Tag Archives: Donald Woods

Watching 1939: Beauty for the Asking (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film: 
Beauty for the Asking (1939)

Release date: 
Feb. 10, 1939

Cast: 
Lucille Ball, Patric Knowles, Donald Woods, Frieda Inescort, Inez Courtney, Leona Maricle, Frances Mercer, Whitney Bourne, Kay Sutton, Ann Evers, Charles Coleman (uncredited), Leon Belasco (uncredited)

Studio: 
RKO Radio Pictures

Director: 
Glenn Tryon

Plot:
Jean Russell (Ball) is jilted by her fiancée Denny Williams (Knowles), when he marries $10 million heiress Flora Barton-Williams (Inescort). After also losing her job, Jean tries to focus on marketing a cold cream that she has been developing in her kitchen. Jean becomes a successful cosmetic entrepreneur with a cold cream and beauty salon with Denny and his wife as an investor in the business, with Denny trying to get back in Jean’s good favors.

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Musical Monday: Sweet Adeline (1934)

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

This week’s musical:
Sweet Adeline (1934) – Musical #195

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Mervyn LeRoy

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Donald Woods, Hugh Herbert, Ned Sparks, Joseph Cawthorn, Wini Shaw (billed as Winifred Shaw), Louis Calhern, Nydia Westman, Dorothy Dare, Phil Regan, Noah Beery (uncredited), Milton Kibbee (uncredited)

Plot:
In the early 1900s, Adeline Schmidt (Dunne) is the daughter of a beer garden owner (Cawthorn). He disapproves of show business and his daughter’s romance with composer Sid Barnett (Woods). The show Sid wrote is produced, and Adeline gets the lead. In her success, Adeline starts seeing the rich Major Day (Calhern), leaving Sid feeling jilted.

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Watching 1939: The Girl from Mexico (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult. 

1939 film:  The Girl from Mexico (1939)

Release date:  June 2, 1939

Cast:  Lupe Velez, Donald Woods, Leon Errol, Linda Hayes, Donald MacBride, Edward Raquello, Elisabeth Risdon, Ward Bond

Studio:  RKO Studios

Director:  Leslie Goodwins

Plot:
Dennis Lindsay (Woods) is an advertising businessman who goes to Mexico to find a singer for a client. He finds quick-tempered Carmelita Fuentes (Velez) and brings her back to New York to audition. While in New York, Carmelita explores the city with Dennis’s Uncle Matt (Errol) and gets into trouble. All the while, Dennis falls in love with Carmelita, but the problem is that he’s engaged (Hayes).

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