The “voice” is created by AI cloning a sound file containing the actual voice of Mr. Colman.
On the Set with Ronald Colman
June 11, 1939: the British colony in Hollywood prepare to broadcast their welcome to the King and Queen of Great Britain on their first visit to the United States. From left to right are Greer Garson, Leslie Howard, George Sanders in the rear having a smoke, Vivien Leigh hiding her smoke under her script, Brian Aherne, Ronald Colman, and Basil Rathbone:
It is was said that Ronald Colman’s voice was so beautiful that he could attract a crowd just by reading the phone book. Experience the “velvet voice” in this stunning radio performance from 1945:
Before sound films became popular, Ronnie was a top star of the silent screen. Here he chats with cinematographer J.C. Scrugram on the set of THE WINNING OF BARBARA WORTH (1925):
BARBARA WORTH was not only a big hit for Ronnie, but made a star of Hungarian actress Vilma Banky in her American film debut. Not billed on this poster, the film was also a breakthrough for a lanky young actor named Gary Cooper:
This is a restored image from a newspaper supplement advertising BEAU GESTE (1926), a film that took Ronald Colman from star to superstar:
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Producer Sam Goldwyn starred Ronnie and Vilma Banky in a series of romantic swashbucklers during the mid-1920s just prior to the arrival of talkies. One of their best is THE NIGHT OF LOVE (1927), here they pose for the ever-present photographer (color transfer by Jeffrey Allan):
A scene from THE TWO LOVERS (1928), the fifth and final Colman-Banky teaming:
A top silent film had its own theme song available on records and on sheet music. Here is the striking cover for THE MAGIC FLAME (1927):
An unusual aspect of THE MAGIC FLAME is seeing Ronnie as a clown. Here he is unrecognizable under his makeup:
A striking image of Ronnie as he prepared to go his own way with the arrival of the talkies in 1929. Nobody could know then that his best films were ahead of him: A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1935). LOST HORIZON and THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (both 1937), RANDOM HARVEST and THE TALK OF THE TOWN (both 1942), and A DOUBLE LIFE (1948), for which Ronnie won the Best Actor Academy Award. Eventually, Ronnie focused more on radio and television where his work was always highly rated.
We chose today for this post because February 9th is Ronald Colman’s birthday (1891). His best films, both silent and sound, are readily available now on official DVD releases and much of his radio work can be heard over the Internet. We suspect that Ronnie would be pleased that he continues to have an audience in the 21st century!
Your Official 2014 Old Hollywood in Color Calendar Collection!
Start the New Year off right with a gift from OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR. Take your pick from any of these – or all of ’em. Simply download and print out just as you would do with a photo. If you prefer a larger size or higher quality than home printers can provide, let me suggest that you copy the image to a thumb drive and take it to you local digital print retailer such as Kinko’s. With this in mind, let’s tour the 2014 collection.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, with Jean Harlow, in one of their last silent films LIBERTY (1929):
La Swanson, Gloria that is, in ZAZA (1923):
Ronald Colman in a fan photo circa 1929:
Buster Keaton circa 1930:
Clara Bow, who was dubbed “The It Girl,” meaning that she had “it.” Circa 1928:
A debonair-looking Al Jolson in 1935:
Greta Garbo with Nils Asther in WILD ORCHIDS (1929), one of her last silents:
Mary Astor in ROSE OF THE GOLDEN WEST (1927):
A calendar from a 1934 UK movie magazine highlighting Conrad Veidt:
Jean Harlow with Clark Gable in RED DUST (1932):
Lon Chaney Sr. as himself and as his character in THE MIRACLE MAN (1919), a lost film:
Rin Tin Tin and his mate Nanette in HERO OF THE BIG SNOWS (1926), another lost film:
Rediscovering a Treasure from Christmas Past – THE JUGGLER OF OUR LADY
It isn’t often that we have the opportunity to rediscover an old Christmas story that somehow has become forgotten in recent times. For many years during the 1940s, there was an annual Christmas radio broadcast of THE JUGGLER OF OUR LADY, adapted from a story by Anatole France. Ronald Colman narrated this tale in his rich “velvet voice,” while Nelson Eddy sang the role of a monk. This story was once as popular as “The Night Before Christmas” and I think you’ll agree that it’s a wonderful tale.
So let’s go back in time to December 21, 1942, to hear Ronald Colman and Nelson Eddy team up for this classic Christmas story on the Screen Guild Theater. The stars on this show donated their salaries to the Motion Picture Relief Fund:
Ronald Colman excelled in radio as well as motion pictures such as A TALE OF TWO CITIES and LOST HORIZON. You can see and hear why he was so popular:
Nelson Eddy was a popular singer, radio and movie star. He is perhaps best remembered for his series of musicals with Jeanette MacDonald such as ROSE-MARIE and MAYTIME:
OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR 