This isn't the best material to make gifs out of, but I thought I'd try a few.
Footage of the older Harold is rare. Someone finally found this TV broadcast from some time in the 1950s, Harold being celebrated on This Is Your Life. He looks a little uncomfortable, would probably rather not have the attention, but goes along with it graciously. I love the instant when he looks into the camera. Same old seducer.
His wife Mildred Davis still carries that aura of glam. But what I love is the sweet way they embrace. Harold is much more of a toucher than I thought he'd be and often touches people's faces affectionately. His hug is enfolding and warm. You can't fake things like that, it can't be done. Though they certainly had their problems, it sure looks like they loved each other. If you watch his right hand very carefully as they embrace, you'll see the damage from the accident which he somehow managed to hide in plain sight. No one expected it to be there, so it wasn't.
For all his sweetness and charm, there was a lot of shrewd businessman in Harold. One can imagine him at those Shriners conventions, where the women were there for the having. And he had them, not innocently of course, though one gets the impression he was good to them, liked them. That was the way of Hollywood then, and is it any different now?
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