Look at this poster, it is from the famous motion picture: “Goodbye Mr. Chips”

Despite her recent Oscar nomination for Best Actress in "Peyton Place" , Lana was aware that "the happening," as she would later refer to it, could very well cripple her career. She fought back, dealt with reporter's head on and accepted the lead role of Lora Meredith in "Imitation of Life." Lana gambled both her career and finances the film. She accepted a meager salary and instead agreed to work for half the profits. Lana's innate and learned acting ability, combined with pent up emotions from the tumultuous year, resulted in one of the finest performances of her career. Movie theaters reported that, during the closing scene, "even strong men are crying." When Lana turned fifty she tackled yet another challenge-the theater. Though apprehensive, Lana couldn't pass up the role of Ann Stanley, a glamorous forty-year-old divorcee, in Forty Carats. As usual, the show and Lana, were a hit. Forty Carats played in numerous cities, including Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore. "Ironically," she said, "live theater, the medium I had so dreaded, became the new backbone of my working life." On October 25, 1981 the National Film Society presented Lana with an Artistry in Cinema award. Also busy with a reoccurring role as Jacqueline Perrault on TV's Falcon's Crest, she found herself immersed in almost all entertainment facets. Lana's active lifestyle continued until 1995. On June 29th, with Cheryl by her side, Lana Turner yielded to throat cancer. Her remains were cremated and given to her daughter. Probably, I should add another outstanding actress and lady: Greer Garson!! One of MGM’s most popular and successful leading ladies of the 1940s.The MGM archives and historical bio go like this: English-born Greer Garson received her first Best Actress nomination in 1939, an incredible five nominations in a row between 1941 and 1945, and a seventh before her career was through. She also acted in six Best Picture-nominated films.  But even more important than all her honors, Garson's films are a joy to watch. 

 Although at times the material she had to work with was not up to par, and audiences seemed unable to accept her in low-brow roles after the noble women that made her famous, Garson never gives a bad performance -- ever.  Each of her characters is marked with a sincerity which never betrays to the audience that Garson is just acting, and many-a mediocre script was rescued by her extensive talents. It is from her film debut, the Best Picture-nominated GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939) for which Garson received the first of her seven Academy Award nominations. (Her co-star, Robert Donat, won for Best Actor that year.)  Although not appearing until forty-five minutes into this story of a shy Latin professor at an English boys school, Garson steals the heart of the picture as she brings a touch of romance into Mr. Chipping's lonely life.  And in testament to the power of her performance in such a small role, Garson received her Oscar nomination in the Best Actress category, rather than the Best Supporting Actress category, as would have been more appropriate for a role of this size. Encouraged about Garson's prospects, MGM quickly cast her opposite Robert Taylor (left) and Lew Ayres in the half-baked romantic comedy REMEMBER? (1939) about a husband and wife who are given a memory-erasing medication when their marriage goes on the rocks.  The poor writing and direction as well as the slapstick antics (such as the mud puddle at left) did not sit well with critics or audiences, and the film flopped badly. Eager to reestablish Garson's respectability and reputation, MGM next cast her as Elizabeth Bennett opposite Laurence Olivier’s Fitzwilliam Darcy in the studio's prestigious 1940 adaptation of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Though not a huge box-office success, the critical reviews of the film were favorable and Garson and Olivier’s open-mouthed kiss created quite a sensation. Today, although Garson and Olivier’s performances still stand up, the film's short-comings are amplified by a script which attempts to condense all the novel's characters and episodes into a two-hour screenplay. In my opinion, old fashion or avant-garde performances have nothing to do with the cinematographic beauty and quality. Well, those are some of my favorites: Greer Garson, Lana Turner, Kim Novak, Barbara Stanwyck.... I hope you have enjoyed this journey into the vanished golden era of Hollywood.

 

 

LEO BRAUER, BEETHOVEN AND MOHAMAD ABDEL WAHAB. Hello Erica, I was listening this morning to a great performance by Leo Brauer on the American national public radio. A friend of mine who was listening too mentioned the name of Mohamad Abdel Wahab, most certainly you have heard of, but I didn’t. Apparently Abdel Wahab was a great composer who was highly honored and admired by millions in the Arab world. My friend added a very interesting remark pertaining to the compositions of Abdel Wahab. He mentioned to me that several of  this great Egyptian composer’s songs and orchestral arrangements/compositions resembled musical compositions by Leo Brauer and Beethoven’s symphonies. Strange, how much we do know when it comes to foreign music and foreign culture. Especially Arab music. I looked Abdel Wahab up on the internet, but unfortunately, there is not much about him and about his biography.  Fred, the friend I mentioned earlier threw in an other interesting note on Abdel Wahab; apparently this composer was honored by the late President Anwar Al Sadat who bestowed upon him the rank of general. Cool! Can you shed more light on him, please? Thanks. Dave Beneditto, New York, USA.

The Great composer Mohamad Abdel Awab. Most certainly. I knew personally Mohamad Abdel Wahab. Indeed, he was a great composer, one of the 20^th century greatest composers, arrangers and musicologists.  I met him three times. The most memorable one was in the city of Al Zamalek during the reign of King Farouk when he was still in power, a few months before he was deposed  by Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.  We had a great time. Another great artist of the era was with us a that meeting. A great friend of mine, Nour Al Houda, one of the most talented actresses of the Arab cinema and, most certainly one of the most attractive super vedettes. She was very dear to me. Her real name was Alexandra Bedran and she came from Lebanon. Funny, you mentioned Leo Brauer, a composer I highly admired. I have attended many of his concerts. The most memorable event was  the concert which was performed in Israel under the baton of conductor Yaron Gottfried. Yes, to a certain degree, I do agree with you. Some of the Egyptian Abdel Wahab's  compositions resembled those of Leo Brauer and Guido Lopez. Some movements and overtures, if not preludes of his were deeply influenced by Beethoven. This was evident in his melodic symphony “ Anthony and Cleopatra”, known as “Cleopatra” for short. Mohammed Abdel Wahab was the most prolific and impressive Arabic composer of the 20^th century. He wrote more than one thousand songs. It is true, he received the rank of general from the late president Sadat of Egypt as a token of respect and sign of gratitude for writing the orchestration of the Egyptian national anthem. He was born in 1907 in Cairo and died on May, 4, 1991. I believe on February 2nd, 1978 he received the Platinum Record Award, from the E.M.I. Music Group. Another famous recipient was Maurice Chevalier of France. Abdel Wahab made his first recording at the age of 13.

Soon after, he became the protégé of Ahmad Shawky  a.k.a “Amir Al Shoua’rah, meaning the prince of poets of the Arab world. This of course gave a big boost to Abdel Wahab. In 1924, Abdel Wahab and Shawky intensified their professional cooperation and collaborated on the creation of many songs. He exclusively composed music and songs for famous singers like Oum Koulthoum, Najat Al Sagira, Nour Al Houda, etc. Oh Dear Dave, you are bringing so much memories to my heart. I am almost in tears. Now, I remember an important event. I think the last time I met Abdel Wahab was possibly two weeks before the singer Najat Al Sghira sang the famous song “A Ya Zounnou,Anny Lou’baton Bayna Yadayhi” meaning “Does he think that I am a doll between his hands.” Song written by a great Syrian poet Nazar Kabbani. The music was composed by Abdel Wahab and performed at Casino du Liban. This was in the sixties, the good old golden years of Lebanon. In the forties, Abdel Wahab visited France and was introduced to French composers and arrangers. Meeting and conferring with French composers and films score writers left a deep impression on his musical career and creativity. Upon his return to Egypt, he created the first original musical score for an Arab film. Yes, he did write quite extensively for Oum Koulthoum considered to be “KAWKAB AL SHARK” meaning the Star of the Orient.

Even though, I did not understand one word in Arabic, I enjoyed listening to Oum Koulthoum. The last  Oum Koulthoum performance I attended was in the early seventies of late sixties which took place in a beautiful mountainous area of Lebanon called ALLEY. The concert was performed at an open air stage, sort of, and called “Al Piscine”. Abdel Wahab was the absolute king of Arab music. Fans of  the great Farid Al Atrash, another greatArab composer, singer and movie star think otherwise. Abdel Wahab and Al Atrach were rivals. Abdel Wahab was conservative, while Al Atrach was flamboyant with an extensive wardrobe of Parisian couture. He loved to dress up in white silk. I met Al Atrach on two occasions. The last one was at his suite at the Phoenicia Inter-Continental Hotel in Beyrouth. He invited me to a martini at the “Cabana swimming pool terrace” of the Phoenicia Hotel and we had a blast. Final word on Abdel Wahab: He is considered as the pioneer of the modern era of Arab music, for he introduced Western quasi-symphonic movements to the Arab world of music and incorporated many of the classical overtures and classical arrangements in his own compositions. I will seize this opportunity to say a few words about my beloved friend the great late Nour Al Houda who worked for years with Abdel Awab in Cairo.

NOUR AL HOUDA (1924-1998)

One of the greatest singers of the Arab world. She recorded more than 100 songs with several international hits. She had a long and illustrious singing career which flourished for 60 years. She died at the age of 74 at Saint Georges Hospital in Lebanon, her native homeland. She was born in 1924 in the Mazraa  quarter in Beyrouth, Lebanon. More exactly in the quarter or crossroad section area of Mazraa which was called “Badraan” named after her family name. So if you had to take a taxi to go to that area, you simply tell the taxi driver, take me to “Al Badran”.!! She was born as Alexandra Nicholas Badran. She was asked by movies studio directors in Egypt to change her name as did her compatriot Omar Sharif, also a native of Zahle in Lebanon, who changed his name from  Michel Chalhoob to Omar Sharif.  Upon meeting Mr. Youssef Wehbe, the dean of the Arab theater,  and following his suggestion, Alexandra changed her name to Nour Al Houda. There is something very unique and very special about this great lady: She was the only silver screen super star who categorically refused to kiss or be kissed on the screen and to wear revealing or risqué clothes!! She was a silver screen superstar and one of the greatest singers of her times. I miss her a lot.  Every time, I think about Alexandra, I start to cry. She was a very dear friend of mine. God bless her soul. I still for time to time hum one of her greatest songs and international hits she recorded around 1958: “Ya Sahiba Al’Ouyoun Al Gariha, Albi Bi Houbak…” meaning, you who has those  bleeding eyes, in your love, my heart  is…. "

 

 

Dear Dr. Erica: Please, can you tell me which are the top 10 most expensive paintings in the world? And how much they were sold for. I am sure you know. Thanks. Melanie Brasso, Sao Paolo, Brazil

Yes, Melanie dear, I know. I wish I didn’t. Got my drill? Here is the Infamous list. The World’s Top Ten Most Expensive Paintings of all Time! 1. IRISES by Vincent Van Gogh. Sold for $49,000.000 at Sotheby's in New York on November 11^th ,1987. Van Gogh lived and died in misery, absolute poverty and disgrace. Yet, his paintings nowadays (only after his death) fetch astronomical amounts of money ranging from $49,000.000 to $71,000.000. Can you explain this phenomenon? That is the irony of destiny and the absurdity of the world of art!! IRISES brought $49,000.000. And this just one piece of a series of paintings. Art critics called it a masterpiece. Just look at it. What do you think?  It is really a masterpiece or a deranged artistic form of a mentally deranged man? Who cares and what difference it makes. There are two more Van Gogh paintings from the same series which are expected to fetch more than $80,000.000. They called him the obsessed and mad artist. But, who in reality is the obsessed and artistically deranged, the artist who created this painting, or the art collector with an ego bigger than the world is the “real” deranged and obsessed maniac?! You figure it out. Probably, you already did. "Irises" marked just he tip of the iceberg. for one of Van Gogh's many obsessions. This yellow one on the right brought $ 47,000.000. Hard to believe! 2. Woman Seated in a Garden. Femme Assise Dans un Jardin by Pablo Picasso. Sold for $49,500,000 at Sotheby’s in New York on November 10^th, 1999.

This melancholic woman is Dora Maar, one of Picasso's numerous mistresses and paramours during the pre-war era. Picasso painted it in one day! In other words, if it took Pablo Picasso 12 to 16 hours to finish this piece, his hourly wage would exceed $3,000.000 an hour!! But, who would dare to pretend at Sotheby’s or in a ritzy social salon that, art, great or mediocre is rated or priced by the hour? It does not matter whether the produced piece is a great piece or just a mockery or, how long it took the artist to finish his painting, as long as it is done by a famous artist. Fame sells. Fame means money, big time money  and not necessarily quality. Read below a report by Phil Hirschkorn. It is self-explanatory. Picasso painting sells for nearly $50 million by Phil Hirschkorn. A colorful mid-career masterpiece by painter Pablo Picasso sold Wednesday for $49.5 million -- the second-highest price ever paid for the artist's work at a public sale.The sale also marked the second time in two days a Picasso piece has fetched more than $40 million. The painting, "Woman Seated in a Garden," depicts Picasso's pre-war mistress, Dora Maar. He painted the 55-x-38 inch oil on canvas in a single day, December 10, 1938.

The work was sold at a Sotheby's auction Wednesday evening to a telephone bidder, whose name was not immediately released. The price includes Sotheby's commission. On Tuesday, at a Christie's auction, Picasso's "Nude On a Black Couch" (1932) sold for $45.1 million, now the fifth-highest price ever paid for a Picasso. "Woman Seated in a Garden" came from the collection of Eleanore and Daniel Saidenberg, Manhattan gallery owners who were Picasso's American representatives from 1955 until the artist's death in 1973. A total of 46 works from the Saidenberg estate were on the auctioning block Wednesday. Sotheby's will be selling additional modern and impressionist art on Thursday. The highest price ever paid for a Picasso painting is $51.7 million. "Woman Seated in a Garden" sold for a $1 million more than a similar Picasso work, "The Dream," auctioned for $48.4 million by Christie's exactly two years ago. 3. Les Noces de Pierrette by Pablo Picasso. Sold for $51,671.920 at Binoche et Godeau, Paris on November 30^th, 1989. This painting is from his early works painted in 1905 during a period of poverty and despair in his life. According to so-called art experts and top auctioneers, paintings from this period generally sell for more money than the later works. Ridiculous. Usually, it is the opposite with masterpieces done by masters of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.  Christopher Burge, the honorary chairman of Christie’s America, said the sale revealed to the world that “for top quality, the market is as strong as it has ever been,” as ascertained  by the record-breaking Picasso. 4. Self-Portrait: Yo Picasso by Pablo Picasso. Sold for $47,850.000 at  Sotheby's in 1989. This self-portrait was painted in 1901. It is said that this painting was inspired and influenced by the suicide of Casagemas, Picasso's friend. Frankly, I don’t believe it. The man had no heart. Tough like a nail, especially with women and children. This painting inaugurated the BLUE PERIOD of Pablo Picasso. 5. Still Life with Curtain, Pitcher, and Bowl of Fruit by Paul Cezanne. Sold for $60,500,000 at Sotheby’s, New York on May 10^th, 1999. Still Life with Curtain and Flowered Pitcher (Nature morte avec rideau et pichet fleuri) circa 1899. Oil on canvas 21 1/2 x 29 1/8 in (54.7 X 74 cm). 6. Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe by Vincent Van Gogh. Sold for $71,500.000 at Christie's, New York on November 19^th, 1998 According to Stewart Waltzer, a noted art market expert and writer, Christie’s  originally estimated this painting at $20,000.000. And look what they got!! Even so-called art experts and art appraisers don’t know the real value of a piece, simply because, there are no rules and no LOGIC for this sort of business. Highest bidders are always the world’s greatest egoists, show-off arrogant big time money shrewd people with a few drops of “real class” and art knowledge. They look upon as piece as an investment, an ego trip, an international vehicle for world fame!!. That’s fine, let’s them pay for it. The ego is expensive but, their ignorance is much more expensive that they think or admit!! 7. Au Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Sold for $78,100.000 at Sotheby's, New York on May 17^th, 1990, Buyer: Ryoei Saito from Japan. 8. Nude in a Black Armchair. Nu au fauteil noir (Portrait of Marie-Therese Walter, one of Picasso’s mistresses)  by Pablo Picasso. Sold for $45,102.500 at Christie's, New York on November 9^th, 1999.Three months later, it was re-sold to an anonymous idiot from Japan for $47,500.000. 9. The Dream. Le rêve, circa 1932 by Pablo Picasso. Sold for $48,400.500 at Christie's, New York on November 10^th, 1997. THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING. A WORLD RECORD IN THE HISTORY OF ART! 10. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh. Sold for $82,500.000 at Christie's, New York on May 15^th, 1990. And of course, lately, Le garcon a la pile sold for 104 Million Dollars! The world is crazy.