Men and cigarettes - part 2

It seemed popular to show half naked men in a post some time ago, to break from the pattern of beautiful half naked women, so I'll go ahead and do a follow-up on my Men and Cigarettes post from February. Then I added the cause of death also (just to make it a little more depressing), so I'll continue in that manner.
Enjoy - Men and cigarettes - part 2! As usual you can just click on the pictures to see them in a larger version. If you are like me and steal pictures on every site you visit, that is.

(I will do my best to do a follow-up on the Male Cheesecake post ASAP. Fight your demons until then, ladies!)

Alain Delon (1935-)
I just recently realized how God darn good looking Mr. Delon is. Phuh...

Chico Marx (1887-1961)
(Heart ailment)
I can't remember if I already have confessed on this blog that I find Chico Marx extremely sexy. I was oh-so delighted when I found this picture of him - here's your proof of his sex appeal. And the fact that he got his name because he "chased the chicks" just adds to my opinion of him as one of the most desirable ladies men ever. (Am I being weird again? I can seldom tell.)

Conrad Veidt (1893-1943)
(Heart attack)
The cool German actor you probably remember best as Gestapo Maj. Strasser in Casablanca (1942). He died while playing golf. As he was blacklisted in Nazi Germany his death wasn't officially announced - his wife and daughter heard about it on the radio.

Harry Langdon (1884-1944)
(Cerebral hemorrhage)
Does this look like a guy who ran away from home and joined a circus at the age of 12?

James Dean (1931-1955)
(Car crash)
This picture just makes me drool... (When I ordered a calender you could make yourself online I chose this picture for my birthday month. As a present to myself.)

Michael Caine (1933-)
Oh, how I adore Englishmen! This is the son of a fish-market porter and a charlady. He is also the father of Austin Powers.

Preston Sturges (1898-1959)
(Heart attack)
The director of the 1941 films Sullivan's Travels and The Lady Eve looks like someone I wouldn't like to meet in a dark alley by myself. (Or maybe I would...?)

Raoul Walsh (1887-1980)
(Natural causes)
Together with two extras, Italia and Venezia Frandi, in the days before a killer rabbit stole one of his eyes. Such beautiful, bright eyes too.

Ricardo Cortez (1899-1977)
(Natural causes)
An Austrian guy who went to Hollywood to make a career as an "exotic screen lover", went on to play Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (1931), and by the end of his life he was a member of one of Wall Street's top brokerage firms. He died after having lived quite a comfortable life.

Notice that the article above says he was born in 1889 and not 1899. Typo or intentionally wrong information?

Robert Montgomery (1904-1981)
(Cancer)
Such a beautiful photograph. Quote from Mr. Montgomery:

"If you are lucky enough to be a success, by all means enjoy the applause and the adulation of the public. But never, never believe it."

Marcello Mastroianni (1924-1996)

(Pancreatic cancer)
Seems like a privileged fellow - bathing in Fontana Di Trevi with a Swedish blonde one minute, lying in a bed next to Sophia Loren and airing his hairy chest the next.

Tod Browning (1880-1962)

(Cancer)
Looking cool with Lon Chaney on a break from shooting The Road to Mandalay (1926). Chaney looks just a tiny bit creepy. Oh, and he died of lung cancer four years later.

*anti-smokers cheering*

Two Sisters Tag - Skeletons in Lolita's closet

"Please, don't let my last words be 'I never saw a Harry Langdon film'..."

First I just want to say how thrilled I am to have 85 blog followers! I can't believe that a blog I have only had since February already has interested so many. Thanks to all of you. And it always makes me happy when you let your presence be known by leaving a comment!

Now, to the real matter.

Five days ago Elizabeth started a "Two Sisters Tag" after having argued with her sister about different opions on classic film, without getting anywhere. To see who is right, she asked the tagged ones to give their opinions on different classics matters. (Sorry for have waited so long with answering, Elizabeth!)

Here are my answers. The blasphemy will probably shock both you and myself.

1. Do you like Greta Garbo?
I love Garbo. She can be a little dramatic with "I vant to be alone" this and "I LOVE you, I LOVE you, I LOVE you" there (weird, since everyone knows that Swedes are cold and stiff, except for the blonde ones).

But it is Garbo. She is magical, and if you can get away from her you have no heart.

2. In Buster Keaton's MGM films, do his gestures and his plots resemble those of Harry Langdon?
I wouldn't know, since I only have seen little by Buster Keaton (to my great sorrow, I adore him) and nothing by Harry Langdon. (!!!)

Skeleton count: 1

3. Who is your favorite director of silent dramas?
Cecil B. DeMille, Victor Sjöström (or Seastrom, as he re-named himself when coming to Hollywood) and Raoul Walsh. D. W. Griffith is not so bad neither, but not a favourite. (Need to see more to give a professional opinion on his work.)

4. Do Harold Lloyd's movies (movies, not shorts) drag along?
Eeehhhrrrmmm... Perhaps? Yes? No? I have only seen one! It was For Heaven's Sake (1926), and that one amused me a whole lot. That one did not drag along, in my opinion.

Skeleton count: 2

5. Who made better silent shorts, Mack Sennett or Hal Roach?
Elizabeth's own answer was this:

My sister prefers the wild slapstick of Mack Sennett, but I prefer the nice mix of slapstick and word-play that comes with a Hal Roach short. Of course, I do enjoy Sennett (KEYSTONE Sennett), and she does like Hal Roach, but I generally prefer Hal Roach, and she generally prefers Sennett.

...and I have no idea what she's talking about. Keystone Sennet? Wild slapstick vs. word-play? I have seen too little with the brand Mack Sennet and Hal Roach to connect the names with ANY style. I saw Run, Girl, Run (1928, post here), and I laughed my ass off. That was a Sennett, so just to have an answer I'll go with him.

Skeleton count: 3

6. Is Al St. John a genuine heavy, or a baby heavy? (This is based on the idea of the "Baby Vamp", which was the character of the girl who was vampish, but not a vamp.)
Oh please. I have not seen anything with Al St. John! Someone having a tip for a newbie? I have seen a picture of him on Elizabeth's blog, he has beautiful eyes. What do you mean with a "heavy" anyway? Is it the bad guy? A fat guy?

My answer is: He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

Skeleton count: 4

7. Do you like 1920s musicals?
I don't think so. I haven't watched a lot, but my feeling is that they often contain a heck of a lot of unispired, pointless dance numbers. For example: In the Marx Brothers' first film The Cocoanuts (1929) I always fastforward through the singing/dancing sequences. I know that they are a parody of uninspired dance numbers in 1920's musicals that has nothing to do with the plot, but it doesn't take away that they are in themselves uninspired dance numbers in a 1920's musical that has nothing to do with the plot. Not that the Marx Brothers usually have any plot to talk about, but you get the picture.

But honestly: I haven't seen enough 1920's musicals to have an opinion.

Skeleton count: 5

8. Do you like Al Jolson's movies?
Haven't seen any...

Skeleton count: 6

9. Who is your favorite animal star?
Asta the dog in After the Thin Man (1936). I love the whole "fighting for my dog family" sub plot.

All in all I have an entire Busby Berkeley dance team in my closet, all very dead. Will I ever be able to awake them from the land of the lost souls?

I'm supposed to tag three people, so let's see if they manage better. I will wait for Elizabeth to wake me up in the middle of the night, leaning over me with a bloody axe against my throat. "You never saw a Harry Langdon movie? You will PAY!"

Watch out for her revenge, fellas:

C.K. Dexter Haven

Robby Cress

Louie Despres