Golden Age of Hollywood Book Club discussion

A "safe space" and "judgment-free zone" (heavy sarcasm) to tag, bag, and release back into the wild

big studio tropes

...whenever they are sighted

Ex: the G.I. who flips open his wallet to show his buddies, his wife's photo -- he is the member of the patrol doomed to die first

Two cops, one the star and the other the sidekick. The sidekick is due to retire in a short time. Guess who meets up with the murderous psychopath!

The cheerful, likeable friend is really the murderer.

And that friend is the very first --and most helpful --character the detective in the yarn meets

Two people are standing in a room talking. There is a closed door to the left/right of one of the speakers. Trust me, someone will soon come through that door.

A woman is upset and crying and someone will always bring her a glass of water.

A man is upset and almost close to crying and someone will give him a stiff drink.

A quick slap to the face and a stiff one can bring someone out of anything.

A man and a woman are running for their lives and 99.9% of the time the woman will fall down at least once.

A woman discovers a body and starts screaming (unless she's Miss Marple, etc.)

Good ones so far.

Another: wonder sometimes whether kitchen matches were manufactured differently in the '40s. With more sulfur on the match-head or something.

Because movie matches seem to fire up like magic tricks, when struck against any slightly rough surface. The plaid flannel shoulder of a hunchback will light one, or even a fingernail.

I use modern-day kitchen matches all the time; and its tough to get them to light even when struck against the box itself.

Plenty more tropes re: 'hot coffee' in movies (and TV). Coffee is always as scalding hot as volcanic magma; or else it somehow, 'tastes terrible' in some impossible and unpredictable way. No one ever seems to get a perfect cup of coffee exactly the way they like it, on the very first try ordering. They always gotta argue.

Oh and cabbies are always game to follow any car. They'll readily do practically anything you ask at all, for extra tip.

Key phrase: "Just drive, I'll tell you where!!"

And/or they will joke about it as they put the vehicle in gear, "gee y'know I always wanted someone to ask me dat"

or,"Okay mister! It's your dough!"

The radio playing in the cab always has the 'fugitive at large' news announcement the fugitive needs to hear; and the cabbie always makes the connection between his passenger and the news item.

Creature feature movies where one scientist often wants to 'study' monster instead of destroying it. No one ever explains how they might do that.

These are such fun!

It sounds like someone is breaking into the house but the people in bed always have time to put on their housecoat and slippers before investigating.

Every letter someone receives in the mail is always in beautiful cursive script writ with fountain pen, easy to read, complete with date and signature. Each line exactly and evenly spaced.

In real life --it's true (or at least it used to be true) that women usually have exquisite penmanship. Penwomanship. I've often admired their skill.

But 'INSERT - LETTER' in Hollywood flicks is hard to believe.

Ah and every mailman/milkman is named 'Sam', rarely 'Joe'. Bartenders are named 'Joe'.

...German noblemen typically sport monocles and handlebar moustaches, their 'waistcoat' has that special tiny little pocket for a pocketwatch on a fob/chain.

Almost any African, Native American, or Aborigine character, wears a prominent 'necklace of jaguar teeth'.

Women wear make-up in bed..............and bras.

Nobody ever finishes their meal........never!

Quite often they only eat only one bite of food, but drinks are another matter. They knock those back with aplomb.

Biblical epics.

British=Roman

British gentlemen always carried a walking cane.

Jill wrote: "British gentlemen always carried a walking cane."

I love how much they played on classic tropes in The Avengers TV series. Steed with always the umbrella (never a gun) and the bowler, which sometimes served as a weapon. Mrs. Peel, always dressed in the best Carnaby St. fashions or spy catsuits and driving the tiny Brit roadster. And every villain a Brit caricature.

John Steed --> based on Ralph Richardson's character in 'Q Planes' (1939)

I loved that program, Spencer!!

Jill wrote: "I loved that program, Spencer!!"

The Diana Rigg years were the best, but the Honor Blackman years aren't bad. They kinda thought they had to make Linda Thorson a little clumsy to not be compared with the previous females. And those are OK, but the Diana Rigg ones are best, though they got a little campy towards the end. Even towards the end of the Diana Rigg stuff...the Christopher Lee episode is a masterpiece.

Spencer wrote: "Biblical epics.

British=Roman"

That's hilarious, and totally true

Added Q Planes to my "to watch" list. Olivier has said that didn't really "get" film acting until he came to Hollywood and worked w/the great directors.

Blackmail and other threatening letters are always comprised of words clipped from a newspaper.

Suicide notes which are typewritten and have no signature are usually fakes.

Innocent men on death row are always saved at the very last minute by a call from the Governor.

Women who are 'meeting up' with someone in a lonely place usually end up dead.

#31, good one


#32: I've only ever seen one time where a character in a movie ever got hurt at all, jumping from the open boxcar of a moving locomotive.

Typically you just get to your feet and brush yourself off, no matter how fast the train was traveling

When characters are in a "haunted house", there is always a storm outside with lots of lightening and thunder.

'Haunted houses' are almost aways old mansions, not a ranch house-type. Although wasn't the house in 'Poltergeist' a newer one?

Yes, it was in a housing development but as you say, most are old mansions.

Any film where they say:

"Professor ...do you have any idea what kind of creature could have done this?"

or,

"Professor ...could it have anything to do with the strange lights we saw last night?"

Anything that begins with "Professor...." you know bad things are afoot.

Every one scoffs when one of the group says "There are strange stories about this house". Wrong!!

100%. And some else chimes in with:

"Ohhh well I don't believe in such nonsense ...but, I know some who do ..."

and then, 'the ole caretaker' leading them up the stairs, will turn around and waggle his eyebrows

"Arrrr ...you young folk don't know all you think you know..."

Two cars are in a chase on a mountain road and one will always end up going over a cliff.

Hospital nurses are more dangerous than butlers and maids.

'The butler did it,' but in actuality he rarely does.

A leisure boat goes out on a quiet body of water, only to have a raging storm appear.

I see this in a lot of pulp stories - movies - etc but like this:

Any 'man on the run'; with the 'police-hot-on-his-tail' ...sometimes it seems like all he needs to do to escape is knock on any door at random; and burst inside.

As soon as he throws the door shut.. lungs heaving ...he will always turn to discover the occupant inside the flat, is a single young female with a heart-of-gold.

After a few cursory questions, she'll be eager to help him hide out.

Willing to lie for him ..medical attention ...dash down to the corner to pick up some groceries ...give him the keys to her car ...

'after all, he has an honest face, and doesn't look like a murderer'

Amazingly, she never has any roommates or family members who might stumble in and ask who this unshaven stranger is. Lives completely alone; ready for romance and adventure.

That made me chuckle, Felix.

The telephone rings, the caller says a few words (or says nothing) and then hangs up. The person receiving the call says"hello, hello, hello, ad nauseum. It would seem obvious that the caller has already hung up.

It's tied to 1970s/80s horror movies...never go "all the way" with a boy, or the killer will get you!

~Blonde males are usually the killer (Lyle Bettger is the quintessential blonde villain, whereas Jean-Louis Heydt would be an exception to the rule)

~Men with dense curly or wavy hair are often the killer in any story. No idea why, unless just symbolism; or some veiled allusion to Italian immigrants. Exception to the rule: Victor Mature.

~"Swarthy-complected" men ...goes without saying. Any member of 'the Latin races' is a a political dissident, a rebel leader, ties to liberation fronts. 'Hotheaded' and 'reckless' unless they are fighting for democracy (Spanish Civil War). Prime example: Gilbert Roland.

~In their personal relationships latin lovers are portrayed as 'hot-blooded', always jealous, highly-prone to 'crime du passion', in addition to being naturally gifted at either flamenco or tango. Exception to the rule: Spencer Tracy in'Captains Courageous'.

~Men with 'center parted' hair are usually killers or henchmen. Exceptions: Warren William, Ricardo Cortez

~Male characters who are overly 'fastidious in their grooming' (manicures, carnations in their lapel (boutonnieres), either bow-ties or tie-clasps, cuff-links, spats, cologne, e.g. Joel Cairo) are depicted as such to indicate 'bent' inclinations and thus, probably murderers as well (Hollywood logic)

The biases of early Hollywood are so obvious now as indicated by your above post, Feliks. But I never thought about blonde men being the bad guys. I wonder what that was about?

I privately suspect it had to do with lighting and photography in the B&W era. Making the villain clearly stand out from the hero. Under that 'chiascuro' color scheme --the backstabbers and betrayers, needed to be visibly set apart. Just a guess.