The Old Movie Lady Podcast

It's the season finale! Join The Old Movie Lady in saying goodbye to the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers and the Hollywood they sprung from, as well as the remaining Wampas Baby Stars of 1934. Featuring a disgusting director, a stunt woman, a hot professor boyfriend, a few name changes with mixed results, and a staunch character! Good luck, Babies... we'll be seeing you ... or wi...

In this short but densely packed episode of The Old Movie Lady Podcast, Marg explores the downfall of the Wampas themselves, while also telling you stories of true love (with a stunt man!), an opera singer, fake quadruplets, Ann Rutherford's sister, and more! This episode contains mention of grooming and sexual assault of a minor (not in detail), well as (mild) language that may be inappropriate f...

What was the secret behind 1932 Wampas Baby Star Ginger Rogers and her astronomical success? A Svengali-like dance mentor? A relentlessly ambitious stage mother who didn't really care about her daughter? Pure luck that allowed "not a real actress" to get by on charm and dancing alone? Hint: It's none of the above, but plenty of people have suggested it might be! This special Close Up episode featu...

With 15 Wampas Baby Stars of 1932 (7 in this very episode!) there's so much to watch out for including: a producer of children's theatre shows (a liar), a head of the Olympic committee (a pig), the diet guru to the stars (a jerk), a cliff (too high), and the Sahara Desert (very big). All that and more! This episode contains mention of body shaming and historical dieting advice, intimate partner vi...

Back from a hiatus and recording with a dog sitting beside her, The Old Movie Lady is ready to tell you all about 7 of the 15 (!!) Wampas Baby Stars of 1932! Listen for stories about a panther girl, systemic racism, a lawyer who pulled some strings, why Erich Von Stroheim should have been publicly shamed, and stardom some 65 years in the making! This episode contains mention of racism, sexual assa...

We finish off the Wampas Baby Stars list of 1931 with stories that include: the luckiest girl in Hollywood, appendicitis, an angry fan club president, and spies! Featuring: Carl Laemmle Jr, Joel McCrea, James Cagney, Dick Powell, and many more! This episode contains brief mention of racism, intimate partner violence, and grooming, as well as (mild) language that may be inappropriate for some liste...

After a misguided fundraiser ruffled some feathers, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers revived their Baby Stars list... and royally pissed off Fox in the process. This episode has everything : a leopard, bonafide creeps, a British boyfriend, and a nose like a sweet potato! This episode contains mention of sexual harassment and (mild) language that may be inappropriate for some l...

In 1930, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers cancelled the election for new Baby Stars at the very last minute! What on earth will the Old Movie Lady have to tell you about? Get ready for an absolutely breathless, rapid fire, only the most vital bits of information, speed round of profiles of the unelected nominees that year: the Wampas Babies that weren't! Featuring The Ooh-la-l...

The Steel Butterfly, Saint Loretta... one of the most prominent Catholic women in the movie industry, one of the most successful Wampas Baby Stars of all time, a television pioneer, an Academy Award winner, and the central figure in one of the most elaborate cover-ups in Hollywood history, the full picture of which would not be revealed for decades: Loretta Young. Featuring Clark Gable, Spencer Tr...

More Wampas Baby Stars of 1929 are here and they have troubles... studio troubles, voice troubles, typecasting troubles, husband troubles, even sister troubles! Featuring a 50 Grand Baby, and a fight between a Woody and a Forest over a Twelvetrees, and that's all in the same segment! But there's more, including great tips on keeping your hands lovely and The Old Movie Lady doing her very best "cow...

Legend has it that when Jean Arthur walked out of Columbia Studios for the very last time, she shouted "I'm free! I'm free!" If it didn't happen that way, well, Jean had her own habit of stretching the truth so The Old Movie Lady thinks it's okay. She was the unusual character with the quirky voice who became a star in her mid-thirties (shhh!) and appeared in a string of classics like Mr Deeds Goe...

All the plans are set for 1929's Annual Wampas Frolic and Ball, where the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers introduce the latest batch of Baby Stars to the world. The venue is booked, tickets are sold, what could go wrong? Find this out, and more including why Marg the Old Movie Lady called Louis B. Mayer a "rat f*cker"... Hooray! Also includes stories of the microphone's "Nordic s...

All the hot goss from the Annual Wampas Frolic and Ball plus a (fantasy) inside peek at what the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers did in their spare time in "The Wampas Exposed" special feature! There are gyrations! This clip show (sorry!) features Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, jokes at Charlie Chaplin's expense (he had it coming), Rudolph Val...

Go beyond the grim and tasteless urban legend that surrounds her tragic death in this special Close Up episode of The Old Movie Lady Podcast, where Marg explores the life and career of a woman Gary Cooper described as being as “elusive as quicksilver” — the one and only Lupe Vélez .  This episode contains mention of suicide and intimate partner violence, as well as language which may be inapp...

Welcome back to 1928, there's so much to tell you! Includes stories of a starlet who dated a prince, a "pumpkin" dressed in an evening gown (get ready to roll your eyes), a Wampas getting the girl... eventually... and more! Listen to hear The Old Movie Lady nearly-answer important questions like "Is this the elusive film The Romance of the Bathing Girl"? And "Did a Wampas Baby kick an evil dictato...

The Wampas Frolic and Ball of 1928 may not have had as many attendees as they'd hoped but it did have violence! Thrills and chills! Hear all about it on this week's episode, which also includes tales of a married woman's younger lover, a girl who wouldn't undress, the quest to cast Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and much more! Featuring appearances by various Barrymores, Harold Lloyd, and a baby named...

In this special (slightly shorter!) episode of The Old Movie Lady Podcast, learn all about the first steps in the journey from Silent Films to Talkies, including unsuccessful inventions, poorly explained business dealings, and how The Jazz Singer killed Sam Warner! Listen close to hear Marg call some very serious engineers some very cute words of endearment, and more! This episode contains (mild)...

Ooooh, the Wampas boys got in trouble! Tsk tsk tsk. Find out what they did to piss off the Associated Press and more with the second half of 1927's Wampas Baby Stars, including tales of a lumpy dog named Bobo, a bit of bum, the complete inability to grasp direction, an elderly woman flying a plane, and when real success involves taking your pants off! This episode may contain (mild) language that...

It's 1927 and the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers are back with a new crop of Wampas Baby Stars! Let Marg the Old Movie Lady regale you with tales of less successful sisters, a fateful trip to Honolulu, and a rogue bit of fringe. Listen to find out what Douglas Fairbanks made everyone watch him do at the Wampas Frolic and Ball, and more than one (two, can you believe it?) separat...

In this special (shorter!) episode of The Old Movie Lady Podcast, learn all about the legendary perfect lover of the silent screen: Rudolph Valentino! With his passionate fans and tragic death, it's all very gothic and romantic... so strap in! This episode contains mention of suicide, as well as (mild) language that may be inappropriate for some listeners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Who do you picture in your mind's eye when you think of Joan Crawford ? Take a moment (or rather, 48 minutes or so) in this special Close Up episode of The Old Movie Lady Podcast to focus on the earliest days in the life and career of the woman who would become one of the most ambitious, iconic, and controversial figures in Old Hollywood. From little girl scrubbing floors, to dancer, to the Wampas...

The Old Movie Lady is back, baby! Here to tell you all about some missed red flags, how to become a trivia item, and to be wary of men on their honeymoons as the Wampas Stars and their destinies collide! Featuring appearances by Orson Welles and King Kong, as well as a selection of other "creeps and a**holes". This episode contains mention of grooming, sexual harassment, suicide, and alcohol abuse...

In 1936, ten years after she was named a Wampas Baby Star, Mary Astor faced one of the most salacious scandals ever seen in Hollywood. But who was the woman behind the infamous Purple Diaries ? And why was she willing to risk her secrets being exposed? This episode contains mention of domestic violence, alcohol abuse, and (mild) language that may be inappropriate for some listeners. Hosted on Acas...

A new year and a "staggering" group of Wampas Baby Stars, The Old Movie Lady tells you all about how audiences laughed upon hearing the voice of a goddess, a 175-grand win-fall, an infuriating way to hire someone, and a good girl who no one believed could be bad! All this and more, featuring John Barrymore, Cecil B. DeMille, and a Rudolph Valentino quote. This episode contains mention of an unconf...

On set romances abound in the 2nd half of 1925's Wampas Baby Stars List! Stick around for stories about the Queen of Poverty Row, a great film beauty who dared to want more, the less successful sister, asking a numerologist for a new name, and more! This episode contains brief mention of alcohol abuse, as well as (mild) language that may be inappropriate for some listeners. Hosted on Acast. See ac...