Tag Archives: Irene Dunne

Musical Monday: Roberta (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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

robertaThis week’s musical:
Roberta (1935) – Musical #106

Studio:
RKO Studio Pictures

Director:
William A. Seiter

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Randolph Scott, Helen Westley, Claire Dodd, Ferdinand Munier, Luis Alberni, Victor Varconi

Plot:
Former American football hero, John Kent (Scott), travels to Paris with his pal Huck Haines (Astaire) and Haines’s jazz band. Huck and his band fail to secure a job, and the group is down on their luck. John seeks help from his Aunt Minnie (Westley) who runs an exclusive fashion house, immediately falling for her assistant Stephanie (Dunne). The jazz band finds success with the help of a phony countess (Rogers). But things get complicated when John inherits the fashion house.

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Watching 1939: Invitation to Happiness (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. 

invitation to ahppiness1939 film: 
Invitation to Happiness (1939)

Release date: 
June 7, 1939

Cast: 
Irene Dunne, Fred MacMurray, Charles Ruggles, Billy Cook, William Collier Sr., Marion Martin, Oscar O’Shea, Burr Caruth, Eddie Hogan

Studio: 
Paramount Pictures

Director: 
Wesley Ruggles

Plot:
Mr. Wayne (Collier Sr.) decides to buy a half interest in backing boxer Albert “King” Cole (MacMurray). His daughter, Eleanor Wayne (Dunne), is concerned about how her retired father is spending his money and tags along to a fight to see what Cole is all about. Eleanor and Cole instantly clash, Eleanor calling Cole brash and egotistical while Cole finds Eleanor snobby and too high class. But they also fall in love. Shortly after the two marry, Cole has to continue training and fighting in order to become the champ, which is his goal. This means Cole is largely away from home and doesn’t get to know his son, Albert (Cook).

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Pages to Screen: The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)

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“A war is on” and there was “no sale for poetry” were some excuses Alice Duer Miller was given when she tried to book published and was turned down by many publishers.

Miller’s book was a 70-page long form poem about an American woman falling in love with an Englishman right before World War I breaks out called “The White Cliffs.”

The poem follows Susan, who is “a traveler, the guest of a week” in England. The trip turns into a lifetime after she meets and falls in love with John. John is killed in World War I, but she continues to stay in England and raise their son in the traditional, upper class English life. As Susan sees another war on the horizon for England, she understands the inevitable future of her son; following in her husband’s footsteps.

While there was initial reluctance to publish, Miller’s later was made into a feature film and was performed on the radio several times by English actress, Lynn Fontanne.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill also believed that the book played a role in encouraging the United States’ entry into World War II.

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Musical Monday: High, Wide and Handsome (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 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
High, Wide and Handsome (1937) – Musical #631

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Rouben Mamoulian

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Randolph Scott, Dorothy Lamour, William Frawley, Raymond Walburn, Elizabeth Patterson, Charles Bickford, Akim Tamiroff, Ben Blue, Irving Pichel, Stanley Andrews, James Burke, Roger Imhof, Lucien Littlefield, Rolfe Sedan (uncredited), Helen Lowell (uncredited), Raymond Brown (uncredited)

Plot:
Set in the 1850s, Sally (Dunne) travels in a medicine show with her father Doc Watterson (Walburn) and his partner Mac (Frawley). When their wagon catches on fire and burns down in a small Pennsylvania town, they stay with Peter Cortlandt (Scott) and his grandma (Patterson). Sally and Peter fall in love, and on their wedding day, Peter strikes oil. As Peter works to grow his oil business, Sally is frequently left alone.

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Musical Monday: Joy of Living (1938)

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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:
Joy of Living (1938) – Musical #276

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
Tay Garnett

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Alice Brady, Guy Kibbee, Jean Dixon, Lucille Ball, Eric Blore, Warren Hymer, Billy Gilbert, Dorothy Steiner, Estelle Steiner, Frank Milan, Franklin Pangborn, John Qualen, Clarence Nash (uncredited), Grady Sutton (uncredited), Charles Lane (uncredited), Richard Alexander (uncredited), Tay Garnett (uncredited)

Plot:
Margaret Garrett (Dunne) is an overworked Broadway star whose family (Brady, Ball, Kibbee) is living off of her. Exhausted and also learning she’s near broke because of the chiseling family, she meets Dan Brewster (Fairbanks), who teaches her how to have fun and relax.

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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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Musical Monday: Show Boat (1936)

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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:
Show Boat (1936) – Musical #78

Studio: Universal Pictures

Director: James Whale

Starring:
Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Helen Westley, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Queenie Smith, Donald Cook, Sammy White, Hattie McDaniel, Marilyn Knowlden, Sunnie O’Dea, Arthur Hohl, J. Farrell MacDonald, Francis X. Mahoney, Clarence Muse, Eddie Rochester Anderson (uncredited), Dennis O’Keefe (uncredited), Barbara Pepper (uncredited), Bobs Watson (uncredited), Delmar Watson (uncredited),

Plot:
Set in the 1880s, the Cotton Palace Show Boat travels from town to town to perform. When the show’s leading lady Julie LaVerne (Morgan) is told to leave because of a case of miscegenation, or an interracial relationship, Capt. Andy (Winninger) and his wife (Westley) have to find a new leading man and leading lady. Their daughter Magnolia (Dunne) takes the part and a gambler Gaylord Ravenal (Jones) is hired. The two fall in love and are married, against Magnolia’s parent’s wishes. The couple moves to Chicago and lives off of Gaylord’s gambling success, which is short-lived.

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Watching 1939: Love Affair (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:  Love Affair (1939)

Release date:  March 16, 1939

Cast:  Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Maria Ouspenskaya, Lee Bowman, Astrid Allwyn, Maurice Moscovitch, Scotty Beckett (uncredited), Frank McGlynn Sr. (uncredited)

Studio:  RKO Radio Pictures

Director:  Leo McCarey

Plot:
French playboy Michel Marnay (Boyer) and American singer Terry McKay (Dunne) meet on cruise ship heading from Europe to America. Michel is engaged to be married and Terry is dating her boss, Kenneth Bradley (Bowman). Michel and Terry fall in love, but when they arrive in New York, they decide to separate for six months and tie up loose ends and meet six months later on top of the Empire State Building.

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Watching 1939: When Tomorrow Comes (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:  When Tomorrow Comes (1939)

Release date:  Aug. 11, 1939

Cast:  Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, Barbara O’Neil, Onslow Stevens, Nydia Westman, Nella Walker, Fritz Feld, Inez Courtney (uncredited), Mary Treen (uncredited), Mickey Kuhn (uncredited), Delmar Watson (uncredited), Kitty McHugh (uncredited), Tommy Bupp (uncredited), Sonny Bupp (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited)

Studio:  Universal Pictures

Director:  John M. Stahl

Plot:
Helen Lawrence (Dunne) is a waitress and meets pianist Philip Chagal (Boyer) while serving for him. Helen and Philip fall in love, but Philip is married. His wife Madeleine (O’Neil) is suffering from severe depression after giving birth to a stillborn child so Philip cannot leave her.

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Musical Monday: Stingaree (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 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

StingareeThis week’s musical:

“Stingaree” –Musical #489

Studio:

RKO Radio Pictures

Director:

William A. Wellman

Starring:

Irene Dunne, Richard Dix, Mary Boland, Conway Tearle, Andy Devine, Henry Stephenson, Una O’Connor, Reginald Owen

Plot:

Set in Australia in 1874, housemaid Hilda (Dunne) dreams of having a singing career. The mistress of of the household Mrs. Clarkson (Boland) also fancies herself as a singer, though she is terrible. Composer Sir Julian Kent (Tearle) is coming from England to Australia and Hilda wants to perform for him. Mrs. Clarkson also thinks singing for Sir Julian will be her break into opera. Outlaw Stingaree (Dix) also comes into town at the same time as Sir Julian and poses as Julian. After meeting and falling for Hilda, Stingaree is determined to help her become an opera star.

Trivia:

-Turner Classic Movies premiered this film on their channel for the first time in 2007. “Stingaree” was part of a “Lost and Found” preservation series of RKO films produced by Marion C. Cooper. Other films in the series included with other films such as “Rafter Romance” (1933), “Double Harness” (1933), “One Man’s Journey” (1933), “A Man to Remember” (1938) and “Living on Love” (1937). In 1946, Cooper obtained ownership of the films and were shown on a limited re-release in 1955 and 1956 in New York City, according to Turner Classic Movies.

-RKO original considered Jeanette MacDonald in the film, on loan out from MGM.

-Based on a 1905 novel by Ernest William Hornug.

-For the opera scenes, the standing set from Lon Chaney’s “Phantom of the Opera” (1925) was used.

stingaree2

Notable Songs:
-“I Wish I Were a Fisherman” sung by Mary Boland (because it’s hilariously bad)

-“Once Your Mine” sung by Irene Dunne

-“Tonight is Mine” sung by Irene Dunne

Highlights:
Today’s highlights include a few scenes I enjoyed-

*Mary Boland is singing at a party and Stingaree enters with a gun to hold up the party and allow Irene Dunne to sing.

Sir Julian: My good man, being shot right now would be a favor.
Mary Boland: I will not sing for outlaws!
Richard Dix: Compassion for the outlaw!

*Mary Boland:…Why, the very foundation of empire is woman’s virginity.
Sir Julian: Chastity, madame, chastity. No empire would get very far with virginity.

 

My Review

I first saw “Stingaree” back in 2007 when TCM aired it along with the other Marion C. Cooper films. For whatever reason, I didn’t write it down as a musical in my musical list- which explains why this is my 488 musical.

When I revisited this film recently, I realized that it was categorized as a musical-and while it was not a flashy musical in the style of “Broadway Melody of 1936”-the film is much like “San Francisco” (1936). The bulk of the film is the romantic, melodramatic story sprinkled with quality operatic numbers.

The story of “Stingaree” may be far-fetched, but I love this movie and think it’s a lot of fun. I guess you could say Stingaree the outlaw is like Robin Hood of Australia. Rather than stealing from the rich to give to the poor, he steals the rich people’s maid to make her an operatic star. It also has a few hilarious lines in it (see: Highlights).

Irene Dunne is mostly known today for her comedic roles, but she had a beautiful singing voice in a few musicals during the 1930s. Though I love MacDonald, I’m happy Dunne was the star of this film. She brought the sweetness that was needed to Hilda. This was her second teaming with Richard Dix after “Cimarron” (1931). Frankly, Dix drove me crazy in “Cimarron,” but he’s charming and very appealing as Stingaree.

Mary Boland plays her usual character as the fretting, dizzy and selfish woman. Her terrible opera singing is pretty hilarious. And as always, Henry Stephenson makes you want to give him a hug.

I would honestly put “Stingaree” on your ‘must see’ list. For folks who don’t like musicals, the songs are not overwhelming. It’s a fun romp that is forgotten and under-appreciated.

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