Musical Monday: Way Down South (1939)

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Jnpickens

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:
“Way Down South” (1939)– Musical #518

Studio:
RKO Pictures

Director:
Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus

Starring:
Ralph Morgan, Bobby Breen, Clarence Muse, Alan Mowbray, Sally Blane, Edwin Maxwell, Steffi Duna, Matthew ‘Stymie’ Beard, Willie Best

Plot:
When plantation owner Timothy Reid, Sr. (Morgan) dies, his son Timothy, Jr. (Breen) inherits the plantations and all of the slaves. However, lawyer Martin Dill (Maxwell) is the executor of the will and begins selling the property and keeping the money for himself. When Timothy learns Dill plans on selling all of the slaves, who were never sold or beaten during the life of Reid, Timothy enlists help from friendly inn owners to prove Dill is corrupt.

Trivia:
-The film was written by Clarence Muse-who was in the film-and poet, writer and activist Langston Hughes. Several of the songs were also written by Muse and Hughes.
-This film is credited as the first mainstream film written by an African American, according to the book “EVERY STEP A STRUGGLE: Interviews with Seven Who Shaped the African-American Image in Movies” by Frank Manchel.
-Clarence Muse wrote a book called “Way Down South” and producer Sol Lesser wanted to use the title so he bought the book from Muse. The original 1932 book portrayed slaves in a dignified manner.
“He didn’t use any of the stuff on the inside. Then he paid me to do the ensemble, and I wrote the screenplay with Langston Hughes. It came out and we had a ball,” Muse said in an interview published in Manchel’s book.
-Victor Young was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring

Bobby Breen, Alan Mowbray and Sally Blane in “Way Down South.”

Notable Songs:
-Good Ground written by Muse and Hughes, performed by the Hall Johnson Choir
-Louisiana written by Muse and Hughes, performed by Bobby Breen and Alan Mowbray
-Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel? performed by Muse and the Hall Johnson Choir
-Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child performed by Breen and the Hall Johnson Choir

My review:
If you have ever seen little known B-film “Way Down South,” you can say you have seen a film written by celebrated writer and activist Langston Hughes.

Clarence Muse dresses as Bobby Breen’s aunt as he tries to help him escape.

Made in the grand year of 1939, this hour long B-musical is nothing to write home about and is most interesting because of it’s screenwriters Hughes and Muse. One of the screenwriters, Clarence Muse, also was one of the leads in the film.

Langston Hughes was criticized for his involvement in this film, however.

Hughes did not defend any racial representations but noted that he tried to highlight morals. He got involved with the film so that he could pay for his mother’s cancer treatments and her funeral, as well as other debts. It also allowed him to buy his first new clothes in three years, according to Which Sin to Bear?: Authenticity and Compromise in Langston Hughes by David Chinitz.

This movie was my first introduction to singing child star Bobby Breen, who acted in films from 1936 to 1942. I wasn’t a huge fan of Breen’s acting or singing, but it was interesting to be introduced to another child actor of the golden era. Though Breen’s singing didn’t grab me, the performances from the Hal Johnson choir are beautiful.

Along with Muse, Alan Mowbray’s role as a New Orleans inn owner was one of the more interesting characters. We also see Loretta Young’s sister, Sally Blane, in a very brief role as Mowbray’s wife.

It’s always interesting to discover forgotten films from Hollywood’s most celebrated year but this one is simply worth seeing due to its two screenwriters.

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Behind the Screen at the Museum of the Moving Image

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The film and television industry have shaped the way society behaves from the way they dress to the toys they play with.

The Museum of the Moving Image, located in Astoria, NY, celebrates TV and film of the past and present through exhibits that highlight everything down to film makeup and costuming, equipment used behind the scenes and the editing process of screenplays.

Exhibits also show where and how it all began from optical toys from the 1800s to early color television cameras.

In late July, I visited the Museum of Moving Image and enjoyed exploring their Behind the Screen exhibit which included everything from sketches by Orson Welles to a Margaret O’Brien doll. Below are photos from the visit:

All Made Up:

Life masks of actors. The front mask is of Dorothy McGuire in “The Enchanted Cottage” (1945) with Anthony Quinn in “Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1962) to the left. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

A telegram sent by Orson Welles to Maurice Seiderman in reference to make-up–specifically rubber noses–for the film “Compulsion” (1959). Sent in Sept. 1958. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Sketch made by Orson Welles in August 1958 of how he wanted his makeup to look in “Compulsion” (1959). (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Photos of Orson Welles exhibiting the makeup process for “Compulsion” (1959).

Wig worn by Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Wig worn by Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein (1935). The white streaks was designed by makeup artist Jack Pierce to suggest her birth by electricity. The wig was made by the Max Factor Company and was reconstructed for the museum of Josephine Turner in 1991 who was the head of the wig-making department at Max Factor from 1935 to 1965. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Wig worn by Bette Davis in “Jezebel” (1938). (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Wig worn by Elizabeth Taylor in “Cleopatra” (1963). The wig was designed by MGM’s hairstylist Sydney Guilaroff and constructed by Bill Huntley of Wig Creations in London. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Script for the Sidney Lumet directed film, “Network” (1976), written by Sidney Chayefsky. The red crayon is Lumet, who would cross out dialogue after it was filmed. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Replica of Robin Williams’ makeup for “Miss Doubtfire” (1993). (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Costume worn by Hedy Lamarr as Delilah in “Samson & Delilah” (1949), directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The gown was designed by Edith Head. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

For the Fans and Consumers:

Various film fan magazines ranging from 1911 to 1980 including: Motion Picture, Photoplay, Picture Play, Motion Picture Classic, Film Fun, Real Screen Fun, Modern Screen, Silver Screen, Screen Romances, Movie Story, Screen and Television Guide, Screenland Plus TV-Land. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Lupe Velez on the cover of a October 1931 issue of Picture Play. (Comet Over Hollywood/ Brandon B.)

Bette Davis on the cover of Modern Screen, promoting “The Letter.” (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

William S. Hart on the cover of a June issue of Motion Picture.

Shirley Temple and the Dionne Quintuplets on an issue of Modern Screen. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Exhibiting how films affected the toy industry with film themed board games, dolls and paint books. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

A Pinnochio doll based off of Walt Disney’s 1940 cartoon. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Silent film actor Rudolph Valentino on 1935 “beautebox.” (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

“Our Gang” coloring book. (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Doll of child actress Margaret O’Brien (Comet Over Hollywood/Jessica P.)

Lantern slide, which were used during intermission in modern film houses, which were used between 1916 and 1929. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Film promotion posters and programs. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Film Cameras:

Edison 35mm Projecting Kinetoscope, Model D, 1912.

Pathe 35mm Projector from 1905. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Edison 35mm Projecting Kinetoscope, 1897. This sold for $100 at the time. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

Three-strip Technicolor camera, Model EF-2, 1940. (Comet Over Hollywood/Brandon B.)

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“It was my father’s success”: An interview with the real “Gidget”

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Jnpickens

Comet Over Hollywood has reviewed the three “Gidget” feature films this summer. To wrap up the series, Comet interviewed Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real Gidget whose summer story inspired her screenwriter father to write a book. The conversation was delightful. Ms. Zuckerman was down-to-Earth and it felt like talking and laughing with an old friend.

(r) Kathy Kohner in 1957 in the photo that was used on the book cover. (L) Kohner Zuckerman pictured in 2014 at Duke’s, where she works.

It was a different world for Kathy Kohner as she walked on the film set of “Gidget” in 1959.

“It was hard to understand that they were making a movie about me,” said Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, the real “Gidget,” in a phone interview with Comet Over Hollywood on Tuesday, Aug. 25. “They weren’t even filming at Malibu.”

The 1959 “Gidget” film that starred Sandra Dee, James Darren and Cliff Robertson spawned two more feature films, two television shows and several made-for-TV movies. And it all began with a 15-year-old girl telling her father that she wanted to write a story about her summer.

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Musical Monday: College Holiday (1936)

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Jnpickens

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 more than 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
“College Holiday” (1936)– Musical #527

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Frank Tuttle

Starring:
Jack Benny, Gracie Allen, George Burns, Marsha Hunt, Martha Raye, Mary Boland, Leif Erickson, Ben Blue, Johnny Downs, Eleanore Whitney, Olympe Bradna, Mischa Auer (uncredited), Ellen Drew (uncredited), Eddie Foy, Jr. (uncredited), Dorothy Lamour (uncredited), Marjorie Reynolds (uncredited)

Plot:
Dick Winters (Erickson) meets Sylvia Smith (Hunt) at an east coast college dance and falls in love. But before he can learn her name she has to quickly leave to head home and help her father who is having financial problems with their California hotel. Nutty heiress Carola P. Gaye (Boland) owns the mortgage to the hotel and has an interest in eugenics; believing that ancient Greeks were the “super race.” In order for the Smiths to keep the hotel, J. Davis Bowster (Benny) gathers entertainers to perform at the hotel, making Gaye believe that they are there for experiments. The downside is that the male and female students can’t fraternize, because it will anger Gaye and ruin her experiments. This hinders Dick’s goal to better get to know Sylvia.

George Burns, Jack Benny, Gracie Allen, Mary Boland

Trivia:
-Costumes by Edith Head
-Film features Dorothy Lamour as an uncredited dancer.

Notable Songs:
-The Sweetheart Waltz
-(Enchanted) I Adore You performed by Marsha Hunt & Leif Erickson
-A Rhyme for Love performed by Johnny Downs and Eleanore Whitney
-So What? performed by Martha Raye

My review:
While many college themed films are a bit silly, I usually go out of my way to see them.

“College Holiday” fits of the bill of being goofy but it’s bizarre plot sets it apart from other collegiate films. In fact, this may be the only comedic pre-World War II film that I have ever seen that deals with eugenics and superior races. Mary Boland walks around dressed in ancient Greek garb and discussing the “super race” and tries experiments, such as setting the mood to get mismatched college students to fall in love. Many classic collegiate films deal with football games, dances, and fraternities serenading sororities.

As Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne noted, this type of storyline wouldn’t be used just a few years after this films release due to Adolf Hitler’s views on the superior race.

Gracie Allen and George Burns all provide humorous, though sometimes tiresome, scenes. But he real treat to me was the casting of the lovely Marsha Hunt, who I always love to see in films.

Audiences also have the pleasure of seeing tap dance performances by young actors Johnny Downs and Eleanore Whitney. The downside is that their second number has the two college students in blackface.

Jack Benny also has funny scenes and pulls out his violin a few times. At the end of the movie, Benny breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience while playing the same role and character that he portrayed on the radio.

While “College Holiday” isn’t an amazing film and has a few irritating parts involving Gracie Allen, it’s still a fairly entertaining film.

Marsha Hunt and Leif Erickson

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Musical Monday: Beach Party (1963)

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Jnpickens

This week’s musical:
“Beach Party” (1964)– Musical #288

Studio:
American International Pictures (AIP)

Director:
William Asher

Starring:
Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Morey Amsterdam, Vincent Price, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Meredith MacRae, Candy Johnson, Michael Nader, Mickey Dora, Eva Six
Themselves: Dick Dale and the Del Tones

Plot:
Professor Sutwell (Cummings) is an anthropologist observing the teenage surfing subculture with his assistant Marianne (Malone). One couple he observes in the mix of dancing, surfing and kissing teenagers are Frankie (Avalon) and his girlfriend Dolores (Funicello) head to the beach where Frankie hoped to have romantic alone time with Dolores. However, Dolores invited the whole gang of friends because she “doesn’t trust herself” to be alone with Frankie. This causes a rift between the two and each tries to make the other jealous, and Dolores uses Professor Sutwell.

Robert Cummings as the anthropologist observing the surfing subculture

Trivia:
-The first of the American International Pictures surfing films.

-Walt Disney’s request to have his contract player Annette Funicello to not wear a bikini that shows her naval is true, according to her autobiography “A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES: MY STORY.” Funicello was in compliance with Disney, which angered the American International Producers. However, she held her ground to not wearing sexier clothing, also because she said she didn’t feel like a sex symbol.

-Filmed in three weeks for $300,000, according to Annette Funicello’s autobiography

-“Beach Party” is Annette’s favorite of the beach films, she wrote in her autobiography.

-Real life surfers Mickey Dora, Johnny Fain, Mike Nadar, Ed Garner did the surfing scenes.

-AIP producers originally wanted singer Fabian for the lead role, and singer Bobby Vinton’s agent was trying to get him the part, before Frankie Avalon was cast, according to Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969 by Thomas Lisanti

Highlights:
-Robert Cummings’ beard
-Goofy scenes like a guy playing a recorder and a girl coming out of the sand like a snake.
-“Hang on to the picture rights, American International will snap it in a minute” -Dorothy Malone referencing the producers of the film while discussing Robert Cummings’ research.
-Robert Cummings comparing the teenage dancing to rituals such as the Simonian Puberty Dance and the mating dance of the whooping crane
-Candy Johnson’s go-go dancing

Notable Songs:
-Beach Party performed by Frankie and Annette
-Don’t Stop Now performed by Frankie Avalon
-Secret Surfin’ Spot performed by Dick Dale
-Swingin’ and a-Surfin’ performed by Dick Dale

My review:
Annette Funicello says this was her favorite of the beach films and it is mine as well.

While “Beach Blanket Bingo” is probably the most memorable and famous of the AIP films, “Beach Party” has the best plot, songs and stars.

All of the beach films are nonsense, but “Beach Party” seems like it made some sort of attempt to have a coherent (though goofy) plot line. I feel like this largely has to do with the roles and casting of Dorothy Malone and Robert Cummings. “Beach Party” has legitimate laugh-out-loud moments, mostly due to Robert Cummings as the “square” anthropologist, where the others don’t, at least for me. I thought it was hilarious when Cummings, using his knowledge of anthropology, is comparing teenage dancing to “the mating dance of the whooping crane” or “the Simonian puberty dance,” and then performs a math problem in order to accurately surf.

In other beach films, Keenan Wynn has an evil gorilla, Deborah Walley skydives or Frankie Avalon plays a dual role as British singer, “Potato Bug.” That’s just dumb. I also personally have never been a big fan of Harvey Lembeck’s beach film role of motorcyclist “Erik Von Zipper,” who thankfully has a minimal part in “Beach Party.” This isn’t the case in other beach films.

Of the adult special guest stars that were featured in these movies–Mickey Rooney (How to Stuff a Wild Bikini), Keenan Wynn (Bikini Beach), Dorothy Lamour (Pajama Party), Don Rickles (Bikini Beach, Muscle Beach Party), Brian Donlevy (How to Stuff a Wild Bikini)–Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone play key roles in the film and seem to not be absolutely insane. I left Buster Keaton off this list, simply because his roles in the beach films are very minor and he seldom speaks.

Another selling point for me is that Annette Funicello gets the most screen time in “Beach Party” than in any of the other beach films. While she is a star in the other five films, those movies mainly revolve around Frankie Avalon and up and coming stars, like Linda Evans in “Beach Blanket Bingo.”

“Beach Party” also has some awesome music, including music from Dick Dale and the theme “Beach Party,” which is my favorite song from all of the beach films.

Aside from colorful sets and attractive teens, “Beach Party” is rather important. While “Gidget” (1959) started the beach film craze and lead to “Beach Party,” this 1963 hit also began what everyone now knows as “Frankie and Annette beach films.”

“Beach Party” is colorful nonsense, but it’s a lot of fun and has laugh-out-loud funny moments. Give it a shot before turning up your nose to all beach films.

Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in their first beach film, “Beach Party.”

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Musical Monday: On an Island with You (1948)

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This week’s musical:
“On an Island with You” (1948)– Musical #524

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Richard Thorpe

Starring:
Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, Jimmy Durante, Leon Ames, Kathryn Beaumont, Dick Simmons, Marie Windsor (uncredited)
Themselves: Xavier Cugat, Betty Reilly

Publicity photo for “On An Island with You”

Plot:
Actress Rosalind Rennolds (Williams) is making a film in Hawaii with her fiance Ricardo Montez (Montalban). But there are a few love triangles getting in the way of their marriage. Actress and co-star Yvonne (Charisse) is in love with Ricardo, and Lt. Lawrence Y. Kingslee (Lawford), the Navy technical advisor for the film, has a large crush on Rosalind. Lt. Kingslee met Rosalind when she was entertaining troops during World War II when he was picked as a volunteer for skit. Ever since, been in love with her. Lt. Kingslee’s love makes him take some extreme measures in order to be alone with Rosalind.

Trivia:
-Esther Williams’ character falls in a hole in the jungle in one scene. The director of “On an Island with You” did not cushion the bottom of the hole and Williams sprained her ankle, according to her autobiography, “The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography.”
-Cyd Charisse broke her leg during the filming of the “Pagan Dance,” according to an interview on Turner Classic Movies.
-Ricardo Montalban dubbed by Bill Lee

Child star Kathryn Beaumont

Highlights:
-Cyd Charisse and Ricardo Montalban dancing
-Cyd Charisse’s “Pagan Dance”
-Kathryn Beaumont’s Jimmy Durante impression

Notable Songs:
-Takin’ Miss Mary to the Ball performed by Jimmy Durante
-I Know Darn Well I Can Do Without Broadway performed by Jimmy Durante
-On an Island with You performed by Ricardo Montalban, dubbed by Bill Lee
-The Dog Song performed by Xavier Cugat and Betty Reilly
-Não Tenho Lágrimas performed by Xavier Cugat

July 1947, Florida, USA — Original caption: Esther Williams, movie actress, at Biscayne Key, south of Miami, Fla., while on location. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS

My review:
I liked this film better than when I saw it for the first time during Summer Under the Stars 2004.

“On an Island with You” is colorful, humorous and has some excellent swimming and dancing numbers.

This has quite the star studded cast too with magnificent music from band leader Xavier Cugat.

Esther Williams’ swimming numbers are lovely, particularly a dream sequence that Peter Lawford has of Williams in a blue and green sequined bathing suit and another featuring surfboards and a gold lame bathing suit.

But for me, even more stunning than the swimming numbers was the dancing in this film. Cyd Charisse’s dances are show stoppers in all of her films, but these are somehow even more exciting. I think this is partially because her numbers have the added bonus of Ricardo Montalban as her partner. The two dance beautifully together; something they also exhibited in the 1947 film “Fiesta.” I feel like Cyd Charisse and Ricardo Montalban could have made a great dancing team in MGM musicals had they been given that opportunity.

Jimmy Durante adds the comic relief in the film and offers some of the most entertaining songs, though Xavier Cugat’s tunes keep your toes tapping.

Another highlight in “On an Island with You” is a brief role played by child actor Kathryn Beaumont. For Disney fans, this is a great treat since Beaumont was the voice of Wendy in “Peter Pan” (1953) and Alice in “Alice in Wonderland” (1951). This was Beaumont’s second film and first credited role.

Esther Williams writes in her autobiography that “On an Island with You” was “another ridiculous plot.” She felt most of the plots to her films were as fluffy as cotton, which isn’t false.

However, the film offers the perfect mix of cool Technicolor entertainment and gorgeous dance numbers for an August afternoon.

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Musical Monday: Surf Party (1964)

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This week’s musical:
“Surf Party” (1964)– Musical #521

Studio:
Associated Producers (API), distributed by 20th Century Fox

Director:
Maury Dexter

Starring:
Bobby Vinton, Patricia Morrow, Jackie DeShannon, Ken Miller, Richard Crane, Lory Patrick, Jerry Summers
As Themselves: The Astronauts, The Routers

Plot:
Three girls drive from Arizona to Malibu, CA, for vacation, learn how to surf and find one of the girl’s brothers who she hasn’t seen in a long while.

Trivia:
-Surfers Mickey Dora and Johnny Fain are extras in the film.
-Rather than setting up actors against a screen for their surfing, actor Kenny Miller stood on the back of a speedboat, pretending to surf, as it rode through the water, according to Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies by Thomas Lisanti.

Notable Songs:
-“Crack Up” performed by the Routers

My review:
Thank goodness this was only an hour and seven minutes. But maybe it would have been better had this film had a slightly higher budget and could have hired better male leads.
Part of this low budget gives you one of the few black-and-white surf films. The fact that this film is in black-and-white is really the only thing I found notable about “Surf Party.”
Another noteworthy feature is that this was singer Jackie DeShannon’s first films. Unfortunately, she only got one song and it’s pretty silly: a gospel-esque song about surfing, “Glory Wave.”
The rest of the cast is lousy and the story is pretty melodramatic, complete with battling surfers, coerced innocent girls and surfing stars living in the homes of rich older women.

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Reviews: Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Jnpickens

“Gidget Goes to Rome” isn’t the best of the three Gidget feature films, but it may not be the worst?

Mike Connolly described the film as a “teenage takeoff on La Dolce Vita,” according to a Feb. 20, 1963, news brief.

In this film, we join Gidget and her friends for a third summer. Gidget (Cindy Carol) is about to go off to college and is planning a trip to Rome, Italy, with her friends — Lucy (Noreen Corcoran) and Libby (Trudi Ames). She’s trying to convince her boyfriend Moondoggie/Jeff (James Darren) and his buddies — Judge (Joby Baker) and Clay (Peter Brooks) — to come along. But before they can head abroad, Gidget’s parents need some convincing. They will only let Gidget go if she has a chaperon. Judge enlists his rich, eccentric Aunt Albertina (Jessie Royce Landis). Without her knowledge, Gidget’s father (Don Porter) writes to an old friend he met in Italy during World War II, Paolo Cellini (Cesare Danova).

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Musical Monday: Belle of the Yukon (1944)

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Jnpickens

This week’s musical:
“Belle of the Yukon” (1944)– Musical #471

Studio:
RKO Pictures

Director:
William A. Seiter

Starring:
Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dinah Shore, Charles Winneger, William Marshall, Bob Burns, Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams, Florence Bates

Plot:
Set during the Canadian Gold Rush, John Calhoun (Scott) is a saloon owner but has a past as a con artist. His old girlfriend Belle De Valle (Lee) comes into town to perform at his saloon and hopes that Calhoun plans to stay honest. The saloon manager Pop Candless (Winneger) has a pretty daughter, Lettie (Shore), who is in love with piano player Steve Attenbury (Marshall). But Pop is concerned about Steve’s past.

Trivia:
-Gypsy Rose Lee was pregnant during the filming of this movie with Otto Preminger’s child, Erik Lee Preminger (Kirkland–who she was going through a divorce with at the time), according to Stripping Gypsy: The Life of Gypsy Rose Lee By Noralee Frankel. Erik said in the book that Lee had an affair with Preminger for the sole purpose of conceiving a child (him). When she was three months pregnant, she made excuses why she couldn’t take publicity stills and kept her pregnancy quiet so she wouldn’t have bad publicity that would ruin her film career, according to Frankel’s book.
-Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song for “Sleigh Ride in July” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke.
-Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture by Arthur Lange.

Dinah Shore in “Belle of the Yukon”

Highlights:
-Gypsy Rose Lee in the film.

Notable Songs:
-“Like Someone in Love” performed by Dinah Shore
-“Sleigh Ride in July” performed by Dinah Shore

My review:
This movie is plain nonsense but a ton of fun.
What’s most appealing to me about “Belle of the Yukon” (1944) is the cast. Have you ever found a more random but delightful group of actors thrown together? Dinah Shore, Gypsy Rose Lee and Randolph Scott couldn’t be more different but they make it work. And you even get to watch the three in Technicolor.
Scott is comfortable in the film, because by this time, he was primarily in westerns. Dinah Shore sings a few ballads and looks cute in the period gowns and her long wig.
But obviously the real sensation is seeing the famed burlesque queen on screen, Gypsy Rose Lee. This is one of 13 film credits she made between 1937 and 1969.
And then there is Charles Winninger, who you never can go wrong with as the bumbling but sweet father.
The plot is goofy, the songs are just okay but you must catch “Belle of the Yukon” for a slice of simple, happy entertainment.

Gypsy Rose Lee and Randolph Scott in “Belle of the Yukon”

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Musical Monday: Pagan Love Song (1950)

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Jnpickens

This week’s musical:
“Pagan Love Song” (1950) – Musical #75

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Robert Alton

Starring:
Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Minna Gombell, Rita Moreno, Charles Mauu

Plot:
Half-American, half-Tahitian Mimi (Williams) dreams of getting off the island-where she lives with her rich aunt (Gombell)- and going to the United States. Ohio school teacher Hazard Endicott (Keel) moves to the island to run a small plantation his uncle left him and is happy to relax and be lazy on the island. Will Hazard convince Mimi to change her plans?

Trivia:
-Esther Williams was pregnant while filming Pagan Love song, which made her especially concerned about filming a scene in an outrigger, according to Williams’ autobiography, The Million Dollar Mermaid.
-Howard Keel broke had a broken arm during part of the film, and his cast is covered with a towel during a bike riding scene, according to Keel’s autobiography “Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business.”
-Originally was supposed to star Cyd Charisse and Van Johnson, but Charisse got pregnant, according to Esther Williams autobiography.
-Originally supposed to be directed by Stanley Donen, but after having a difficult time with Donen in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” Williams requested otherwise, according to her autobiography.
-Esther Williams sings two of her own songs but is dubbed by Betty want in “The Sea of the Moon”
-Produced by Arthur Freed
-Based on the book “Tahiti Landfall”

Howard Keel and Esther Williams in Pagan Love Song

Notable Songs:
None. They were all lousy.

My review:
From the adorable, colorful poster you think “Oh this film has so much potential!”….But this isn’t one of Esther Williams better films. I’m not sure if it’s as bad as “Jupiter’s Darling,” but it’s up there. And the fact that Williams is made up in tan makeup as a part Tahitian isn’t even the worst of it.
Everyone in the film laughs non stop and smiles like an idiot for most of the movie–I guess to show that everyone-even the Ohia school teacher- loves Tahiti. But non-stop laughing in a 72 minute movie can get pretty annoying.
If you read the plot above, you can see there is absolutely nothing to this plot. As I was watching it, I even found myself thinking, “So…what’s the point of this story?” (And that’s coming from someone who has watched and enjoys silly fluff films).
The filming of this movie was about as unhappy as the viewing experience, according to both Williams’ and Keel’s autobiographies.
The director had never shot on location, Keel and Arthur Freed had a falling out, Keel was unhappy with the score and songs, Williams was nervous about sailing in an outrigger over jagged reef while pregnant, Keel had a broken arm, and it rained a large portion of the filming, according to their autobiographies.
For a film set at the beach, starring Esther Williams who is wearing a sarong 40 percent of the film, you would think there would be swimming galore. In reality there are only two swimming scenes:
-Esther Williams singing a tune while a group (her swimming class) swim in a diamond behind her.
-Williams and Keel swim in a lavish dream sequence in the last 10 minutes of the film.
For me, the most notable feature in this film is that you get to hear Esther Williams’ own singing voice in a couple of songs, while she was usually dubbed. For the more serious ballad, Betty Wand dubbed Williams but from what little we hear, Williams sounds decent.
Films that came out of the “Freed Unit” (produced by Arthur Freed), are generally glittery, fantastic forms of entertainment. Which is why I find it so shocking that “Pagan Love Song” is a real stinker.

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