ASTOS Volume 2, Number 11.  May 15, 2004
All-Star things-and-other-stuff
Brought to you by things-and-other-stuff

WARM-UPS: 
Welcome to the May issue!  Received an e-mail from one of our subscribers today with a list of his ten favorite Westerns of all time and his request for my own.  I thought it would be interesting to answer him here, so here you go, Spence:

1. Once Upon A Time in the West (1968) -one of the most beautiful films ever made, Western or otherwise.
2. Stagecoach (1939) -how cool is the Duke twirling that rifle in his first scene!
3. Wild Bunch (1969) -see comment on #1, add a touch of Peckinpah insanity to that.
4. The Magnificent Seven (1960) -These guys are just super-cool, especially James Coburn
5. High Noon (1952) -Cooper's best
6. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) -Peckinpah with Warren Oates, great stuff!
7. Red River (1948) -Monty Clift steals the show from The Duke
8. The Misfits (1961) -Gable's last flick, more Monty Clift, plus of course, Marilyn.
9. The Hired Hand (1971) -Late 60's Peter Fonda flick with Oates.  Watch it at least twice.
10. Dead Man (1995) Weird Jim Jarmusch flick starring Johnny Depp that really grows on you.

The order can change on these at any time really, but the top three are pretty much set in stone.  Honorable mention to some other favorites: John Wayne in Angel and the Badman (1947), Jane Russell in The Outlaw (1943), Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter (1973), and Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer in the just all-out cool Tombstone (1993).  All of these flicks have their own sort of charm.  That was fun, Westerns aren't even my favorite genre so maybe we'll do this again with something else sometime.

Back to our usual program...

...here's what's featured:

1. Ronald Reagan by Scott D. O'Reilly
2. Hollywood Stories: How We Got Movie Stars by Stephen Schochet
3. Photo ID Guide: Various Trading Card Sets in Auction Preview
4. The Silent Collection featuring Conrad Veidt by Tammy Stone

We're trying to raise up some cash for some purchases this week, so I'm going to go a little more in to detail than usual regarding our current  eBay auctions that are ending over the next week.  We've relisted our entire assortment of 1920's & 30's 5x7 inch Fan Photos (there are a hundred or so of them ending Monday night), and then later in the week have seven of these photos from the 20's up for sale for the first time (Myrna Loy, Greta Garbo, Helene Costello, Mary Astor, Greta Nissen, Billie Dove and Lillian Gish).  Also listed for the first time are five new Philadelphia Record Aquatone Premiums from 1936 (Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, William Powell and Myrna Loy).  There is a new batch of 8x10 St. Louis Globe Supplements from 1916 listed, as well as singles from the 1925 Lambert & Butler tobacco card set, and 1936 9x12 Lux Premium Photos.  It's a pretty varied bunch of items up, many being offered for the first time, so please feel free to have a look, it'd be much appreciated!

As usual, the Catalog  carries many additions, please have a look at your convenience. 

Please also take a look at our home page for ways you can contribute to this newsletter and our site even if you are not a collector.  Just scroll down about halfway and have a look on the left.  We thank you for your assistance. 

To the time tunnel we go!
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RONALD REAGAN
By Scott D. O'Reilly
No actor has played upon the world's stage quite the way Ronald Reagan did.  Born Feb 6th 1911 in Tampico Illinois, Ronald Wilson Reagan began his career as a hardworking supporting player and occasional leading man on the silver screen before taking on the biggest role of his life as the 40th President of the United States.  But whether he was standing tall against the bad guys in B films or standing up to the Soviets, Reagan exuded a resolute confidence, an infectious optimism, and a sheer affability that, more often than not, won over fans, critics, and political opponents alike.

This is just a teaser--check out Scott's entire column with pictures!
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Scott D. O'Reilly is an independent writer with degrees in philosophy and psychology.  His work has been published in The Humanist, Philosophy Now, Intervention Magazine, Think, and The Philosopher's Magazine. He is a contributor to the book The Great Thinkers A-Z (Continium, 2004) and is working on Deconstructing Demagogues, a book which examines how politicians use and misuse language.  Contact:(neuroscott@aol.com).
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Hollywood Stories: How We Got Movie Stars
By Stephen Schochet
Early movies had no stories, no stars and no sound. A popular movie in the 1890’s was two girls getting undressed by a lake.  Right before their last garments came off, a train came by to block your view. In the next scene the two girls were swimming in the lake. The film was a hit throughout the country.
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This is just a teaser--check out Stephen's entire column with pictures!
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Stephen Schochet is the author and narrator of the audiobooks Fascinating Walt Disney and Tales Of Hollywood. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch says,” these two elaborate productions are exceptionally entertaining.” Hear RealAudio samples of these great, unique gifts at http://www.hollywoodstories.com.
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Photo ID Guide:
1920's-40's Movie Star Trading Cards
All items are now listed, though many remain to be linked to proper ID Pages.  Follow the link above to reach the main preview page for our big auction planned for the end of May/start of June.  This main page will in turn link to Photo ID Guides for each of the 246 different cards represented in the auction.  The cards will be featured both front and back.  The last 17 of these lots are actually premium Sheet Music pieces, all featuring movies and movie stars.  Be sure to bookmark the main preview page as we will be adding new ID Guides for each of the cards to it constantly over the next couple of weeks! 
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The Silent Collection by Tammy Stone
Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt is a bit of a departure, for this series has been focusing primarily on women (an accidental bias) working in the United States (not an accidental bias). Conrad had a thriving career in silent cinema – in Germany. His most well-known films, however, were made in Hollywood long after the silents gave way to the magic and possibilities of sound and dialogue. If you don’t know him by name, you’ll realize by the end of this piece that you most definitely know this man, who has appeared in some of the most acclaimed and popular films of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and whose life is as exotic and full of intrigue as are some of his best known films.

This is just a teaser--check out Tammy's entire column with pictures!
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Tammy Stone is a freelance writer and journalist based in Toronto. Watch for her regular column on the greats of the Silent Screen here in each and every issue of ASTOS.  Tammy invites you to write her at stonetamar@hotmail.com with any questions or comments on her column.
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We're taking a month off from the newsletter to finish preparing for our big auction, but will most definitely return on June 15.  That issue will feature more great work from Tammy Stone and Stephen Schochet, as well as the return of Susan M. Kelly, who profiles one of my all-time favorites, Veronica Lake.  Talk to you soon, and please don't forget to bookmark our Special Movie Card Auction Preview Page to return to bid at your convenience!  We will send out a supplement note to the newsletter reminding you about the auction as soon as we have the lots up live and ready to be bid upon.

As always feel free to e-mail any thoughts or ideas to us at things@things-and-other-stuff.com, we're always willing to listen. 
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