The Hollywood Revue of 1929, or simply The Hollywood Revue, is a 1929 American pre-Code musical comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of their earliest sound films. Produced by Harry Rapf and Irving Thalberg and directed by Charles Reisner, it features nearly all of MGM's stars in a two-hour revue that includes three segments in Technicolor. The masters of ceremonies are Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny.
Charles William Haines was an American actor and interior designer.
The Celluloid Closet is a 1996 American documentary film directed and co-written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, and executive produced by Howard Rosenman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, and on lecture and film clip presentations he gave from 1972 to 1982. Russo had researched the history of how motion pictures, especially Hollywood films, had portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters.
Henry Leroy Willson was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in developing the beefcake craze of the 1950s.
Guinn Terrell Williams Jr. was an American actor who appeared in memorable Westerns such as Dodge City (1939), Santa Fe Trail (1940), and The Comancheros (1961). He was nicknamed "Big Boy" because he was 6' 2" and had a muscular build from years of working on ranches and playing semiprofessional and professional baseball. At the height of his movie career, he was frequently billed above the title simply as "Big Boy" Williams, or as Guinn "Big Boy" Williams or "Big Boy" Guinn Williams on posters and in the film itself.
Pauline Theresa Moran billed as Polly Moran, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage and screen and a comedian.
James Mitchell Leisen was an American director, art director, and costume designer.
William J. Mann is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his studies of Hollywood and the American film industry, especially his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn. Kate was named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2006 by The New York Times. William J.Mann also used the pseudonym Geoffrey Huntington under which he wrote the Ravenscliff Series.
The Terror of Tiny Town is a 1938 American musical Western film produced by Jed Buell, directed by Sam Newfield and starring Billy Curtis. The film was shot at a sound studio in Hollywood and partly at Placeritos Ranch in Placerita Canyon, California. The inspiration came when Buell overheard an employee jokingly say "If this economic dive keeps going, we'll be using midgets as actors".
Way for a Sailor is a 1930 American pre-Code film starring John Gilbert. The supporting cast includes Wallace Beery, Jim Tully, Leila Hyams, and Polly Moran. The film was directed by Sam Wood, who insisted on no screen credit.
Gene Malin, also known by stage names Jean Malin and Imogene Wilson, was an American actor, emcee, and drag performer during the Jazz Age. He was one of the first openly gay performers in Prohibition-era Speakeasy culture.
Alias Jimmy Valentine is a 1928 American sound part-talkie crime drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring William Haines, Leila Hyams, Lionel Barrymore, and Karl Dane. The film features talking sequences along with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film is based on the 1909 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong, which itself was based on an O. Henry short story. The play toured in travelling production companies making it extremely popular. It was revived on Broadway in 1921. Two previous film adaptations had been produced at the old Metro Studios. A 1915 film version was directed by Maurice Tourneur and a 1920 version starring Bert Lytell was directed by Edmund Mortimer and Arthur Ripley.
Buddy Roosevelt was an American film and television actor and stunt performer from Hollywood's early silent film years through the 1950s.
The Girl Said No is a 1930 pre-Code American romantic comedy film starring William Haines and Leila Hyams. A young college graduate goes to extreme lengths to win the girl he loves.
Sailor's Luck is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh for Fox Film Corporation. It stars James Dunn, Sally Eilers, Victor Jory, and Frank Moran.
Vito is a 2011 American documentary film produced and directed by Jeffrey Schwarz of the Los Angeles-based production company Automat Pictures. The film documents the life of Vito Russo, gay activist, film scholar, and author of The Celluloid Closet.
Take It Big is a 1944 American comedy film directed by Frank McDonald and written by Howard J. Green and Joe Bigelow. The film stars Jack Haley, Harriet Hilliard, Mary Beth Hughes, Richard Lane, Arline Judge and Fritz Feld. Also featured is Hilliard's husband in real life, bandleader Ozzie Nelson.
The Champion Film Company was an independent production company founded in 1909 by Mark M. Dintenfass. The studio was one of the film companies that merged to form Universal Pictures.
Three in the Saddle is a 1945 American Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser and written by Elmer Clifton. The film stars Tex Ritter, Dave O'Brien, Guy Wilkerson, Lorraine Miller, Charles King and Edward Howard. The film was released on July 26, 1945, by Producers Releasing Corporation.
Joseph Jiquel Lanoe was a French actor who appeared in films and theater in the United States. He had roles in more than 100 American Biograph films. A gay man, D. W. Griffith cast him as a gay eunuch character in Judith of Bethulia. He was the lover of fellow actor Harry Hyde and a close friend of artist Granville Redmond, with whom he often painted.
