Robert Montgomery

Montgomery entered the moving picture industry during the revolution of the talkies, which made it more difficult to impress the studio. One writer claimed that Montgomery was able to establish himself because he "proceeded with confidence, agreeable with everyone, eager and willing to take suggestions". During the production of So This Is College, he learned from and questioned crew members from several departments, including sound crew, electricians, set designers, camera crew and film editors. In a later interview, he confessed "it showed him that making a motion picture is a great co-operative project."<br /><br /> So This Is College gained him attention as Hollywood's latest newcomer, and he was put in one production after another, with his popularity growing steadily. He initially played exclusively in comedy roles, but portrayed a character in his first drama film in The Big House (1930). The studio was initially reluctant to assign him in such a role, until "his earnestness, and his convincing arguments, with demonstrations of how he would play the character" won him the assignment. From The Big House on, he was in constant demand. Appearing as Greta Garbo's romantic interest in Inspiration (1930) started him toward stardom with a rush. Norma Shearer chose him to star opposite her in The Divorcee (1930), Strangers May Kiss (1931), and Private Lives (1931), which led to stardom on a high rank. During this time, Montgomery appeared in the original pre-Code film version of When Ladies Meet (1933), which starred Ann Harding and Myrna Loy. Read Less