Tag: Henry Fonda

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Book Review -Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart

BACKGROUND

Henry Fonda and James Stewart are acting legends from Hollywood’s golden age. Today both men are still highly respected for their body of work and for careers which they managed to sustain for decades. But unbeknownst to many, they also maintained a lifelong friendship beginning prior to their years on the screen which spanned the course of their lives. This book explores that friendship as well as their personal lives and individual careers.

Due to their difference in politics, Stewart was a Republican and Fonda a lifelong Democrat and their onscreen personas some might be surprised that they were able to form such a close and lasting relationship. But at heart they were very similar and those similarities greatly outweighed their differences. Continue reading “Book Review -Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart”

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Classic Film Review – That Certain Woman (1937)

SUMMARY

Spoilers

Mary Donnell has bad luck with men. She begins That Certain Woman as the widow of a slain bootlegger. She married at the age of 15 thinking that she could change him. Years later she has now turned her life around. Mary keeps a low profile as the secretary to an attorney, despite newspaper attempts to sniff out her whereabouts for a “where are they now” story.
Her older married boss is just getting ready to confess his feelings for his faithful secretary. Unfortunately, he discovers that Mary is in love with irresponsible playboy heir Jack Merrick Jr. Jack talks Mary into eloping and with her boss’ blessing, she agrees. Immediately after the marriage the couple is confronted by Jack’s strict, heartless father who objects to Mary as a daughter-in-law thanks to her less then pristine background. Mary is an honorable woman whose past has been tainted by her dead husband’s behavior. But Jack Sr. manages to annul the marriage, because Junior has never had the backbone to oppose his father. However, he can’t annul her pregnancy. As years pass, the senior Merrick’s ruthless meddling continues to play out, bringing heartbreak to everyone.

Continue reading “Classic Film Review – That Certain Woman (1937)”