June Collyer.

Frederic March ordered a combination repeating gramophone and radio.
Warner Baxter a radio for his mother. Who would buy an iPad mini or tablet this year?

Uncle Bernie shows his wares to Vera-Ellen and Johnny McKee.
Ben Gage and Esther Williams pause at the famous orangeade falls.

Christmas 1949, Uncle Bernie's Toy Menagerie , a toy store in Beverly Hills, one that was popular with the Hollywood set, closed its doors one December evening for a party of 'grown up kids.' 

The guest list included Esther Williams and Ben Gage, Larry Parks and Betty Garrett, John Ireland and Joanne Dru, Vera-Ellan and Johnny McKee, Candy and Mel Torme, Barbara and Marshall Thompson, Nancy Davis and Peter Thompson, Glenn Denning, Phyllis and Don Taylor and the Churchills. They were there to do some Christmas shopping and they played with the toys themselves.

"William Powell buys bath things until you figure he must be about the cleanest man on earth. After experimenting with several back brushes he finds one with a long handle that reaches all points North and South. He takes it and puts an army of pine soap and shaving necessities. About fifty dollars is invested here to keep the Powell chassis pure, but pure!" Are any of these bath items Christmas gifts? 
-- November 1935

Shopping for Party Food
We're visiting Young's Market in Los Angeles. William Powell has big parties and he's shopping for one now. He prefers to select the meat for his table whenever he can and he likes a good thick steak. He went in a huddle with the butcher. 

Powell "inspected several cuts with a shrewd eye and decided on some porterhouse, well-hung and rimmed with just the right amount of fat. The butcher has a wholesome respect for Bill's judgment." This is apparently the best steak in the market. He will also buy sauces, wines and a lot of candy for the party and the season as a whole. 

Carl Brisson is buying Swedish Aalborg Akavit and Kirsebaer Liqueur. (Carl

Apple MacBook Air
MD760LL/B 13.3-Inch Laptop
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Brisson's son Frederick was the husband of actress Rosalind Russell.) Katharine Hepburn is at the deli counter. Gary Cooper used to shop himself before he was married. Ralph Bellamy is buying champagne.

Louise Fazenda and Zasu Pitts have arrived to do some shopping together! Joan Crawford likes brandied and spiced fruits. The Selznicks like their caviar, as does Merle Oberon. Ronald Colman likes nuts, Macadamia nuts. 

Sally Eilers doesn't deny that she's stopped by at lunchtime and is eating the free samples but she'll buy what she likes. Ginger Rogers gets fancy cookies and crackers also green fig marmalade. 

Madge Evans is buying cheese. Mrs. Harold Lloyd buys a large quantity of Roquefort cheese for her family. 

Cecil B. DeMille may go shopping himself and head straight for the fancy sausage department. "He sweeps a lavish hand down the showcase and says 'I'll take some of that.'" 

Louis B. Mayer has a standing order for kippered barracuda and Eastern smoked whitefish which is delivered to him every week at the studio. The best candy customers are Myrna Loy, Katharine Hepburn, Mrs. Pat O'Brien and Zasu Pitts.

A late 1936 Motion Picture interviews Powell and Harlow. The article also mentions his penchant for parties and gives a clue as to why people, including local merchants would like like William Powell.

"At MGM that lot of well-liked regular guy stars, Bill is one of the best liked of all. Everyone from the biggest big shot of all down to the newest and humblest worker is his pal. They don't call him Mr. Powell they call him Bill. Always at about 4 in the afternoon Bill stands treat on his stage. 

"He sees to it that candies, peanuts, soda pop and sandwiches, hamburgers with onions, cold beer and other pick-me-ups are brought onto the set. Everybody cuts in, Bill stands the treat. It's a time-honored custom and nobody'd think of cutting in on Bill's privilege of paying for the works. Then at the close of every picture, Bill throws a big stage party. He's arranged with a big-time caterer to move onto the stage as soon as the director yells the final, 'Cut!'"

The Christmas Tree

Bette Davis telegraphed a request for a tree to be cut from her 110-acre estate on Sugar Hill which she purchased as a summer home. The 10-foot New Hampshire fir tree, wrapped in burlap started its long rail journey across the country December 8, 1939 bound for Miss Davis' Los Angeles Home.


At Harold Lloyd's house there is a special Christmas custom. The tree which little Gloria has each year is a live one in a box. After Christmas each year the decorations are removed and the tree replanted until today she has living trees as memories of each Christmas.
This from a 1930 newspaper article. Gloria Lloyd Roberts was born on May 22, 1924 Feb. 10, 2012 at the age of 87.
 
Feeling homesick this holiday? Greta Garbo will celebrate with a little bit of Sweden having had her Christmas tree from the old country shipped from there. Miriam Jordan has had her mother ship her plum pudding from England. 

Fans had some great opportunities in the old days, too. In 1928 magazines had lots of contests. Write an essay and win Charlie Chaplin's camera, Mary Pickford's desk set, John Gilbert's wristwatch or Greta Garbo's negligee.  

"The Garbo boudoir gown designed by Gilbert Adrian is of Nile green transparent velvet. The gown fastens in the front with a bow of self material, a wrap around drape effect. An exaggeration of the dolman sleeve is graceful." 

Here's the topic for the 1928 Garbo essay: Is an actress' popularity affected favorably or unfavorably by tragic roles? Why? Is an actress at the mercy of the character she plays or does the personality of the player measure her popularity?




Jack Benny goes Christmas shopping

Wrapping with the stars, 1937:

Joan Crawford has chosen a color scheme of blue and silver. Ginger Rogers has selected a reddish gold paper to match her hair.

Myrna Loy's is a radiant blue star studded with blue and white cellophane ribbon to bind it.

Gary Cooper will send out his presents wrapped in paper gay with hunting scenes. Ronald Colman has selected English snow scenes.

Silky paper printed with the music of famous old Christmas carols will wrap Jeanette MacDonald's gifts.

Madge Evans is planning a doggy Christmas, she has had her gift wrappings stamped with the pictures of her four pets two Scotties and two Pekingese. The Jack Oakies, Charlie Ruggles and Alice Brady all dog lovers are working out the same idea.

Add your own photos, artwork to gift wrap, supplies
Christmas Dog Bone Pattern (above) Add Photos Wrapping Paper  

Grace Moore has chosen pure white. Her packages are covered with white cellophane over white tissue paper and tied with wide white satin ribbon. Into each is tucked her favorite flower a fresh white gardenia. 

"Cover a few pillows with inexpensive bright red sateen and perhaps make a slip cover for one of the chairs in sateen, too," suggests Stephen Goosson Art director aka interior decorator at First National Studios. Some people "wrap" some of their paintings complete with tying a ribbon or adding bows, that is they cover them in wrapping paper at holiday-time. 

A 1925 article suggested gift wrapping an empty box. Fill it with individual favors for each guest and then place that box on the buffet set flanked by lighted candles. Great idea if you aren't planning a sit-down meal and can't leave something at each person's place setting.

Like all of us, stars love their pets. Christmas 1935 or 1936 William Powell had a bracelet made for Jean Harlow with charms that looked like her Persian cats.

Are You Being Served? Christmas in the 1970s

Matinee St Nick 3-D glasses Hollywood Glass Ornament

Christopher Radko Disney Pirates of the Caribbean 2006 Ornament MWT  

Related Pages of Interest:

Bring the Charade to Life, Become Cary or Audrey

Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullavan The Shop Around the Corner 

Shop safely from a trusted retailer with a secure web site. Gifts that may be returned. 

I'll be Re-Gifting, Love (customize), This Season Canvas Bags 
Create your own bags, what will you regift?

Your Own Photo Charm and/or Bracelet 
Find other Photo Charm jewelry

Old Movie Soup Popcorn Ice Cream Ice Cream Snacks Soup Mug
Barrymore, Fairbanks, Theda Bara, Moreno, Movie Vampires, Vamps, Silent Movie icons for soup, popcorn or other snacks; having a party?
Check out Snacking Soup Mugs online at zazzle

Keep Calm and Love Cary (Grant?) Wrapping Paper
Star of the month of December 2014 on TCM by worldcityshirts

Happy Thanksgiving Join the 1930s stars

Hollywood Golden Age Stars enjoy the Holiday

Gobble, Gobble
Mary Pickford &
Douglas Fairbanks
ready for dinner

Where did the stars have their Thanksgiving dinners? Who had to work? Who was a host and who was a guest? What movies were they working on at that time? How did the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade look in the 1930s?

Also find the answers to The Old Hollywood Stars Thanksgiving Menus Quiz, posted on November 12th.

Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks dined at home in Beverly Hills. 

Mary spent part of the day cutting her newest picture and Douglas spent part of it cutting capers in the picture on which he is now at work. 

Pickford's film, Kiki was released in March 1931 while Fairbanks' film Reaching for the Moon came out December 1930.

The Fairbakses plan to spend Christmas at St. Moritz. Mary hates to spend Christmas away from home but Doug is troubled with itching feet again.  

Last year they spent Christmas aboard a steamer somewhere between here and China but at least Mary says they were en route home.


The Taming of the Shrew, scene from a talking picture starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks came out 1929

By the way, on December 5, 1933 the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition will be ratified. Will you attend a Repeal Party?

Meet John Doe: Includes Gary Cooper,
Barbara Stanwyck, James Gleason

James Gleason, his wife Lucille and his son Russell had in Beverly hills the same kind of Thanksgiving  dinner which they always serve: 

Tomato juice cocktail, celery, spiced peaches, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and the chief emphasis on turkey with plenty of boiled onions. 

"All I wanted was turkey and onions," said James. "Why spoil the act with a lot of little program stunts?"

James Gleason is known for both film and television work. He was Lt. Rooney in Arsenic and Old Lace with Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane. 

For his work as Max Corkle in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Gleason received an Academy Award nomination. Later, Gleason appeared on television including several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. 

In Daddy Long Legs, 1919, Mary Pickford
looked scornfully at a prune.
Chances are she would not use them in her stuffing?

Son, Russell Gleason was also an actor. He played Muller in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). Russell Gleason and his wife wife, Cynthia Lindsay, were friends with Boris Karloff. 

Ms. Lindsay, a former Busby Berkeley chorus girl, wrote a biography of Karloff that is still popular today. It's called Dear Boris: The Life of William Henry Pratt a.k.a. Boris Karloff. 



Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 1930s

Richard Arlen and his wife, Jobyna Ralston have just about had dinner on their yacht as it

Jobyna Ralston and Harold Lloyd
For Heaven's Sake

skimmed down toward lower California. 

Harold Lloyd was likely dining with his own family.

Louise Fazenda, married to Warner Brothers' producer Hal B. Wallis, cooked Thanksgiving dinner herself in person. 

She's reputed to be a marvelous cook, "the kind that thinks up intricate stuff and invites ten relatives to eat it."

Did Spencer Tracy dine with Marlene Dietrich?

Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg numbered among those who had to work, to complete her picture even if it is Thanksgiving. They "arranged for slathers of holiday fare nonetheless on the Paramount lot." 

They are most likely working on the movie, Dishonored where Dietrich plays spy Marie Kolverer / X27. Blonde Venus was yet to come.  

Her Dishonored costars include Victor McLaglen and Warner Oland. This was her third talking picture or sound feature film.

Dietrich on holiday

~ That's good pie ~

Southern gal, Mary Brian hosted a party and of course June Collyer and Glenda Farrell were guests. She made her famous eggnog pie. Brian was a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1926. 

She was repeatedly photographed with and reported to be engaged to Cary Grant. Miss Brian and Glenda Farrell appeared in The Blue Moon Murder Case.





Hoping someone very nice will make you coffee this Thanksgiving.

How did their guests feel at dessert-time?
What was served?

Priscilla Dean makes leg of lamb;
Lois Wilson prepares "a big dinner of Nothing at all"

Magazines openly admitted that a certain percentage of the time when articles featured photos of stars cooking, they could have simply been posing with an empty pot or oven.

Though not shown or mentioned in some of the articles above, many of the stars had cooks and other employees who prepared and served the meals.





Ruth Chatterton, Ralph Forbes and William Powell feasted at Clive

Charming Sinners 1929
Chatterton, Powell, Brook

Brook's house. Next Thanksgiving, 1931, Powell will spend with his new wife, actress Carole Lombard. 

You'll remember Clive Brook played Sherlock Holmes three times. In 1932 he will play opposite Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express. 

Charles Farrell said that his mother prepared the only real New England Thanksgiving dinner in Hollywood. 

It was enjoyed in Farrell's Cape Cod house. Other guests were Guinn "Big Boy" Williams and Mary

Buddy Rogers
helps mother with the dishes

Philbin.

Farrell marries actress Virginia Valli on the upcoming Valentine's Day 1931. They remained married until Valli's death from a stroke in September 1968.


Charles Buddy Rogers had been working in New York, but returned to California to spend Thanksgiving. In 1937, Rogers and Mary Pickford would become husband and wife.



Thanksgiving Macy's Parade 1935



Imagine watching the parade in color!


Philadelphia 1942


Answers to the Old Hollywood Stars' Thanksgiving Menus, Quiz 
Some 1930s Thanksgiving menus of the stars

1) Mae Clarke: Menu B

2) Irene Dunne: Menu H

3) The team of Phyllis Fraser, Mary Mason and Dorothy Wilson: Menu A

4) Anita Page: Menu D
 
5) Irene Rich: Menu E

6) May Robson: Menu I
 
7) Charles Ruggles: Menu F [Arline Judge was his sister-in-law]

8) Peggy Shannon Menu J

9) Shirley Temple: Menu G

10) Claire Trevor: Menu C 

In 1945, Alan Ladd said "What's Thanksgiving without chrysanthemums?"

In 1917 fans from Louisville, KY of actress Virginia Pearson sent her a 17 pound turkey.

Virginia Valli

Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Charlie Chaplin, Thomas Edison, Mary Pickford 
How often do you see Fairbanks yawn? Too much turkey and ready for a nap?

Related Books and Pages of Interest: 

Boris Karloff wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving 1950, favorite classic folk songs, sea shanties, riddles; Listen to his old radio show 

Hollywood Hosts & Hostesses, party dress decor menu 1930s Hosting your own party? Consider a making it a buffet 

Dear Boris: The Life of William Henry Pratt a.k.a. Boris Karloff biography by friend, Cynthia Lindsay Russell

Old Hollywood Stars, Your Home - Your Personality, William Haines

Allan Dwan and the Rise and Decline of the Hollywood Studios

Movie night Popcorn pillows, machine wash 

Rudloph Valentino with wife Natacha
Use custom keychains as place settings,
They're are a budget-friendly gift idea, start from scratch with your own photos.
Different styles and sizes are different prices.

Mary Pickford Christmas-themed Key Chains
By Jakestuff Create your own custom photo keychain online

Thanks to sources including
The Milwaukee Sentinel November 1930 and New Movie Magazine 1929 and 1934