Henry Hull, who may be best known as passenger Rittenhouse in "Lifeboat" and as star of "Werewolf of London" (1935) appeared in three 1947 MGM releases. (My snapshot is dated June 28, 1946) I can only guess that this was taken for "High Barbaree" where he played Dr. William G. Brooke. I say this because the other two '47 films, "Deep Valley" (where Hull played poor and uneducated father to Ida Lupino) and "Mourning Becomes Electra" (O'Neill period piece) don't jive with Henry's suit, fedora & pocket watch. Of course, there is always the possibility that he was up for a part & was tested and/or photographed, but it came to naught.
And yes, dearest Cookie was spot on with his guess of Nina Foch! Born with a name that begged changing, Nina Consuelo Maud Fock was known for playing cool, aloof women. We'd loved seeing her play Frannie Halcyon in "Tales of the City". Did you know that the first of her three husbands was James Lipton, host of "Inside the Actor's Studio"? I didn't, but do now.
Again having to guess, George Murphy (third photo) was probably testing for either "Tenth Avenue Angel" or "Big City". George, who won an honorary Oscar in in 1951, was a song and dance man who, after serving as President of the Screen Actors Guild, went on to serve as V.P. of Desilu Studios and Technicolor Corporation. In 1964, he was elected to the US Senate, serving until 1971. Little Ronnie Reagan once referred to Murphy as, "...my John the Baptist." I'm sure you're all just thrilled with that minutiae.
When I was in third grade, in Sunday School at Brith Emeth Temple in Pepper Pike Ohio, the teacher called on me and asked who was Moses mother. The Ten Commandments had been on TV the week before so I answered "Nina Foch", which was technically correct because the teacher did say "in real life". She told me I was wrong. I told her she "didn't know anything," a phrase my father used on me all the time. I was kicked out of Sunday School for being "fresh". So Nina Foch (who played Moses' adoptive mother) will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart.
ReplyDelete