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The Murder of Ramon Novarro – Episode 5
Ramon Novarro never really reconciled with who he was and was troubled by his conflicted feelings he had for his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality. He hid being gay so he could keep working in Hollywood and the pressure lead to a life-long struggle with alcoholism. Fortunately, he had purchased a home with the…
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The Murder of Ramon Novarro – Episode 4
In 1935, when his contract with MGM Studios expired, the studio opted not to renew. Novarro struggled to find work, but occasionally found roles to earn an income. By the 1940s, he was working less frequently, but in 1949 he landed a supporting part in John Huston’s, We Were Strangers. In the 1950s his work…
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The Murder of Ramon Novarro – Episode 3
Ramon Novarro achieved his biggest success in 1925 with the silent film version of Ben-Hur. With revealing costumes he became a sex symbol with the film’s release and a Hollywood heartthrob overnight. After Rudolph Valentino’s death in 1926, Novarro became the top Latin actor in Hollywood and was known for his swashbuckler action roles. Considered…
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The Murder of Ramon Novarro – Episode 2
Born in 1899, Ramon Novarro was a Mexican-American actor who began his career in silent films in 1917. He worked his way up to a leading man and eventually became one of the top box-office stars of the silent film era. During the 1920s MGM named him its “Latin lover” and he took over the…
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The Murder of Ramon Novarro – Episode 1
Prosecutors surmised that in the murder case of Ramon Novarro, two young men – believing that a large sum of money was hidden in Novarro’s house – entered his home on October 30, 1968, looking for the loot. Authorities believe the brothers tortured Novarro for hours to force him to reveal where he’d hidden his…
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Holidays by the Lake
Before our 2025 series kicks off we have a special holiday treat episode. In the past we used to do a podcast episode of our old series The Movie Files during the holidays of a film that takes place during the Christmas season that’s not really a Christmas movie. To revisit the tradition we offer…
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Q&A
As we close out this series, the final episode offers some questions and some answers behind Bette Davis, Wicked Stepmother, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan Crawford and Wicked Becomes Her.
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The Science of 007
Though we havent see James Bond on the big screen recently and fans are looking forward to a new action hero and a new feature film, in this special episode of The Movie Files we revisit the man with the license to kill to talk a little about Bond history – and our book The…
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The Filming
The filming of Wicked Stepmother would be a troubling experience for everyone involved, but more so for its star. As health troubles made it difficult to work, she would exit the production after little more than a week on the set. The director would face a decision as to what to do what his film…
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The 80s
As Bette Davis ages, the roles grew fewer and farther between, but she managed to find the occasional film or TV project, as well as appearance on awards shows and talk shows. It was one of those appearances that gave Larry Cohen the idea to craft a film with Bette Davis in mind. The idea…
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Bette’s Movies
As Bette Davis struggled to remain relevant past Baby Jane, she would take on a number of roles, but be largely trapped in the horror genre of the day. Similarly, Joan Crawford would also find herself starring in horror films. By the 1980s, Crawford was gone, but Bette was working more and more in TV.…
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Baby Jane
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? would forever tie Bette Davis with Joan Crawford. The iconic motion picture would inspire a host of films and keep both Crawford and Davis working through the 1960s. It would also be one of the stories that gave director Larry Cohen the drive to created Bette Davis’s final film,…
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The Movie Files – Green Dolphin Street
We head off to New Zealand and the world of special effects, but through the eyes of Hollywood for the film version of the novel Green Dolphin Street. Though the movie largely takes place in New Zealand, the movie was filmed on MGM soundstages and released in 1947. But New Zealand is at the heart…
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Movie Queen
As we revisit the career of Bette Davis, this episode looks at her highs and lows and how the actress, star and movie queen would struggle and thrive in Hollywood. All the challenges she faced in the 1950s and 60s would prepare her to do battle with her final director, Larry Cohen.
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Wicked Stepmother
This time we dig deeper into the story behind how Wicked Stepmother came to life and how director Larry Cohen landed Bette Davis as the star of his film. Written with Davis in mind, Cohen’s film was inspired in part by the many film Davis made in her later years and would be a black…
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