Will Hays and "Pre-Code" Hollywood (Fake News: Fact-Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 7)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Who was Will Hays, and how did he come to put his name on the censorship “Code” that would shape the content of movies more than any other single force from the early 1930s into the 1960s? How much power did Hays really have in 1920s Hollywood, how corrupt was he, and why did it take a decade before the Hays Code was fully enforced?

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

The Memoirs of Will H. Hays by Will H. Hays

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann

Go West Young Women! by Hillary Hallett

Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration by Thomas Doherty

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen

“Will Hays, First Film Czar, Dies; Former G. O. P. Leader Was 74; Arbiter of Hollywood's Morals 23 Years Was Postmaster General Under Harding” By The Associated Press, March 8,1954, New York Times

“Will H. Hays and the Motion Picture Industry 1919-1922: by Gerald S. Schatz, from The Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 3, September 1961, pp. 316-329

“Will H. Hays Gets Divorce in Indiana; Court Awards Custody of Son to Motion Picture Official in Uncontested Suit.” New York Times, June 22, 1929

“Mrs. Will H. Hays Dies; Widow of Former 'Czar' of Movie Industry Was 84” New York Times, August 30, 1960

“The Letters That Warren G. Harding’s Family Didn’t Want You to See” by By Jordan Michael Smith, New York Times, July 7, 2014

“Pictures More Realistic” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 31, 1930

“Morals and the Movies” The News Leader, April 28, 1930

“America’s Horniest President Warren G. Harding might have been a useless leader, but he sure could craft a sex scandal” By Jordan Michael Smith, August 16, 2015

William Hays (center) shaking hands, c. 1920's

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Chinese Bakery” by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

he Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsen  
My Simple Thing 2  - Peter Sandberg
The Hipcat Swagger 3 - Martin Landh
Mississippi Ramble 1 - Martin Gauffin
Sophisticated Gentlemen 3 - Magnus Ringblom
Loser - Anders Ekengren
Club Noir 4 - John Ahlin
March Militaire - Franz Schubert
Cluedo - Hakan Eriksson
Black and White Memories 3 - Martin Hall
War March 1 - Peter Sandberg
O Come All Ye Faithful - Traditional

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Gideon Yago.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Wallace Reid (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 6)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

According to Hollywood Babylon, actor Wallace Reid —a morphine addict who died in an asylum at the age of 31—was the first sacrificial lamb of the post-sandal era, and Reid’s wife, a former teen star named Dorothy Davenport, was the ultimate opportunistic hypocrite. What made Reid’s case different from the other scandals around this time? Was Davenport the black widow that Anger suggests, or should she be remembered as a pioneering female writer, producer and director?

Wallace Reid and Dorothy Davenport with son Billy, 1917

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story by David W. Menefee

Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Pioneer by Brian Taves

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

“Dorothy Davenport Reid, Profile” by Mark Lynn Anderson, Women Film Pioneers Project

“The Roaring Road to Ruin: Wallace Reid” by Kim Morgan, sunsetgun.com

“Washed away: Lost Films by Female Directors” bfi.org.uk

Wallace Reid in The Dictator, 1922

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Professional Widow” by Tori Amos.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsen  
Dust Bowl 1 - Hakan Eriksson
My Simple Thing 2  - Peter Sandberg
Music from The Birth Of A Nation (1915) score by Joseph Carl Breil
Toreador Song - Georges Bizet  (From Carmen)
Loser - Anders Ekengren
Quentino 9  Stefan Netsman
Bad news Piano 17 - Oscar Collin
Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag
Yellow Leaves 5 - Peter Sandberg
Sad Piano Walk 1  - Oscar Collin
Black and White - Magnus Ringblom Quartet
Meditation for Viola and Piano 14 - Jonaton Jarpehag
Widow’s Dance - Hakan Eriksson
My Simple Thing 3  - Peter Sandberg

Davenport on the set of Human Wreckage, 1923

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Mark Olsen.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Mabel Normand (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 5)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

A frequent co-star of Roscoe Arbuckle’s, Mabel Normand was the definitive female screen comedienne of her generation. But it wasn’t her association with Arbuckle that brought Normand’s career to an abrupt close and her life to an early end. Today we’ll interrogate Hollywood Babylon’s claim that Normand was a cocaine addict, explore Normand’s involvement in various scandals which did more damage than drugs, and talk about the disease that led to her early death.

SHOW NOTES  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Goldwyn: a Biography by A. Scott Berg

Mabel: Hollywood’s First I Don’t Care Girl by Betty Harper Fussell

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin

“Mickey (1918)” by Roger Fristoe, tcm.com

“Mabel Normand: Her Great-Nephew’s Memoir” by Stephen Normand, themabelnormand.com

Mabel Normand, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, c. 1915

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Underground Movies” by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsen

My Simple Thing 3 - Peter Sandberg

Pesado Manouche 3 - John Ahlin

Mississippi Ramble 1 - Martin Gauffin

Kansas City Flashback 2 - Magnus Ringblom

One Two Three 1 - Peter Sandberg

Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag

Mickey (1918) - Harry Williams (lyrics) & Neil Moret (music)

Victoria’s Vintage Pearls 2 - Peter Sandberg

Black and White - Magnus Ringblom Quartet

My Simple Thing - Peter Sandberg

Mack Sennett Studios

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Fred Savage.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by edited by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

William Desmond Taylor (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 4)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The killing of director William Desmond Taylor was the third in a trifecta of scandals which, over the course of about a year and a half, painted such a sordid a picture of the movie colony as a hotbed of sin that the industry was forced to fundamentally change its way of conducting business. Anger’s telling implies that Taylor’s murder may have been a consequence of the affairs he supposedly conducted simultaneously with several women, including both a starlet and her mother, or related to the fact that Taylor was living under an assumed identity and employing his own brother as his butler. Today we’ll sort out fact from fiction in the Taylor case, and demonstrate how the media frenzy surrounding it had wide-ranging consequences despite the fact that no one was ever arrested for the crime.

Mary Miles Minter c. 1919

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann

Mabel: Hollywood’s First I Don’t Care Girl by Betty Harper Fussell

“Taylorology: A Continuing Exploration of the Life and Death of William Desmond Taylor”, Editor Bruce Long, Issue 65, May 1998

William Desmond Taylor directing May McAvoy in the silent film Top of New York (1921), several months before his death

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is “Brainchild” by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsen

Sophisticated Gentlemen 3 - Magnus Ringblom

My Simple Thing 3 - Peter Sandberg

Bad News Piano 2 - Oscar Collin

Cluedo - Hakan Eriksson

Bad News Piano 17 - Oscar Collin

Black and White - Magnus Ringblom Quartet

Black and White Memories 3 - Martin Hall

Whiskey Rondo - Hakan Eriksson

Mabel Normand is questioned during the inquest surrounding William Desmond Taylor's death in 1922. (AP Photo)

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Fred Savage.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Virginia Rappe (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 3)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

At a boozy party over Labor Day weekend 1921, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, silent Hollywood’s superstar plus-size comedian, followed sometime actress Virginia Rappe into a hotel room. They were alone together for only a few minutes, but in that time, Rappe fell ill, and died several days later from her sickness. Arbuckle was tried for murder, and accused of rape in the newspapers. The story of the definitive sex-and-death scandal in early Hollywood history, which left a woman dead and effectively killed off a star comedian’s career, has been plagued with misinformation and distortions for nearly 100 years. Today we’ll closely examine Anger’s text to demonstrate how he implies both Arbuckle and Rappe’s guilt, and we’ll also use more recent scholarship on the case to try to suss out what really happened in that hotel room, and how the facts were distorted throughout Arbuckle’s three trials. 

This episode includes graphic descriptions of sexual violence. 

Portrait of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle wearing a smoking jacket and surrounded by kneeling young ladies, c. 1918

Virginia Rappe, c. 1920

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Room 1219: The Life of Fatty Arbuckle, the Mysterious Death of Virginia Rappe, and the Scandal That Changed Hollywood by Greg Merritt

Go West, Young Women!: The Rise of Early Hollywood by Hilary Hallett

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann

“Dead Actress Earned Fame as Art Model” San Francisco Chronicle, September 11, 1921

“Fatty Arbuckle-Virginia Rappe Trial: Q&A with Researcher Joan Myers” by Andre Soares, www.altfg.com

“Arbuckle Gloomy as Physicians Testify”, Sacramento Union, November 19, 1921

Trashed hotel suite at the St. Francis Hotel, 1921

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is Modern History by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsén 

Widow’s Dance - Håkan Eriksson

Sophisticated Gentlemen 3 - Magnus Ringblom 

1920s Chicago 3 - Magnus Ringblom 

Kansas City flashback 2 - Magnus Ringblom 

Blue Zones - Martin Gauffin 

The Old House - Håkan Eriksson 

Bad News Piano 17 - Oscar Collin

Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag

Bad News Piano 3 - Oscar Collin 

Paris Waltz - Håkan Eriksson 

Meditation for Viola and Piano 14 - Jonaton Jarpehag

My Simple Thing 3 - Peter Sandberg

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Gideon Yago.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

Arbuckle's Mug Shot 1921

Olive Thomas (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 2)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The first Hollywood scandal to attract international intentional was the death-by-poison of Olive Thomas, the twenty-five year old star of au courant Hollywood hit The Flapper. According to Hollywood Babylon, Thomas’s death was the suicide of a woman desperate over her failure to score dope for her junkie husband. What’s the real story—and what role was played by Jack Pickford, Olive’s husband and the brother of the actress then considered “America’s Sweetheart”?

Olive Thomas and Jack Pickford, c. 1920

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

Mary Pickford: America's Sweetheart by Scott Eyman

Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitfield

The First King of Hollywood: The Life of Douglas Fairbanks by Tracey Goessel

Olive Thomas: The Life and Death of a Silent Film Beauty by Michelle Vogel

“You Don’t Know Jack – A Second Take on Jack Pickford” (Parts One, Two and Three) by Steve Vaught 

“Cleanup of Paris Cafes May Follow Movie Stars Death” Daily News, September 44, 1920

“The Final Years of Jack Pickford” by Amy Marie, September 29, 2016

“Beautiful Dead Girl: On Early Hollywood Casualty Olive Thomas (Oct. 20, 1894 - Sept. 10, 1920) and The Olive Thomas Collection on DVD” by Gordon Thomas, September 10, 2015

“The Man Who Had Everything: The Curious Case of Jack Pickford and the New York Times” by Shane Brown, January 28, 2014

Special thanks to Allison Anders, who provided this image of Pickford and Thomas from her personal collection.

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is "The Upper Classes" by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsén 

Mississippi Ramble 1 - Martin Gauffin 

Sophisticated Gentlemen 3 - Magnus Ringblom

One Two Three 1 - Peter Sandberg 

Black and White Memories 3 - Martin Hall

Speakeasy 2

1920s Chicago 3 - Magnus Ringblom

Time To Tango - Håkan Eriksson 

Pesado Manouche 3 - John Ahlin

Widow’s Dance - Håkan Eriksson

Paris Waltz - Håkan Eriksson 

Say It Is So -Magnus Ringblom

Victoria’s Vintage Pearls 2 - Peter Sandberg

Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag 

Credits:

Our special guest this week is Gideon Yago.

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks.

via GIPHY

D.W. Griffith, the Gish Sisters and the origin of "Hollywood Babylon" (Fake News: Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon Episode 1)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This season will interrogate a book that is considered by many to be the urtext of salacious movieland gossip: Hollywood Babylon. Written by Kenneth Anger, a child actor turned director of experimental queer art films, Hollywood Babylon has been derided by some readers as a work of dangerous libel for its embellishments and, in some cases, outright fictions about real people and events. (Originally published in France in 1959, the book was not widely available in the US until 1975). Others have celebrated Anger’s bitchy tome as the ultimate, camp trolling of the movie industry and all of its sordid hypocrisy and corruption. Over the course of a two-part season (with part one exploring the silent era and part two, to come later in 2018, stretching from the 1930s into the late 1960s), we will examine some of the stories Anger tells and the way he tells them, and we’ll try to figure out the real story. Throughout, we’ll talk about how the seemingly contemporary concept of “fake news” has played a key role in Hollywood’s star-making (and star-destroying) apparatus from the industry’s earliest days, and how such practices mutated through the work of counter-narrators like Anger and beyond.

The phrase “Hollywood Babylon” entered the vernacular thanks to D.W. Griffith, one of Hollywood’s first great directors, who followed up the racist smash The Birth of a Nation with a less-successful historical epic called Intolerance. Anger’s use of that film’s Babylon set, which was left to stand and decay for years after the film came and went, as the structuring image of his gossip bible, helps to set the ironic tone of the book. But what of Anger’s accusations that Griffith was a known pedophile, and that his stars, sisters Dorothy and Lillian Gish, were incestuous?

D.W. Griffith on set, c. 1918

Lillian Gish and Dorothy Gish, c. 1920

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

This episode is a response to, and includes a brief excerpt from, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger.

The Parade’s Gone By by Kevin Brownlow

From Reverence to Rape by Molly Haskell

The Birth of a Nation: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America's Civil War by Dick Lehr

Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life by Charles Affron

D.W. Griffith: An American Life by Richard Schickel  

Sunshine And Shadow by Mary Pickford

Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story by David W. Menefee

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

“From Movie to Masterpiece” by Denison Clift, Oakland Tribune, April 28 1918, Page 18

Music:

Original music was composed for this episode by Evan Viola. Most of the rest of music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. The outro song this week is "Sister Like You" by The Auteurs.

Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:

Black and White Memories 3 - Martin Hall

Say It Is So - Magnus Ringblom

The Old House - Håkan Eriksson

Chamber String Rock - Håkan Eriksson

Sophisticated Gentlemen - Magnus Ringblom

The Smoke Room - Gunnar Johnsén  

Jazz and Blue Piano 1 - Jonaton Jarpehag 

Finkelstein’s Walk in the Rain - Per-Anders Nilsson 

Credits:

Our special guest this week is TS Faull, who read from Hollywood Babylon. TS last appeared on You Must Remember This episode 49 in our "Charles Manson's Hollywood" season, in which he played Kenneth Anger. 

This episode was written, narrated and produced by Karina Longworth.

Editors: Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith.

Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.

Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.

Logo design: Teddy Blanks

Kenneth Anger on the set of Lucifer Rising, 1970

Bela and Boris Episode 6: Boris Karloff and Roger Corman

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Where Bela Lugosi lived his last decade in sad obscurity, Boris Karloff worked until the very end of his life, even as his body began to fall apart. Some of that work was for Roger Corman, the extremely prolific independent genre film producer whose movies helped to define the generation gap in the 1960's, while serving as a training ground for the next generation of auteurs. Karloff’s and Corman’s finest collaboration, Peter Bogdanovich’s directorial debut Targets, would serve as a bridge between cinematica eras, paying tribute to Karloff and his long career while depicting events that were shockingly of-the-moment--and still relevant today. Featuring Patton Oswalt as Boris Karloff and Rian Johnson as Roger Corman. 

Director Roger Corman with Vincent Price on the set of The House of Usher, 1960

Boris Karloff in The Raven, 1963

Boris Karloff recording How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1966

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together by Gregory William Mank

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind

Who the Hell's in It: Conversations with Hollywood's Legendary Actors by Peter Bogdanovich

Roger Corman: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers Series) edited by Constantine Nasr

Roger Corman: Blood-Sucking Vampires, Flesh-Eating Cockroaches, and Driller Killers by Beverly Gray

"A Bucket of Blood" by David Kalat, TCM.com

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song "Weird Science" by Oingo Boingo. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz For Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "The Hipcat Swagger 3" by Martin Landh, "The Chairman of the Board 5" by Martin Landh, "Bachelor on the Move 1" by Martin Landh, "Bandit Dance" by Håkan Eriksson, "Bandit Dance 3" by Håkan Eriksson, "Optical Delusion 5" by Håkan Eriksson, "Wave Breaker" by Henrik Andersson, "Hot Rod Rebels 2" by Victor Olsson, "Psychedelic Background 2" by Merlean, "Bad Guy Approaching by Merlean, "Psychological Drama 4" by Marcus Ringblom, "Polka Dots" by Håkan Eriksson.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Winc.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Featuring Patton Oswalt as Boris Karloff and Rian Johnson as Roger Corman. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Boris Karloff in Targets, 1968

Bela and Boris Episode 5: Bela Lugosi and Ed Wood

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Forgotten by Hollywood, struggling with morphine addiction and a dependency on alcohol, at the end of his life Bela Lugosi was welcomed into a rag tag bunch of micro-budget movie-making freaks led by Edward D. Wood Jr,, who would later become known as the worst filmmaker of all time. Through their collaborations on movies like Glen or Glenda? and Bride of the Monster, did Ed Wood help Bela, exploit him, or a little of both? Featuring Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi and Noah Segan as Ed Wood. 

Bela Lugosi during a 1950's stage show.

Edward D. Wood Jr. (Ed Wood) c. 1950's

Bela Lugosi, Glen or Glenda?, 1953

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Lois Weber in Early Hollywood by Shelley Stamp

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together by Gregory William Mank

Ed Wood: Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Grey

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Bela Lugosi's Dead” by Bauhaus. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz For Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Mystery Minute 1" by Anders Ekengren, "Mercy Of The Wind 1" by Peter Sandberg, "Mercy Of The Wind 5" by Peter Sandberg, "Optical Delusion 3" by Håkan Eriksson, "Some Autumn Waltz 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, 
"Eccentric Vibes 4" by Håkan Eriksson, "Reflectif" (artist unknown), "At The Riviera 1" by Peter Sandberg, "Gagool" by Kevin MacLeod, "Etude No 3 For String Quartet" by Peter Sandberg, 

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Blue Apron.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Featuring Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi and Noah Segan as Ed Wood. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Bela Lugosi, 1955

Bela and Boris Episode 4: Bela vs. Boris

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Lugosi and Karloff, the two stars made by Universal’s monster movies, made eight films together. Today we’ll dive deep into some of these movies (including The Black Cat, The Raven, Son of Frankenstein and Val Lewton’s The Body Snatcher), and continue to explore how even when their careers brought them together, Karloff and Lugosi remained worlds apart. Featuring Patton Oswalt as Boris Karloff and Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi.

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff, The Black Cat, 1934

Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, The Raven, 1935

Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, Son of Frankenstein, 1939

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Lois Weber in Early Hollywood by Shelley Stamp

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together by Gregory William Mank

Fearing the Dark: The Val Lewton Career by Edmund G. Bansak

Icons of Grief: Val Lewton's Home Front Pictures by Alexander Nemerov

Val Lewton: The Reality of Terror by Joel E. Siegel

"'The Screen's Number One and Number Two Bogeymen': The Critical Reception of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in the 1930s and 1940s." by Mark Jancovich and Shane Brown. From Cult Film Stardom: Offbeat Attractions and Processes of Cultification

“Scare ‘Em To Death -- and Cash In” by Richard G. Hubler. Saturday Evening Post, May 23, 1942

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Penthouse and Pavement” by Heaven 17.  Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz For Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Psychological Drama 4" by Magnus Ringblom, "Clumsy Detective 02" by Thomas Lundgren,  "Russian Dance Off" by Håkan Eriksson, "Victoria's Vintage Pearls 2" by Peter Sandberg, "Pet Cemetery" by Håkan Eriksson, "Eccentric Vibes 11" by Håkan Eriksson, "Baltic Waltz" by Håkan Eriksson, "Discovery - Blute Solo" by William T. Stromberg from Son of Frankenstein, 1939, "Vampires Suck" by Jon Björk, "Etude No. 3 for String Quartet" by Peter Sandberg, "Reflectif" (Artist unknown), "Some Autumn Waltz 1" by Jonatan Järpehag. 

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by the Great Courses Plus and Squarespace. 

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Featuring Patton Oswalt as Boris Karloff and Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Bela and Boris Episode 3: Boris and the Monsters

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After twenty years as a journeyman actor/laborer, Boris Karloff became an instant superstar as the Monster in Frankenstein (1931). Today we’ll explore how Karloff, unlike Lugosi, managed to maintain a steady stardom throughout the decades, returning to the monster that made him without feeling trapped by the character. Featuring Patton Oswalt as Boris Karloff.

Jack P. Pierce preps Boris Karloff's hair and makeup for Frankenstein, 1931

Boris Karloff, The Mummy, 1932

Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in the Bride of Frankenstein, 1935

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Lois Weber in Early Hollywood by Shelley Stamp

“Scare ‘Em To Death -- and Cash In” by Richard G. Hubler. Saturday Evening Post, May 23, 1942

"'The Screen's Number One and Number Two Bogeymen': The Critical Reception of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in the 1930s and 1940s." by Mark Jancovich and Shane Brown. From Cult Film Stardom: Offbeat Attractions and Processes of Cultification

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Monster” by Kanye West.  Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz for Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Stalker" by Gunnar Johnsén, "Surfing Ghouls" by Håkan Eriksson, "Vampires Suck" by John Björk, "Undead Orchestra" by Håkan Eriksson, "Psychological Drama 4" by Magnus Ringblom, "Quirky Orchestra 5" by Josef Habib, "Clumsy Detective 02" by Thomas Lundgren, "Clumsy Detective 01" by Thomas Lundgren, "Russian Dance Off" by Håkan Eriksson, "Kingdom Of Baghk" by Vusal Zeinalov, "Menuetto And Storm" by Franz Waxman and Kenneth Alwyn from Bride of Frankenstein (1935), "The Tower Explodes and Finale" by Franz Waxman and Kenneth Alwyn from Bride of Frankenstein (1935), "Baltic Waltz" by Håkan Eriksson, "Victoria's Vintage Pearls 2" by Peter Sandberg, "Gagool" by Kevin MacLeod, "Mystery Minute 9" by Anders Ekengren.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by the Great Courses Plus and Blue Apron.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Special thanks to Patton Oswalt who guest stars as Boris Karloff. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Boris Karloff in Frankenstein 1970, 1958

Bela and Boris Episode 2: Bela and the Vampires

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

With Dracula (1931), Bela Lugosi instantly became the first horror star of sound cinema. It’s not easy being a trailblazer, and Bela would have difficulty capitalizing on his newfound stardom. In this episode we’ll discuss how Dracula made him, and trapped him, and trace the subsequent vampire roles that became his bread and butter.

Bela Lugosi, Dracula, 1931

Helen Chandler and Bela Lugosi, Dracula, 1931

Bela Lugosi, White Zombie, 1932

Bela Lugosi, Return of the Vampire, 1943

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Lois Weber in Early Hollywood by Shelley Stamp

“Scare ‘Em To Death -- and Cash In” by Richard G. Hubler. Saturday Evening Post, May 23, 1942

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Darkness” by The Human League. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Waltz for Cello 1” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Clumsy Detective 01 and 02” by Thomas Lundgren, “Reflectif” (Artist unknown), “Mystery Minute 5” by Anders Ekengren, “Victoria's Vintage Pearls 2” by Peter Sandberg,  “Bad Guy Approaching” by Merlean, “Vampires Suck” by Jon Björk,  “Chant” (uncredited) from White Zombie (1932), “Russian Dance Off” by Håkan Eriksson, “Some Autumn Waltz 1” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Playful and Slightly Mysterious Orchestral” by Gavin Luke, “Quirky Orchestra 5” by Josed Habib.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Special thanks to Taran Killam who guest stars as Bela Lugosi. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Bela Lugosi, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, 1948

Bela and Boris Episode 1: Where the Monsters Came From

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were two middle-aged, foreign, struggling actors who became huge stars thanks to Dracula and Frankenstein, the first two of a trend of monster movie hits released by Universal Studios during the 1930s. This season, we’ll discuss their parallel but very different lives and careers. Today, we’ll start by exploring where each man came from, what they were doing before they got to Universal, and why Universal began making monster movies in the first place.

Universal City, c. 1915

Carl Laemmle (center) Carl Laemmle Jr. and his sister Rosabelle, c. 1930

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources: 

The Moguls: Hollywood's Merchants of Myth by Norman J. Zierold

The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig

Silent Stars by Jeanine Basinger

A History of Horror by Wheeler Winston Dixon

Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946, 2nd Ed. By Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas and Tom Brunas

Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the 1930s by Christopher Workman and Troy Howarth

City of Dreams: The Making and Remaking of Universal Pictures by Bernard F. Dick

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory

Lois Weber in Early Hollywood by Shelley Stamp

“Scare ‘Em To Death -- and Cash In” by Richard G. Hubler. Saturday Evening Post, May 23, 1942

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Everyday is like Halloween” by Ministry. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz for Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Russian Dance Off " by Håkan Eriksson, "Reflectif" (Artist Unknown), "Kingdom of Baghk" by Vusal Zeinalov, Audio from the film King of Jazz (1930), "Gagool" by Kevin MacLeod, "At the Riviera" by Peter Sandberg, "Some Autumn Waltz 1" by Jonatan Järpehag.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by the Great Courses Plus and Blue Apron.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Bela Lugosi, c. 1920's

Boris Karloff, c. 1920's

The Last of Jean/Jane Works Out (Jean and Jane Episode 9)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Jean Seberg, now plagued with mental illness and alcoholism, comes to a tragic end in Paris. Jane Fonda reinvents herself, once again, for the 80s.

Jean Seberg with her third husband Dennis Berry, c. 1970's

Jean Seberg Les Hautes Solitudes, 1974 | Image via NYTimes & Film Desk

Jon Voight and Jane Fonda at the Academy Awards, 1979

Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda 9 to 5, 1980

Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Jane Fonda On Golden Pond, 1981

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Breathless by Garry McGee

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

“The Vietnam Oscars” by Peter Biskind, Vanity Fair, March, 2008

“A Conversation with Philippe Garrel” by Vadim Rizov, January 13, 2016, filmmakermagazine.com

“A Showbiz Saint Grows Up or Whatever Happened to Jean Seberg” by Bart  Mills, June 16, 1974

“Review: ‘Les Hautes Solitudes,’ the Silent Sides of Jean Seberg (Mostly)” by Manohla Dargis, February 23, 2017

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Message of Love” by The Pretenders. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me In Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “Dust 1” by Emil Axelsson, “My Island 3” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Quantum Jazz” by Chris MacLeod, “Devil’s Canyon 1” by Håkan Eriksson, “Groovy Development” by Christian Andersen, “The Diary” by Johannes Bornlof, “Into the Earth 4” by Gunnar Johnsen, “Drop World 6” by Niklas Ahlström, “Salty Breeze 1” by Martin Gauffin, “Readers Do You Read” by Chris Zabriskie, “Out of the Skies Under the Earth” by Chris Zabriskie, “My Island 2” by Jonatan Järpehag.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by American Express and Naturebox and Great Courses Plus.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Coming Home (Jean and Jane Episode 8)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Jean buries her child in Iowa, and then returns to Paris in a fragile mental state. Increasingly plagued by both justifiable paranoia and delusions, she makes her last significant films (including another misguided collaboration with Romain Gary), and another attempt at marriage. Back in the States, Jane subsumes her passion for activism into her new marriage to Tom Hayden, and works to get her movie career back on track by producing commercial yet socially conscious vehicles in which she can star in. One of these films, Coming Home, would become both an anti-war and feminist landmark, and would win Jane another Oscar.

Jean Seberg and Dennis Berry at the Last Tango in Paris premiere, 1972

Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden and their son Troy Garity, Santa Monica, c. 1975

Jon Voight and Jane Fonda, Coming Home, 1978

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Breathless by Garry McGee

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

Jane Fonda's War: A Political Biography Of An Antiwar Icon by Mary Hershberger

“Barbarella Goes Radical” by Susan McLeland, from the book Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal edited by Adrienne L. McLean and David A Cook  

“About New York” by John Korry, The New York Times, March 27, 1974

“The Vietnam Oscars” by Peter Biskind, Vanity Fair, March, 2008

“Romain Gary, Who Says He Wants Peace and Quiet, Stirs Storm With Hollywood Memoir” by John L. Hess, The New York Times, April 27, 1970

Operation Last Patrol directed by Frank Cavestani.

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Ecstasy” by PJ Harvey. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me in Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “Easy Lynch Guitars 1” by Johan Hynynen, “Earthbound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Salty Breeze”, “Earthbound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Tomorrow I'll Be Gone” by Franz Gordon, “Easy Lynch Guitars 2” by Johan Hynynen, “Modern “Vintage Gypsy 2” by Gavin Luke, “Devils Canyon 1” by Håkan Eriksson, “Song For Johanna” by Franz Gordon, “Mediterranean Mix 10” by Stefan Netsman, “Groovy Development” by Christian Andersen, “Musique a la Carte 5” by John Ahlin, “Last Exit To Earth” by Håkan Eriksson, “A Trace Of Light 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “I Need to Start Writing Things Down” by Chris Zabriskie.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Audible, American Express and Winc.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Hanoi Jane and the FBI vs. Jean Seberg's Baby (Jean and Jane Episode 7)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

After shooting a film with a much-changed Jean-Luc Godard, Jane Fonda travels to Vietnam, where she naively participates in a stunt that would leave her branded “Hanoi Jane” for decades. The world media had a field day mocking her, the US government set to work plotting to destroy her, and Jane would seek refuge in a new relationship with activist-turned-politician Tom Hayden. Meanwhile, in the midst of divorcing Romain Gary, Jean found herself pregnant. Having wiretapped a phone call between Jean and a Black Panther about her pregnancy, the FBI decided to “neutralize” both Seberg and her unborn child.

Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland during a F.T.A. performance, 1971

Jane Fonda accepts her Academy Award for Best Actress, 1972

Jane Fonda during her 1972 visit to Hanoi, North Vietnam

Jean Seberg and David Janssen, Macho Callahan, 1970

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Breathless by Garry McGee

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story by Elaine Brown

My Story by Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

Jane Fonda's War: A Political Biography Of An Antiwar Icon by Mary Hershberger

“Barbarella Goes Radical” by Susan McLeland from the book Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal edited by Adrienne L. McLean and David A Cook

“The Authorized Version : How I Fell in Love With Jane” by Tom Hayden, Los Angeles Times, May 5, 1988

“Total recall” by John Patterson, TheGuardian.com, September 2, 2005

“The Truth About My Trip To Hanoi” by Jane Fonda, JaneFonda.com, July 22, 2011

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “A Mistake” by Fiona Apple. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me in Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “Easy Lynch Guitars 1” by Johan Hynynen, “EarthBound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Salty Breeze”, “Earthbound 1” by Joachim Nilsson, “Tomorrow I'll Be Gone” by Franz Gordon, “Easy Lynch Guitars 2” by Johan Hynynen, “Modern Vintage Gypsy 2” by Gavin Luke, “Devils Canyon 1” by Håkan Eriksson, “Song For Johanna” by Franz Gordon, “Mediterranean Mix 10” by Stefan Netsman, “Groovy Development” by Christian Andersen, “Musique a la Carte 5” by John Ahlin, “Last Exit To Earth” by Håkan Eriksson, “A Trace Of Light 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “I Need to Start Writing Things Down” by Chris Zabriskie.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus and American Express.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Jane vs. Barbarella (Jean and Jane Episode 5)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Having coaxed Jane into participating in an open marriage, Vadim began casting her in films as a male fantasy of female sexual liberation. This phase of her career would peak with Barbarella, a sci-fi film based on an erotic comic book featuring Jane as a horny space warrior. Jane’s perfect body was on full display and fetishized the world over, but no one knew the self-destruction that went on behind the scenes in order to maintain her looks. While Vadim was building her up as an international sex kitten, Jane was gradually becoming more socially conscious. For all of his experience with women, Roger Vadim didn’t know what to do with a woke wife.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Bardot, Deneuve, Fonda by Roger Vadim

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind

“Barbarella Goes Radical” by Susan McLeland, from the book Headline Hollywood: A Century of Film Scandal edited by Adrienne L. McLean and David A Cook  

“Heres What Happened to Baby Jane” by Gerald Jonas, The New York Times, January 22, 1967

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Gloria” by Patti Smith. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Groovy Development " by Christian Andersen, "Neighbours At Night 2" by Martin Hall, "Salty Breeze 1" by Martin Gauffin, "Easy Lynch Guitars 2" by Johan Hynynen, "Swamp Fever 3" by Håkan Eriksson, "Old Time Action 2" by Gunnar Johnsén, "Psychedelic Weirdo Lounge" by Håkan Eriksson, "A Mysterious Presence" by Håkan Eriksson, "You're In Trouble Deep" by Anders Bothén, "Ambient Acoustic Guitar 19" by Anders Ekengren, "Ambient Acoustic Guitar 18" by Anders Ekengren, "Meet The Macho Man 1" by Bo Järpehag, "Meet Me in Queens 2" by Orjan Karlsson, "Suburban Life 3" by Gavin Luke, "High Stakes" by Nicklas Ahlstrom.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron, Naturebox and American Express.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Embed from Getty Images

Jean vs. Lilith (Jean and Jane Episode 4)

Listen, download this episode, or find on iTunes.

Having left her husband to be the mistress of writer/diplomat Romain Gary, Jean secretly gave birth to a son, and then made the movie that she thought would prove herself as an actress once and for all. In Lilith, Seberg would go all in on her portrayal of madness -- perhaps too deep. After a disastrous collaboration with Gary, Jean happily accepted an offer to star in a big budget Hollywood musical. But it was 1969, the studio system had crumbled, and that musical -- Paint Your Wagon -- would become a symbol of everything that was wrong with the Hollywood establishment.

Jean Seberg and Romain Gary, 1960's

Jean-Pierre Cassel and Jean Seberg in Five Day Lover (1961)

Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty and in Lilith (1964)

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Star: The Life and Wild Times of Warren Beatty by Peter Biskind

The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Notorious Life by Robert Evans

The Talent Scout by Romain Gary

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Schizophrenia” by Sonic Youth. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Modern Vintage Gypsy 3” by Gavin Luke, “Readers Do You Read” by Chris Zabriskie, “Meet Me In Queens 2” by Orjan Karlsson, “A Trace of Light 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “Musique a la Carte 5” by John Ahlin, “Song for Johanna” by Franz Gordon, “Some Autumn Waltz 1” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Latin Quarters Jazz Band 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “Les Beaux Jours 3” by Martin Gauffin, “Past Closing Time 3” by Magnus Ringblom, “High Stakes” by Niklas Ahlstrom, “Suburban Life 3” by Gavin Luke.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus, Audible and American Express.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Maurice Ronet and Jean Seberg in Birds in Peru (1968)

Jean and Jane in Paris (Jean and Jane Episode 3)

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Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

With her Hollywood career already something of a disappointment, Jean Seberg took a chance on a French film critic turned first-time director who wanted her to play an amoral American in an experimental movie without a script. The result was Breathless, the catalyzing hit of the French New Wave and the movie that would make Jean Seberg an icon. Soon thereafter, Jane Fonda got her own invitation to come make a movie in Paris, where she’d soon fall in love with Roger Vadim, the man who discovered Brigitte Bardot. Jane Fonda would become Vadim’s new creative muse, as well as his third wife.

Jean Seberg with first husband François Moreuil in Paris, 1959, Photo by Mark Shaw

Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim at ther wedding in Las Vegas, 1965, Photo by Dennis Hopper

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard by Richard Brody

Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip by John Gilmore

Jean Seberg interview with Mike Wallace

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Paris” by Lana Del Ray. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me In Queens 2” by Örjan Karlsson, “Surfing Ghouls” by Håkan Eriksson, “Song For Johanna” by Franz Gordon, “Latin Quarters Jazz Band 2” by Magnus Ringblom, “Past Closing Time 3” by Magnus Ringblom, “Widows Dance” by Håkan Eriksson, “Ambient Acoustic Guitar 18” by Anders Ekengren, “Cinema Francais 4” by Magnus Ringblom, “Modern Vintage Gypsy 2” by Gavin Luke, “Modern Vintage Gypsy 3” by Gavin Luke, “Musique A La Carte 05” by John Åhlin, “Nightclub Standoff” by Håkan Eriksson, “Meet Me In Queens 3” by Örjan Karlsson, “Easy Lynch Guitars 2” by Johan Hynynen.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by The Great Courses Plus

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Jean-Luc Godard, Raoul Cotard, Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the set of Breathless, 1960, Photo by Raymond Cauchetier

Jane Fonda and Alain Delon in Joy House, 1964

Jean and Otto Preminger/Jane in New York (Jean and Jane Episode 2)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

Jean Seberg made her first two films, Saint Joan and Bonjour Tristesse, for director Otto Preminger, a tyrannical svengali character whose methods would traumatize Jean for the rest of her life and career. No wonder she rebelled against this bad dad figure by marrying a handsome French opportunist. Meanwhile, Jane Fonda moves to New York, joins the Actors Studio, takes up with her own hyper-controlling male partner, and tries to define herself as something other than Henry Fonda’s daughter.

Jean Seberg and Otto Preminger, c. late 1950's

Jean Seberg in Bonjour Tristesse, 1958

Jane Fonda in a stage production of There Was A Little Girl, 1960

Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor in Sunday in New York, 1963

SHOW NOTES:  

Sources:

Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman by Patricia Bosworth

My Life So Far by Jane Fonda

The World and Its Double: The Life and Work of Otto Preminger by Chris Fujiwara

Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story by David Richards

Preminger: An Autobiography by Otto Preminger

“Two Saint Joans, Old and New” by L.R. Swainson, The Age, February 12, 1957

Photo of Otto Preminger kissing Seberg from Los Angeles Times, October 22, 1956

Music:

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Meet Me In Queens 1, 2 and 3” by Örjan Karlsson, “By the Lake in the Evening” by Franz Gordon, “Be Still” by Johannes Bornlöf, “Widows Dance” by Håkan Eriksson, “Musique A La Carte 01” by John Åhlin, “Weekly” by Martin Gauffin, “Swing Manouche 05” by John Åhlin, “Old Time Action 2” by Gunnar Johnsén, “Cadillac Quiff Boys 1” by Victor Olsson, “Hot Rod Rebels 5” by Victor Olsson, “Hippies On A Bus 1” by Martin Landh, “It Takes Four” by Niklas Ahlstrom, “Readers Do You Read” by Chris Zabriskie.

Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Blue Apron, Naturebox and Squarespace.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.