Tag Archives: Gail Patrick

Musical Monday: Calendar Girl (1947)

Posted on by
Reply

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.

calendar girlThis week’s musical:
Calendar Girl (1947) – Musical #578

Studio:
Republic Pictures

Director:
Allan Dwan

Starring:
Jane Frazee, William Marshall, James Ellison, Gail Patrick, Irene Rich, Kenny Baker, Victor McLaglen, Janet Martin, Gus Schilling, Franklin Pangborn

Plot:
Set in 1900, pals Johnny Bennett (Marshall) and Steve Adams (Ellison) leave their comfortable lives in Boston to try to make it in Greenwich Village as artists. Johnny wants to write songs and Steve is an artist. They land at a performer boarding house run by Lulu Varden (Rich). Both Johnny and Steve fall for dancer and singer Patricia O’Neill (Frazee) lives in the boarding house with her firefighter father (McLaglen), who doesn’t approve of her performing aspirations. Patricia prefers for Steve, who happens to have a girl (Patrick) back in Boston. Patricia also poses for Steve for a sensual painting that is used on the 1901 calendar.

Continue reading →

Watching 1939: Reno (1939)

Posted on by
Reply

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:
Reno (1939)

reno

Release date:
Dec. 1, 1939

Cast:
Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Anita Louise, Paul Cavanaugh, Laura Hope Crews, Louis Jean Heydt, Hobert Cavanaugh, Charles Halton, Astrid Allwyn, Joyce Compton, Frank Faylen, Carole Landis (uncredited)

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John Farrow

Plot:
Told in retrospective, Lawyer Bill Shayne (Dix) arrives in Reno, Nev. in 1905 ready to go into business. He finds helping with legal issues related to mining, and soon marries Jessie (Patrick). When the mining industry in Nevada collapses, Bill becomes a successful divorce lawyer—and contributing to Reno later becoming the divorce capital of the U.S. Working on divorce cases causes issues for Jessie and Bill when the divorcees start to catch his eye. Jessie divorces Bill, taking their baby daughter, Joanne, who he doesn’t see for many years.

Continue reading →

Musical Monday: Mad About Music (1938)

Posted on by

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:
Mad About Music (1938) – Musical #380

mad about music3

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Norman Taurog

Starring:
Deanna Durbin, Gail Patrick, Herbert Marshall, Arthur Treacher, William Frawley, Marcia Mae Jones, Helen Parrish, Jackie Moran, Elisabeth Risdon, Nana Bryant, Christian Rub, Charles Peck, Jonathan Hale (uncredited), Martha O’Driscoll (uncredited), Franklin Pangborn (uncredited)
Themselves: Sid Grauman, Cappy Barra and His Harmonica Ensemble

Plot:
Teenager Gloria Harkinson (Durbin) is the daughter of famous film star Gwen Taylor (Patrick), but she has to keep this a secret. Gwen’s manager, Dusty (Frawley), feels it would be bad business if fans and publicity knew Gwen was old enough to have a 14-year-old daughter. Because of this, Gloria creates a fictional father, who is an explorer, who sends gifts and outlandish letters from his adventures. The school’s mean girl, Felice (Parrish), doubts that these stories are true and wants to expose Gloria’s lies. In an effort to keep up the façade, Gloria says her father is coming to visit and greets composer, Richard Todd (Marshall), when he gets off the train. While Richard is initially ready to also fess up to the lie, he’s charmed by sweet Gloria and the two form a friendship.

Continue reading →