Book Review – MOGULS: The Lives and Times of Hollywood Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck

Title: MOGULS: The Lives and Times of Hollywood FilmPioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck

By: Michael Benson and Craig Singer

Publisher: Citadel Press

ISBN 978-0-8065-4308-6 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-8065-4310-9 (ebook)

When you think about movie moguls from Hollywood’s Golden Age, who comes to mind? You’ve probably heard or know something about Louis B. Mayer, Darryl F. Zanuck, Samuel Goldwyn, and maybe Harry Cohn. All of these men were the public faces of powerful movie studios. But were they really the ones in charge?

Authors Michael Benson and Craig Singer examine the lives of two brothers: Nicholas and Joseph Schenck. Russian Jewish immigrants, both came to America with dreams and ambitions and fulfilled them in ways almost impossible to believe.

The brothers grew up on the mean streets of New York City’s Lower East Side. Eventually, the Schenck family moved uptown to Harlem. An upgrade for sure, but not an easy life. The boys helped their families by selling newspapers and working other odd jobs to earn money.

Joe got his high school diploma by attending night classes while working during the day. Later he took night courses at the New York School of Pharmacy and became a licensed pharmacist.

Together the brothers worked in several pharmacies in the city and worked hard to purchase one of their own. Eventually, they owned several pharmacies and could have made a comfortable living but they wanted more.

They opened a beer hall with dancing and  Paradise Park, an amusement park that would eventually be called Palisades Amusement Park atop the cliffs of New Jersey. It became one of the most famous amusement parks on the East Coast and the United States. It had rides to rival Coney Island and the world’s largest saltwater pool. But the success of the amusement park wasn’t enough for brothers Nick and Joe.

Norma Talmage

The two were always drawn to the movies. From the early days of the Nickelodeons, the brothers were eager to get into the movie business. As if by fate, the brothers met Marcus Lowe who owned penny arcades, nickelodeons, and movie theaters. He told the Schenck brothers he wanted to open a concession at their amusement park. Before you knew it, Nick and Joe were in the movie business and developed a life-long friendship and business association with Lowe. Lowe would become a legend in his own right as the head of Lowes, Inc., the parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He was Louis B. Mayer’s boss.

Joe eventually became a vaudeville talent booker and movie producer. Fatty Arbuckle, a silent film comedian whose films were produced by Joe, whose popularity rivaled that of Charlie Chaplin, introduced Joe to Norma Talmage, an actress Arbuckle felt could be a major movie star. It was love at first sight for Joe. They eventually married and Joe spent most of his time doing everything he could to promote Talmage’s career.

Where Joe was outgoing and everyone’s friend, brother Nick was more reserved and conservative. Joe loved publicity and being in the public eye, but Nick hated it. In fact, Nick had a “publicist” whose job was to keep his name out of the papers. Joe was liked by everyone and everyone was afraid of Nick. Nick was a family man and Joe, before and after his marriage to Talmage, was a playboy. Despite their differences, they were devoted to each other and worked well together.

The brothers became entrenched in the movie business. They held controlling interests in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Twentieth Century-Fox, and United Artists. Unlike the moguls we know, the brothers preferred being behind the scenes, often pulling the strings of Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg, and Darryl F. Zanuck.

Buster Keaton

So many film legends passed through the brothers’ lives: Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, Thelma Todd, Merle Oberon, and Marilyn Monroe. So many in fact that it’s hard to keep track and almost unbelievable. 

The authors have written a nonfiction account of the Schenck brothers that reads like a novel. They have presented Nick and Joe in a way that brings their characters alive; you come away feeling like you know them. The book is filled with so much fascinating history of film and Hollywood that it’s hard to put down.

Nicholas and Joseph Schenck may not be household names. However, without the grit and determination of the brothers, classic Hollywood, as we know it, may never have existed.

 

Bette Davis learns "All About Eve" in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s classic film

 All About Eve (1950) is an American drama written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders, and Celeste Holm. Other cast members include Gary Merrill, Hugh Marlow, Thelma Ritter, and Marilyn Monroe.

Broadway star Margo Channing (Davis) has recently turned 40 and is wondering how long she can sustain her career. Then one evening after Margo’s latest performance, her best friend Karen Richards (Holm) brings a seemingly helpless superfan named Eve Harrington (Baxter). Eve followed Margo’s career when she was on tour in San Francisco and now in New York City.

Karen introduces Eve to Margo’s friends, including Karen’s husband playwright Lloyd Richards (Marlowe). Slowly, Eve becomes part of Margo’s inner circle making Margo’s personal assistant Birdie (Ritter) suspicious. So cunning is Eve, that she replaces Birdie as Margo’s new assistant.

Other complications arise from Margo’s relationship with the director of her current play Bill Sampson (Merrill), 8 years her junior. Margo is insecure in their relationship due to their age difference and unbeknownst to her, Eve attempts to replace Margo in Bill’s affections.

How does this all end? Will Margo overcome her insecurities about her age, career, and relationship with Bill or will Eve stand in her way?

Anne Baxter and Bette Davis square off

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1929 – 1972) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz won Academy Awards for directing and writing A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and All About Eve (1950). He is the only director to win back-to-back Academy Awards for writing and directing. Other films directed by Mankiewicz include Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Julius Caesar (1953), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), and Guys and Dolls (1955). He directed the 1963 crisis-plagued production of Cleopatra which negatively affected his career as a director.

Bette Davis (1908 – 1989) was an American actress whose stage and screen career spanned more than 50 years. Davis came to Hollywood in 1930 and within four years of her arrival, she was one of its biggest stars winning her first Best Actress Academy Award for her role in Dangerous (1935). Her starring role in Jezebel (1938) won her a second Best Actress Oscar. Davis would go on to star in many popular films during the 1940s including Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), and Now, Voyager (1942). In 1950 she starred as Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950), a role she is probably most identified with today. Other popular films include The Old Maid (1939), All This and Heaven Too (1940), Mr. Skeffington (1944), and The Corn is Green (1945).

Anne Baxter (1923 – 1985) won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Sophie MacDonald in The Razor’s Edge (1946). She was signed to a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox in 1940. In 1948, Baxter starred in four movies, with Yellow Sky being her most prominent role to date. She went on to have a prolific career in film, television, and theater. She is probably best known for her Oscar-nominated performance as Eve Harrington in All About Eve. Frank Lloyd Wright was Baxter’s grandfather.

George Sanders (1906 – 1972) was a British film and stage actor who also had a fine singing voice. Hollywood was looking for a villain to star opposite a young Tyrone Power in Lloyd’s of London (1936) and Sanders more than fit the bill. His performance in that film would forever stamp him as a sophisticated bad guy. Before his acting career, he worked in the textile industry, which must have helped him with his role in The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry. In the 1960s, Sanders played Mr. Freeze in the Batman (1966) television series.

Celeste Holm (1917 – 2012) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She won a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) and was nominated for her roles in Come to the Stable (1949) and All About Eve (1950). She originated the role of Ado Annie in the landmark stage musical Oklahoma! (1943).

 

All About Eve trivia

• Claudette Colbert was the director’s first choice to play Margo Channing. In fact, Colbert was contracted to play the part but had to drop out due to a back injury she suffered during the filming of Three Came Home (1950).
• Bette Davis and Gary Merrill fell in love during filming and were married a few weeks after the production wrapped.
• The film holds the record for the most female Oscar-nominated performances: Anne Baxter and Bette Davis for Best Actress and Celeste Holm and Thelma Ritter for Best Supporting Actress.
• Davis said this film saved her career after a series of unsuccessful films. She said Mankiewicz “…resurrected me from the dead.”
• Producer Darryl F. Zanuck changed the working title Best Performance to All About Eve after reading one of Addison DeWitt’s lines in the opening narration of the script.
• Zanuck wanted Jeanne Crain to play Eve, but she became pregnant and Anne Baxter was offered the role.

 

Click HERE to watch the film at the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on September 9, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. All About Eve’s reputation over the years has achieved legendary status. Do you think its reputation as a great film is well deserved?
2. The film is filled with wonderful performances by a great cast. Did one performance stand out to you or were all of equal weight in your estimation?
3. What do you think will become of Eve as she goes forward with her career? Will she always be under the thumb of Addison?
4. Do you think that Margo and Bill will have a successful marriage? Why or why not?
5. How well does the film hold up in the 21st century?
6. Was there anything in the film that surprised you?
7. If this movie were remade, who would you cast as Margo and Eve?

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving from Classic Movie Man

Do you think Marilyn bagged that turkey?

Happy 4th of July from Classic Movie Man!

Marilyn wants you to be careful!

Film Club to screen Marilyn Monroe classic “Some Like It Hot” December 13, 2012

The comedy classic Some Like It Hot will be screened December 13, 2012 at 7 p.m. at The Venue 1550. The Venue 1550 is located at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State St., Chicago. Hosted by Stephen Reginald, the current Film Club series features classic films having connections with Chicago. Reginald will introduce each film giving background information before screenings, with Q & A afterwards.


Some Like It Hot (1959)—Directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, this classic was voted funniest film of all time by the American Film Institute. Curtis and Lemmon play Chicago musicians who accidentally witness the Saint Valentine’s Day massacre of 1929. The men disguise themselves as women and travel south with Sweet Sue’s all-girl band in an attempt to avoid “Spats” Colombo and his gang who are determined to kill them. Monroe—the band’s vocalist—and the “girls” become bosom buddies along the way, which leads to some hilarious situations and unusual conclusions.

Tony Curtis as Josephine and Jack Lemmon as Daphne

The plot thickens
To escape “Spats” Columbo and his gang, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon) disguise themselves as women and join an all-girl band traveling by train to Florida. Masquerading as Josephine and Daphne, Curtis and Lemmon somehow fool bandleader Sweet Sue and band-manager Beinstock, who are desperate to round out their jazz band.


Underneath the sheltering palms

Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane 

On the train ride to Florida, Josephine and Daphne meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe). Things get complicated when Joe-Josephine starts to fall in love with Sugar. With amazing energy and dexterity, Joe-Josephine manages to assume the identity of Junior, heir to the Shell Oil fortune, in order to woo Sugar and then switches back to play with Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters, to hide out from the Columbo gang. All this switching back and forth makes Daphne’s (Lemmon’s ) head spin. But Daphne has her own problems. The rich, much-married Osgood Fielding III finds Daphne irresistible and proposes. What’s a nice “girl” like Daphne to do?

With more twists and turns than a roller coaster, Some Like It Hot boasts memorable performance from the three leads and was voted the number one comedy film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI).

Admission is $7 per person. Tickets purchased at the door.

Reginald is a freelance writer/editor and popular instructor at Facets Film School in Chicago. He was also the original host of Meet Me at the Movies.

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe Marry Today: January 14,1954

Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio on their wedding day

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe married today in 1954. The marriage only lasted 247 days, but the two remained friends until Monroe’s death in 1962. When they met, DiMaggio was an American baseball legend and Monroe was a movie starlet about to become a major film star. DiMaggio, retired from baseball, wanted Monroe, who was 12 years his junior (Joe was 37 and Monroe was 25 when they first met), to retire from films and be his stay-at-home wife.

Tumultuous Relationship
Both DiMaggio and Monroe had a tumultuous relationship that may have included physical abuse. Had the two met in 1957 instead of 1952, things might have been different. Monroe wanted a movie career desperately and she wasn’t about to give it all up when things were finally going her way. At the end of their marriage, Monroe was in demand by top directors like Billy Wilder who directed her in The Seven Year Itch (1955).

The Second Time Around
After the two divorced, Monroe married playwright Arthur Miller in 1956. From all accounts, their union was far from a successful one. After Monroe divorced Miller in 1961, she and DiMaggio became friends and rumors abounded that the two would remarry. Both had changed. DiMaggio had mellowed and dealt with his anger and Monroe was thinking of settling down and having a family. For all his faults, DiMaggio truly loved Monroe. Monroe knew that of all the people in her life, she could always count on DiMaggio. When DiMaggio secured Monroe’s release from the Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic on February 10, 1961, rumors of remarriage intensified . At the 33rd Academy Awards, host Bob Hope dedicated the Oscar-nominated song “The Second Time Around” to DiMaggio and Monroe. In August of 1962, it looked as if the two might in fact remarry. But this was not to be. Monroe was found dead on August 5, 1962. She was 36 years old.

The Yankees retired DiMaggio's Number 5

 in 1952.

DiMaggio made all of Monroe’s funeral arrangements and for years had flowers sent to her grave on a weekly basis. DiMaggio never spoke about his relationship with Monroe publicly; he never exploited her name in any way. Although he was linked with other women romantically years after Monroe’s death, he never remarried. DiMaggio died on March 9, 1999. He was 84 years old.

"Some Like it Hot" The Best Comedy Ever?

Considered one of the greatest movie comedies of all time, director Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot, is as funny today as when it premiered on March 29, 1959.

Marilyn Monroe and her "bosom" companions
The action starts in Chicago, when musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) unwittingly become witnesses to the St. Valentine’s Day massacre of 1929. To escape “Spats” Columbo and his gang, Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women and join an all-girl band traveling by train to Florida. Masquerading as Josephine and Daphne, Curtis and Lemmon somehow fool bandleader Sweet Sue and band-manager Beinstock, who are desperate to round out their jazz band.

Underneath the sheltering palms
On the train ride to Florida, Josephine and Daphne meet Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Marilyn Monroe). Things get complicated when Joe-Josephine starts to fall in love with her. With amazing energy and dexterity, Joe-Josephine manages to assume the identity of Junior, heir to the Shell Oil fortune, in order to woo Sugar and then switches back to play with Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopaters, to hide out from the Columbo gang. All this switching back and forth makes Daphne’s (Lemmon’s ) head spin. But Daphne has her own problems. The rich, much-married Osgood Fielding III finds Daphne irresistible and proposes. What’s a nice “girl” like Daphne to do?

With more twists and turns than a roller coaster, Some Like it Hot boasts memorable performance from the three leads and was voted the number one comedy film of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI).

 What's your take? Is Some Like it Hot the funniest movie ever made?