Classics in the Carolinas: Tallulah goes to college

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At Byrnes Auditorium at Winthrop University, actress Tallulah Bankhead performed her one of her favorite stage role in the play “Little Foxes.”

Yes, Tallulah Bankhead performed at my alma mater in 1940.

Tallulah Bankhead wasn’t your typical Southern Belle.

Tallulah Bankhead as Regina Giddens in "The Little Foxes."

Tallulah Bankhead as Regina Giddens in “The Little Foxes.”

Born in Huntsville, AL, Bankhead’s father was William B. Bankhead-a politician from Alabama and Representative from 1917 to 1940.

But despite her prominent background, Bankhead has been described as flamboyant, wild and dabbled in alcohol and drugs such as cocaine and marijuana.

She left her Southern roots at the age of 15 to travel to New York to become an actress and made her stage debut in 1918. She later was in Hollywood films starting in the 1930s.

After acting in films alongside Gary Cooper, Robert Montgomery and Charles Laughton, Bankhead made her way back to her southern roots.

In 1939, Bankhead originated the stage role of Regina Giddens in the Lillian Hellman play “The Little Foxes.”

Based in the early 20th century in the South, Regina manipulates her daughter and estranged husband to work out a business deal with her unscrupulous cousins.

“All in all, Regina Giddens is the best role I ever had in the theater,” Bankhead wrote in her autobiography, Tallulah: My Autobiography. “So The Little Foxes is the best play I’ve had. Up to this time most of my roles had been on the light and larkish side.”

Later made into a 1941 film starring Bette Davis, “The Little Foxes” ran for 410 performances at the National Theatre on Broadway.

“The Little Foxes” brought Bankhead to Rock Hill, SC.

Tallulah Bankhead and actress Eugenia Rawls perform in "The Little Foxes"

Tallulah Bankhead and actress Eugenia Rawls perform in “The Little Foxes”

On March 4, 1940, she performed her role of Regina Giddens on the stage of the brand new Byrnes Auditorium of Winthrop College (now Winthrop University) which was an all-girls school until 1975.

“Her seductive southern drawl was an instant hit in South Carolina,” according to the book York and Western York County, SC: The Story of a Southern Eden by J. Edward Lee and Jerry Lee Wes. “After her performance, the audience gave her a standing ovation.”

Bankhead had ties to York County. Her great-great-grandfather George Bankhead moved to lived in Bullock’s Creek, York County South Carolina before moving to Alabama in 1830, according to Lee and Wes’s book.

“As a (local) reporter asked the Hollywood actress about her fast-paced life in California, Bankhead…reminded the journalist, ‘Dahling, I’m from Bullock’s Creek,’” Lee and Wes wrote.

Though Bankhead was not in the film adaptation of the play, her Broadway costars Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and Patricia Collinge starred with Bette Davis.

Knowing that Tallulah Bankhead once walked on a campus where I studied journalism, makes me feel just a little closer to the Golden Era of Hollywood.

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Musical Monday: “Music for Madame” (1937)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“Music for Madame” (1948) – Musical #504

music for madame

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John G. Blystone

Starring:
Joan Fontaine, Nino Martini, Lee Patrick, Alan Mowbray, Alan Hale, Grant Mitchell, Billy Gilbert, Jack Carson

Plot:
Nino Maretti, an aspiring opera singer (Martini) is conned into thinking he is singing for important composer at a Hollywood party. In reality, Nino is singing at a Hollywood party to distract the guests as the two con artists steal priceless pearls. Jean Clemens (Fontaine) is at the same party, trying to get a symphony she wrote noticed. When Nino realizes he was used, he goes into hiding and doesn’t sing so he won’t be recognized—all the while falling in love with Jean.

Nino Martini, Joan Fontaine, and Lee Patrick (left to right) work as Hollywood film extras in "Music for Madame."

Nino Martini, Joan Fontaine, and Lee Patrick (left to right) work as Hollywood film extras in “Music for Madame.”

Trivia:
-“Music for Madame” is Fontaine’s fifth credited role on screen. The movie following “Music” is her only other musical, “Damsel in Distress” (1937) with Fred Astaire.
-Mowbray’s character was spoofing famous conductor Leopold Stokowski.
-According to IMDB, the film lost $375,000 at the box office.
-Martini was an Italian opera singer who sang with the New York City Metropolitan Opera. He made four films from 1935 to 1948. “Music for Madame” was his second to last film.
-Actor Jack Carson has a small role as an assistant director.
-Actor Ward Bond has an uncredited role in the film.

Notable Songs:
-Vesti la giubba from the opera “Pagliacci” (1892)
-“King of the Road” is sung by a truck driver who picks up Fontaine and Martini and accompanied by several car horns played by the two passengers.
-“I Want the World to Know” is the love theme of the film, written by Fontaine’s character and sung several times by Martini.

Highlights:
-Alan Hale. Hale is an excellent character actor in all of his films, but he is the only actor who stands out with humor and charisma in this film. The other actors are all pale in comparison to him.
-The scene with the truck drive singing “King of the Road” is an interesting one. He says he doesn’t have a radio so he makes music himself with all of these horns inside his vehicle. It’s not a musical masterpiece but of all the musicals I have seen, I’ve never seen a number like that.
-Martini’s acting is not the best, but he does have a beautiful singing voice.
-Fontaine looks incredibly young with a page boy bob and a bow in her hair. It’s an interesting way to see her when you are used to the sophisticated roles she played starting in the 1940s.

Jean (Fontaine) is detained by police after the pearls go missing.

Jean (Fontaine) is detained by police after the pearls go missing.

My Review:
I feel like “Music for Madame” is one of those movies that Academy Award winning actress Joan Fontaine looks back at and shudders. It’s not a terrible movie, but it’s also one I wouldn’t highly recommend. “Music for Madame” is a simple, entertaining plot but a lot of the acting is lacking. Nino Martini has a beautiful voice, but that can’t carry the film on it’s own. Fontaine is still exercising her acting chops. The most interesting character in my opinion is Alan Hale as a bumbling, music loving detective.

heck out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com

Before Lois Lane there was Torchy Blane

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by torchy blane

She’s a fast-talking blond who breaks every rule of reporting.
As a journalist, I should be appalled by Torchy Blane, but I really want to be her. She is the perfect mix of my profession and classic film love.

From 1937 to 1939, Torchy Blane solved crimes and caused trouble for her police detective boyfriend in nine films.

Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane- my role model.

Glenda Farrell as Torchy Blane- my role model.

She also was part of the inspiration for Superman’s reporter girlfriend Lois Lane.
In a 1988 Time magazine article, creators of the Superman comics Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel credited Glenda Farrell’s performance as Torchy Blane with their creation of Lois Lane.

“My wife Joanne was Joe’s original art model for Superman’s girlfriend in the 1930s,” Siegel is quoted from the interview in the book The Women of Warner Brothers. “Our heroine was, of course, a working girl whose priority was grabbing big scoops. What inspired me in the creation was Glenda Farrell, the movie star who portrayed Torchy Blane. Because of the name Lola Lane, who also played Torchy, appealed to me, I called my character Lois Lane.”

Produced by Warner Brothers Studios, the Torchy Blane series was one of many Hollywood B-movie series of the 1930s and 1940s, others include Maisie, Dr. Kildare, Boston Blackie, The Falcon and the Lone Wolf.

Actress Glenda Farrell played Torchy in seven of the films while Jane Wyman and Lola Lane each played the role once.
Torchy Blane titles include:
Torchy Blane…Playing with Dynamite (1939)
Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939)
Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939)
Torchy Gets Her Man (1938)
Torchy Blane in Panama (1938)
Blondes at Work (1938)
The Adventurous Blonde (1937)
Fly Away Baby (1937)
Smart Blonde (1937)

Though the other actresses play the part well, Farrell left the lasting impression. Her comedic timing, brassiness and nonchalant attitude brings Torchy to life. Her performances were complete with 400 word speeches given in 40 seconds as she talked her out of trouble.

In many of the films, Torchy is causing more trouble than she is writing stories and meeting deadlines.

Each film has a mystery to solve, and before Torchy’s detective boyfriend Steve McBride can take fingerprints, Torchy is one step ahead.

Her job is really more of an amateur detective than a reporter.
“Maybe you know who bumped him off,” Steve says in “Smart Blonde” (1937).
“Not off hand, but with a little time and something to eat, maybe I can help you,” says Torchy.

Our heroine usually solves the crime, leaving the police force and her detective boyfriend looking slightly foolish.

Torchy does some of her own sleuthing

Torchy does some of her own sleuthing

In today’s world of journalism, Torchy’s means of sleuthing and reporting are ethically questionable:
-Hiding in a trashcan to eavesdrop
-Bugging rooms with microphones
-Snooping through rooms
-Talking with questionable sources

It’s amazing she even has a job at a publication.

At the end of each film, Steve McBride promises a steak dinner and marriage but at the start of the next film, there have yet to be any wedding bells.

Though the films were made for low budget entertainment, the New York Times in the 1930s gave the movies poor reviews, dubbing Torchy a “demon reporter.” They also wrote “we have a murder mystery solved by an endless succession of door-opening and shuttings, taxi-hailings, jumping in and out of automobiles and riding up and down elevators,” quoted in Howard Good’s book “Girl Reporter: Gender, Journalism and Movies.”

It’s possible that the Times mainly scoffed because the main character was a female star reporter, Good wrote.

Torchy and her detective boyfriend Steve McBride played by Barton MacLane.

Torchy and her detective boyfriend Steve McBride played by Barton MacLane.

Dressed in professional suits, Farrell modeled Torchy after female reporters she knew and tried to make her believable.

“Before I undertook Torchy, I determined to create a real human being, not an exaggerated comedy type,” she said in a 1969 Times interview, quoted in the book The Women of Warner Brothers. “I met those newswomen who visited Hollywood. They were generally young, intelligent, refined and attractive. By making Torchy true to life, I tried to make a character practically unique in movies.”

Reporters could argue that Torchy Blane scripts are not representative of the newspaper industry.

However, as a contemporary female reporter, I love Torchy. I even asked my editors if I could change my byline to Torchy Pickens…but was denied.

Her sass, beauty and energy is endearing, even if she breaks every media law there is.

This is part of the Summer Under the Stars blogathon by ScribeHard and Sittin’ on a Backyard Fence. 

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com

Musical Monday: “You Were Meant for Me” (1948)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.

In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“You Were Meant for Me” (1948) – Musical #503

you were meant for me

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
Lloyd Bacon

Starring:
Jeanne Crain, Dan Dailey, Oscar Levant, Barbara Lawrence, Selena Royale, Percy Kilbride

Plot:
Set in 1929, teenager Peggy Mayhew (Crain) falls in love popular bandleader Chuck Arnold (Dailey). She spontaneously kisses him on stage after winning a prize. Chuck asks to see Peggy again. When she travels to the next town to see his band, they elope. Peggy has to adapt to life on the road with musicians. The couple then struggles with their careers and their relationship when the stock market crashes.

Trivia:
-Marilyn Monroe had an uncredited role that ended up being cut from the film.
-Though Dan Dailey had been in films for eight years, this film was around the time his career was starting to take off.
-The first 20 or 30 minutes is very similar to “Orchestra Wives” (1942). Crain falls in love with a bandleader, travels to see him and they elope. Ann Rutherford does the same thing in “Orchestra Wives.” Once the couple elopes in the film, the similarities end there.

Notable Songs:
The whole film is full of fun, popular songs of the 1920s written by George Gershwin, Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown such as:
-The title song “You Were Meant for Me” by Freed and Brown. This song can also be heard in other films such as “Penny Serenade” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
-Other popular 1920s songs such as “Ain’t She Sweet,” “Crazy Rhythm” and “Ain’t Misbehavin.”

you were meant for me 2

Dan Dailey and Jeanne Crain in “You Were Meant for Me”

Highlights:
-Pianist Oscar Levant performs
-Jeanne Crain and Dan Dailey do a cute song and dance routine to “Ain’t She Sweet” while in a soda shop.
-Dan Dailey tap dancing to “Crazy Rhyme.” Though Dailey isn’t the greatest tap dancer of the 1940s and 1950s, he does a great job.
-Small role of Barbara Lawrence. Though she isn’t in the film very much, she is still delightful to see.
-Small role of Herb Anderson who played the father on the 1950s TV show “Dennis the Menace”

My Review:
“You Were Meant for Me” isn’t an award winning film, but it’s light-hearted and fun.
The musical performances in the film are mainly by Dan Dailey on stage, rather than spontaneous songs and dances brought on by emotion from the character.
The film is in black and white, which isn’t a problem for classic film fans, but shows the 20th Century Fox didn’t see it as an important musical-though it starred two of their top stars.
Crain and Dailey make a good pair and I wish they had been in more films together. Dailey is an underrated actor and does an excellent job with singing in dancing in this film. His voice is mellow and soothing and his tap dancing is believable.
My only complaint is that the film ends rather abruptly. Otherwise, it’s an enjoyable film that I highly suggest.

Check back next week for Musical Monday.

This is part of the Summer Under the Stars blogathon 

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page for the latest updates or follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet.

Actress Beauty Tip #31: Elizabeth Taylor perfume

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This is the thirty-first installment of the monthly classic actress beauty tips that I have read about and tested.

Elizabeth Taylor Holding Perfume Bottle

Elizabeth Taylor in 1991, introducing her perfume at Macy’s

Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.

These celebrities may not have a perfume named for them if it wasn’t for English born actress Elizabeth Taylor.

The two time Academy Award winning actress is known for her violet colored eyes, glamorous beauty, love of diamonds and multiple marriages.

With a mix of her affair with jewelry and Old Hollywood glamour, Elizabeth Taylors’s White Diamonds perfume has been the top selling celebrity perfume since 1991. Even since her 2010 death, the perfume makes $200 million worth of sales each year.

Taylor wasn’t the first celebrity to create her own perfume. In 1957 Givenchy created a scent for Audrey Hepburn called L’Interdit, that was only released after Hepburn had worn it a few years. French actress Catherine Deneuve and Italian actress Sophia Loren both had perfume scents at one time that are no longer sold, according to a Jezebel article.

white diamonds 2

White Diamonds advertisement.

But what sets Elizabeth Taylor’s perfume apart is the fact that is still sold after 20 years.

Ever since I was a child, the gold liquid in Taylor’s rhinestone incrusted bottles intrigued me.  But my mother warned me White Diamonds wasn’t the most pleasant smelling perfume. Since Mom isn’t a perfume wearing woman, I hoped she was wrong.

Recently, with Comet’s beauty tips in mind, I picked up a small bottle of White Diamonds and felt slightly glamorous that I owned an Elizabeth Taylor product.

But the day I wore White Diamonds, I felt anything but glamorous. I actually felt ill, because it smells terrible. I sprayed my wrist once and overpowered by the smell.

As I gagged, I tried to figure out how this perfume had such a strong staying power. I wonder if it’s simply that it is put out by one of the most important actresses and pop culture figures of the 20th century.

To Review: White Diamonds is a very heavy and strong scent. I personally didn’t like it and can’t imagine wearing it all day. I think Elizabeth Taylor’s excellent marketing and Old Hollywood sophistication is what has kept it on the shelves for over 20 years.

Have you ever tried wearing it? What is your opinion?

This post is part of the Summer Under the Stars blogathon

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page, follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet or e-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com

Musical Monday: “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” (1964)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” or “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” — Musical #285

umbrellas

Director:
Jacques Demy

Starring: 
Catherine Deneuve, Nino Casteluovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel

Plot:
Told in three part, the movie begins in 1957 and ends in 1964.
Performed much like an opera where all the French dialogue is sung, 17-year-old Geneviève (Deneuve) is in love with 20-year-old Guy (Casteluovo) who works as a mechanic.  Geneviève’s helps her mother (Vernon)  run an umbrella shop in Cherbourg, France. Her mother objects to them getting married because they are too young. Guy is drafted to fight for two years in the Algerian War.
While he is gone, Geneviève finds she is pregnant with his child. Her mother works to convince Geneviève to forget about Guy and to marry a more wealthy jewel dealer, Roland Cassard (Michel).

Highlights:
-Different from American musicals, there is no dancing and no show stopper song. If the lines were not all sung, it would be just a normal drama.
-The color is very candy-coated and gorgeous. Costumes of the actors match the brightly colored paint, wallpaper and decor.

Vernon and Deneuve (as Genvieve). Deneuve's dress matches the bright wallpaper

Vernon and Deneuve (as Genvieve). Deneuve’s dress matches the bright wallpaper

-The scene where Roland and Geneviève sit across from each other at the dinner table. As they speak to one each other, they look straight into the camera and speak.

Roland (Marc Michel) looks straight at the camera as he looks across the table as Genvieve

Roland (Marc Michel) looks straight at the camera as he looks across the table as Genvieve

-Pregnant Geneviève in a white wedding gown, looking very unhappy.

Roland and Genvieve's unhappy wedding

Roland and Genvieve’s unhappy wedding

-The 1960s fashions are gorgeous and as colorful as the backdrop.
-The heart wrenching ending that leaves so many questions

Trivia:
-Grand Prize Winner at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival
-Every actor in the all singing, opera-like film was dubbed:
Danielle Licari: Geneviève Emery
José Bartel: Guy Foucher
Christiane Legrand: Madame Emery
Georges Blaness: Roland Cassard
Claudine Meunier: Madeleine
Claire Leclerc: Aunt Élise
-“Umbrellas of Cherbourg” follows the Jacques Demy film “Lola” (1961). The character Roland Cassard is in “Lola” and in “Umbrellas” sings about a woman he once loved named Lola and how she broke his heart.
-The film is divided into three parts from 1957 to 1964: The Departure, The Absence, The Return
-An English stage version was adapted in 1979.
-Nominated for four Academy Awards in 1966 including: Best Music, Original Score for “I Will Wait for You;” Best Music, Score; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen

Notable Songs:
-Each scene and scenario has it’s own song. The tunes are a mix of jazz to ballads.
-The most popular song from the film is “I Will Wait for You” sung by Geneviève and Guy before he leaves on the train to join the military.

My Review:
“Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” is one of my favorite musicals-up there with my all-time favorite “West Side Story” (1961). I love the gorgeous candy-coated color, the costumes and the heart wrenching sadness.
But most of all, I love the innovative all-singing French dialogue. Some lines are poetic while others are as simple as “Eat a little fruit” or “Have you had dinner?”
The story line is simplistic but doesn’t have the normal happy ending that an American 1950s or 1960s musical may have. Don’t let the subtitles and all singing throw you off, you won’t regret giving this musical a chance.

A few scenes to share to show the beautiful coloring”

umbrellas2

First appearance of Catherine Deneuve in the film- looking out the umbrella shop for Guy

The two sing the title song "I Will Wait for You" the day we find out Guy is drafted

The two sing the title song “I Will Wait for You” the day we find out Guy is drafted

umbrellas3

Guy and Genevieve embrace after finding out he will be drafted

umbrellas9

umbrellas7

Genevieve is pregnant with Guy’s child and Carnival is going on outside.

umbrellas11

Pregnant Genevieve sadly follows her mother’s wishes of marrying a rich man

umbrellas13

The young lover, both married, meet again after five years.

Check back next week for Musical Monday.

This is part of the Summer Under the Stars blogathon for Catherine Deneuve Day.

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“Babies for Sale” (1940)

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“Babies for Sale.”

Few film titles have made me chuckle  as much as this 1940 B-movie did.

babies for sale

But the movie starring Glenn Ford and Rochelle Hudson is not a comedy but a crime drama about organizations posing as charitable adoption agencies who are actually selling babies for thousands of dollars.

The film prefaces with:

“Producers of the film are sympathetic with the 95-percent of the charitable organizations dealing with adopted children. These institutions are honest and worthy of all support. This picture is presented as a warning to all parents and to all who plan to adopt children. That some unsupervised private institutions do exist where babies are sold for cash. Where helpless mothers are victimized and where foster parents may find lifelong tragedy instead of happiness. This is a story of one such institution and victims.
What happens in this story could happen to you?”

What’s it about?

Rochelle Hudson and Glenn Ford, Columbia Pictures Studios tried to make the two actors a screen team.

Rochelle Hudson and Glenn Ford, Columbia Pictures Studios tried to make the two actors a screen team.

Ford as Steve Burton is a reporter who gets the scoop from Dr. John Gaines (Joe De Stefani) about fake adoption agencies. Gaines tells Burton that families pay anywhere from $50 to $10,000 for a child. Single women who go to these agencies to have their babies have to work there and earn $1,000 to get their baby.

After writing the story that uses phrases such as “Selling babies by the pound” and “Thousands of babies sold for cash,” Burton faces backlash and the editor is going to retract the story. Believing what he did is right; Burton quits but doesn’t give up investigating the case.

Then the audience gets a look inside one of these agencies.

Mr. and Mrs. Howard Anderson (character actor John Qualen and Helen Brown) are facing Dr. Rankin, the owner of the adoption agency. The couple’s child has defects and will never be well. Rankin says the baby was perfectly fine when he gave them the baby they paid $10,000 for—Basically making it sound like he sold the couple a car. Desolate Mrs. Anderson runs in front of a train with the baby after they leave.

Pregnant women earning their keep to pay for their babies once they are born. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen cap by Jessica P.)

Pregnant women earning their keep to pay for their babies once they are born. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen cap by Jessica P.)

We meet pregnant Ruth Williams (Rochelle Hudson) whose husband died in an automobile accident.

Ruth has to work at the agency while she is pregnant to pay for her child once it’s born. During this time, Rankin tries to convince Ruth to give up her baby.

“We have to make sacrifices for the ones we love,” he tells her.

“I won’t give away my baby!” she demands.

Once her baby is born, Rankin tells Ruth that it was a stillborn, but she knows he adopted it to another family.

With the help of Burton, Ruth finds her baby through the use of baby foot prints taken after birth. They find Ruth’s baby with a friendly wealthy family who help put Rankin out of business.

The back story

Ex-reporter Burton helps Ruth get her baby back. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen cap by Jessica P.)

Ex-reporter Burton helps Ruth get her baby back. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Screen cap by Jessica P.)

“Babies for Sale” was recently shown for the first time on Turner Classic Movies while the channel was celebrating the career of actor Glenn Ford. Ford was 24 and “Babies” was his fifth film.

It was Ford’s third film with Rochelle Hudson- who also starred in “Imitation of Life” (1934)- and Columbia Pictures was working to make the two a screen team but it never panned out, said TCM Primetime Host Robert Osborne.

Studious also worked to make Ford and Evelyn Keyes a screen team, starring in six films together, but their screen chemistry didn’t explode either. It wasn’t until Ford starred with Rita Hayworth in “Gilda” (1946) that he found his match.

Many of Ford’s early films were similar to “Babies for Sale,” with crime and corruption. “Babies” wasn’t made to be a box office sensation but to be shown during a double feature, Osborne said.

Also early in his career, Bruce Bennett can be spotted as a police officer.

What I thought
Though the title made me laugh, “Babies for Sale” is an entertaining movie. B-movies get a bad rap for being inexpensive, but they are some of my favorite films. The plot line are sensational using lines like “The mother had no right to keep her baby,” and the story can be told in just a little over an hour.

Ford showed potential even early in his career giving a solid performance and coming off as very likeable.

Next time you come across it, give it –and other B-movies- a chance. It will be a pleasant way to spend 65 minutes.

Ruth gets her baby back from a friendly, wealth family. (Comet Over Hollywood/Screen cap by Jessica P.)

Ruth gets her baby back from a friendly, wealth family. (Comet Over Hollywood/Screen cap by Jessica P.)

Check out the Comet Over Hollywood Facebook page and follow on Twitter at @HollywoodComet. E-mail at cometoverhollywood@gmail.com

Musical Monday: “Broadway Melody of 1936” (1935)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

BROADWAY MELODY 1936This week’s musical:
“Broadway Melody Of 1936” (1935) –Musical #206

Studio:
MGM

Director:
Roy Del Ruth

Starring:
Eleanor Powell, Robert Taylor, Jack Benny, Una Merkel, Buddy Ebsen, June Knight, Frances Langford (as herself)

Plot:
This is the second “The Broadway Melody” film, following the “Broadway Melody of 1929” and is considered one of the best Broadway Melody films, according to “All about Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards” By Emanuel Levy. Bob Gordon (Taylor) wants to put on a show and his high school sweetheart Irene (Powell) is hoping he will recognize her talent. However, Lillian Brent (Knight) is putting money in the show and wants to star in the show in return. Irene poses as a sexy French star in order to get the leading role. Bert Keeler (Benny) is a Broadway columnist adding comic relief, always getting punched in the nose.

Trivia:

Parker posing as Mademoiselle Arlette-the fake French star invented by gossip columnist Bert Keeler

Powell posing as Mademoiselle Arlette-the fake French star invented by gossip columnist Bert Keeler

-MGM was apparently in danger of going bankrupt in 1935. “Broadway Melody of 1936” and other Eleanor Powell films is what saved the studio, according to the musical documentary “That’s Entertainment III” (1994).
-Powell was originally given the smaller role of a secretary played by Una Merkel and along with another dance. Powell did a dance a screen test before the film started to see her versatility and she did a dance combination of tap, ballet and acrobatics, according the book “American Classic Screen Profiles” edited by John C. Tibbetts, James M. Welsh. Because of the dance, Powell was moved to a role with higher billing.
-Buddy Ebsen performs with his real life sister Vilma Ebsen in the film. Broadway Melody of 1936 is Vilma’s only film. The two started out as a vaudeville act and were once known as the “Baby Astaires”
-Part of a series of “Broadway Melody” films starting with “Broadway Melody” (1929) and followed by “Broadway Melody of 1938” (1937) and “Broadway Melody of 1940” (1940). Taylor, Powell and Ebsen starred again together in “Broadway Melody of 1938.” However, other than show business, the movies have no plot connection.
-Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. “Mutiny on the Bounty” was the Best Picture winner that year.
-Also nominated for Best Writing, Original Story and won for Best Dance Direction.
-Tap dancer Eleanor Powell’s first leading role.
-Buddy Ebsen’s first film.
-Powell’s singing is dubbed by Marjorie Lane.

Robert Taylor as Bob Gordon.

Robert Taylor as Bob Gordon.

Highlights:
-Robert Taylor singing “I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin’.” Taylor is not known for his singing, but he does a good job performing. The song is performed on a rooftop dance floor and tables and chairs pop up out of the floor.  The number is a great example of the excessively wealthy often represented in early to mid-1930s films.
-The odd man at the talent agency who is looking to get into show business with his different snoring sounds.
-Buddy Ebsen tap dancing with his real life sister Vilma Ebsen in the fun song “Sing Before Breakfast.”
-Eleanor Powell does a Katharine Hepburn impression from “Morning Glory.”
-In a dream sequence, Powell ballet dances to “You Are My Lucky Star” showing her versatility of dance
-Bert Keeler’s stooge dresses up like a woman to fool people about a fake French actress.

Notable songs:
The whole score is excellent because it is made up by song by composer Nacio Herb Brown including:
-“Broadway Rhythm” sung by Frances Langford
-“You Are My Lucky Star” sung by Frances Langford. Langford sings it straight and sweet and then swings the song, characterizing it with her singing style.
-“Broadway Melody”
-“I’ve Got a Feelin’ You’re Foolin'” sung by Robert Taylor and June Knight
-“Sing Before Breakfast” performed by Buddy and Vilma Ebsen

Powell in the film's finale

Powell in the film’s finale

My review:
“Broadway Melody of 1936” is a fun musical with excellent songs. It’s a good example of the frothy, escapism films that were relevant during the Great Depression. Eleanor Powell is a delight to watch tap dancing in any film, but especially her first starring role. While tap dancers were a dime a dozen in the 1930s, she was innovative and stood out against the rest. Robert Taylor was still in his “pretty boy” phase of his career, but aside from his looks, you can see that he has talent as an actor.
The Ebsens are wonderful to watch and it’s a treat to see the brother and sister dance together in their only film.
My only complaint is joke about the man who snores wears very thin.
“Broadway Melody of 1936” is considered the best of the “Broadway Melody” films. “Broadway Melody of 1938” is very similar with a similar cast-with the addition of Judy Garland and the great Sophie Tucker. “Broadway Melody of 1940” teams Eleanor Powell for the only time with Fred Astaire.

Check back next week for Musical Monday.

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Doris Day: From Hollywood party to leading role

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romance on the high seasGeorgia Garrett is a fast talking, cigarette smoking, flirtatious night club singer–and she is the character played by Doris Day in her very first film “Romance on the High Seas” (1948).

While other actresses worked their way up to stardom through bit parts and uncredited roles, Day starred in her first movie.

And she continued starring in all 41 of her films from 1948 to 1968.

In the film, newly married Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) and Michael Kent (Don DeFore) worry that the other spouse is having an affair.

Georgia, a broke singer in a sleazy nightclub, frequents the travel agency and plans trips she never goes on and gets passport photos taken each time. Elvira meets Georgia in the travel agency while booking her trip to South America.

“But you have already had seven passport photos taken,” one travel agent says.

“But never as a blond,” Georgia coyly says.

Day as Georgia Garrett in the travel agency

Day as Georgia Garrett in the travel agency

On their third wedding anniversary, the Kents have to cancel a third anniversary trip due to business.  Michael tells Elvira to go without him.

Suspecting that Michael is going to fool around with his pretty new secretary, Elvira sends Georgia on the cruise in her place so she can stay behind and spy on her husband.

Also afraid that his wife is going to fool around on the cruise without him, Michael sends private detective Peter Virgil (Jack Carson) on the cruise to look after his wife.

Paige as Elvira instructing Day as Garrett

Paige as Elvira instructing Day as Garrett

Georgia, while posing as Elvira Kent, falls for Peter, and Peter thinks he is going to lose his job.

“Romance on the High Seas” isn’t Doris Day’s most well-known film, but it’s my favorite.

While in the 1950s and 1960s Day was known for her squeaky clean, virginal persona, but her character in “Romance” has some sass.

Day started her career as a girl singer in 1939 for big band leaders such as Les Brown and Bob Crosby, brother of Bing Crosby.

By 1945, she had her first hit with “Sentimental Journey” which resonated with soldiers fighting over seas. More hits followed such as “My Dreams are Getting Better all the Time.”

“In a sense, ‘Sentimental Journey’ became the serviceman’s theme song,” Day wrote in her autobiography, “Doris Day: Her Own Story.

Before heading back East after a visit to Los Angeles, Day was convinced to attend a party at the home of Jule Styne, an American songwriter.

When everyone started performing songs at the party, Day began to get uneasy.

Day as a nightclub singer singing "I'm in Love"

Day as a nightclub singer singing “I’m in Love”

“These people loved singing for each other but I am painfully shy at parties, and particularly shy about performing impromptu,” she wrote.

Day was also going through a divorce at the time with child actress Virginia Weidler’s older brother, George.

She was asked to sing and was convinced to sing the chorus of “Embraceable You.”

The Gershwin tune landed Day her first film role, as the star of a musical comedy.

Styne wrote the score to the Warner Brothers film “Romance on the High Seas.” Judy Garland was originally slated to play Georgia Garrett, but the deal fell through.

Then Betty Hutton was set for the film, but she got pregnant and couldn’t be in the film, according to Day’s autobiography.

“Acting in films had never so much crossed my mind. I was a singer…” she wrote. “They kept telling me how lucky I was to be testing for the lead in a major musical and how many girls would die to be in my shoes, but I was sitting glumly looking out the window, only half listening.”

Her look was made to resemble Betty Hutton and she was encouraged to sing in Hutton’s signature energetic style during the test.

“But when we shot the scene, I did it my own way,” she wrote. “I instinctively understood something then that was to sustain with me through all the years that followed-to thine own self be true. Don’t imitate.”

Jack Carson and Doris Day meet on board the ship

Jack Carson and Doris Day meet on board the ship

Through being herself, Day gives a hilarious performance in the sparklingly musical, comedy which included one of her top hit songs, “It’s Magic.”

After the film became a hit, Day’s option was picked up for more Warner films. However, she wasn’t pleased with the movie. She dressed very casually and didn’t like the ultra glamorous look she had in the film.

Though Day wasn’t pleased with her first film appearance, “Romance on the High Seas” is my favorite Doris Day film—and I have seen all but two of her movies.

Along with the main cast of Jack Carson, Day, Don DeFore and Janis Paige—the movie has top notch character actors. Supporting actors include S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, Oscar Levant and Eric Blore.

Paige and Day would later star with each other again in “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” (1960). Carson starred with Day in her next two films “It’s a Great Feeling” (1949) and “My Dream Is Yours” (1949).

“Romance on the High Seas” has it all: glamorous wardrobes, sparkling color, hilarious jokes and quality songs written by Sammy Kahn and Jules Styne.

Though Day is best known for her bedroom farce films such as “Pillow Talk” (1959) with Universal, her early Warner Brothers films are some of her best.

Fresh faced films, sunny and shining with Day’s smile.

This is part of the Summer Under the Stars blogathon. Check here for other posts on Doris Day.

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Classic movies in music videos: Otherside by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

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This is July’s edition of Comet Over Hollywood’s film references in music videos.

The 1920 German silent film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is the story of Francis recalling his memory of a carnival show. Dr. Caligari has a somnambulist Cesare who wakes up during the act. When Cesare is going to stab Francis’s fiancee, he kidnaps her instead. The film ends with an odd twist.

Scene from "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1920)

A scene from “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920)

The video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers single “Otherside” from 2000 was influenced by the 1920 film starring Conrad Veidt.

“I was on a crazy sleeping schedule, and I saw this movie on TV and I saw this movie that looked so bizarre,” bassist Michael “Flea” Balzary said in an interview. “It stuck in my mind, and I wanted to make a rock movie to me.”

Caligari’s German Expressionism art style was the inspiration for the video, but the plot is not used within the video.

Filmed in black and white, the video was modeled after German Expressionism, they used Cubism and M.C. Escher artwork, said video director Jonathan Dayton.

“We did look at Caligari, and we looked at a lot of German Expressionist film,” Dayton said. But it was also very important to avoid ‘Caligari.’ It was both inspiration and something to work around, because it has such a strong, specific style, and there have been other videos that have completely ripped it off.”

Check back next month for August’s classic film in music videos.

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