From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

From Beneath the Hollywood Sign

If the Golden era of Old Hollywood is your thing, our podcast is for you! If you want TYRONE POWER instead of TOM HARDY, JENNIFER JONES instead of JENNIFER LAWRENCE, or ROBERT MITCHUM rather than ROBERT PATTINSON, then FROM BENEATH THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN is the gin joint for you. Each week, writer and producer STEVE CUBINE and actress and writer NAN MCNAMARA explore, discuss, and dissect the magical, mysterious, amusing, and sometimes bizarre tales of Old Hollywood. So sit back and revisit a time when the pictures were still big and everyone was ready for their close-up.

  1. OCT 6

    “MARJORIE REYNOLDS: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” (056)

    EPISODE 56 - “MARJORIE REYNOLDS: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” - 10/07/2024 Most film fanatics agree that after the Paramount Picture’s holiday classic “Holiday Inn” (1942), actress MARJORIE REYNOLDS, who gave a star-turn as struggling actress Linda Mason who gets a break singing and dancing in the seasonal nightclub run by BING CROSBY, should have been a big star. However, for reasons not quite clear, she didn’t rise into the stratosphere. While she had a very respectable and long career, she just didn’t soar to the top, as expected. As our Star of the Month, we will take a look into Marjorie Reynolds’ life and career and explore our theories on why “Holiday Inn” did not make her a major star.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Christmas In the Movies (2023), by Jeremy Arnold; Whatever Became of…10th Series (1986), by Richard Lamparski; My Heart Belongs (1976), by Mary Martin; Scarlet Fever (1977), by William Pratt (including the collection of Herb Bridges); The Film Lovers Companion (1997), by David Quinlan; Biography of Marjorie Reynolds, July 25, 1942, Paramount Pictures;  “Super Cinderella,” November 1942, by William Lynch value, Silver Screen magazine; “Marjorie’s Horse Comes In,” November 7, 1942, by Kyle Crichton, Collier’s Magazine; Versatility Pays Off for Marjorie Reynolds,” March 10, 1944, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times; “Divorce Plans Discussed by Miss Reynolds,” July 23, 1951, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times; “Marjorie Reynolds to Be Wed to Film Editor,” May 16, 1952, Los Angeles, Times; “Marjorie Reynolds Weds Film Editor,” May 18, 1953, The Sedalia Democrat (Missouri); “Marjorie Reynolds: Sixty Years in the Film Business,” April 1984, by Colin Briggs, Hollywood Studio Magazine; “Marjorie Reynolds, 79, Actress, In Classic Films and on Television,” February 16, 1997, The New York Times; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Holiday Inn (1942), starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, & Virginia Dale; Wine, Women, and Song (1933), starring Lilyan Tashman; Murder In Greenwich Village (1937), starring Richard Arlen & Fay Wray; Tex Rides With The Boy Scouts (1937), starring Tex Ritter; The Overland Express (1938), starring Buck Jones; Western Trails (1938), starring Bob Baker; Six Shootin’ Sheriff (1938), starring Ken Maynard; Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, & Alan Ladd; Dixie (1943), starring Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour; Up In Mabel's Room (1944), starring Dennis O’Keefe & Gail Patrick; Ministry of Fear (1944), starring Ray Milland; Three Is A Family (1944), starring Charles Ruggles & Fay Bainter; Bring On The Girls (1945), starring Veronica Lake & Eddie Bracken; Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), starring Bob Hope & Joan Caulfield; The Time Of Their Lives (1946), starring Bud Abbott & Lou Costello; Meet Me On Broadway (1946), starring Fred Brady & Spring Byington; Heaven Only Knows (1947), Bob Cummings & Brian Donlevy; Badmen of Tombstone (1949), starring Barry Sullivan & Broderick Crawford; That Midnight Kiss (1949), starring Mario Lanza & Kathryn Grayson; The Great Jewel Robber (1950), starring David Brian; Home Town Story (1951), starring Jeffry Lynn, Alan Hale Jr, & Marilyn Monroe; Models, Inc (1952), starring Howard Duff & Coleen Gray; His Kind of Woman (1951), starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, & Vincent Price; The Silent Witness (1962), starring Tristram Coffin & George Kennedy; Pearl (1978), starring Angie Dickinson, Dennis Weaver, & Robert Wagner; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    31 min
  2. SEP 30

    “FAVORITE CLASSIC FILMS OF THE 1950s” (55)

    EPISODE 55 - “Favorite Classic Films of the 1950s ” - 09/30/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** The 1950s was a real transitional decade for classic films. As we got further away from WW2, and the Cold War began to rise up prominently, there was a cynicism across the land that influenced the content of many Hollywood movies. Films took on a grittier, more realistic feel, and the subject matters were darker and more controversial. It was the decade that sparked masterpieces like “Sunset Boulevard,” “All About Eve,” “From Here To Eternity,” “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “ Strangers on a Train,” “Shane,” and “High Noon.” Listen as Steve and Nan talk about some special 1950s films that inspire them. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; NewYorkTimes.com RogerEbert.com Movies Mentioned:  No Man of Her Own (1950), starring Barbara Stanwyck, John Lund, and Richard Denning; In A Lonely Place (1950), starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame; A Place In The Sun (1951), starring Montgomery Cliff, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters; Pick Up On South Street (1953), starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, and Richard Kiley; Witness For the Prosecution (1957), starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Elsa Lanchester; A Face In The Crowd (1957), starring Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, and Anthony Franciosa; Big Country (1958), starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford and Charlton Heston; Indiscreet (1959), starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    44 min
  3. SEP 23

    "SPECIAL GUEST: PERI GILPIN TALKS OLD HOLLYWOOD" (054)

    EPISODE 54 - "SPECIAL GUEST: PERI GILPIN TALKS OLD HOLLYWOOD" - 09/23/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** We all know her as the hilarious and acerbic radio producer Roz Doyle on the iconic sitcom “Frasier,” and on the reboot currently airing on Paramount Plus. This week, we have a sit-down interview with actress PERI GILPIN. Peri discusses her love of classic films, the films that inspired and influenced her, and the classic film stars who she has had the good-fortune to work with. Tune in to this very special episode.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: TheStudioTour.com; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; IBDB.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Shell (2024), starring Elizabeth Moss and Kate Hudson; Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960); Pillow Talk (1959); Move Over Darling (1963); The Thrill of It All (1963); Switch (1991); The Importance of Being Earnest (1952); Tootsie (1982); Bringing Up Baby (1938); The Philadelphia Story (1940); All About Eve (1950); Star Wars (1977); Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969); North By Northwest (1959); The Godfather (1972); The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956); Sense and Sensibility (1995); The Sound of Music (1965) --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min
  4. SEP 16

    "TRIBUTE TO GENA ROWLANDS" (053)

    EPISODE 53 - “Tribute to Gena Rowlands” - 09/16/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** When screen legend GENA ROWLANDS passed away last month at the age of 94, she left behind a film and TV legacy that will undoubtedly influence artists for decades to come. She was an acting titan who changed the way modern audiences looked at acting. From her historic independent movies with husband JOHN CASSAVETES to mainstream Hollywood to powerful performances in iconic television films, Rowlands’ performances were always honest, complicated, and emotionally raw. There was just no one like her; and there never will be again. This week, we pay tribute to her endearing legacy on and off the screen. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Cassavetes on Cassavetes (2001), by Ray Carney; In The Moment: My Life As An Actor (2004), by Ben Gazzara; “Family First, Says Pretty Blonde,” November 16, 1963, The Tribune (South Bend, IN); “I Want It All…Husband…Children…Career!” June 1975, by Ronald Bowers, Photoplay; “NBC Offers Drama About AIDS,” November 11, 1985, by John J. O’Connor, The New York Times; “To Mom With Love: Gena Rowlands’ Son Directs Her Latest Film,” February 23, 1997, by Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press; “Idol Chatter: Gena Rowlands,” 1999, by Al Weisel, Premiere Magazine; “Shop Talk: Actress Gena Rowlands, Not Much of a Shopper, Tells Tales,” February 15, 2002, by Gwen Davis, The Wall Street Journal; “Gena Rowlands On Pioneering The Indie Film Movement With Her Late Husband John Cassavetes,” November 13, 2015, by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter; “Oscar Goes To Gena Rowlands,” November 14, 2015, by Susan King, Los Angeles Times; “And The Honorary Oscar Goes To…” November 20, 2015, by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter; “The Notebook’s Gena Rowlands Has Alzheimer’s, Is in Full Dementia,” June 25, 2024, by Cara Lynn Shultz, People Magazine; “Gena Rowlands, Actress Who Brought Raw Drama To Her Roles, Dies at 94,” August 14, 2024, by Anita Gates, New York Times; TCM.com; IBDB.com; Movies Mentioned:  The High Cost of Loving (1958), starring Jose Ferrer; Lonely Are the Brave (1962), starring Kirk Douglas; The Spiral Road (1962), starring Rock Hudson; A Child is Waiting (1963), starring Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland; Tony Rome (1967), starring Frank Sinatra; Faces (1968), starring John Cassavetes; Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), starring Seymour Cassel; A Woman Under the Influence (1974), starring Peter Falk; Opening Night (1977), starring John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara; A Question of Love (1978), starring Jane Alexander; The Brink’s Job (1978), starring Peter Falk; Gloria (1980), starring John Adams; Tempest (1982), starring John Cassavetes; Love Streams (1984), starring John Cassavetes; Thursday’s Child (1984), starring Don Murray; An Early Frost (1985), starring Aidan Quinn, Ben Gazzara; The Betty Ford Story (1987), starring Josef Sommer; Another Woman (1988), starring Mia Farrow; Once Around (1991), starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter; Night On Earth (1991), starring Winona Ryder; Face of A Stranger (1992), starring Tyne Daly; Crazy In Love (1992), starring Holly Hunter; The Neon Bible (1995), starring Jacob Tierney; Unhook The Stars (1996), starring Marisa Tomei; She’s So Lovely (1997), starring Sean Penn; Hope Floats (1998), starring Sandra Bullock; Hysterical Blindness (2003), starring Uma Thurman; The Notebook (1999), starring Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams; Broken English (2007), starring Parker Posey; Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014), starring Cheyenne Jackson; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
  5. SEP 9

    "BIG SCREEN TO SMALL SCREEN: CLASSIC CINEMA'S TV REMAKES." (052)

    EPISODE 52 - "BIG SCREEN TO SMALL SCREEN: CLASSIC CINEMA'S TV REMAKES." (052) - 09/09/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** Sometimes, a classic film is primed for being turned into a successful television series — think “M*A*S*H*,” “Alice,” “In The Heat of the Night,” or “Peyton Place.” But this isn’t always the case. There have been many classic films turned into TV shows with less-than-stellar results. Does anyone remember the “Casablanca" TV show on ABC with Starsky & Hutch star DAVID SOUL filling in for HUMPHREY BOGART? Don’t worry, nobody else does either! This week, we take a look at a few of the TV series that were based on classic movies that didn’t quite hit the mark. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Television Series of the 1950s (2016), by Vincent Terrace; Encyclopedia of TV Shoes: 1925 - 2010 (2011), by Vincent Terrace; The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network TV Shows (1988), by Time Brooks and Earle F. Marsh; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Operation Petticoat (1959), starring Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Dina Merrill, and Arthur O’Connell; Halloween (1978), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence; Topper (1937), starring Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, and Billie Burke; How To Marry A Millionaire (1953), starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell; The Third Man (1949), starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, and Alida Valli; My Sister Eileen (1942), starring Rosalind Russell and Janet Blair; My Sister Eileen (1955), starring Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett, and Jack Lemmon; Please Don’t Eat The Daisies (1960), starring Doris Day and David Niven; The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison; Casablanca (1942), staring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, and Sydney Greenstreet; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min
  6. SEP 2

    "RICHARD CONTE - STAR OF THE MONTH" (051)

    EPISODE 51 - “Richard Conte (Star of the Month) ” - 09/02/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** In the great film noir classic Thieves Highway, a gripping drama that takes on the dirty underbelly of the trucking industry, the spectacular RICHARD CONTE plays Nick Garcos, a world-weary, jaded, World War II vet who returns home. After finding his family's produce business in shambles and his father crippled, he seeks revenge against the crooked rival produce dealer who caused his father's accident. In his gripping portrayal, Conte shows his strengths as an actor. With his square shoulders, cleft chin, and intense eyes, Conte gives the impression that he means business. Conte was just as comfortable playing mobsters and street hoods as he was playing charming, sympathetic leading men. He always projected manly strength, and you knew he was no one you wanted to mess with. So say hello to our Star of the Month, RICHARD CONTE. SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir (2003), by Karen Burroughs; “Conte In the Sun,” March 3, 1946, by Thomas M Pryor, New York Times; “A Star Comes Home,” March 3, 1950, by Louis Berg, Los Angeles Times Magazine; “The Role I Liked Best…” May 20,1950, by Richard Conte, Saturday Evening Post; “Richard Conte: Official Biography,” June 14, 1951, Universal Pictures; “Conte Forms Indie Pix, TV Company,” January 21, 1960, Variety; “Conte Has His Own Method,” February 14, 1960, by Don Albert, Los Angeles Times; “Actor Conte, Wife Reveal Divorce,” July 12, 1962, by Harrison Carroll. LA Herald Examiner;  “Richard Conte Getting Offers He Can’t Refuse As Ideal Mafia Type,” March 14. 1973, Variety; “Richard Conte, Cold-Eyed Movie Gangster, Dies at 61;” April 16, 1975, by Jack Jones, Los Angeles Times; “Richard Conte Dies In Hollywood at 65,” April 23 1975, Variety; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  Heaven With A Barbed Wire (1939), starring Jean Rogers and Glenn Ford; Guadalcanal Diary (1943), Starring William Bendix, Lloyd Nolan, and Anthony Quinn; The Purple Heart (1944), starring Dana Andrews and Farley Granger; Captain Eddie (1945), starring Fred MacMurray and Lynn Bari; A Bell For Adano (1945), starring Gene Tierney and John Hodiak; A Walk In The Sun (1945), starring Dana Andrews. Lloyd Bridges, and John Ireland; The Spider (1945), starring Faye Marlowe; 13 Rue Madeleine (1947), starring James Cagney; The Other Love (1947), starring Barbara Stanwyck and David Niven; Call Northside 777 (1948), starring James Stewart and Helen Walker; House of Strangers (1949), starring Susan Hayward; Thieves Highway (1949), staring Lee J. Cobb and Valentina Cortese Big Jack (1949), starring Wallace Beery and Marjorie Main; Whirlpool (1950), starring Gene Tierney and Jose Ferrer; The Sleeping City (1950), starring Coleen Gray  Under The Gun (1951), starring Audrey Totter; The Blue Gardenia (1953), starring Anne Baxter; Highway Dragnet (1954), starring Joan Bennett; The Big Combo (1955), starring Cornel Wilde; I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955). Starring Susan Hayward; New York Confidential (1955), Starring Broderick Crawford; Full of Life (1956), starring Judy Holiday; The Brothers Rico (1957), starring Dianne Foster; They Came To Cordova (1959), starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth; Ocean's 11 (1960), starring Frank Sinatra; Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (1963), starring Dean Martin; Circus World (1964), starring John Wayne and Rita Hayworth; The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); Tony Rome (1967); The Lady In Cement (1968); Hotel (1967); Operation Eagle Cross (1968); The Godfather (1972); Shoot First, Die Later (1974); Evil Eye (1975); Violent Rome (1975); --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you wo

    33 min
  7. AUG 26

    "BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO CLASSIC FILM STAR VERA MILES" (050)

    EPISODE 50 - “Birthday Tribute to Classic Film star Vera Miles” - 08/26/2024 ** This episode is sponsored brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/BENEATH and get on your way to being your best self.” ** After placing 3rd runner up to Miss America in 1948 as Miss Kansas, VERA MILES soon embarked on a long and illustrious career in Hollywood and was soon working with great directors like ALFRED HITCHCOCK (“Psycho” and “The Wrong Man”) and JOHN FORD (“The Searchers” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”). This week, we pay tribute to Miles as she turns 95 on August 23rd. Listen as we celebrate this beautiful, talented, and somewhat underrated star.  SHOW NOTES:  Sources: Hitchcock’s Heroines (2018), by Caroline Young; Women In The Films of John Ford (2014), by David Mevel; “Vera Miles: Country Girl in Hollywood,” May 13, 1956, by J.D. Spiro, Los Angeles, Times; “Vera Miles: She’s Alfred Hitchcock’s Newest Acting Find,” January 13, 1957, Parade Magazine; “Vera Miles Says: I’m Glad I Was Poor,” May 1959, by Amy Francis, Screenland Magazine; “Vera Miles: Official Biography,” September 1961, Paramount Pictures; “The Loser Who Became A Star,” May 15, 1973, by Earl Wilson, The New York Post; “Fighting Trim Vera Miles Still A Doer,” February 20, 1981, by Mark Hemeter, The Times-Picayne (New Orleans); “Psycho Actress Defends Hitchcock,” June 25, 1983, by Richard Freedman, The Spokesman-Review, Newhouse News Service; “Vera Miles: Hollywood Walk of Fame,” June 29, 2010, by Carina MacKenzie, Los Angeles Times; TCM.com; IMDBPro.com; Wikipedia.com; Movies Mentioned:  For Men Only (1952), starring Paul Henried; The Rose Bowl Story (1952), starring Marshall Thompson; The Charge At Feather River (1953), starring Guy Madison and Helen Westcott; Pride of the Blue Grass (1954), starring Lloyd Bridges; Tarzan’s Hidden Jungle (1955), starring Gordon Scott; Wichita (1955), starring Joel McCrea; The Searchers (1956), starring John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter; The Wrong Man (1956), starring Henry Fonda; Beau James (1957), starring Bob Hope; Web Of Evidence (1959), starring Van Johnson; The FBI Story (1959), starring James Stewart; A Touch Of Larceny (1960), starring James Mason and George Sanders; 5 Banded Women (1960), starring Jeanne Moreau; Psycho (1960), starring Anthony Perkins, Janey Leigh, and John Gavin;  Back Street (1961), starring Susan Hayward and John Gavin; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), starring John Wayne and James Stewart; A Tiger Walks (1964), starring Brian Keith; Those Calloways (1965), starring Brian Keith, Brandon De Wilde, and Linda Evans; Follow Me Boys! (1966), starring Fred MacMurray; The Spirit Is Willing (1967), starring Sid Caesar; Gentle Giant (1967), starring Dennis Weaver and Ralph Meeker; Hellfighters (1968), starring John Wayne and Katharine Ross; The Wild Country (1970), starring Steve Forrest; One Little Indian (1973), starring James Garner; The Castaway Cowboy (1974), starring James Garner; Run For The Roses (1977), starring Stuart Whitman; Smash Up On Interstate 5 (1976), starring Robert Conrad, Buddy Ebson, Sue Lyon, Terry Moore, and Tommy Lee Jones; Psycho II (1983), starring Anthony Perkins; The Initiation (1984), starring Clu Galugar and Daphne Zuniga; Separate Lives (1995), starring Linda Hamilton and Jim Belushi; --------------------------------- http://www.airwavemedia.com Please contact sales@advertisecast.com if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min
5
out of 5
177 Ratings

About

If the Golden era of Old Hollywood is your thing, our podcast is for you! If you want TYRONE POWER instead of TOM HARDY, JENNIFER JONES instead of JENNIFER LAWRENCE, or ROBERT MITCHUM rather than ROBERT PATTINSON, then FROM BENEATH THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN is the gin joint for you. Each week, writer and producer STEVE CUBINE and actress and writer NAN MCNAMARA explore, discuss, and dissect the magical, mysterious, amusing, and sometimes bizarre tales of Old Hollywood. So sit back and revisit a time when the pictures were still big and everyone was ready for their close-up.

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada