Almost There: Myrna Loy in "Test Pilot"

by Cláudio Alves

Myrna Loy's an interesting case as far as the Oscars are concerned. She was a great star, a charming performer with a magnetic screen presence, and even appeared in more than one Best Picture winner. It's easy to imagine that such a person would be a shoo-in for an Academy Award nomination at some point in their career, but Loy was never that lucky. Of the many times she came close, we're here to discuss Test Pilot. This Victor Fleming-directed romantic drama nabbed three nods back in 1938. Among them was a Best Picture citation, though no love was shown to the movie's actors…

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Vintage '38

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1938 arrives on Monday (and the voting is close) so get your votes in by Sunday morning! Before we get there it's time for more context of that year in history. The minimum wage was 40¢ an hour, the economy was in recession, and Howard Hughes was busy breaking aviation records. In sports Seabiscuit was the fastest horse, and Joe Louis was the Heavyweight champion of boxing. Meanwhile there was great unease in Europe with Hitler on the march and already claiming Austria and Czechoslovakia for Germany (the US turned a blind eye and European leaders were still trying to appease the madman).

Things were happy at the movies, though, where screwball comedies and adventure films were all the rage. If there's a link on a title, we've already written about the movie. Ready?  

When do you think "hung" changed its meaning in the popular vernacular?

Great Big Box Office Hits:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and In Old Chicago, both of which competed for the 1937 Oscars, weren't actually available to general audiences until 1938 and both became huge hits...

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Beauty Break: Halloween Pin-ups

Apologies that TFE has been out tricking and treating instead of entertaining you. But please enjoy these Hollywood beauties getting into this highly specific autumnal mood. HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE

Paulette Goddard

Myrna Loy, Janet Leigh, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Clara Bow and other 'it' girls from Old Hollywood are after the jump with their pumpkins, witch hats, scary books, and cats.

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Showbiz History: Shyamalan Twists and Steppenwolf Alum

10 random things that happened on this day in showbiz history...

we just called to say we loved you, Myrna1905 Charismatic Myrna Loy is born in Montana. She'll come to epitomize urbane style and wit at the movies as one half of The Thin Man's glorious marrieds with William Powell. Though she was never Oscar nominated she was given an Honorary Oscar in '91.

1914 Beatrice Straight is born in New York. In her sixties she'll make history by becoming the actor with the least amount of screentime to win an Oscar. She rages through Network (1976) for all of five to six minutes as a betrayed wife, but that was enough...

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Curio: Myrna Loy, Cover Girl

Alexa here. Today is Myrna Loy's birthday, so to celebrate this supremely unique, intelligent, plainspoken goddess, I dug up this vintage Picture Play magazine of mine from 1940 with Myrna on the cover.

Myrna goes nautical

Myrna appeared in this 1940 issue in pictures only, ostensibly to promote her upcoming film with William Powell, I Love You Again (their ninth film together), a Regarding Henry-esque amnesiac light romance that was just another opportunity to get the two of them together.  Every time I see a film with them I think of their real-life meet cute, so perfectly described in Myrna's autobiography.

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