#rod la rocque

[citizenscreen]

Barbara Stanwyck and Rod La Rocque in THE LOCKED DOOR (1929), directed by George Fitzmaurice

[gatutor]

Rod La Rocque-Pola Negri "La frivolidad de una dama" (Forbidden paradise) 1924, de Ernst Lubitsch.

[jeanharlowshair]

Picture-Play Magazine, March 1927.

[from1837to1945]

"While you're so earnest about your Ten Commandments, isn't there one which says something about—'coveting your brother's wife'?"

[marbleindex1]

Barbara Stanwyck and Rod La Rocque (The Locked Door 1929)

[adrian-paul-botta]

Conrad Nagel, Lillian Gish and Rod LaRocque - Opening at United Artists May 16 1930 (One Romantic Night - The Swan) Promotional Photo

[tavoit]

Before The Rock, there was La Rocque

Rod La Rocque

[silentdivasblog]

Rod La Rocque ❤️

[letterboxd-loggd]

Frisco Waterfront (When We Look Back) (1935) Arthur Lubin and Joseph Santley

July 8th 2023

[citizenscreen]

Rod La Rocque and Barbara Stanwyck in George Fitzmaurice’s THE LOCKED DOOR (1929)

[gatutor]

Rod La Rocque-Edythe Chapman "Los diez mandamientos" (The ten commandments) 1923, de Cecil B. DeMille.

[the1920sinpictures]

1929 Rod La Rocque and Barbara Stanwyck in "The Locked Door". From The Forgotten Splendour, FB.

[from1837to1945]

The Ten Commandments (1923, Cecil B. DeMille)

[bala5]

Born Maria Guadalupe Velez de Villalobos near Mexico City on July 18, 1908, the early life of gorgeous Lupe Velez is somewhat of a mystery. Some biographers claim she was the daughter of a prostitute, while others claim that her mother was a singer and her father was an Army officer who was killed during the waning days of the Mexican Revolution. Velez's mother and siblings relocated to Texas in the early 1920s only to soon return to Mexico City, where Velez took a job as a shop girl. And avid student of dance and song, Velez soon made her way onstage in musical shows in her native country. At the age of 18, she left Mexico City for Hollywood in search of a big break into silent films. She was quickly discovered by producer Hal Roach, who recognized her comedic gifts and used her in several comedy shorts starring Charley Chase and Laurel and Hardy. Her breakthrough role came in 1927 when she was cast in a starring role opposite Douglas Fairbanks in the United Artists adventure The Gaucho (1928; with Joan Barclay). Her next film was the drama Stand and Deliver (1928; with Rod La Rocque and Warner Oland). That same year, Velez was selected by the Western Association Of Motion Picture Advertisers as one of its WAMPAS baby stars, along with other actresses such as Lina Basquette, Sue Carol, June Collyer, and Sally Eilers.

During the waning days of the silents, Velez became a star in popular films such as Where East Is East (1929; with Lon Chaney) and Tiger Rose (1929; with Monte Blue and Grant Withers). Her first sound feature, Lady of the Pavements (1929; with William Boyd and Franklin Pangborn), was one of famed silent director D.W. Griffith's last assignments.

Velez's career survived the transition to sound rather nicely, but she often scandalized Hollywood with romantic exploits with her costars, including Gary Cooper and Gilbert Roland. In 1933, she married Tarzan actor Johnny Weissmuller, but their frequent rifts made headlines and did nothing for Velez's career, which began a slow decline. Her sexually energized pre-Code roles had made her a star, but when the Hays Production Code was enforced in 1934, dramatic roles for Velez vanished, so she returned to comedy in B movies. Possessing a gift for song, Velez also acted on the Broadway stage in several musicals during the early 1930s and again in the late 1930s. By 1939, her marriage to Weissmuller had ended, and her career had few bright spots until she was cast in the RKO comedy The Girl from Mexico (1939; with Leon Errol and Donald Woods). Velez's performance was so stellar and well-received that RKO built a series around the film called Mexican Spitfire, which included eight films.

[adrian-paul-botta]

Conrad Nagel, Lillian Gish, Rod LaRocque, OP Heggie and Marie Dressler in a scene from ''One Romantic Night'' aka The Swan (1930)

[afterlunchpodcast]

Michael and Rob travel back to the late 1930s for the first screen adaptations of the pulp hero The Shadow. The Shadow Strikes (1937) and International Crime (1938) both star Rod La Rocque as the Shadow, or at least Lamont Cranston. Or Granston. We'll get into it.

(via After Lunch Podcast: 309 | Rod La Rocque as The Shadow)