Even though Mary Philbin is best known for unmasking Lon
Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera (1925), she was in a number of Universal’s
best known productions of the 1920’s. Born on July 16, 1903, in Chicago, Mary
had a strict Irish Catholic upbringing.
Mary entered the 1920 Herald-Examiner Elks’ beauty contest
in Chicago and Universal Studios mogul Carl Laemmle immediately signed her to a
contract and she was to remain with Universal through 1929.
Mary made her film debut in "The Blazing Trail" (1921) and had
the good fortune to be cast as Erich Von Stroheim’s leading lady in "Merry-Go-Round"
(1923). Mary tried unsuccessfully to emulate Mary Pickford in the 1925 remake
of "Stella Maris." She was Conrad Veidt’s co-star in "The Man Who Laughs" (1927) and
"The Last Performance" (1927). In 1928, Mary was loaned to D.W. Griffith for
"Drums of Love", one of the director’s lesser works.
It was after the opening night of "The Man Who Laughs" (1927)
that Mary announced her engagement to agent Paul Kohner, who had co-written
Mary’s 1928 film, "Love Me and the World is Mine,"directed by E.A. Dupont.
Mary’s parents were outraged at the news that Paul Kohner
was Jewish and she was told that she would be disowned if she married him. Paul
was devastated when Mary gave him the engagement ring back. There were no
further suitors in Mary’s life, and the actress never married. Mary did appear
in three sound films in 1929, and she could have continued her career, but
instead she retired. She never gave interviews after that and became a reclusive in her
later years.
Mary appeared in a total of 32 films from 1921-1929.
It’s interesting to note that shortly after Paul Kohner’s
death in 1989, workers cleaning out his office at his agency found Mary’s love
letters close at hand in his desk more than sixty years later.
Paul Kohner married Mexican actress Lupita Tovar in 1932,
and their marriage lasted until his death in 1989. They had two children.
Lupita Tovar is now 102 years old.
Mary Philbin died on May 7, 1993. She was 90 years old.
Personally, I think Mary Philbin’s life was one of the
saddest in Hollywood. It’s unfortunate that she allowed her parents to
completely dominate her to the point that she never got to marry the man she
loved, experience motherhood or just live on her own instead of living with her
parents until they passed away. Mary had the tendency to give in to her parents’
wishes, and as a result, she had a very empty life.
Pagan Love Song (1950). A beautiful south seas musical, where everyone lives in the sun and looks out for each other. This is one of my favorites films from the Esther Williams DVD volume II collection.
A tanned Esther Williams plays a Half-Tahitian Half- American woman.( Mimi Bennett), who lives with her rich aunt. Bored of the easy life of Tahiti and longs for the excitement of the United States. But when (Hazard Endicott) played by Howard Keel, arrives to take over his late uncle's coconut plantation, she has a change of heart.
At first Hazard mistakes Mimi for one of natives, and instead of correcting Hazard, Mimi playfully pretends to know just a little bit of English.
Later.. Mimi stops by to invite Hazard to a party at her house. Hazard accepts the invitation. Expecting the guests to be natives, Hazard comes dressed in a sarong. When he finds the guests are dressed in suits and evening dresses. He leaves the party and Mimi, realizing that her joke has gone to far, catches up with him and tells him the truth.
After a short time they become engaged. Everything is going well until one day when Mimi witnesses Hazard lose his temper with one of his workers Tavae. Mimi does not like Hazard's harsh treatment of Tavae and breaks off their engagement. Will Mimi ever forgive Hazard?
This is a gorgeous film. Scenery of the island of Tahiti was beautiful. A cute story line with some wonderful songs and one amazing coral sea ballet. I also enjoyed seeing the native dances. One that really stood out in my mind was the SIMONE knife dance. Rita Moreno plays a feature role, in sarong and long beautiful hair.
Esther Williams, was 6 months pregnant while filming PAGAN LOVE SONG.xxx
Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse were the first choices for the leads, but Charisse was pregnant at the time. A new screenplay was then written for Esther Williams to star in.
Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931), was born Rosa Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, to Rosa María, a seamstress, and Paco Alverío, a farmer. She moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five, and took the surname of her stepfather, Edward Moreno.
She began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in New York from a friend of her mother, a Spanish dancer called Paco Cansino, who was the uncle of Rita Hayworth.
When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish language versions of American films.
She had her first Broadway role as "Angelina" in Skydrift. By the time she was 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts.
She appeared in small roles in The Toast of New Orleans and Singin' in the Rain, in which she played Zelda Zanners.
In March 1954, Moreno was featured on the cover of Life Magazine with a caption “Rita Moreno: An Actresses' Catalog of Sex and Innocence.”
In 1956, she had a supporting role in the film version of The King and I as Tuptim.
Moreno landed the role of Anita in Robert Wise's and Jerome Robbins' film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical, West Side Story, which was played by Chita Rivera on Broadway.
Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for that role.
After winning the Oscar, Moreno thought she would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles, but didn't make another movie for seven years after winning the Oscar....
Moreno went on to be the first Hispanic to win an Emmy (1977), a Grammy (1972), an Oscar (1962) and a Tony (1975).
In 1985, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago.
Other roles
Besides appearing in Singin' in the Rain, The King and I, Summer and Smoke (1961), West Side Story, The Night of the Following Day (1968) and Carnal Knowledge in (1971),
Moreno appeared on the PBS children's series The Electric Company in the 1970s, most notably as Millie the Helper. Moreno screamed the show's opening line, "HEY, YOU GUYS!"
She also had roles as the naughty little girl Pandora, and as "Otto", the very short-tempered director. Moreno appeared in the family variety series The Muppet Show, and she made other guest appearances on television series such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, George Lopez, The Golden Girls, and Miami Vice.
She was also a regular on the short-lived sitcom version of Nine to Five (based on the film hit) during the early 1980s.
Broadway and television
Moreno's Broadway credits include: The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Gantry, The Ritz, for which she won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, and the female version of The Odd Couple.
In 1993 she was invited to perform at President Bill Clinton's inauguration and later that month was asked to perform at the White House. During the mid 1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego on the animated Fox show Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
In 1995, she co-starred with Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Deborah Winters and Peter Graves in the Warren Chaney docudrama, America: A Call to Greatness.
In the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers when she played Sister Pete, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series, Oz. She made a guest appearance on The Nanny as Coach Stone, Maggie's (Nicholle Tom) tyrannical gym teacher, whom Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.
Moreno continues to be active on stage and screen.
In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's revival of The Glass Menagerie. She was seen on Law and Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective Goren. She was a regular on the short-lived TV series Cane.
In 2011 she accepted the role of the mother of Fran Drescher's character in the TV sitcom Happily Divorced.
In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley Rep (theater) in Berkeley, California, Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by Berkeley Rep artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno.
Moreno dated Marlon Brando for 8 years, and attempted suicide in his home in 1962.
On June 18, 1965, Moreno married Leonard Gordon, a cardiologist who was also her manager. He died on June 30, 2010. They have one daughter, Fernanda Luisa Gordon-Fisher, and two grandsons, Justin and Cameron Fisher.
Dust Be My Destiny (1939). Cast: John Garfield and Priscilla Lane. The original ending of the film had Joe and Mabel shot to death, but the failure of the film, You Only Live Once, which had a tragic ending, prompted the Warner Bros. studio to want a happy ending. When writer Robert Rossen refused to write the new ending, Seton I. Miller was brought in to write it.
Joe Bell, is wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit, but.. when the real culprit was caught and confessed, he is released. Later, he and his friends are picked up for vagrancy and sentenced to a county work farm. There, he meets Mabel Alden, the stepdaughter of the brutal and drunken prison foreman and the two fall in love.
When her step father catches them together, he slaps Mabel and in turn, Joe hits her stepfather, who dies of a heart attack because of his poor health caused by alcoholism. Running for their lives Joe and Mabel, leave the work farm and cross the state line and marry.
Mabel, wants to turn themselves in but, Joe does not think any one believe them refuses. They are given a job by kindly diner owner, Nick, who even helps them escape when Mabel is caught and Joe breaks her out of jail.
Needing money, Joe.. is on the verge of pawning his camera, when he stumbles on a bank robbery and captures it on film. Impressed with the pictures, Mike the newspaper editor, offers Joe a job on the paper.
Later, when members of the gang threaten Mike unless he returns the negatives. Once again, he is threatened with being exposed as a wanted fugitive. As he is getting ready to flee once again, Mabel, not wanting to live a life on the run turns in her husband. Will Joe ever find justice and forgive Mabel for turning him in?
This film is worth seeing for Garfield's performance alone, but Henry Armetta and Alan Hale are both excellent too and there's an enjoyable Max Steiner score.
Priscilla Lane (June 12, 1915 – April 4, 1995), was the youngest of five daughters of Dr. Lorenzo A. Mullican, DDS, and his wife, Cora Bell Hicks. Dr. Mullican had a dental practice in Indianola.
Priscilla and one of her sisters, Rosemary, traveled to Des Moines every weekend to study dancing with Rose Lorenz. The girls made their first professional appearance September 30, 1930, at Des Moines' Paramount Theater. Priscilla, then 15, performed on stage as part of the entertainment accompanying the release of her sister Lola's Hollywood movie, Good News (1930).
After graduating from high school, Priscilla traveled to New York to visit a third sister, Leota, who was then appearing in a musical revue in Manhattan. Priscilla enrolled at the Fagen School of Dramatics.
At this time, talent agent Al Altman saw Priscilla( age 16) performing in one of Fagen's school plays and invited her to screen-test for MGM.
In 1932, Cora and Rosemary arrived in New York, where Cora immediately took her daughters to auditions for several Broadway productions, without success. During a tryout at a music publishing office, orchestra leader and radio personality Fred Waring heard them harmonizing, signed them to a radio contract.
Rosemary sang the ballads, while Priscilla performed the swing numbers and wisecracked with Waring and various guests.
Back in Iowa, Dr. Mullican divorced his wife on the grounds of desertion and Rosemary and Priscilla remained with Fred Waring for almost five years.
In 1937, Waring was engaged by Warner Bros. and performed in the film, Varsity Show, a musical starring Dick Powell. Both Rosemary and Priscilla were tested and landed roles in the film. Rosemary was the romantic interest of Powell, while Priscilla was a high-spirited college girl.
Warner Bros. purchased Priscilla and Rosemary's contract from Fred Waring and signed them to seven-year contracts. Priscilla's next film was, Men Are Such Fools (1938), in which she starred with Wayne Morris. This was followed by, Love Honor and Behave (also 1938), another light romantic comedy with Morris, who, playing her husband, spanked her 47 times in a scene for which she declined a double, and Cowboy from Brooklyn, again teaming with Dick Powell.
Priscilla was next assigned the lead in Brother Rat, which had been a very successful Broadway play. Again she played opposite Wayne Morris and among the cast were newcomers Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman, Jane Bryan, and Eddie Albert.
After winning her raise, Priscilla returned to work, but the films assigned to her were no better than those she had turned down. Brother Rat and a Baby (aka, Baby Be Good, 1940) was an inferior sequel and Three Cheers For the Irish (also 1940) gave her little to do.
She appeared opposite Ronald Reagan in a light hearted comedy, Million Dollar Baby (1941) and as a night club singer in Blues in the Night (also 1941).
Frank Capra requested her for the lead opposite Cary Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace. The comedy film was completed in early 1942, but was not released until 1944, it was held up by contractual agreement not to distribute the film until the play's long Broadway run was over. It was Priscilla's last Warner film. Her contract was terminated by mutual agreement after five years with the studio.
She freelanced, signing a one-picture deal with Universal Studios where she starred with Robert Cummings in Alfred Hitchcock's, Saboteur (1942). The director did not want either Cummings or Lane for their roles. Hitchcock felt Lane was too much the girl next door but, Universal insisted.
She had commitments for two more films: Silver Queen (1942) for producer Harry Sherman in which she co-starred with George Brent. She played the owner of a gambling house in 1870's San Francisco. The other film was a Jack Benny comedy, The Meanest Man in the World, released in January 1943. Lane then retired from films.
For the duration of the war, she followed her husband across America as he moved from one military base to another. She often performed at camp shows.
While living in Van Nuys, she was offered and accepted the leading role in Fun on a Weekend (1947) for producer–director Andrew Stone, co-starring Eddie Bracken. Soon after, Lane returned to domestic life. Once again she and her husband moved, this time to Studio City.
Lane accepted the offer of the lead role opposite Lawrence Tierney in a film noir, Bodyguard (1948), starring as Doris Brewster. Bodyguard would be her last picture.
Even though Jack Mulhall made major appearances in over 150
silent films, together with more than 200 supporting and bit performances in
sound features, he is not a famous name in film history. However, Jack was a
reliable and affable leading man who ultimately outlasted many of his female
stars. With his broad smile, blue eyes, and genial demeanor, Jack was breezy
without being arrogant.
Born on October 7, 1887, in Wappinger Falls, New York, he
entered films in 1913 with the American Biograph Company, after a career as a
café singer and dancer in vaudeville.
Jack was under contract to Universal as a juvenile lead
opposite Cleo Madison in 1916, to Famous Players Lasky in 1918, and to First
National for seven years in the 1920’s.
Some of the silent films he starred are not well remembered.
Dulcy (1923), with Constance Talmadge, Within the Law (1923) with Norma
Talmadge,The Mad Whirl (1925) with May McAvoy, Classified (1925) with Corinne
Griffith, Orchids and Ermine (1927 ) and We Moderns (1928) with Colleen Moore,
and ten features with Dorothy Mackaill, who perfectly matched him in charm.
Jack may not have been a typical actor, but he was a long
standing member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, becoming a life member in 1934,
and from 1959 through 1976, he served as a field representative for the
organization. Jack died at the Motion Picture Country House on June 1, 1979. He
was 91 years old.
Jack’s private life was rather tragic. His first wife Bertha
Vuillot died shortly after their marriage. His second, Laura Brinton, committed
suicide in 1921. A third marriage to Evelyn Winans outlasted Jack’s life, and
they had one daughter.
Queen Christina (1933). Pre-code historical/ drama. Director: Rouben Mamoulian.The film was written by H. M. Harwood and Salka Viertel with dialogue by S. N. Behrman, based on a story by Salka Viertel and Margaret P. Levino. Cast: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone. The movie is very loosely based on the life of the 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, who, in the film, falls in love during her reign but has to deal with the political realities of her society. It was billed as Garbo's return to cinema after an eighteen-month hiatus.
In 1632, after her father, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, is killed on the battlefield, six-year-old Christina raised as a boy is crowned "king" of Sweden . Then promises to her court, that Sweden will fight until it wins the war.
Many years later, the now-grown Christina, who dresses in men's clothing, meets with her council and states for the good of the country, they must find peace. Christina then argues with Oxenstierna about marrying her Swedish-born cousin, Prince Palatine Charles Gustavus. Not wanting to marry a man she does not love, Christina rejects Oxenstierna's demands.
To escape Christina, goes on a hunting trip with her servant Aage. While riding, Christina comes across the path of a coach filled with Spaniards, which have gotten stuck in a ditch. Because she is dressed as a man, Christina is not recognized and is treated as a male servant by Don Antonio de la Prada. Later, Christina and Aage seek shelter at the Inn and once again meet Antonio and his men.
Antonio apologizes when he learns that Christina is a gentleman of means and engages him/her, in conversation. Christina impresses Antonio, after which insists that he take her to his room, the last room in the inn. After a polite argument, the couple decide to share the room. While Antonio undresses, Christina becomes uncomfortable, but finally reveals that she is a woman by removing her jacket. Surprised, Antonio takes Christina in his arms. For the next several days, Christina and Antonio, who is still unaware of her royal identity, fall in love and promise their lasting devotion to each other. Needing to accomplish his mission, Antonio leaves the inn, but arranges to meet with Christina in Stockholm.
Back at the palace, Christina is confronted by Magnus, who questions her about her disappearance. Christina's only care, is her reunion with Antonio and dresses up in her most beautiful gown to greet him. When Antonio is introduced to Christina, he is surprised but maintains his composure.
Later in private Antonio, accuses her for playing with his affections and presents to her a proposal of marriage. Christina ignores her royal duties to spend time with Antonio. Jealous, Magnus hires two men to spread rumors about the queen's scandalous behavior, and one night in the Palace, Christina is met by an angry mob.
After calming the crowd, Christina confronts Magnus, where he threatens to have Antonio killed. For his protection, Christina orders Antonio back to Spain, unaware that the Spaniard has challenged Magnus to a duel. Christina calls together her court, announces that she is stepping down from the throne. While Christina says good- by to her heartbroken court, Antonio and Magnus engage in their sword fight. What will Christina find when she reaches Antonio's ship?
Fun Fact:
Since John Gilbert was becoming less popular as a leading man, Greta Garbo was doing him a big favor by requesting him as the male lead. Unfortunately, the film did not help to re-establish Gilbert, and soon after he dropped out of pictures altogether.
For me, this is a beautiful and haunting film. John Gilbert and Greta Garbo have wonderful on screen chemistry. My favorite scene in the movie, is when she is enjoying herself as a woman.
Muriel Evans (July 20, 1910 – October 26, 2000) Her father died when she was only two months old, forcing her mother to move to California to find work, where Evans' mother took a job as a maid at First National Studios.
She spent her afternoons on film sets and was soon noticed by a studio executive. The executive introduced her to the director Robert Z. Leonard, who gave her a small role opposite Corinne Griffith in the 1926 film, Mademoiselle Modiste. She continued attending classes at Hollywood High School and landing bit parts in stock theater productions and silent films.
In 1929, Evans co-starred in the silent, comedic short films, Good Night Nurse and Joyland, starring Lupino Lane. Shortly after completing Joyland, Evans put her acting career on hold to finish school.
Later that year, she married Michael Cudahy, the wealthy scion of a meatpacking family. The couple traveled the world and settled in Europe. In 1931, Evans decided to pursue the film career she had given up and left her husband in Paris. Evans returned to Hollywood, signed a contract at MGM and quickly began making films again. She and Cudahy divorced in 1932.
Later that year, Evans starred in six films, most notably, Young Ironsides with Charley Chase and Pack Up Your Troubles with Laurel and Hardy. She would go on to star in eight more shorts with Chase before his death in 1940.
She made a smooth transition from silent pictures to talkies, and throughout the 1930s, Evans continued to work steadily. She appeared in Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gable and William Powell, and The Prizefighter and the Lady with Myrna Loy.
By the mid 1930s, Evans also began co-starring in popular westerns alongside Tom Mix, John Wayne and Tex Ritter. She also starred in three Hopalong Cassidy films opposite William Boyd, and did seven westerns with Buck Jones.Muriel Evans with James Ellison in the 1936 film Three on the Trail
In 1936, Evans married a theatrical agent, Marshall R. Worchester.
By age 30, she retired from acting. One of her last film appearances came in 1946, in the Pete Smith short, Studio Visit. Soon after retiring, Evans and her husband settled in Washington, D.C. Over the next decade, she starred in four radio shows and in the television show Hollywood Reporter.
In 1951, the couple moved back to Hollywood, although Evans never resumed her acting career. Eventually, the couple bought property in Tarzana, California, where Evans dabbled in real estate.
After the death of her husband in 1971, Evans began work as a volunteer nurse at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills not far from her home.
After a stroke in 1994, she became a resident within the complex and often dined with fellow actors with whom she had once worked, including Anita Garvin. In 1999, Evans made her last film appearance in a 2000 documentary, I Used to Be in Pictures, in which she was one of many former actors who recalled their experiences in the film work.
One More River (1934). Film directed by James Whale. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Cast: Diana Wynyard. The film is based on a novel by John Galsworthy. This marked Jane Wyatt's film debut.
The story begins when Lady Clare Corven, returns from Ceylon by ship to be with her family, who is happy to see her after she left her husband Gerald, for abusing her. While on the ship, she meets and falls in love with, James "Tony" Bernard Croom.
He husband Gerald, has the couple followed by a detective. One night, they can't get the car lights to work and Clare and Tony, park in the woods and innocently spend the night together. With this evidence Gerald uses it to sue Clare and Tony, for divorce and damages.
At the trial, Tony and Clare are found guilty, will Tony and Clare continue on with their romance or go their separate ways?
This is the first time I have seen this film, it's main focus is the social attitudes toward sex and divorce. When the film began, Diana's character was plain, but.. as the movie progressed, she became more sophisticated. It was fun to see a very young, Jane Wyatt.
Diana Wynyard, (16 January 1906 – 13 May 1964), began her career on the English stage. She attracted attention of Broadway and performed first in Rasputin and the Empress in 1932, with Ethel, John, and Lionel Barrymore. She performed in the film version, beginning her brief Hollywood career.
Fox Film Corporation, borrowed her for their film version of, Cavalcade (1933). As the noble wife and mother she aged gracefully against a background of the Boer War, the sinking of the Titanic, the First World War, and the arrival of the Jazz Age. With this performance, she became the first British actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
After a handful of film roles, most notably as John Barrymore's old flame in Reunion in Vienna, she returned to Britain, but concentrated on theatre work, including roles as Charlotte Bronte in, Wild Decembers, in Sweet Aloes, and as Gilda in the British premiere of Noel Coward's Design for Living.
She was tempted to return to the screen to play opposite Ralph Richardson in, On the Night of the Fire (1939). Her greatest success was as the heroine of, Gaslight (1940), the first film version of Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light. This was followed by roles opposite Clive Brook in Freedom Radio, John Gielgud in, The Prime Minister and Michael Redgrave in Kipps (all 1941), directed by Carol Reed to whom she was later briefly married.
After World War II, she performed in, An Ideal Husband (1947), from the Oscar Wilde play, but her remaining film appearances were in supporting roles, usually maternal, such as in Tom Brown's Schooldays (1951) and as the secretive mother (of James Mason's character) in Island in the Sun (1957).
On television she played Empress Elisabeth of Austria in the 1957 version of Mayerling, which starred Audrey Hepburn.
Her stage career flourished after the war, and as a Shakespearean leading lady at Stratford, in London's West End and on tour in Australia, she had her pick of star parts.
Between 1948 and 1952, she played Portia, Gertrude, Lady Macbeth, Katherine the shrew, Desdemona, Katherine of Aragon, Hermione in The Winter's Tale, and Beatrice to Gielgud's Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. In this production, she succeeded her friend Peggy Ashcroft. Wynyward stumbled off the rostrum during the sleepwalking scene in Macbeth in 1948. She fell 15 feet, but was able to continue.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s she also had success in the works of several contemporary writers, including the British production of Tennessee Williams's Camino Real.
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1953.
She was married to the English film director Sir Carol Reed from 3 February 1943 until August 1947, and subsequently to a Hungarian physician, Tibor Csato.
She died from renal disease in London in 1964, aged 58, while rehearsing The Master Builder with Michael Redgrave and Maggie Smith as part of the new National Theatre Company. Celia Johnson replaced her.
Her last television performance was in the play The Man in the Panama Hat recorded in March 1964. Her death occurred before the intended broadcast in May 1964 and it was eventually shown posthumously on 21 September 1964.
Mari Aldon (17 November 1925-31 October 2004). Trained as a ballet dancer for six years. Mari Aldon was married to Hollywood director, Tay Garnett. She is best known for her roles :
Judy Beckett, a prisoner of the Seminoles(1951) and Gary Cooper's romantic interest in, Distant Drums (1951).
She also performed in few feature films and briefly in two major movies: The Barefoot Contessa (1954) and Summertime (1955). The rest of her career was devoted to television.
Recognition, to Normand's celebrity in early Hollywood, came through the name of a leading character in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, "Norma Desmond", which was a combination of the names: Mabel Normand and William Desmond Taylor.
The 1974 Broadway musical Mack and Mabel (Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman) fictionalized the romance between Normand and Mack Sennett. Normand was played by Bernadette Peters and Robert Preston played Mack Sennett.
Normand is played by actress Marisa Tomei in the 1992 film Chaplin.
By Morganne Picard in the motion picture Return to Babylon (2008) and by Penelope Lagos in the first bio-pic about her life, a 35-minute dramatic short film entitled Madcap Mabel (2010).
In Season 2, Episode 1 of Downton Abbey, the housemaid Ethel is seen reading a photoplay about Mabel Normand.
Young Man with a Horn (1950). Drama. Based on a biographical novel of the same name about the life of Bix Beiderbecke. Cast: Doris Day, Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall.
The story begins, Musician Smoke Willoughby, thinks back to when he first meet his friend legendary trumpet player Rick Martin.:
After his mother dies, Rick moves in with his sister in California. Rick sees a trumpet in a pawn shop window and gets a job in a bowling alley to pay for it. Next to the bowling alley is a Jazz club, where Rick hears jazz for the first time.
He quickly makes friends with the trumpet player Art Hazzard, who teaches his young friend how to play the trumpet. As Rick gets older, he finds odd jobs playing for carnivals and dance marathons.
Rick decides to follow Art to New York and lands a job playing trumpet for big band leader Jack Chandler, where he meets Smoke and singer Jo.
Chandler insists that Rick play the music exactly as written. Chandler fires Rick after he plays a jazzy number. Despite Jo's efforts, Rick refuses to go back when Chandler offers to rehire him. Rick learns that his friend Art has been sick and he returns to New York. Jo gets him a job with another orchestra.
Some evenings Rick goes over to help out Art at Louis Galba's nightclub. Jo brings her friend Amy to hear Rick play. Amy, who is studying to be a psychiatrist, blames her father for her mother's death and believes that she is not capable of love.
They fall in love and are married, soon after Rick and Amy start to have problems because of his dedication to music. Will Rick be torn away from playing the trumpet to save his marriage?
For anyone who loves jazz, this is a wonderful movie. The soundtrack to this movie is awesome.(trumpet played by Harry James). Kirk Douglas is perfect for Rick's character. Lauren Bacall performance as a manipulative heiress was perfect.
Fun Facts:
Kirk Douglas's trumpet licks were performed by Harry James.
The Columbia 10-inch studio LP featuring Doris Day and Harry James hit the top spot on "Billboard"'s popular albums chart.
Doris Day wrote that she was unhappy making this film, which brought back stressful memories of her early career as a band singer, and also because Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall (having dated at one time in real life) seemed to intentionally shut her out, making her feel unwelcome.
At least three times, you will see trumpeters in the movie using mutes different from those on the sound track. For example, in the Christmas Eve scene, Rick is shown using a Harmon mute and Harry James' dub of the tune is with a cup mute.
Features one of the earliest references to homosexuality. The character of Amy played by Lauren Bacall is suppose to be a lesbian, which is why Rick, played by Kirk Douglas, walks out on her telling her that she is "a very sick girl".
Mary Beth Hughes (November 13, 1919 – August 27, 1995) While acting in a school play in the early 1930s, her performance caught the attention of Clifford Brown, a repertory theater company owner, who offered her a part in a touring production of Alice in Wonderland.
While touring with another production in Brown's company, she was offered a contract from a talent scout with Gaumont-British Studios but declined the offer to finish high school. After graduating from high school in 1937, she returned to Brown's theater company, where she continued to appear in various stage productions until the summer of 1938, when she relocated to Los Angeles with her mother to pursue a film career.
After six months of failing to land movie roles, Hughes and her mother made plans to return to Washington, D.C., until Hughes met an agent, Wally Ross. Ross introduced Hughes to powerful William Morris agent Johnny Hyde. Hyde landed Hughes a contract with MGM, and she soon landed a small, uncredited role in the 1939 film Broadway Serenade.
After Broadway Serenade, Hughes appeared in other bit parts in films including The Women with Norma Shearer, Dancing Co-Ed with Lana Turner, and the Busby Berkeley film Fast and Furious.
In 1940 Hughes was offered a contract with 20th Century-Fox.
Later that year she landed a role opposite John Barrymore in The Great Profile, a part she later noted as one of her favorites. Fox did not renew her contract when it expired in 1943, and the following year she began appearing in a nightclub act and soon signed a three-picture deal with Universal Pictures.
Throughout the mid-40s and early '50s, Hughes appeared in film and television roles, including the cult classic I Accuse My Parents (which was later parodied on Mystery Science Theater 3000), Waterfront at Midnight, Wanted: Dead or Alive (episode "Secret Ballot"),The Devil's Henchman, The Abbott and Costello Show, Dragnet and Studio One.
In 1961, Hughes decided to retire from acting and began working as a receptionist in a plastic surgeon's office, although she continued her appearances in nightclubs. The following year she directed and starred in a Los Angeles production of Pajama Top.
For the rest of the '60s she would go on to appear in television shows like Rawhide and Dennis the Menace. In 1970 she landed a regular role on The Red Skelton Show, appearing in 11 episodes before the show ended later that year.
In 1976 she again retired from show business, explaining that she was "tired of auditioning for sexy grandma roles."Hughes' last onscreen appearance was in the 1976 film Tanya.
In the late 1970s Hughes opened a beauty parlor in Canoga Park, California. She closed the shop in the late 1980s and began working as a telemarketer until 1991, when she was laid off.
As a starlet under contract with MGM, Hughes went on studio-appointed dates with several actors, including Lew Ayres, Franchot Tone, Mickey Rooney, and James Stewart. While under contract to Fox, she also went on prearranged dates with Milton Berle and George Montgomery.
In 1940, against Fox's wishes, Hughes began a relationship with actor Robert Stack. The romance lasted a year.
After her romance with Stack ended, Hughes married actor Ted North in 1943. The couple had one son, Donald, before divorcing in 1947. In 1948, she married singer/actor David Street. The marriage ended in 1956. In 1973 Hughes married her manager, Nicky Stewart, but that marriage also ended in divorce four years later.
Born Virginia La Buna in Brooklyn, New York, on June 26, 1904, of Italian parents, the actress is best known for playing J.M. Barrie’s “Tinkerbell” in the original 1924 screen adaptation of “Peter Pan.”
Virginia used her stepfather’s name of Brown when she entered “The Fame and Fortune” contest organized in 1919 by the fan magazine “Motion Picture Classic.” The organizers felt that Brown was too common a name, and so gave her the name of Virginia Faire. When Virginia discovered that there was already an actress named Elinor Fair, she decided to reclaim Brown.
Virginia had already some screen experience as an extra in New York, and when the judges saw a screen test, she was the obvious winner. Virginia was apprenticed to Universal, and she was given Western two- reelers. Virginia did make one five reelers, “Under Northern Lights” (1928), but she broke the contract with Universal.xx
Robert Brunton, who owned the Brunton studios became Virginia’s personal manager, and he produced “Without Benefit of Clergy” (1921), in which Virginia has the leading role. The film was called an artistic triumph, and it gave Virginia the recognition for better parts.
While she was occasionally under contract to major studios, including First National, Virginia fared better as a freelancer. There were lesser features such as “Thundergate” (1923), “The Lightning Rider” (1924) and “The Thoroughbred” (1925), as well as major productions, including “Monte Cristo” (1922), “Romance Ranch” (1924) with John Gilbert at Fox and “The Temptress” (1926) with Greta Garbo at MGM.
In all, Virginia made credited appearances in more than forty silent films.
Virginia did not find the transition to sound easy, despite a most pleasing voice. Onscreen, Virginia played the maid in Frank Capra’s production of “The Donovan Affair” (1929). Virginia continued to act through 1934, generally in Westerns, including three directed by Duke Worne, whom she married in 1930, after an earlier marriage to cowboy actor, Jack Dougherty. Her marriage to businessman William Bayer later in the 1930’s marked an end to Virginia’s screen career.
In all, Virginia appeared in seventy-four films between 1920-1935.
Virginia died on June 30, 1980 of cancer. She was seventy-six years old.
It's interesting to note that on the set of Peter Pan (1924) Virginia had the opportunity to meet Rudolph Valentino, and he spent a lot of time with her mother on the set talking in Italian, and she was very fond of him.
Personal Quote:
"I put my career in second place throughout both my marriages and it suffered. I don't regret it. You make choices. If you want a good marriage, you must pay attention to that. If you want to be independent, go ahead. You can't have it all".
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Romantic/comedy. Director: Jean Negulesco. Produced and written by Nunnally Johnson. Music by Alfred Newman. Cinematography: Joseph MacDonald. Costumes: Travilla. Cast: Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, William Powell, David Wayne, Rory Calhoun, Cameron Mitchell, Alexander D'Arcy, and Fred Clark.
The story begins when, high fashion model Schatze Page, leases a luxury New York City apartment owned by Freddie Denmark, a businessman "on the lam" from the Internal Revenue Service. She quickly calls her friend calls, Pola Debevoise, to tell her that they rented the apartment.
Pola, arrives and convinces Schatze to also invite her friend Loco Dempsey, to come live with them. Loco Instructed to bring lunch, arrives with several bags of groceries and Tom Brookman, who paid for her food. Schatze, immediately kicks him out (not knowing that he is rich), tells the girls" that a man met at the cold cuts counter is not the kind of man they want to get hooked up with."
Over hot dogs and champagne, Schatze tells Loco that she and Pola have taken the apartment in order to find rich husbands and that after divorcing a "gas pump jockey," she now wants to live in luxury. Thinking Schatze's scheme is the smartest thing they ever heard, Loco and Pola agree.
After three months, none of the girls have become engaged and Schatze has to sell the furniture to pay the rent.
One afternoon, Loco comes home with another gentleman helping her with her boxes. J. D. invites the women to a reception that night, where the girls meet promising looking men.
Afterward, the women accompany their dates to a fancy restaurant. Pola is escorted by J. Stewart Merrill, "Arab" who brags about his money, while Loco is accompanied by Waldo Brewster, a rich businessman who complains about his wife. Now all the girls have to do is use all their talents to trap and marry 3 millionaires.
Marilyn, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall all make wonderful gold-diggers, that you cant help but love. In this movie with all it's cute twists and turns, which make it worth watching, on a Sunday afternoon.
FUN FACTS:
This film was the final box-office success in Betty Grable's 26 year movie career.
Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe, then on her way to major stardom, became friends during filming with Betty Grable, who said to her "Honey, I've have mine. Go get yours."
When Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men... Look at that old fellow what's-his-name in The African Queen. Absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to Bacall's real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.
When Betty Grable listens to her then-husband Harry James on the radio in Maine, the song playing is "You'll Never Know," which then becomes the love theme for Miss Grable and Rory Calhoun. The Oscar-winning song of 1943 (music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Mack Gordon) had been sung by Alice Faye in two musicals, Hello Frisco, Hello and Four Jills in a Jeep, and then sung by Betty Grable in Diamond Horseshoe, and also sung by Ginger Rogers in Dreamboat.
Before becoming a major Hollywood success, Lauren Bacall worked as a model for several years of her teenage life while auditioning for roles on Broadway. The modeling she did is exactly like that of her character Ms. Paige, showing pieces for clients.
In one scene the three women are talking to each other about who they would like to marry. Marilyn Monroe's character says she wouldn't mind marring Mr. Cadillac. Lauren Bacall's character replies "No such person, I checked". There was a Mr. Cadillac. He was the French governor of Canada (founded the city of Detroit and in 1710 was named the governor of Louisiana). The Cadillac was named for him and his surname lives on in the form of his descendants.
Signed to Twentieth Century-Fox since October 35, 1939, Betty Grable informed the studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck during production that she would not commit to the remaining three years of her latest contract. On June 3, 1953, a studio press release announced the official split. Returning only once to Fox, Betty would star in How to Be Very, Very Popular, a vehicle in which Marilyn refused to appear and was replaced by Sheree North. Two unfulfilled proposals to have Miss Grable film again at Fox were the mother role (subsequently played by Ginger Rogers) in Teenage Rebel and then in 1964, another mom part in a project ultimately canceled named "High Heels."
This film's plot is similar to The Greeks Had a Word for Them, in which 15-year-old Betty Grable showed up briefly as a hatcheck girl, and also to Moon Over Miami, one of Miss Grable's most popular Technicolor vehicles.
The on-screen orchestra at the beginning plays music that was composed by Alfred Newman for the 1931 film Street Scene. The music was also used in 20th Century-Fox's I Wake Up Screaming, also with Betty Grable, and in Gentleman's Agreement.
While Betty Grable received top billing as the credits rolled -- a contractual promise made to her by Twentieth Century-Fox -- Marilyn Monroe was promoted to first place in the trailer and poster art.
Now on Blu-Ray. Includes: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes How To Marry A Millionaire River Of No Return There's No Business Like Show Business The Seven Year Itch Some Like It Hot The Misfits.
David Wayne (January 30, 1914 – February 9, 1995) was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years. Wayne's first major Broadway role was Og the leprechaun in Finian's Rainbow, for which he won the Theatre World Award and the first ever Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
While appearing in the play, he and co-star Albert Sharpe were recruited by producer David O. Selznick to play Irish characters in the film Portrait of Jennie (1948).
It was in 1948 as well that Wayne became one of those fortunate 50 applicants (out of approximately 700) granted membership in New York's newly formed Actors Studio.
He was awarded a second Tony for Best Actor in a Play for The Teahouse of the August Moon and was nominated as Best Actor in a Musical for The Happy Time.
He originated the role of Ensign Pulver in the classic stage comedy Mister Roberts and also appeared in Say, Darling, After the Fall, and Incident at Vichy.
Later in films, Wayne was most often was cast as a supporting player, such as the charming cad opposite Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in Adam's Rib (1949).
He portrayed the child killer, originally played by Peter Lorre, in the remake of M (1951), a chance to see him in a rare leading role, even rarer as an evil character.
He costarred in The Tender Trap (1955) with Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, and Celeste Holm.
Wayne also appeared in four films with Marilyn Monroe (more than any other actor): As Young as You Feel (1951), We're Not Married (1952), O. Henry's Full House (1952) (although he was not in the same scene as Monroe) and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953).
Wayne appeared in the late 1950s on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and the Twilight Zone episode Escape Clause. He starred as Darius Woodley in two 1961 episodes of NBC's The Outlaws television series with Barton MacLane. Wayne was also noted for his portrayal of Dr. Charles Dutton in the 1971 film version of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain.
He also played the Mad Hatter, one of the recurring villains in the 1960s TV series Batman. In 1964, he guest-starred in the series finale, "Pay Now, Die Later", of CBS's drama, Mr. Broadway, starring Craig Stevens as public relations specialist Mike Bell. In the story line, Wayne's character, the wealthy John Zeck, hires Bell to prepare Zeck's obituary before his death.
1951
In the 1960s, Wayne was a radio host on NBC's magazine program Monitor.
Wayne appeared as Uncle Timothy Jamison in the NBC sitcom, The Brian Keith Show. He co-starred with Jim Hutton in the 1970s television series Ellery Queen (as Queen's widowed father).
From 1978 to 1979, Wayne played Digger Barnes on the CBS hit drama Dallas. He left that show to star in the television series House Calls with Lynn Redgrave and later Sharon Gless in the role of Dr. Weatherby, Keenan Wynn replaced him as Digger Barnes. He played "Big Daddy"—Blanche's father on The Golden Girls—after the death in 1986 of Murray Hamilton, the first actor to play that part.
In 1975, Wayne starred on Gunsmoke in the episode "I have Promises to Keep" as a controversial reverend who brought a church to Indian territory with ambitions of a school. The episode addresses many emotions of the post Civil War period where the horrors of the Indian wars were fresh. Met with a vengeful townspeople the reverend is confronted by an unsupportive town. While coming back from delivering a prisoner in a nearby town, US Deputy Marshal Festus Hagen (played by Ken Curtis) gets involved and defends the reverend's mission. Wayne is in a lead role in this episode, considered one of his best performances.
