In a Lonely Place

📽 1942: This Gun for Hire (film noir crime) stars Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Alan Ladd, Laird Cregar, and Robert Ferguson.

Veronica Lake

November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973

☆ American film, stage, and television actress. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in films noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, her peek-a-boo hairstyle, and films such as Sullivan's Travels (1941) and I Married a Witch (1942).

Betty Grable

December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973

☆ American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she placed among the Quigley Poll's top 10 box office stars (a feat only matched by Doris Day, Julia Roberts and Barbra Streisand, although all were surpassed by Mary Pickford, with 13 years).

☆ She had contracts with RKO, Paramount Pictures, and 20th Century Fox and co-starred with leading men such as Victor Mature, Don Ameche, John Payne and Tyrone Power.

☆ Throughout her career, Grable was a celebrated sex symbol. Her bathing-suit poster made her the top pin-up girl of World War II, surpassing Rita Hayworth. The photo was later included in the Life magazine project "100 Photographs That Changed the World". Hosiery specialists of the era often noted the ideal proportions of Grable's legs and thighs (18.5 in (47 cm)), calf (12 in (30 cm)) and ankle (7.5 in (19 cm)). Her legs were insured by her studio for $1 million as a publicity stunt. Describing her film career, Grable said: "I became a star for two reasons, and I'm standing on them."

Lana Turner

February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995

☆ American actress had a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. In the mid-1940s, she was one of the highest-paid American actresses, and one of MGM's biggest stars, with her films earning over one billion dollars in 2026 currency for the studio during her 18-year contract with them. Turner is frequently cited as a popular culture icon due to her glamorous persona, and a screen legend of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Jayne Mansfield 

April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967

☆ American actress, Playboy Playmate, and singer. Mansfield was a sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s, and was known for her numerous publicity stunts, her buxom figure, and her personal life. She gained a reputation as Hollywood's "smartest dumb blonde".

Jeanne Eagels ~born June 26, 1890 in Kansas City, Missouri

🎞 American stage and film actress. Eagels appeared in many Broadway productions, and in the emerging medium of sound films.

She appeared opposite John Gilbert in the MGM film Man, Woman and Sin (1927), directed by Monta Bell. In 1928, after failing to appear for a performance of Her Cardboard Lover in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Eagels was banned from the stage for 18 months by Actors Equity. The ban did not stop Eagels from working in film, and she made two sound films for Paramount Pictures, The Letter and Jealousy, both released in 1929.

Cyd Charisse

March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008

☆ American actress and dancer renowned for her elegance, athleticism, and extraordinary grace in some of Hollywood's greatest movie musicals.

Her talent and striking presence eventually attracted the attention of Hollywood studios, and she rose to prominence in the 1950s as one of the leading stars of movie musicals produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She became famous for her dance partnerships with legendary performers such as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.

Among her most celebrated films were Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Band Wagon (1953), Brigadoon (1954), and Silk Stockings (1957). In The Band Wagon, her dance sequences with Fred Astaire became some of the most iconic moments in musical film history, while her work with Gene Kelly showcased both her athleticism and dramatic flair.

Although Charisse was also a capable actress, it was her dancing that made her a legend. Her long legs, fluid movements, and expressive performances became hallmarks of her screen presence. She helped elevate dance sequences into artistic highlights that remain celebrated by film historians and audiences alike.

Her contributions to entertainment were recognized with numerous honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Carlyle Blackwell

January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955

☆ American silent film actor, director and producer.

He made his film debut in the 1910 Vitagraph Studios production of Uncle Tom's Cabin directed by J. Stuart Blackton. Between then and 1930, when talkies ended his acting career, he appeared in more than 180 films. For his contributions to the film industry, Blackwell has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard.

📽 1937: Way Out West stars Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Sharon Lynn, Rosina Lawrence and James Finlayson.

• Laurel and Hardy embark on a quest to locate Mary Roberts (Lawrence), the rightful heir to a substantial inheritance, including a gold mine deed, following news of her father's demise. Discovering Mary amidst the West's cabaret milieu, they encounter formidable obstacles in the form of her legal guardians, indifferent to her well-being and intent on usurping her wealth.

Stan Laurel ~ born June 16, 1890 in Ulverston, Lancashire, England

📽 1950: House by the River American psychological crime drama directed starring Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman and Jane Wyatt.

• A rich Victorian-era novelist Stephen Byrne (Hayward) who lives and works by a river, accidentally kills his attractive maid after she resists his drunken advances. Stephen coaxes his crippled brother John (Bowman) to help him dispose of the body. They stuff the body in a boat and dump it into the river. Days later, the sack and body float to the surface and pass Stephen's house. He desperately tries to retrieve it in the water, but fails. The police recover the bundle and, because John's initials have been stenciled on the sack, it is all traceable to him.

Spencer Tracy

April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967

☆ American actor that was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor, from nine nominations.

During his career, he appeared in 75 films and developed a reputation among his peers as one of the screen's greatest actors.

In 1942, he appeared with Katharine Hepburn in Woman of the Year, beginning a professional and personal partnership that led to nine films over 25 years. In 1955, Tracy won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film Bad Day at Black Rock.