Olivia de Havilland In It's Love I'm After (1937)

 (This blog post is part of the Olivia de Havilland Centenary Blogathon hosted by In the Good Old Days of Old Hollywood and Phyllis Loves Classic Movies)

Today Olivia de Havilland is best known as Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939) or the female lead in the eight movies she made with Errol Flynn. When people think of other movies she made, it is often apt to be one of her dramas. That having been said, from the start of her career Olivia de Havilland made her fair share of comedies. In fact, one of my all time favourite Olivia de Havilland movies is a comedy: It's Love I'm After from 1937.

It's Love I'm After (1937) came about because British film star Leslie Howard wanted a change of pace. In the early to mid-Thirties Leslie Howard starred in a number of very serious dramas, including Of Human Bondage (1934), The Petrified Forest (1936), and Romeo and Juliet (1936).  He then decided that it was time for him to appear in a comedy. He suggested to producer Hal Wallis that they do a film adaptation of the story "Gentlemen After Midnight" by Maurice Hanline. "Gentlemen After Midnight" centred on a star of the stage who is constantly getting into spats with his leading lady (his on-again/off-again fiancée) and then finds his life is complicated even more when he agrees to get a starstruck fan over her infatuation with him.  Leslie Howard took the lead role of actor Basil Underwood, while Olivia de Havilland was cast in the role of starstruck debutante Marcia West.

The role of Basil Underwood's leading lady (and technically the female lead in It's Love I'm After) Joyce Arden proved more difficult to cast than the other two roles. Leslie Howard thought a stage actress with experience in comedy would be best in the role, and campaigned for either Gertrude Lawrence or Ina Claire. Unfortunately neither of them were well known for their work in movies. Producer Hal Wallis set up a meeting between director Archie Mayo and Miss Lawrence, and Mr. Mayo was convinced that Miss Lawrence could succeed in the role. Unfortunately Archie Mayo and Hal Wallis then watched the movie Men Are Not Gods (1936), in which Gertrude Lawrence starred. They both agreed that she didn't photograph well. Ultimately It's Love I'm After started shooting without the role of Joyce Arden even cast.

Eventually Hal Wallis decided that, like Leslie Howard, Warner Bros. star Bette Davis also needed a change of pace. Bette Davis had also played in several very serious dramas recently, including Dangerous (1935), The Petrified Forest (1936), and Marked Woman (1937).  As to Miss Davis, she was not particularly anxious to appear in It's Love I'm After. First, she had appeared in several films in a row without a break. Instead of taking on another film role, what she really wanted was some time off. Second, she thought the better female role was actually that of lovesick fan and heiress Marcia West, who was already being played by Olivia de Havilland. Third, she really did not like the fact that Leslie Howard would receive top billing over her. Fourth, she had already appeared with Mr. Howard in two films (Of Human Bondage and The Petrified Forest) and their relationship was not particularly smooth. Fortunately Hal Wallis was finally able to convince Bette Davis to take the role.

The rest of the cast of It's Love I'm After was filled with established comic actors, including Eric Blore as Underwood's valet Digges, Spring Byington as Marcia West's dizzy Aunt Ella, and George Barbier as Marcia's father William. Patric Knowles played Marcia's fiancé Henry Grant, who turns to Basil Underwood to take care of her obsession with him. Soon to be known for playing Nancy Drew, Bonita Granville played the rather clever Gracie Kane.

Despite difficulties in casting its leading lady, It's Love I'm After would prove to be a success on all levels. Casey Robison's script took the story "Gentlemen After Midnight" and transformed it into a top notch, Hollywood screwball comedy. Starting with the simple premise of a man asking a Shakespearean actor to cure his fiancée of her obsession with him, complications pile upon complications throughout the film. What is more, witty lines come almost one after another. The entire cast acquits themselves quite well. Leslie Howard shines as the egoistical, swaggering Basil Underwood, as does Bette Davis as the sharp tongued, often exasperated Joyce Arden. They are very convincing as two people who are in love, but whose personal failings really won't let them do anything about it. Eric Blore must also be commended for his role as Underwood's valet Digges. He successfully portrays a man who is often exasperated by this employer's misbehaviour, but at the same remains intensely loyal to him.

As to Olivia de Havilland, Bette Davis may well have been right in assuming that the better female role was that of starstruck debutante Marcia West. The script not only makes Marcia a more interesting character than actress Joyce Arden, giving her much more to do and some of the film's best lines, but Olivia de Havilland excelled in the role. She is very convincing as Marcia, who is so obsessed with Underwood that she ignores his misbehaviour and his all too high opinion of himself. She has a number of great lines, which she delivers with precision. What is more, Miss de Havilland was arguably at her most beautiful, which makes Joyce Arden's jealousy of Marcia all the more convincing. Although she was only 21 Olivia de Havilland had already played more mature roles in such films as Captain Blood (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), so it is refreshing to see her play a character her own age.

It's Love I'm After received largely positive reviews. In The New York Times it was written of the film, "It is a rippling farce, brightly written and deftly directed, and it has been played to the limit by an ingratiating cast." Time magazine referred to It's Love I'm After as "..refreshing, impudent fun: a buoyant cinema making faces at its precise old aunt, the theatre." The film also did moderate business at the box office.

Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard would appear in only one other movie together, a rather famous one called Gone with the Wind (1939). They would never have a chance to play opposite each other again. Leslie Howard was returning from Lisbon, Portugal to Bristol when the BOAC plane in which he was travelling was shot down by the Luftwaffe in 1943.

Today It's Love I'm After is not nearly as well known as other screwball comedies of the era, such as It Happened One Night (1934),  My Man Godfrey (1936), and Bringing Up Baby (1938). This is unfortunate, as it is truly one of the classics of  the era. It benefits from Archie Mayo's skilled direction as well as Casey Robinson's witty and at times biting screenplay. It has one of the best casts of any of the screwball comedies and that cast performs remarkably well. It's Love I'm After really deserves to be better known than it is. It also serves as a reminder of just how good Olivia de Havilland, better known for films in other genres, was at a comedy.

Happy 100th Brithday, Olivia de Havilland!

Sadly most of the stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood are gone now. In some cases, such as Vivien Leigh and Judy Garland, they have been dead for literally decades. That having been said, there is one who is still with us. Today one of the biggest stars of the Golden Age celebrates her 100th birthday. It was on July 1 1916 that the legendary Olivia de Havilland was born in Tokyo.

Today Olivia de Havilland is best known for two things. The first is her role as Melanie Wilkes in what is still the highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind (1939). The second is playing opposite Errol Flynn in eight films, particularly such classic swashbucklers as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Although it is not often acknowledged, both Gone with the Wind and the films Miss de Havilland made with Errol Flynn demonstrate her talent as an actress. In particular, Melanie Wilkes was a more complicated role than many seem to believe. Today when people think of Melanie, they tend to think of her sweetness, her kindness, and her humanity. What is not often acknowledged is that Melanie had a will of iron.  While other ladies of the gentry turned down  madam Belle Watling's offer of some of her earnings to help with the hospital, Melanie Hamilton accepted, even though she knew it could damage her reputation. When a Yankee soldier invaded Tara, it may have been Scarlett who shot him, but it was Melanie, weakened from childbirth, who dragged herself from her sickbed wielding a sword. Melanie Wilkes was no pushover. She may have been sweet, kind, and non-judgemental, but she had courage of the sort no other character in Gone with the Wind possessed. It is Olivia de Havilland's sheer talent that made Melanie one of the most complex characters in the film.

While her characters in the films she made with Errol Flynn are not nearly as complex as Melanie Wilkes, they were also more sophisticated than they might appear on the surface. After all, in The Adventures of Robin Hood it was Maid Marian who helped Robin Hood's men rescue the outlaw when he was captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham. In Dodge City (1939) Miss de Havilland played a character about as far from sweet, forgiving Melanie Wilkes as one could get: Abbie Irving, who resents Wade Hatton (played by Errol Flynn) after Hatton shoots her drunken brother for having caused a cattle stampede. Although they are sometimes characterised as such, Olivia de Havilland's characters in the films she made with Errol Flynn were much more than window dressing or mere romantic interests.

Although today best known for action movies and dramas, early in her carer Olivia de Havilland actually starred in light romantic comedies. It should come as no surprise that Miss de Havilland is as good at playing comedy as she is drama. She played the female lead in The Great Garrick (1937), a countess mistaken for an actress. In It's Love I am After (1937) she played a dizzy heiress who also happens to be the number one fan of actor Basil Underwood (played by Leslie Howard). She later starred opposite Henry Fonda in The Male Animal (1942).  Olivia de Havilland had a real knack for playing comedy. Her timing and her delivery of lines were perfect, and she could make even the most outlandish comic character seem convincing. I have always thought that had Miss de Havilland not become a star of action films and dramas, she could have been very successful making comedies alone.

Of course, Olivia de Havilland's career goes far beyond Gone with the Wind, the action movies she made with Errol Flynn, and comedies. Miss de Havilland is extremely talented as an actress and can take on complex roles in the most serious of dramas. In fact, what may be her greatest role is that of Virginia Cunningham in The Snake Pit (1948). The Snake Pit is an extremely realistic, harrowing drama portraying the conditions in the mental hospitals of the time. Olivia de Havilland plays Virginia Cunningham, a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through the course of the film we witness Virginia's descent into madness, her ordeal in the mental hospital, and her eventual recovery. Olivia de Havilland gave an incredible performance as Virginia. She was even nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. It still shocks me that she lost to Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda (1948)!

Over the years Olivia de Havilland appeared in virtually every genre of film out there. She starred in comedies (It's Love I'm After), swashbucklers (Charge of the Light Brigade), Westerns (Santa Fe Trail), period dramas (My Cousin Rachel), and even horror movies (Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte). Fittingly given her fame for appearing in some of the greatest films of the genre, her last appearance in a feature film would be in a swashbuckler. She played the Queen Mother in The Fifth Musketeer (1979).

Olivia de Havilland is in many respects as strong as many of the characters she played. When she was under contract to Warner Bros. she sometimes refused to play roles the studio wanted her to play, which would result in her being suspended for time. In 1943 when her seven year contract with Warner Bros. ended, the studio told her that six months had been added to her contract to make up for the times she had been suspended. Miss de Havilland maintained that she was under contract for a set number of years and that when that number of years was over she was under no further obligation to the studio. Miss de Havilland sued Warner Bros. and on December 8 1944, the California Court of Appeals for the Second District ruled in her favour. Labour Code Section 2855, the rule Olivia de Havilland used in her suit (first enacted in 1937), has been known as the "De Havilland Law" ever since.

During World War II Olivia de Havilland helped sell war bonds. She also helped out at the Hollywood Canteen and went on a  USO tour that took her throughout the United States, Alaska, and the South Pacific. The conditions when travelling to remote areas of the South Pacific were often less than ideal, but Miss de Havilland endured without complaint. She even survived  viral pneumonia while on a USO tour. 

In real life Olivia de Havilland seems to have a good deal with the character of Melanie Wilkes that she played so well. I have friends who have corresponded with her and from them I have to say that Miss de Havilland is sweet, considerate, thoughtful, and always helpful. One would not realise that she is one of the biggest stars to emerge from the 20th Century!

Ultimately it must be said that Olivia de Havilland is a most remarkable woman, and not simply for having reached the century mark. She is an immensely talented actress who could play everything from comedy to dramas, and who could play a wide variety of roles. She is also a strong willed woman who actually took on a major studio and won. Finally she is truly a good person, one who appreciates her fans and is always eager with a kind word or thoughtful gesture. We are truly lucky to still have Olivia de Havilland on her 100th birthday. I do hope that she has a very happy one.

"Atomic" by Blondie

Since tomorrow is Deborah Harry's 71st birthday, I thought tonight I would post my favourite Blondie song, "Atomic". While the song only reached no. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, it proved to be the band's third no. 1 single in the United Kingdom.

The 50th Anniversary of Dark Shadows

When I was little I thought that daytime soap operas looked creepy. The lighting always seemed to be rather dark. The resolution of the picture was always low. And the sets, well, looked obviously like sets. What I didn't know at the time is that daytime soap operas were generally shot on videotape and with budgets that would make the average Roger Corman movie look like Gone with the Wind. Of course, while as a kid I thought that soap operas looked creepy, their story arcs generally weren't, even if they weren't the sort of thing that would interest a little boy. An exception to this rule was Dark Shadows. Dark Shadows was a soap opera that more than looked creepy; it was creepy. Quite simply, Dark Shadows was a Gothic horror soap opera that in the course of its run featured vampires, ghosts, werewolves, Frankensteinian creations, diabolists, and even time travel. And unlike other soap operas I was always eager to see it. I always turned on Dark Shadows when I got home from school. It was fifty years ago today that Dark Shadows debuted on ABC.

Of course, Dark Shadows did not start out as a Gothic horror soap opera. In the mid-Sixties Gothic romance paperback books were exceedingly popular in book stores and drug stores. It then occurred to producer Dan Curtis that a soap opera inspired by the then popular Gothic romances could be a winner in the ratings. Dan Curtis had previously produced Challenge Golf for ABC and The CBS Match Play Golf Classic for CBS. Dan Curtis turned to writer Art Wallace to further develop his Gothic romance soap opera. Mr. Wallace drew upon one of his teleplays which had aired on Goodyear Theatre in 1957, "The House," for some of the characters and storylines. "The House" centred on a New England fishing village in which a middle aged woman whose husband is at sea feels isolated from the rest of society.

Dark Shadows was then very much a Gothic romance when it debuted on June 27 1966. Its first story arc simply dealt with the arrival of new governess Victoria Winters at Collinwood (the mansion of the wealthy Collins family) in the small town of Collinsport, Maine. The first reference to anything supernatural on the show is to the ghosts of the widows (later named  Rachel Comstock, Abigail Tolliver, and Margaret Findley) rumoured to haunt Widows Hill (a cliff near Collinwood) in episode 5. While there would be occasional signs of what could be ghostly activity (a mysterious knock at the door, a door seeming to close by itself, et. al.), it would be some time before any ghosts would actually appear on Dark Shadows.

It would not be until December 12 1966 that Dark Shadows left the confines of Gothic romance and ventured into the realm of Gothic horror.  On that day began a story arc that concerned the return of the estranged wife of Roger Collins, Laura. Laura, as it turns out, was an entity referred to as a phoenix. Every 100 years she would be reborn in fire. And, unfortunately for the Collins family, she was not at all benign.

Dark Shadows would venture even further into Gothic horror territory with a storyline that began on March 22 1967. It was that day that Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid), claiming to be the descendent of a Barnabas Collins who lived in the 18th Century, arrived at Collinwood. As it turned out, this Barnabas Collins was actually the original Barnabas Collins, cursed with vampirism (and, as a result, immortality). Barnabas Collins was originally meant to appear only for that storyline and, what is more, was originally played as a villain. As it turned out, however, the character of Barnabas Collins proved extremely popular. As a result he not only became a regular character on the show, but arguably the show's primary hero.

With Barnabas Collins easily being the most popular character on Dark Shadows, many of the show's storylines would centre upon him. It was soon revealed precisely how Barnabas became a vampire. Barnabas had planned to marry Josette du Pres (played by Kathryn Leigh Scott), but unfortunately Josette's maid Angelique (played by Parker) wanted him for herself (they had conducted an affair earlier). Angelique,who was skilled in witchcraft, then took measures to win Barnabas's love. Barnabas caught onto what Angelique was doing and shot her, only to have Angelique curse him with her dying words. Bitten by a vampire bat, Barnabas died and then rose from the grave as a vampire. Eventually Barnabas would befriend Dr. Julia Hoffman (played by Grayson Hall), who would seek a cure for his condition.

Of course, not every single storyline on Dark Shadows centred on Barnabas Collins, and eventually the show would touch upon nearly every single cliche in Gothic horror. Adam (played first by Duane Morris and later by Robert Roden) was a Frakensteinian creature made by Eric Lang (played by Addison Powell). Angelique would return with more schemes centred on Barnabas, this time aided by a warlock named Nicholas Blair (played by Humbert Allen Astredo). Chris Jennings (played by Don Briscoe) was afflicted with lycanthropy, becoming a werewolf at the full of the moon. In 1968 a character was introduced that nearly rivalled Barnabas in popularity. Quentin Collins (played by David Selby) was a ghost intent on destroying the present day Collins family. During its run Dark Shadows touched upon such tropes as time travel, Lovecraftian entities (the Leviathans), and even alternate realities.

Following the first appearance of Barnabas Collins, Dark Shadows soon became a cult phenomenon, particularly popular with young people. Given its popularity, Dark Shadows produced merchandise in a way that no other soap opera before it ever had. In December 1966 the first novel based on the show, simply titled Dark Shadows, was published. It was followed by 31 more during the show's run. Milton Bradley manufactured a Dark Shadows board game. In 1969 Gold Key began publishing a regularly scheduled Dark Shadows comic book. It actually ran well beyond the show's run, ending in 1976. From March 14 1971 to March 11 1972 the Newspaper Enterprise Association syndicated a daily Dark Shadows comic strip. There were also Viewmaster reels, colouring books, model kits, and much, much more.

In fact, Dark Shadows proved so popular that it produced two feature films during its run. The first, House of Dark Shadows, was released in 1970. The second, Night of Dark Shadows, was released in 1971. In both films cast from the soap opera reprised their roles on the show.

Despite its popularity, Dark Shadows did generate its share of controversy due to its supernatural themes. This was particularly true of a storyline in the autumn of 1968 involving Angelique and Nicholas Blair, who were pretty clearly devil worshippers. Not only did Angelique travel to Hell, but Nicholas Blair met with Diabolos, who was pretty clearly a thinly veiled version of the Devil.  It was around Halloween of that year that Fundamentalist Christians distributed a pamphlet attacking Dark Shadows, complete with a cartoon with the Devil watching the soap opera and the caption "Satan's Favourite Show".

Sadly, while Dark Shadows was incredibly popular from the years 1967 to 1969, its popularity eventually declined. A story arc began in November 1969 centred around the Leviathans did not prove particularly popular with viewers. Another factor in the decline of the popularity of Dark Shadows was that it was, quite simply, a fad.  In the book Fads, Follies, and Delusions of the American People by Paul Sann, it is noted that often the more intensely a fad is adopted, the shorter its duration will be. Dark Shadows was certainly a show that was intensely adopted by young people, so it was only a matter of time before it would see a decline in popularity.

It was on April 2 1971 that Dark Shadows ended its run. In part its cancellation was due to declining ratings. In the 1968-1969 season Dark Shadows peaked with an overall rating of 8.4. By the 1970-1971 season it had fallen to an overall rating of 5.3. This was complicated by the fact that much of the show's audience was under 18. Since children generally are not responsible for buying the goods advertised on daytime television at the time (primarily food and household products), Dark Shadows' audience was not particularly attractive to advertisers. Another factor in the cancellation of Dark Shadows may have been the controversy it had generated. Quite simply, the controversy Dark Shadows created may have made it a more likely candidate for cancellation than another low rated show on ABC.

While Dark Shadows ended its run in 1971, it continued to be popular well after its run. With nearly its entire run intact except for one episode (although some early episodes survived only as kinescopes), Dark Shadows became one of the few daytime soap operas to have its reruns syndicated.  That having been said, the entire series was not made available during its original run in syndication. The first 209 episodes and about the last year of the show were not made available. Eventually the Sci-Fi Channel would run all 1225 episodes. Every single surviving episode of Dark Shadows has been released on VHS and DVD, something that is nearly unknown for daytime soap operas (here it must be noted that many soap operas lost entire chucks of their runs to wiping, the practice of erasing or reusing old videotapes).

The continued popularity of Dark Shadows would also see attempted revivals of the show. In 1991  a short lived night time version of the soap opera aired on NBC. Sadly, it only lasted two months. In 2004 a pilot for a new Dark Shadows series was produced for the WB, but it wasn't picked up. In 2012 a film based on the show, directed by Tim Burton was released. Unfortunately, the film was played for comedy, leaving many fans of the original series disappointed (to say the least).  The 2012 Dark Shadows film also performed poorly at the box office. Perhaps the most successful revival of Dark Shadows are the audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions since 2006. There have been three series: the first two consisting of four episodes each and the third being the 13 episode serial "Bloodlust".

Not only has Dark Shadows continued to be popular, but it has also had a lasting impact on American television. Dark Shadows was among the earliest horror TV series to have continuing characters. Earlier shows had primarily been anthology series. Dark Shadows is then in some ways the forerunner of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Supernatural, and other horror series. Over time it would even have an impact on other daytime soap operas. Starting in the Nineties Days of Our Lives featured plot lines which delved into the supernatural. The soap opera Passions went one step further. It was the first American daytime soap opera since Dark Shadows in which the supernatural played an integral role in the series, although it was largely played for camp. Guiding Light, Another World, and Port Charles were other daytime soap operas that delved a little into the supernatural.

After fifty years Dark Shadows remains as popular as ever. It currently airs on Decades and it can be streamed on Hulu. It would seem that even Tim Burton's 2012 feature film cannot kill Dark Shadows. I have to suspect that it will still be around for another fifty years.

Ann Morgan Guilbert Passes On

Ann Morgan Guilbert, who played Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Yetta Rosenberg on The Nanny, died on June 14 2016 at the age of 87. The cause was cancer.

Ann Morgan Guilbert was born in Minneapolis on October 16 1928. She studied theatre arts at Stanford University. Her professional career began as a featured performer in the Off-Broadway music variety act called The Billy Barnes Revue in 1959. It was there that writer, producer, and creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Carl Reiner, first saw her. When casting The Dick Van Dyke Show, he hired her for the role of Millie Helper, the Petries' neighbour and Laura Petrie's perky best friend. Miss Guilbert remained with the show for the entirety of its run.

In the Sixties she also guest starred on My Three Sons, Hennessey, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Good Morning World, The Andy Griffith Show, I Dream of Jeannie, Adam 12, Room 222, and Dragnet. She was a regular on the sitcom Hey, Landlord. She also appeared in the movies Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Man from the Diners' Club (1963), One Man's Way (1964), A Guide for the Married Man (1967), How Sweet It Is! (1968), and Viva Max (1969).

In the Seventies Ann Morgan Guilbert was a regular on The New Andy Griffith Show. She guest starred on The Partridge Family; Love, American Style; Emergency!, The Ghost Busters, On the Rocks, and Maude. In the Eighties she guest starred on Barney Miller, Cheers, Newhart, and Murder, She Wrote. She starred in the short lived sitcom The Fanelli Boys.

In the Nineties Ann Morgan Guilbert played Fran's doddering yet feisty grandmother Yetta Rosenberg on The Nanny. She remained with the show for its entire run. Before that she had a recurring role on Picket Fences. She guest starred on the shows Blossom, Home Improvement, Room for Two, Herman's Head, Empty Nest, and Seinfeld. She appeared in the films Grumpier Old Men (1995) and Sour Grapes (1998).

In the Naughts she guest starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm, State of Mind, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She appeared in the film Please Give (2010) and on Broadway in A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.

In the Teens Miss Guilbert guest starred on Happily Divorced, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, and Life in Pieces. She was a regular on the show Getting On.

Ann Morgan Guilbert was an incredibly talented performer with a particular knack for comedy. She had perfect timing and a gift for delivering lines in the funniest way possible. What is more she could play a wide variety of characters. Indeed, her two best known characters are very different. As Millie Helper she was bright, hyperactive, and just a little bit nosy. As Yetta Rosenberg she was absent minded, but at the same time a bit scrappy. What is more she played a wide variety of characters throughout her career. On The New Andy Griffith Show she played the neurotic, constantly complaining, and interfering Nora. In the I Dream of Jeannie episode "Jeannie for the Defence" she played the wife of a man seeking to defraud Tony Nelson after a minor fender bender. It was rare that she ever played the same sort of character twice. It should be little wonder that Ann Morgan Guilbert had such a long career. She was an immensely talented comic actress who could play nearly any role she wanted.

Ronnie Claire Edwards R.I.P.

Ronnie Claire Edwards, the actress perhaps best known for playing Corabeth Godsey on The Waltons, died June 14 2016 at the age 83. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Ronnie Claire Edwards was born in Oklahoma City on February 9 1933. She made her film debut in a small role in All the Way Home in 1963. In the Seventies she guest starred on such shows as The American Parade, Paper Moon, and Future Cop. She began her run on The Waltons in 1974 and remained with the show until it went off the air in 1980. In the Seventies she appeared in the films Five Days from Home (1978) and Getting Wasted (1980).

In the Eighties Ronnie Claire Edwards was a regular on the short lived shows Boone, Sara, and June in Time. She guest starred on the show Dallas, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, Murder She Wrote, Designing Women, and In the Heat of the Night. She also appeared in the various Waltons TV reunion movies. She appeared in the films Perfect (1985), Nobody's Fool (1985), and The Dead Pool (1988).

In the Nineties she guest starred on The Torkelsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She appeared in the TV movie Inherit the Wind, as well as more Waltons reunion movies. She appeared in the films 8 Seconds (1994) and Sordid Lives (2000). In the Naughts she appeared in the film A Day Out with Gordy (2002). She was a regular on the TV show 12 Miles of Bad Road, which HBO elected not to air.

Ronnie Claire Edwards will always be remembered as Corabeth on The Waltons and with good reason. She was extremely convincing as Ike Godsey's persnickety wife. It was not a particularly easy role for any actress to play, having to straddle the line between making the character slightly dislikeable and yet making the character sympathetic at the same time. Of course, Ronnie Claire Edwards was quite capable of playing different roles. On Star Trek: The Next Generation she played a much more likeable role, that of a teacher who tries to help the character Data regain his memory. In The Dead Pool she played a much less likeable role, that of an ill-fated movie critic. Ronnie Claire Edwards may be best remembered as Corabeth, but she played many more roles.

Why HootSuite's New Streams are a Failure

Ever since Twitter dramatically changed their interface in 2012 I have relied upon HootSuite as my Twitter client of choice. Even before then I used HootSuite to schedule tweets. HootSuite had several advantages over Twitter's interface. One could reply to a single person (the individual who originated the tweet) rather than everyone mentioned in a tweet. One could hide inline images. Retweets and mentions appear in separate streams. What is more HootSuite has always had great customer service. Every time I had a problem with HootSuite (which was rare) I could rely upon HootSuite's customer service to help me out. What is more, they are not only prompt, but kind and courteous as well.

Unfortunately just last week HootSuite made what may be the biggest misstep of their existence. They introduced New Streams. In theory New Streams were supposed to be an improvement over the old Streams. In fact a large number of HootSuite users (perhaps the majority of HootSuite users) have expressed outrage at the old Streams being replaced by the New Streams. On both Twitter and HootSuite's feedback page there have been a large number of complaints about the New Streams. Many of the complaints are about the appearance of the New Streams, while a large number are due to a loss of functionality when compared to the old Streams. In fact, there appear to be more complaints about the New Streams than almost anything else in HootSuite's feedback pages in the past two years--this in only a few days time.

The biggest complaint with the New Streams seems to be the size of the New Streams. The old streams were highly customisable, so that one could easily maximise the number of posts one sees. The New Streams only have "Compact", "Standard', and "Comfortable" views, all of which take up more space than the old Streams. Quite simply, even the "Compact" view is not exactly compact! Even with images turned off (as I always do) I can see at most about three to four tweets per stream. This is in stark contrast to the old Streams, where I could see many more.

Part of the problem with the size of the streams in the New Streams comes down to the replacement of the old Streams' drop down menus for "Like", "Assign to", and so on by overly large buttons. The buttons take up far too much space, resulting in users seeing fewer posts per stream. It seems pretty clear to me that many users dislike the buttons and much prefer the drop-down menus for the simple reason that they took up less space and thus maximised the number of posts one could see.

Yet another complaint also arises from the size of the New Streams. In HootSuite one can choose the number of columns of streams that are displayed. I only ever display one, but other users sometimes displayed several. From the many complaints, it would appear now that users are able to view fewer columns than on the old Streams. As an example, a complaint on Twitter from just today was from someone who has three columns set up and could see three columns in the old Streams, but can now only see two columns in the New Streams. As someone who only ever views one column at a time in HootSuite this isn't a problem for me, but many users obviously seem upset about it.

What might be the second biggest complaint is that the New Streams do not give the exact time of a post as the old Streams did. To wit, while the old Streams would give "2:51pm" on a post, the New Streams only give "2 hours ago". This can be problematic for those who frequently schedule posts and really need to know the exact time something will or has been posted. Now one can hover over the timestamp ("2 hours ago") and get the exact time (2:15pm), but it would seem much easier to have the exact time right there on the post to begin with.

Another loss in functionality regards the way in which replies are handled on the New Streams versus the old Streams. In the old Streams when one replied to a tweet, the reply was only to the person who initially made the tweet, not everyone mentioned in it. If someone wanted to reply to everyone mentioned in a tweet, he or she would click the drop-down menu and choose "Reply All". This was particularly useful if one wanted to thank someone for a "Follow Friday" tweet and it came in useful in other circumstances as well. Indeed, it was one of the many advantages the old Streams had over Twitter's interface. Unfortunately, in the New Streams there is no way to reply to only a single person; it is always set to "Reply All". This means that if one wants to reply to only the person who made a tweet and not everyone mentioned in it, he or she will have to highlight every other name and delete them. I would hardly call this an improvement.

Aside from the loss of functionality in the New Streams, there have also been complaints that the New Streams are buggy. I haven't experienced any bugs beyond my Streams changing height (which is simply fixed by clicking on "Compact" again), but I have seen enough complaints on the feedback page and on Twitter to know that the New Streams are not functioning smoothly for many. For some people the streams are being very slow to update and for others they have to refresh to get them to update at all. Yet others have other problems. I have seen complaints that individuals can't retweet anything, people not being able to add lists to their streams, and people not being able to see replies or mentions.

While I do think the New Streams are a big step down from the old Streams and I would be very happy if HootSuite ditched the New Streams and returned to the old Streams, I am not going to stop using HootSuite. To me it is still superior to Twitter's interface and better than most any other Twitter client out there. Unfortunately I am not everybody. I have seen many tweets and even posts on the feedback page from people saying that they are giving up HootSuite in favour of Tweetdeck or even Twitter's interface. Clearly, at least to me, when long-time customers start talking about leaving a product for another product, a very big mistake has been made. I think HootSuite made a huge miscalculation with regards to how the New Streams would be received.

Indeed, on Twitter I have only seen one or two tweets in favour of the New Streams compared to countless numbers of those complaining about them. The feedback page is filled with complaints about the New Streams. A common refrain is that people want the old Streams back. What is more, people are being very specific in their complaints, so it is not simply a case of people disliking change. HootSuite insists that the old Streams will not return in order "to support a smoother transition to upcoming features and improvements." That having been said, I think I can speak for most Hootsuite users when I say that the only features and improvements we want are those that were lost when the change was made from the old Streams (a compact appearance, exact times on posts, the ability to reply to only one person, and so on).

Given the outrage over the New Streams, I think HootSuite really has only two choices. The first (and the one users seem to favour) is to get rid of the New Streams entirely and restore the old Streams. They would probably have to forget any "features and improvements" they have in mind, but at this point I think it would be worth it to keep their users happy. The second is a dramatic makeover to make the New Streams look and behave like the old streams. Replace the buttons with drop-down menus to save space and make posts more compact. Make the size of columns adjustable again. Restore the exact time to posts. Give individuals the ability to reply to only one person in tweets. The downside with this is that it would probably be so much work that it would perhaps be easier to restore the old Streams.

Regardless, it would seem HootSuite has made a serious misstep with the New Streams, to the point that many (if not most) of their users are very angry. It seems clear to me that they are going to have to take action immediately, whether that is bringing back the old Streams or making drastic changes to the New Streams. Either way, if they either do nothing or wait too long to make changes, I worry that HootSuite will lose a very large number of users to other Twitter clients. As someone who has used HootSuite for years and intends to continue using it despite my extreme dislike for the New Streams, I would really hate to see that happen.