For this installment of “I Love Lucy in the Movies,” I’m covering Ladies in Retirement (1941) which I watched last night. This is a very good gothic film noir starring Ida Lupino. Also starring in this film was Elsa Lanchester as one of Lupino’s mentally ill sisters. Aside from this film, another thing Lupino and Lanchester have in common is that they both appeared in I Love Lucy. Lupino, to be accurate, actually played herself in an episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour. I’m counting it because The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is more or less a one-hour episode of I Love Lucy.
In 1956, after six years and 180 30-minute episodes, Desilu president and I Love Lucy star, Desi Arnaz, was eager to leave the hectic pace of producing a new episode every week. He had tried to end the series a year prior with “Return Home From Europe” being the final episode, but CBS threw money at him and Lucy to convince them to stay on another year. The ending dialogue in “Return Home From Europe” sounds like it was written to be a series finale. To convince CBS to allow him to pull the plug on I Love Lucy, Desi convinced them to allow him to air I Love Lucy as a 60-minute special sporadically throughout the year. CBS agreed and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was born.
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, while more or less an hour long episode of I Love Lucy, it did have the minor difference in that each episode featured a celebrity who has an unfortunate encounter with Lucy. Logically, it makes sense, as Ricky Ricardo’s celebrity and ownership of Club Babalu makes it logical that he’d either hire these celebrities at his club, or he’d met them previously because of his time in Hollywood.
Ida Lupino and Elsa Lanchester appeared together in 1941’s Ladies in Retirement. In this film, Lupino plays Ellen, the spinster sister of her two mentally ill sisters, Emily and Louisa. Lanchester played Emily. In the film, Ellen receives a letter from the boarding house in London where her sisters are living. The letter informs her that Emily and Louisa are being evicted from the home due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be institutionalized, Ellen brings them to the home on the English moors where she works and lives. Ellen’s employer, Miss Fiske, graciously allows the two sisters to stay in her home, but quickly grows tired of their behavior. Eventually Miss Fiske gives Ellen the ultimatum that the sisters need to leave. Ellen tries to defend her sisters, but insults Miss Fiske in the process, and is fired. Later, taking matters into her own hands, Ellen strangles Miss Fiske to death. She makes it look as if Miss Fiske decided to take an extended trip. Ellen tells her sister that she purchased the home for them. Eventually Miss Fiske’s absence and Ellen’s behavior arouses the suspicions of her nephew and the maid, Lucy.
Ida Lupino (center) and Elsa Lanchester (right) in “Ladies in Retirement”
The film never makes it clear what mental illness is that that the two sisters have, nor is there any indication that an event may have triggered or caused their mental illness. It is also unclear whether Emily and Louisa are actually mentally ill, or whether they are just eccentric. Elsa Lanchester excelled at playing these slightly off-kilter personalities.
Lanchester made her appearance on I Love Lucy first, playing “Mrs. Grundy” in a season 5 episode, “Off to Florida.” In the episode, Ricky is playing with his band at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami, Florida. Ricky, Fred, and Little Ricky go ahead to get some fishing in before Ricky has to work. Lucy and Ethel plan to take the train and meet the men down there. However, Lucy has lost the train tickets. To save face, she decides that she and Ethel will answer a “Share a Ride” classified ad to split the travel costs with another traveler who is also headed from New York City to Miami. Mrs. Grundy answers the ad.
Vivian Vance, Lucille Ball, and Elsa Lanchester in “I Love Lucy.”
Lucy and Ethel find Mrs. Grundy’s behavior odd. She only lives to travel at night or early in the morning. She won’t stop for meals, preferring to subsist on watercress sandwiches instead. Later, Mrs. Grundy gets a flat tire and expects Lucy and Ethel to change it while she naps. While looking for tools, Lucy and Ethel find a hatchet in the trunk. Thanks to a convenient radio bulletin about gray-haired escaped hatchet murderess, Evelyn Holmby, Lucy and Ethel jump to the conclusion that this must be Mrs. Grundy. Her weird eccentricities all make sense for a woman on the lam. Later, Lucy and Ethel are asleep while Mrs. Grundy is at the wheel. She also hears a radio bulletin about Evelyn Holmby, except this bulletin has more information. Mrs. Holmby, despite being gray haired, is thought to have dyed her hair red, and is also thought to be traveling with a blond companion. Comedy ensues with Lucy and Ethel suspecting Mrs. Grundy and Mrs. Grundy suspecting them.
This is the funniest episode of the Florida trilogy, with much of the humor coming from Elsa Lanchester. Her sing-songy line delivery, and her delightful eccentricity makes the episode.
Flash forward 3 years to the 10th installment of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” There would be 13 total. Celebrity couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff are the guest stars, playing themselves. In the episode, a mutual friend of Ricky’s and the celebrities, double books his cabin on the lake. Both couples go to the cabin expecting a romantic week with their partner. However, when they all meet, Ricky and Howard hit it off over their mutual love of fishing and see it has an opportunity to fish, since their wives can talk to each other. The men end up spending the entire week fishing, with the women getting stuck cleaning the fish. Towards the end of the week, the women are desperate for some romantic time with their husbands and decide to sabotage the fishing expedition. The joke is on them however, when the husbands decide to throw their wives a bone and plan a romantic evening on the lake. Too bad Lucy and Ida have already sabotaged the boat.
From left to right: Ida Lupino, Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, and Howard Duff (hunched over) in “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.”
This episode has some funny moments. Lucy and Ida trying to discreetly plug the holes in the boat (that they put there earlier) with gum and their bodies while also trying to be romantic is pretty funny. There are some good lines. However, on a whole this isn’t one of the better hour long episodes, though it’s not the worst one (I’d give that one to the Milton Berle episode). Often in these hour long episodes, the Mertzes are kept on the sidelines during the celebrity scenes. If there’s a female celebrity, she’s often given the role that we would expect for Ethel. In this episode, Ida is definitely in the Ethel Mertz part. In the Betty Grable episode, Lucy even calls her “an Ethel Mertz with money.” The Mertzes are barely in “Lucy’s Summer Vacation.” I believe they only appear at the beginning to pick up Little Ricky to explain why he’s not in the rest of the episode.
By this point in the series, Lucy and Desi’s marriage was so strained, that they were barely speaking. The tension and stress in their marriage comes through in the last episodes of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, and it makes these episodes less enjoyable to watch. Each episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour is worth watching, but they are not the same as I Love Lucy. Lucy and Desi would divorce only a year after “Lucy’s Summer Vacation” aired. For what it’s worth, Ida Lupino and Howard Duff would divorce in 1984 after 33 years of marriage.
Today, October 15, 2026 marks the 75th anniversary my favorite show of all time–I Love Lucy. Aside from being my favorite show, and I’m sure a lot of people’s favorite show, I Love Lucy is also iconic and groundbreaking, establishing many of the sitcom production techniques still in use today. On Monday, October 15, 1951, the episode “The Girls Go into Business” aired at 9pm and introduced the nation to the exploits of the Ricardos and Mertzes. The episode, “Lucy Thinks Ricky is Trying to Murder Her” was filmed first, but was the fourth episode to air.
For the first episode, the I Love Lucy crew was still working out how they were going to film this show. While there were shows on television at the time of I Love Lucy’s debut in 1951, they were shot on kinescope. Kinescope was essentially the equivalent of someone filming something playing on their television and posting the video on You Tube. Suffice it to say the quality was terrible. CBS was also insistent that Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz relocate the production to New York City, for the kinescope–simply because more of the country’s population lived on that side of the country. CBS wanted most people to receive the live feed and then the populations living in other regions of the country would receive the kinescope recording.
Lucy and Desi did not want to move to New York, nor did they want their show looking like garbage to part of the population. Desi insisted that the show would be produced in Los Angeles and recorded on 35mm film–just like movies. CBS balked at the higher cost. As a compromise, Desi offered that he and Lucy would take a $1,000/week pay cut to make up the production difference. CBS agreed, thinking that this entire project was just a lark for Lucy and Desi. At the very least, Lucy and Desi figured that if the show failed, they’d have some fun recordings for their kids. Little did they know that 75 years later, their show would still be airing and still being talked about.
I discovered I Love Lucy in 1994 when I was 10. I came across it when flipping channels and I came across Nick at Nite. I was immediately hooked and I Love Lucy and the rest of the Nick at Nite lineup became must-see TV. I also credit I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball with getting me interested in classic film. While I’d seen some classic movies like The Wizard of Oz, thanks to the annual television screenings, I hadn’t see very many old films at all until I discovered I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball. My family used to go to the library about once a month and I was fortunate that my library had a large number of books about I Love Lucy and Lucy. I read every single one. From these books, I learned about Lucy’s film career. My library also just happened to have a large number of volumes from the Lucille Ball Signature Collection on VHS. I borrowed every single one.
From Lucy’s films, I discovered more favorite classic films and stars, such as Ginger Rogers and Katharine Hepburn (Stage Door), Ann Miller (Too Many Girls), and Henry Fonda (The Big Street). At the same time, TCM had just debuted, and we had the channel as part of our cable package. I used to scour the tv guide (not the periodical) that came in the Sunday paper, and look for any of Lucy’s films airing on TCM. I’d then set them up on the VCR to record. I’ve seen almost all her films. There are only a few I haven’t seen yet.
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Iwould like to segue into my new feature I’m going to introduce on my blog–I Love Lucy in the Movies. Lucille Ball loved to surround herself with people she knew and liked from working with them during her film career. As a result, I Love Lucy features not only some big guest stars, but also a lot of great performances by character actors. In my blog feature, I’d like to spotlight the actor I recognized from a classic film and discuss their appearance in an I Love Lucy episode.
For my first installment of I Love Lucy in the Movies, I’m discussing Sheldon Leonard’s appearance in Another Thin Man (1939) which I recently watched on TCM for Myrna Loy’s star of the month.
Sheldon Leonard
In Another Thin Man, Leonard plays Phil Church, an employee of a man named McFay, who is hosting Nick and Nora Charles at his estate. However, McFay has been receiving death threats from Church who has been in prison for 10 years after being used by McFay as the fall guy to take blame for some illegal business activities. Nick visits Church in jail to ask about the death threats. Church tells him about dreams he has about McFay’s murder. He’s had the same dream three times and warns Nick that typically his dream comes true after the third time. Sure enough, McFay turns up dead.
In I Love Lucy, Sheldon Leonard appears in the episode “Sales Resistance” as a door-to-door salesman for the Handy Dandy company. He uses various sales tactics to pressure Lucy into making a purchase, though she tries to resist. He appeals to her ego by telling her fake anecdotes about previous customers who were foolish enough to pass up the great products and deals he was offering. Eventually he convinces Lucy to purchase a new vacuum cleaner, a “deal” that results in her having to buy every component (e.g., vacuum, cord, case, hose, etc.) separately. For $1.50, Leonard’s character throws in “the Kitchen Helper,” the first device he tries selling Lucy. It’s supposed to help the busy housewife with chopping.
In both Another Thin Man and I Love Lucy, Leonard plays a sleazy character. His distinctive New York accent and appearance lent themselves well to the world of unsavory characters. He would later go on to become a prolific producer at Desilu, home of I Love Lucy. Three of Leonard’s biggest shows were The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dick Van Dyke Show.
It’s been a while since I posted. I apologize for missing the last blogathons–I’ve been so busy this summer. Between being busy, going to the beach with my husband for our anniversary, birthdays, and everything else, it’s been hard. With autumn here, and (hopefully) the rainy Oregon weather coming back, I can be more diligent about posting. Over Halloween weekend, my husband and I will be traveling down to Southern Oregon to stay at the historic Wolf Creek Inn where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard stayed back in the late 1930s. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do an article about it after my trip.
Another thing that I did this summer was attend the Film Noir Foundation’s annual Noir City event at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. This is the third year in a row that we’ve attended, and the third year that we’ve had VIP passes. TCM host and Film Noir Foundation president, Eddie Muller, was also in attendance all weekend to talk to the attendees and introduce the films. This year’s theme was “Face the Music,” which meant that every one of the seven films screened featured either a musician or a nightclub. This year, my husband and I attended Noir City with our BFFs and my parents.
Noir City started on Friday night. First my husband, friends and I attended the VIP party at the Bar Hollywood (next door to the theater), and then moved next door to the theater to watch our first film, Black Angel (1946) starring Dan Duryea and Peter Lorre. This was an interesting film, one that I’d seen once before. However, towards the end of the film, I had to go to the bathroom so badly and actually had to leave the theater during the film, because I couldn’t take it anymore. Turns out there is a drawback to free drinks at the VIP party–an insanely and uncomfortably full bladder. I typically do not leave the theater once the film starts. The next film that evening was The Man I Love(1946) with my queen, Ida Lupino, and Robert Alda. This is a film that I’d just seen for the first time a couple years ago. I really enjoy this film which features Ida as a torch singer with the odd name of “Petey.”
Saturday was the second and longest day of the festival. This was also the day when 2/3 films featured were new to me titles. The day opened with a “Conversation with Eddie Muller” event with the Hollywood Theatre Director of Education & Special Projects, Ted Hurliman, who was previously acquainted with Eddie Muller prior to the revival of Noir City Portland in 2024. They had tried to do Noir City previously back in 2008, and it bombed. In 2024 they tried Noir City Portland again and it’s sold out three years in a row–yay! After the conversation, there was a book signing. I have all of Eddie’s books, so instead of the book signing my parents, husband, and I went a few doors down to Sizzle Pie pizza for lunch. My friends opted out of the conversation event and went to OMSI to see the traveling Titanic exhibit. I highly recommend that exhibit to anyone who will be visiting Portland before October 18.
Saturday’s afternoon slate of films started with a new-to-me film, A Man Called Adam (1966) starring Sammy Davis Jr, Cecily Tyson, and Louis Armstrong. In this film, Sammy plays the titular Adam, a musician who is self destructing. As someone who was in band from 5th-12th grade, I want to make it clear that while the film refers to Adam as a trumpet player, he’s actually playing a cornet. After ‘Adam,’ it was time for the film of the day that I had seen before, To Have and Have Not (1944), starring Bogie and Bacall. When I saw this film on the schedule, I thought it was featured maybe for Bacall’s character who sings in the film. During his introduction, Eddie clarified that while this film may not be a noir per se, it had enough elements of noir that it works and that he wanted to show something featuring Hoagy Carmichael. Eddie stated that he considered Carmichael to be one of America’s greatest musicians and songwriters.
Saturday ended with the premiere of the Film Noir Foundation’s recent restoration of The Yellow Canary (1963) a film noir featuring Barbara Eden (!) and Pat Boone. Yes. That Pat Boone. Boone plays a singer whose child is kidnapped and he takes it upon himself to investigate and find his kid. This wasn’t the greatest film, but it was a lot of fun. It felt like a long episode of Get Smart without the gadgets. TCM recently re-aired The Yellow Canary on Noir Alley and I’m so mad my recording didn’t take. I’m hoping that this film will be released on Flicker Alley (who typically distributes The Film Noir Foundation’s new restorations) in the near future.
Sunday was the final day of Noir City and started with The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, and Eleanor Parker. This movie features a very atypical Sinatra role and shows that he was a good actor. Kim Novak is also very good and Eleanor Parker is a little over the top but it works for this film. Finally, the day closed out with probably the biggest film of the festival, Sweet Smell of Success (1957) starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. I love journalism movies. This movie also has an amazing score and cinematography. I couldn’t help but notice though that Elmer Bernstein’s score for both ‘Man’ and ‘Sweet’ were VERY similar. That doesn’t matter though because both scores are excellent.
Noir City is such a fun event and reasonably priced, especially if you’re like me and don’t have to rent a car or hotel room to attend. I do have to drive ~45 minutes across town one way three days in a row, but that’s worth not spending hundreds of dollars to stay in a hotel. Eddie Muller is so much fun to talk to and he makes the effort to talk to everyone who approaches him in the lobby and at the VIP party (if you can get in). I highly recommend it.
This evening, The Hollywood Reporter broke the sad news that Ann Blyth passed away yesterday, Wednesday, June 24, at the age of 98. Some other sources had her age at 97. Regardless, Blyth was one of the last stars of the Classic Hollywood era, and earliest surviving nominee of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She was nominated in 1945 for her performance as my favorite character and villain, Veda Pierce, in Mildred Pierce. For the record, I think that Blyth was robbed and should have won.
Ann Blyth was 16/17 years old (based on whether she was born in 1927 or 1928) when she landed the role of Veda, the teenaged daughter of Joan Crawford’s character, the titular Mildred Pierce. Mildred is determined to give her daughters (Veda and Kay) the finest things in life, much to the chagrin of her husband Bert (Bruce Bennett). In fact, Mildred’s extreme devotion to making sure her daughters, especially Veda, get everything they desire is what drives her and Bert apart and leads to their divorce. Veda is overly focused on money and appearances, and only wants what she thinks she deserves. Mildred reinforces Veda’s shallowness by constantly getting her what she wants. When Kay tragically dies of pneumonia, Mildred’s resolve to win Veda’s love through material objects only intensifies. To put it succinctly, Veda is a spoiled brat.
Veda in her flight attendant uniform in Mildred Pierce.
However, Veda’s extreme fixation on money and appearances is exactly why I love her. This is a girl who knows what she wants and she’s unrelenting about getting it. She will not settle for less. She also drops random French phrases here and there, just to seem higher class than Mildred. Veda is a complicated character who thinks she deserves to be given everything in the world, but has no intention on earning it. While she acts like she’s above it all, she’s also very immature. Using random French phrases to assert herself as “better than” the working class Mildred, is something that a child would do to show off the new language they’ve learned. There is nothing Veda won’t do for money, no matter what terrible thing she has to do to get it. At one point in the film, she marries a wealthy young man and his mother doesn’t approve. She uses this as an opportunity to fleece $10,000 ($186k in 2026) from the family by feigning a pregnancy and using the services of family friend/lawyer Wally Fay (Jack Carson) to help with the extortion. I love a real villain who is a nasty piece of work until the bitter end.
VEDA to MILDRED ABOUT TAKING UP SMOKING TO USE A CIGARETTE CASE MONTE GAVE HER: And I couldn’t hurt him by not using it. I mean, that would have been dreadfully recherche, n’est-ce pas?
Veda was apparently too good to be associated with her mother who owned and operated her own successful restaurant business, but not too good to work as a singer in a dive bar.
Ann Blyth’s performance as Veda is truly spectacular as she’s able to imbue Veda with charm and moments of kindness and compassion, that it makes her true character even more jarring when it emerges. Her character also ages a few years during the film, and she very skillfully portrays her character maturing. At the start of the film, she’s a teenager, seeming somewhat innocent and childlike. By the end of the film, she is a legal adult and suddenly seems a lot more mature, albeit still dropping French phrases in her vernacular to seem more cultured and sophisticated. Blyth’s portrayal of Veda’s slowly emerging greed, selfishness, and shallowness is very well done. The audience only gets glimpses of her true nature when Veda makes an off-hand comment here and there or does something offscreen, such as having their housekeeper wear Mildred’s restaurant uniform while working. When Mildred reveals to Veda that she works as a waitress, Blyth’s warm expression quickly transforms into a look of anger and shame, with a narrowing of her eyes, and the tone of her voice changes from honey to poison as Veda reveals her feelings about her mother holding a working class job.
VEDA to MILDRED: You think just because you made a little money you can get a new hairdo and some expensive clothes and turn yourself into a lady. But you can’t, because you’ll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing.
VEDA to MILDRED: With this money I can get away from you. From you and your chickens and your pies and your kitchens and everything that smells of grease. I can get away from this shack with its cheap furniture. And this town and its dollar days, and its women that wear uniforms and its men that wear overalls.
Blyth seems completely comfortable going toe-to-toe with powerhouse Joan Crawford and effectively delivers her tart, seeping with vitriol, scathing dialogue gems such as telling her mother how much she wants to get away from her and her kitchens that smell of grease. She even skillfully slaps Crawford, the queen of slapping people in movies. However, as quickly as Veda says something horrible to her mother, she’s back acting sweet as pie to Monte and everyone around her. As the film wears on, the audience becomes aware that Veda is manipulating everyone around her, so she can get what she wants. While Blyth does nothing overt to convey that Veda is insincere, she manages to seem sweet yet also subtly manipulative, making most people in the film turn a blind eye to her. Only Ida seems unconvinced by Veda’s pretense of being a kind person.
Ann Blyth goes toe to toe with Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce.
Even at the end of the film, Blyth expertly portrays Veda’s confession to her mother that she killed Monte after he rejected her. She quickly switches between sobs, manipulation, desperation, panic, and then throws in some fake promises for good measure. When Mildred refuses to help her, Veda delivers the ultimate gut punch and says to Mildred, “it’s your fault I am the way I am.” She says it with such bitterness, that I almost feel sorry for her and want to blame Mildred! When Veda arrives at the police station, Blyth expertly conveys doe-eyed naivete about why she was picked up by police, then stoicism and misguided anger towards her mother for her situation. She then delivers another blow, with the seemingly optimistic line, “don’t worry about me, I’ll get by.” But as the audience we know that Mildred will be worried sick and will probably soon be down at the prison trying to deliver a pie to Veda with a file in it.
VEDA: That’s what I like about you, Ida. You’re so delightfully provincial. IDA: And I like YOU too.
I could go on and on about how much I love Mildred Pierce and Ann Blyth in the film. Veda is my favorite character in the film. I just love her. For the record, Eve Arden’s Ida is my second favorite character. However, I’d like to give some attention to some of Ann Blyth’s other films and performances of hers that I enjoy.
I have a mousepad at work with this publicity still of Glenn Strange from “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein” carrying Ann Blyth from “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid.”
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid(1948). This is a fantasy film starring Ann Blyth and William Powell. Blyth plays a mermaid whom Powell’s Mr. Arthur Peabody finds and names “Lenore.” Lenore does not speak a single word throughout the film, however she does sing. Ann Blyth had a beautiful singing voice which was used often in her films, even in non-musicals. Arthur is entranced by Lenore’s beauty and mischievous nature. The main plot of the film is that Arthur appears to be having a midlife crisis due to his impending 50th birthday. Much of the film is shown in flashback, as Arthur tells a doctor about his vacation in the Caribbean where he meets Lenore the mermaid. His wife, acquaintances, and the doctor all think he’s hallucinating Lenore and having a mental breakdown due to his midlife crisis.
Without saying a word, Blyth is utterly charming as Lenore. She also looks gorgeous and it’s easy to believe that someone would be enamored by her. Despite how the plot sounds, there is not a passionate romance between the 56 year old Powell and the 20 year old Blyth. Their romantic scenes are entirely innocent and work with the overall concept of the film. It is a very sweet movie.
Ann Blyth steps into Bette Davis’ shoes and portrays Regina in Another Part of the Forest, a prequel to The Little Foxes.
Another Part of the Forest (1948). In this film, Ann Blyth steps into the shoes of Bette Davis as she portrays Regina Hubbard in the prequel to The Little Foxes (1941), starring Davis. In a part similar to Veda, Blyth expertly plays the scheming Regina, who will use anyone for any purpose if it helps her get ahead. She doesn’t care about how her actions affect others, even her family! Her brother can’t even take her out with blackmail, as Regina is always one step ahead. Blyth, despite later being shoehorned into sugary sweet musicals was a very adept dramatic actress, especially when it came to playing nasty and frankly evil characters.
Ann Blyth and Claudette Colbert in Thunder on the Hill.
Thunder on the Hill (1951). This is a much more mature Ann Blyth than in Mildred Pierce. Interestingly, Blyth’s voice became much deeper and richer just in the few years between her mid-teens and early twenties. In this Douglas Sirk film noir, Blyth plays Valerie, a woman convicted of her brother’s murder. She is being transported via a mountainous road to her execution, however, it is delayed when she and the prison staff end up detained at a local convent hospital due to a torrential downpour flooding the road. Blyth’s Valerie is extremely bitter and angry about her entire life and she rejects everyone around her and demands to be left alone. Valerie insists that she’s innocent, but her pleas go unanswered because who wants to listen to a convicted murderess? It doesn’t help that dozens of people are also stranded at the convent and recognize Valerie. Murmurs go around the convent about the murderess on the premises and the audacity of the convent to allow it. Luckily for Valerie, Sister Mary (Claudette Colbert) has been following her case and is convinced of Valerie’s innocence and is determined to clear her name before the road opens up. This is a great movie and Blyth gives a fantastic performance as an angry woman wrongly accused of murder. It’s a very realistic performance. Who wouldn’t be upset to be on death row for a crime they didn’t commit?
Ann Blyth’s Gail is introduced as a family friend and given the brush off by birth mother, Ann Dvorak, who doesn’t want to admit to her husband that she gave a baby up for adoption 18 years prior.
Our Very Own (1950). This isn’t the most even film or the greatest film, however, Ann Blyth is great in it. This is another film where she seems much older and more mature than she was in Mildred Pierce, despite being filmed only 5 or so years later. In this film, Blyth plays Gail, a graduating high school senior, who on the evening of her 18th birthday, discovers that she was adopted. Her parents explain that they were going to tell her, but decided against it later. Gail insists on learning the identity of her birth mother (Ann Dvorak) and meets her. While the film is somewhat uneven and can’t decide what tone it wants to have, Blyth is very good. In fact the two Anns (Blyth and Dvorak) are the best part of this film and are worth watching. When Gail’s meeting with her birth mother does not go as hoped, Blyth is very adept at expressing her disappointment and anger without saying as much. Prior to the meeting, she skillfully displayed nervousness and apprehension–almost like she had a premonition that the visit wasn’t going to go well. Blyth’s character runs the gamut of emotions in this film, everything from happiness and giddiness in the scenes with her boyfriend (Farley Granger), anger and frustration in the scenes with her conniving sister, anger towards her parents for lying to her, hurt after her father inexplicably slaps her, and finally guilt for realizing that her best friend’s birth father is neglectful and selfish, whereas her adopted parents are loving and attentive.
If I can get a hold of them (::hint:: ::hint:: TCM play Ann Blyth’s films, Summer Under the Stars on her Aug 16 birthday), I can to catch up on all of her films I’ve missed.
RIP ANN BLYTH. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING–ESPECIALLY FOR BRINGING MY QUEEN, VEDA PIERCE, TO LIFE.
I’m a little late with my post. I honestly didn’t realize that it was only one day, I thought I had the weekend. Whoops. I attended a baseball game (employee appreciation function) with my coworkers that evening and just didn’t have time. Anyway, better late than never, right? I didn’t want to miss out on writing about one of my favorite movies, Funny Face from 1957.
I recently saw The Devil Wears Prada 2, the sequel to the first film that came out in 2006. I’m not the first person to make this observation, but The Devil Wears Prada shares a lot of similarities with Funny Face, a film that predates it by more than 50 years. Both The Devil Wears Prada and Funny Face feature a protagonist, Anne Hathaway’s Andy and Audrey Hepburn’s Jo, respectively, who initially dismisses fashion as frivolous until they find themselves swept up in the glamour and prestige of the fashion industry. Andy has to deal with a demanding boss in the form of editor Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep) and Jo has the less demanding, but very particular Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson). Both Miranda and Maggie have dutiful assistants. Miranda has Emily (Emily Blunt) as her #1 assistant and Maggie has an entire army.
Andy and Jo even both have a male confidant who helps them navigate the fashion world around them, as well as serve as a bit of a buffer between them and their demanding boss. In The Devil Wears Prada, Andy has Nigel (Stanley Tucci), the art director of Runway magazine and Miranda’s right-hand man. In Funny Face, Jo has Dick Avery (Fred Astaire), the photographer of Quality magazine. He also helps her please Maggie. One difference between The Devil Wears Prada and Funny Face in this regard is that Nigel and Andy aren’t paired up romantically, whereas Dick and Jo are. As an aside, I’ve read many criticisms of the pairing of Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. While yes, Astaire is 30 years older than Hepburn, I think they make a charming pairing. I also read that they both signed onto the film because they wanted to work with the other which I find very endearing.
Fred and Audrey’s charming dance to ‘S Wonderful
The Devil Wears Prada and Funny Face both feature an annual trip to Paris that everyone looks forward to–one of the perks of working at a fashion magazine. While the circumstances of their respective trips to Paris differ, with Andy being present as part of Paris Fashion Week, and Jo actually appearing as a model in a show. However, both Andy and Jo’s trips are presented as a big moment in their careers.
However, this isn’t to say that The Devil Wears Prada is a remake of Funny Face. Both films are different enough that they can stand as their own original story. I’m not going to go into detail about the plot of the former, as this isn’t a blog about The Devil Wears Prada. In a nutshell, however, this film is an adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same title. In the story, Andy, a recent college graduate and aspiring journalist, lands a job at Runway magazine as an assistant for the highly demanding and critical editor, Miranda Priestley. Andy thinks the world of fashion is frivolous, compared to the more “important” publications for which she wants to work.
Audrey Hepburn’s “funny face”
In Funny Face, Audrey Hepburn plays Jo Stockton, an employee who works in a bookstore devoted to philosophy. Jo, in particular, is interested in the philosophy of empathicalism. The editor of Quality magazine, Maggie Prescott, decides that she needs a new backdrop for the latest fashions modeled by her cover girl, Marion. Maggie and photographer Dick Avery come across Jo’s bookstore and invite themselves in. They quickly cause chaos and ruin the store’s organization, as they decide to rearrange everything to make the books look more interesting. After the photo shoot, Dick stays behind to help Jo clean up. This scene hints at the future romance in the film.
Jo is very dismissive of Maggie, Dick, and the entire staff at Quality. What she doesn’t know is that Dick snapped some photos of her face, because he saw something in her “funny face.” He convinces Maggie that Quality needs a new face, a different face. Marion is kicked to the curb and Jo is in. However, she doesn’t want to be in. She finds fashion to be shallow and unimportant, but when Dick tells her about the annual trip to Paris, she’s intrigued. Her idol is Professor Flostre, who lectures on his ideas of empathy. He is based in Paris and she wants to hear him speak. She agrees to model for the fashion show that Quality is sponsoring in exchange for the trip.
This is my favorite part of Audrey’s fashion show.
Of course, like in The Devil Wears Prada, when Andy starts to like how she looks and feels in the high fashion designer clothes, Jo starts to enjoy the fashion shoots in Funny Face for an upcoming issue of Quality. Dressed in beautiful outfits and photographed in various locales around Paris, Jo looks exquisite. Also, if there’s one thing I love, it’s an in-movie fashion show. My particular favorite is the red strapless column gown she wears as she descends the stairs exclaiming to Dick, “take my picture! take my picture!” However, Audrey Hepburn could wear a paper bag and it’d look like Givenchy haute couture. Givenchy of course designed Hepburn’s wardrobe in this film as he designed all her costumes in her films–including Sabrina for which Edith Head memorably won the Best Costume Oscar.
I love the “Clap ‘Yo Hands” number with Fred Astaire and Kay Thompson
I love Funny Face. Mainly because Audrey and Fred are so charming together. I also loved Kay Thompson. She was mainly a vocal arranger, choreographer and Liza Minnelli’s godmother! She also wrote the popular children’s picture book series, Eloise. Eloise is about a little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Thompson and Astaire perform a very funny musical number, “Clap Yo’ Hands,” while they pretend to be entertainers from Tallahassee, Florida. They are crashing an event at the home of Professor Flostre to find Jo and bring her back to the hotel for the fashion show.
There’s also an iconic performance by Audrey Hepburn, at a beatnik club in Paris. Dressed in slim black pants, black turtleneck, white socks, and black loafers, Audrey delivers a fantastic dance number–full of energy. I remember seeing this entire scene play out again and again on television in the early 00s in a Gap ad advertising skinny black pants, except this time she was dancing to AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” While I don’t know about deceased celebrities being used in advertisements, there’s no doubt that Audrey is an icon, and in particular, a fashion icon. Gap was smart to use her to advertise something simple like slim black pants. People may not know Funny Face, but they know Audrey Hepburn.
This blog entry is going to have three parts: 1) My memory of the Drive-In; 2) My answers to the Drive-In Movie List Game; and 3) My highlight of a very funny scene in The Facts of Life (1960) that takes place at a Drive-In.
1. My Memory of the Drive-In
Site of the former North Salem Drive-In, now the Highway Fuel Co. Note that the site has the cone Drive-In shape.
Having been born in 1984, I missed the heyday of the Drive-In. By the time I was old enough to be out watching movies in a theater, or even at the Drive-In, most of the Drive-Ins in my hometown (Salem, OR) were long gone. I performed some research at cinematreasures.org and discovered that Salem had the following Drive-Ins:
North Salem Drive-In, Opened 1954. Closed 1982.
South Salem Drive-In #1, Opened 1953. Closed 1961.
South Salem Drive-In #2, Opened 1970. Closed 1993.
The South Salem Drive-In #2, is the one that I visited when I was in the third grade in 1992. From reading about the history of South Salem Drive-In #1, it sounds like the Drive-In closed in 1961, then was finished off for good by a fire in 1964. The South Salem Drive-In #2 opened in 1970 a few miles away. Interestingly, the original site of the South Salem Drive-In has never been developed and it still has the classic cone shaped plot that Drive-Ins often had. From this bird’s-eye view, it is easy to make out the layout of the Drive-In.
Current bird’s-eye view of the former site of the South Salem Drive-In. It closed in 1961.
As for the South Salem Drive-In #2, I remember the last film I saw was Wayne’s World (1992). I cannot recall any specifics about the experience, and I have to think that we saw another film too since Drive-Ins often show double features. I have vague memories of my dad setting the radio station to pick up the movie, and our snacks that we brought from home. I remember also being able to look around and see glimpses of the other movies being screened.
The site of the old South Salem Drive-In. The building with the pin is the current Regal multiplex. The rectangle on the left still shows the berms from one of the old screens. Another access road is seen on the left.
The old derelict South Salem Drive-In sign that stood for 13 years past the Drive-In’s 1994 closure, finally being torn down in 2007.
The electrical components of the South Salem Drive-In marquee. This is what they looked like after 13 years of sitting unused, out in the elements.
The South Salem Drive-In ended up closing in 1993. In 1994, there was a “mysterious fire” in the projection booth and concession stand. It was officially ruled to be arson, but the community was very skeptical. Later, the same year, another fire all but put an end to any remaining structures at the Drive-In. One would think that the Drive-In closing, and the actual building of the multiplex Santiam 11 Regal Cinemas (the first in Salem with stadium seating!) in 1999, that the South Salem Drive-In marquee sign would be torn down. Nope! Not only did the South Salem Drive-In sign continue to stand for 13 years after its closure, until it was finally torn down in 2007, Regal Cinemas STILL hasn’t built an entrance sign for the theater. The Drive-In sign became something of a Salem landmark. It was only torn down when it was deemed a Safety hazard.
2. My Answers to the Drive-In Movie List Game
1. What is your favorite science fiction movie featuring aliens?
Science fiction and movies with aliens aren’t typically my cup of tea. Occasionally aliens will be fun, like Alf, the Neutrinos in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carrey in Earth Girls Are Easy. I also like the alien cast of Third Rock From the Sun. However, to answer this question, I do enjoy the original The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), with Michael Rennie as the alien Klaatu and The Blob (1958) starring the alien, The Blob.
The Blob, star of “The Blob.”
2. What is your favorite science fiction movie that has no aliens?
Again, science fiction isn’t really my thing, but in researching what films were considered science fiction that don’t have aliens, I found that I did enjoy a lot of films on the list. Most of the films I like involved time travel. I love Back to the Future (1985) with Michael J Fox traveling back to 1955 from 1985 and inadvertently preventing his parents from meeting. Time is of the essence as he pretends to be high school student “Calvin Klein” and tries to get his future parents to go to the dance together. The dance is where they met.
3. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Action Heroes or Superheroes?
I love Frank Drebin, played to perfection by Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun trilogy. He is the perfect spoof of the 1980s/1990s action hero with car crashes, intense student driving lessons, fun Bond-like gadgets, and high stakes missions, like preventing the assassination of Queen Elizabeth II at an Anaheim Angels baseball game. Frank memorably goes undercover as Enrico Pallazo and umpires the baseball game as he looks for which player has been set-up to kill the queen. Aside from the Naked Gun films, I also love the 1980s/1990s Batman films, with Batman Returns (1992) being my favorite. Michelle Pfeiffer is the quintessential Catwoman. I saw this movie in the theater in the third grade and had all the commemorative cups from McDonalds.
Enrico Pallazo showing off his moves in “The Naked Gun.”
4. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Outcasts or Antiheroes?
I love The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996) featuring the iconic Brady family living in 1990s Los Angeles. The world around them has become grungier and less squeaky clean, but the Bradys remain firmly entrenched in the 1970s. The entire Brady family, dressed to the hilt in 1970s leisure suits and polyester, are ridiculed to their faces and behind their backs, with the family members oblivious to the insults. Marcia is hilariously still popular (despite her dated clothing) but is ridiculed by Doug Simpson “the big man on campus,” and neighbor Eric who says “she’s harder to get into than a Pearl Jam concert.” They think Marcia is such a goody goody because she won’t let a boy put his hand on her shoulder on a first date (that’s third base), let alone sleep with them. Marcia doesn’t even give them a second thought though as her biggest drama is having two dates for the same evening. The Brady family stick out like a sore thumb in the 90s, but you can’t help but root for Marcia to brush her hair 100 times, get Davy Jones to appear at the high school prom and win $20,000 in the talent show to pay their tax bill and prevent losing their home.
5. What is Your Favorite Horror Movie Featuring Monsters?
I love Little Shop of Horrors (1986) with Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, and of course, Audrey II. I love that Audrey II is sassy and vulgar and sings the banger, “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space.” The music in this film is fantastic. I love Steve Martin’s “Dentist” song and Audrey’s “Somewhere That’s Green” where she dreams about watching I Love Lucy on the 12″ screen. The Henson Company’s puppetry is fantastic. The puppet itself is also very impressive. The cast is also great. Who knew Rick Moranis was such a good singer?
Audrey II in “The Little Shop of Horrors.” I love the little plants.
6. What is Your Favorite Horror Movie with No Monster?
I am not a big horror fan either, but I do like thrillers or really cheesy slashers like the original Friday the 13th. However, I am willing to give any genre a chance if the film intrigues me. One of my favorite monster-less horror movies is the original version of The Stepford Wives (1975) starring Katharine Ross. Ross plays Joanna and moves from New York City to the idyllic community of Stepford, Connecticut. She befriends the local wives, including Paula Prentiss and Tina Louise. Soon she starts noticing that some of the other wives seem to be robotic, incredibly submissive, and devoid of any distinct personality. Then she witnesses one of the women repeating herself over and over–almost like she’s a broken record. I love this movie. It’s so delightfully beautiful and creepy.
7. What’s Your Favorite Movie Featuring Motorcycles or Cars?
I love Smokey and the Bandit (1977). I’ve seen this movie at least a dozen times, but a few years ago, my sister and I saw it in the theater and it was amazing. This movie is perfection with the cool and somewhat reckless Burt Reynolds as the titular Bandit, and Sally Field as the gorgeous, yet sassy and bitter “Frog.” Paul Williams plays Little Enos. Then Jerry Reed plays not only Bandit’s BFF “The Snowman” who travels with his basset hound, Fred, he also sings the catchy and fantastic theme song of the movie, “Eastbound and Down.” As great as Reynolds’ black Trans Am is and as fun as the car scenes are, this film’s greatest asset is Jackie Gleason as Buford T Justice, aka “Smokey Bear.” Every single thing that Buford T Justice says is hilarious. Some day, I’d love to go into Carl’s Jr that has a Diablo burger and say “Get me a Diablo sandwich and a Dr Pepper and make it quick because I’m in a goddamned hurry!” However, I don’t want a Diablo burger and I also think the staff would have no idea what I’m saying, so I’d just look like a jerk.
Jr. tries to keep Papa Buford’s hat on his head in “Smokey and the Bandit”
8. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Gangs or Criminals?
I love film noir, so there are a million films that I love that fit this criteria. One of my favorites is White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney as gangster Cody Jarrett who has a mommy complex and reoccurring debilitating migraines. He is being tailed by FBI agent Fallon (Edmond O’Brien) who manages to get inside Cody’s gang. Cody has an explosive temper and ending. Virginia Mayo who plays Cody’s girlfriend has one of my all-time favorite lines, “Money’s just paper if you don’t spend it.” Other gang or criminal movies I love are The Killing (1956), Gun Crazy (1950), and Double Indemnity (1944).
9. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring War or a War Setting?
I am not a big war person. However, I love movies about the World War II home front, or if it prominently features war, I’d rather the war have something else like a romance or some other story intertwined and not focus solely on the battle and maneuvers. The actual scenes of war with battles and maneuvers and such don’t usually excite me. One of my favorite war movies is From Here to Eternity (1953) that takes place in the days leading up to December 7, 1941. This movie only really has war at the end, but the audience knows that it’s coming while the soldiers are practicing mundane drills and such. There are also two romances and drama that I enjoy. Another war movie I love is Cry Havoc (1943) about a group of volunteer women (mostly civilians, some nurses) who live together and administer aid and care to the wounded soldiers.
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in that iconic beach scene from “From Here to Eternity”
10. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring a Mystery?
I love film noir, Hitchcock, the mystery-comedy movies like The Thin Man series, but my favorite is probably Mildred Pierce (1945) where the mystery of who murdered playboy Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) is revealed. Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford), wife to Monte, is brought in for questioning. The entire action of the film is unveiled via flashback. We learn about Mildred’s divorce from husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) and her children, especially her horribly spoiled daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth). Jack Carson and Eve Arden are the buddy comedy that we never knew we wanted as they provide support to Mildred throughout the film. This movie is fantastic and I love Veda. Veda is my queen.
11. What is Your Favorite Movie Western?
I haven’t seen a ton of Westerns, but I am trying to watch more. I love Shane (1953) starring Alan Ladd as the titular Shane. This is one of those typical stranger arrives in town type films. Shane comes to the aid of the local Starrett family, led by Van Heflin and Jean Arthur, whose land is at risk of being taken over by a wealthy cattle baron. Ladd is fantastic in this film as are Heflin and Arthur. Shane is known as a great gunslinger and his presence in town threatens the cattle baron. He in turn hires Jack Palance, another great gunslinger to take on Shane. This film is gorgeous to look at and exciting to watch.
Alan Ladd in “Shane”
12. What is Your Favorite Adventure Film?
I love The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with my favorite, Errol Flynn. Despite Flynn not being particularly excited by the role, he was born to play Robin Hood. He is sheer perfection in this film as are Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian and Claude Rains as Prince John. The Adventures of Robin Hood is as close to a perfect film as one can get. The Technicolor is gorgeous. The costumes are gorgeous. The scenery is beautiful. The action scenes are exciting. The score is fantastic. Everything about this film is perfection.
13. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring a Female Lead?
My #1 favorite movie of all time is The Long, Long Trailer (1954) starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Made in the middle of I Love Lucy, this film plays more or less like a 90 minute long episode, sans the Mertzes. The Long, Long Trailer is hilarious. I have seen this movie at least 100 times (no exaggeration). I wore out two VHS, two DVD, and now I have a blu ray. I’ve seen it on the big screen twice. My favorite part of this film is when Lucy falls out of the trailer, on her back, into a giant mud puddle. The scream she lets out is hysterical.
Lucy tries to cook dinner in the back of a moving trailer in “The Long, Long Trailer.” It does not go well.
14. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Beaches and Rock and Roll?
If there’s another type of film I love besides film noir, women in prison, and The Long Long Trailer, it’s teen beach movies–especially 1950s and 1960s teen beach movies. My favorite of the teen beach movies is the OG, Gidget (1959), starring Sandra Dee as everyone’s favorite girl surfer, and teen idol James Darren as Moondoggie. Cliff Robertson plays The Big Kahuna. Gidget features another teen beach movie trope, the luau. James Darren croons two songs, including the title track “Gidget” and “The Next Best Thing to Love.” I also love the sequel, Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) with Deborah Walley as a redheaded Gidget and Darren again as Moondoggie. Carl Reiner and Jeff Donnell play Gidget’s parents.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Beach Party movies. I love Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Linda Evans shows up as “Sugar Kane” a singer with whom Frankie is instantly smitten, much to Annette’s chagrin. Like in all Beach Party movies, Frankie says/does something dumb and Annette is mad at him. Then there’s the world’s oldest teen gang member, Eric Von Zipper, who gets involved. Joel McCrea’s son, Jody, meets a mermaid. And Buster Keaton spends the entire movie chasing a bikini girl. Then there’s my girl, Deborah Walley, playing a skydiving instructor. This movie makes absolutely no sense, but I love it.
For a more serious teen beach movie with rock and roll, I love Where the Boys Are (1960) starring Dolores Hope, Paula Prentiss, Yvette Mimieux, and Connie Francis. The four women play college students who decide to leave their snowy college town for a week long, warm spring break in Florida. Each girl hopes to meet a boy, but each have different goals and personalities. Their beaus end up being George Hamilton, Jim Hutton, a disgusting creep named Dill, and Frank Gorshin. Yvette Mimieux probably gets the saddest, but juiciest part. In between the drama however, are a lot of hilarious scenes and a fantastic title song sung by Connie Francis.
Honorable Mentions for favorite beach rock and roll movies: Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) with Vincent Price;Beach Party (1963) with Frankie and Annette; Muscle Beach Party (1964) with Frankie and Annette; It’s a Bikini World (1967) with Deborah Walley; For Those Who Think Young (1964) with James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Nancy Sinatra, Bob Denver, Tina Louise, Paul Lynde (!) and Ellen Burstyn!; Girl Happy (1965); and Clambake (1967) both starring Elvis and Shelley Fabares.
For those who love horror and teen beach movies and would love to see the two combined, I recommend Psycho Beach Party (2000) which follows the Gidget storyline almost exactly, but in this film, Gidget acts more like Michael Myers.
Moondoggie teaches Gidget how to surf in “Gidget”
3. Movie Featuring the Drive-In–“The Facts of Life” (1960)
An interesting movie poster for this film
After I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour ended in 1960, and her divorce from Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball signed on to co-star with longtime friend, Bob Hope. The Facts of Life (not to be confused with the 1979-1988 television show of the same name) featured Ball and Hope as Kitty and Larry, a pair of friends who embark on an extra-marital affair. Both have issues in their respective marriages that drive them into each other’s arms. Kitty’s husband is always working or gambling. Larry’s wife is so preoccupied with the children, not paying any attention to him unless it has to do with the kids. Every year, Kitty and her husband, Larry and his wife, and another couple all take the same vacation to Acapulco. However, this year, after a series of illnesses and events, Kitty and Larry find themselves on the vacation alone. Eventually, we know it will come to a point where they’ll need to decide whether their relationship is worth breaking up two marriages.
Scene of the Drive-In in “The Facts of Life” (1960)
Despite The Facts of Life being a rather mature film for 1960 and for Lucille Ball and Bob Hope, two actors primarily known for comedy, there is a very comedic scene in this film that takes place at, you guessed it, a Drive-In! Before Kitty and Larry deliberate about whether to divorce their respective spouses for each other, they try to carry on their affair discreetly, under everyone’s noses. One evening, Kitty and Larry arrange to rendezvous at the local Drive-In. However, Larry is detained when his wife, Mary, asks him to go to their son’s scout meeting.
Lucy and Bob Hope rendezvous at the Olympic Drive-In in LA. According to the internet, it is long gone and is now a car dealership.
Larry finally arrives at the Drive-In and climbs into Kitty’s car. They embrace and kiss. However, while they’re kissing, Kitty sees Thompson, the dry cleaner, who makes regular house calls to all her friends’ homes (including Larry’s) in the neighboring car. Thompson of course, recognizes her. Kitty warns Larry about Thompson. Knowing that Thompson can see Kitty, Larry must keep his back to him to hide their affair. After accidentally hitting the horn, causing it to be stuck, and annoying all the neighboring moviegoers, Kitty and Larry decide that they need to leave. To keep Larry’s identity secret, he and Kitty continue to kiss while they attempt to drive a car together with Larry’s foot on one pedal and Kitty’s on the other. Thompson is none the wiser, all he knows is that Kitty was making out at the Drive-In.
Lucille Ball and Bob Hope kiss at the Drive-In before they have to co-drive a car together
Today (June 1, 2026), marks the 100th anniversary of Norma Jeane Mortensen’s birth. Norma Jeane, of course, would be christened “Marilyn Monroe” in 1946. For the sake of clarity, I will refer to her as “Marilyn” from here on out. To say that Marilyn’s childhood was tumultuous and difficult would be an understatement. In 1942, at the age of 16, Marilyn married James Doughtery. They would be married for 4 years, until divorcing in 1946. Marilyn signed an acting contract in June of 1946. Husband Doughtery was against her having a career, and her contract stated that she needed to be unmarried, because they couldn’t risk her becoming pregnant. Marilyn filed for divorce, stating that the marriage didn’t make her unhappy, but it didn’t make her happy either. She was bored.
A young Marilyn Monroe before she was “Marilyn Monroe”
While the divorce sucked for James Dougherty, it was great for us as the audience, because it paved the way for Marilyn to become “Marilyn Monroe.” After toiling away in bit parts for a few years, memorably in 1950’s All About Eve and The Asphalt Jungle, Marilyn finally landed her star-making role in my favorite of her films, Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1953. This film would cement the iconic Marilyn Monroe look and persona–the platinum blonde hair, figure hugging costumes, breathy voice, and sex appeal up the wazoo. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes also features what is perhaps one of the most iconic Marilyn Monroe moments of all time, perhaps only second to the subway grate scene in The Seven Year Itch, the “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” number featuring Marilyn in the bright pink strapless gown.
LORELAI: Don’t you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn’t marry a girl just because she’s pretty, but my goodness, doesn’t it help?
Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn plays Lorelai Lee, a singer who travels from New York to Paris with her best friend, Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell), via ocean liner. Lorelai and Dorothy are singers who are traveling to Paris for Lorelai’s upcoming wedding. She is engaged to the hilariously nerdy and wimpy, but wealthy, Gus Esmond Jr (Tommy Noonan). The senior Esmond, Gus’ father (Taylor Holmes), does not like or trust Lorelai (despite never having met her), as he thinks she’s a gold digger. Esmond Sr would be correct, as Lorelai is laser-focused on finding a wealthy husband who can keep her supplied in diamonds. Dorothy on the other hand, is more interested in finding someone she’s physically attracted to, regardless of his wealth.
Marilyn in the iconic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number. Future Oscar-winner, George Chakiris, is in the background on the right, mouth obscured.
Determined to prove that his dislike of Lorelai is warranted, Esmond Sr hires private detective, Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid), to spy on Lorelai and Dorothy and obtain evidence that Lorelai isn’t worthy of marrying his son. Esmond Jr asks Dorothy to keep an eye on Lorelai and keep her from doing anything that could break up their engagement. Also onboard the ocean liner are the wealthy Beakmans, “Piggy” (Charles Coburn) and his wife Lady Beakman (Norma Varden). Piggy owns a diamond mine and Lady Beakman has her diamond jewelry onboard, including a diamond tiara. Mr. Henry Spofford III and his valet are also onboard, leading to a hilarious scene where Lorelai discovers that he’s a child. Later Henry helps Marilyn out of a tight spot, literally, when she finds herself stuck inside a porthole window. Henry has a very funny voice for a child, it reminds me of Charlie Brown’s. Finally, the entire US Men’s Olympics Team is on the ship–which brings a lot of joy for Dorothy.
MR. ESMOND SR: Have you got the nerve to tell me you don’t want to marry my son for his money?
LORELAI: It’s true!
MR. ESMOND SR: Then what do you want to marry him for?
LORELAI: I want to marry him for your money!
Taylor Holmes and Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Lorelai and Dorothy try to pass the time onboard, with Ernie tagging along trying to keep watch of them. One very funny scene has Dorothy and Lorelai trying to recover a roll of incriminating film from Ernie. In another scene, Piggy and Lorelai reenact a scene he saw while traveling in Africa: a python wrapping itself around a goat’s neck and strangling it until it dies. Piggy was the python and Lorelai was the goat. My favorite part of the movie actually doesn’t involve Lorelai, but it involves Dorothy watching the US Men’s Olympic Team work out (the men dressed to give the illusion of nudity) while she sings “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?”
DOROTHY: (singing) …I like big muscles and red corpuscles…
Jane Russell singing “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Jane Russell checking out the scenery in the ship’s gymnasium during the greatest musical number of all time, “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?”
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number comes towards the end of the film after Lorelai and Dorothy have arrived in Paris. By now, Ernie’s report on Lorelai and Dorothy’s onboard shenanigans has made it back to Esmond Sr, who has canceled Lorelai and Dorothy’s line of credit that his son had promised them. Having spent all of their cash on clothes and other trinkets, Lorelai and Dorothy are broke. They are forced to find work at a local revue.
DOROTHY: Now let’s get this straight, Gus. The chaperone’s job is to see that nobody else has any fun. Nobody chaperones the chaperone. That’s why I’m so right for this job.
Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Lorelai goes on stage in her bright pink, strapless gown to sing about not wanting rhinestones, only diamonds. This is a very striking musical number. It was a bold choice to juxtapose Marilyn’s bright pink dress against a bright red background–two colors that traditionally clash. The male background dancers, including a young George Chakiris, are made up to look like dignified ambassadors (with greying temples). The women in the number’s faces are covered with a black mesh, as they appear as part of the chandelier, as well as in pink dresses in a lighter tone than Marilyn’s.
Jane Russell imitates Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn’s performance in “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” is firmly cemented in pop culture, not just American, but dare I say, internationally. There are countless homages and imitations of Marilyn’s performance. In 1985, Madonna famously imitated Marilyn in her music video for “Material Girl.” At the 2024 Oscars, Ryan Gosling performed “I’m Just Ken” from my favorite 2023 film, Barbie. In 2001’s Moulin Rouge! Nicole Kidman’s Satine would memorably hang from a trapeze bar while crooning “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Kidman is good, but she’s no Marilyn Monroe. Actually, I think I’d rather have heard her Moulin Rouge! co-star, Ewan McGregor, belt out the song. He would have killed it.
DOROTHY: Honey, did it ever occur to you that some people just don’t care about money?
LORELAI: Please, we’re talking serious here.
Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Marilyn regrets being “the goat” to Charles Coburn’s python
William Travilla’s costumes in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes are fantastic. Aside from Marilyn’s hot pink dress, there are a lot of other great outfits. I love Jane Russell’s outfit she wears in my favorite number “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” She wears a very chic black jumpsuit with a black buffalo plaid coat with yellow lapels, and some fantastic turquoise earrings. The opening musical number outfits, the matching red sequined gowns with the deep V-neck that Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell wear are amazing. The fit is perfection. My husband and I saw these dresses at the Academy Museum a few years ago, and they were just as fantastic in person as they are in the film. I also loved the outfit Marilyn wears when she and Piggy are reenacting the python and goat bit. She dons a long sleeved teal top with a deep V-neck portrait neckline with sapphire blue slacks and a purple sash around the waist. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is truly a feast for the eyes.
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in the fantastic opening number, “Two Little Girls From Little Rock.”
I love Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I have seen it many many times. I’ve seen it in the theater. I never tire of it. It’s such a fun movie. Marilyn and Jane are both fantastic. The songs are fantastic. The performances are fantastic. The costumes are fantastic. Everything is perfection.
Marilyn Monroe finds herself stuck in a porthole as George Winslow attempts to help. I Love Lucy would recreate this scene (sub Ricky and Ethel for George) in an episode of “I Love Lucy.”
HENRY SPOFFORD III: Alright I’ll help you. I’ll help you for two reasons.
LORELAI: Never mind the reasons. Just help me.
HENRY SPOFFORD III: The first reason is I’m too young to be sent to jail. The second reason is you’ve got a lot of animal magnetism.
George Winslow and Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is the ultimate buddy comedy and perhaps romance (without the “romance”). Lorelai and Dorothy are so devoted to one another, with Dorothy even impersonating Lorelai at one point to get her out of a spot. I’ve read some other interpretations of the ending of this film, featuring the dual wedding of Lorelai and Dorothy, that the two women are actually marrying each other; but had to have the men in the scene due to the production code. While I don’t think there’s any romantic interest between Lorelai and Dorothy, these two women have a bond and a friendship. I also love that the ending features a chorus singing the “Diamond’s Are a Girl’s Best Friend” song. It reminds me of the ending of a Disney princess movie, just like the wedding ending. I’d like to think that Dorothy and Lorelai live happily ever after–regardless of how their respective marriages turn out.
Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe in the final scene
Along with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn would also make How to Marry a Millionaire and Niagara in 1953. If she had only made one of those films, she would have been an instant star; but she made all three. Aside from these films, Marilyn would also make an iconic appearance in The Seven Year Itch, a film that I don’t particularly enjoy, but there’s no doubt that Marilyn is fantastic in it and in my opinion, the only reason to watch it. Marilyn standing over the subway grate as her iconic pleated white halter dress flies up around her cemented her legacy as a Hollywood legend (much to husband Joe DiMaggio’s chagrin, but whatever). She would also appear in other films like Some Like it Hot and The Prince and the Showgirl.
DOROTHY: He looks like he’s going to explode.
ERNIE MALONE: What was that?
LORELAI: Just equal parts of Scotch, Vodka, Brandy, and Gin!
Jane Russell, Elliott Reid, and Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
By 1961, Marilyn had tired of her sexpot image and wanted to do drama. Sadly, her last completed film, The Misfits, proved that Marilyn could have asserted herself as a good dramatic actress. She was not just a lightweight blonde bombshell. She was an actress. Unfortunately, her life was cut short, perhaps mysteriously, perhaps not, but I don’t want to speculate here. Had she been able to go on, I think Marilyn would have shocked everyone as the 1960s wore on, and she’d aged out of her “Marilyn Monroe” image, and turned into a gritty, dramatic actress. However, because she wasn’t given the opportunity, and passed away at the age of 36 in 1962, Marilyn Monroe will forever be remembered as the ultimate blond bombshell. People still try to emulate her, but they’ll never be her–there’s only one Marilyn Monroe.
Lucy Ricardo does her best Marilyn Monroe impression to prove she looks more like her than Ethel does. Fred Mertz thinks he looks more like Marilyn than either Lucy or Ethel!
MARILYN MONROE: I’ve never liked the name ‘Marilyn.’ I’ve often wished that I held out that day for ‘Jean Monroe.’ But I guess it’s too late to do anything about it now.
Rick at the Classic Film and TV Cafe started National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, back in 2014, and it’s still going strong. I actually have tickets today to see Double Indemnity up on the big screen, but I’m trying to decide whether to go. I know this sounds sacriligious, especially today, but it is about a 1.5 hr round trip from my house to NE Portland, OR. Frankly, sometimes I’m just not feeling the drive, you know? I have also seen Double Indemnity in the theater before, even at Grauman’s Chinese Theater! I could also see it tomorrow too. So we’ll see. I may opt to celebrate National Classic Movie Day at home with Chinese takeout instead. Also in my defense, I saw two classic films in the theater last weekend–Casablanca and The Bad and the Beautiful.
The Classic Movie Blog Association provided all the members with a series of prompts to celebrate this occasion. At the risk of creating an incredibly long blog post, I am going to try and answer each prompt.
Edmond O’Brien and Lucille Ball in A Girl, A Guy and A Gob.
Your Favorite Hidden Film Gems
A Girl, A Guy and A Gob (1941). This is a great comedy starring my fave, Lucille Ball, a young Edmond O’Brien (another one of my faves, and in his second film!), and George Murphy. In this film, O’Brien plays Stephen Herrick, the wealthy boss of a large shipping company. Lucy plays Dot, a secretary who ends up working for Stephen. Unfortunately for them, there was no “meet cute” as the two had met a day or two prior in a tumultuous encounter at the theater. Stephen is part of the upper crust and is engaged to a woman who is obviously with him for the status and perks that his class brings her. He ends up meeting Dot’s more down to earth, albeit eccentric family, and is enchanted by how fun and carefree they live their lives. He and Dot start falling for each other–except she’s going with “Coffee Cup” (Murphy), a sailor whom she’s been dating forever.
The Devil and Miss Jones(1941). This is another great comedy from 1941 with another of my faves, Jean Arthur. In this film, Arthur plays the titular “Miss Jones,” her character’s first name is Mary. “The Devil” in the title refers to Charles Coburn’s character, John P. Merrick, the owner of the department store in which Mary works. At the beginning of the film, Merrick receives word that the employees at his store are trying to unionize. He decides to go undercover as “Thomas Higgins” and get a job at the store so he can discover who is instigating the unionization efforts. Higgins gets a job on the shoe floor selling slippers. He meets Mary and her co-worker/friend, Elizabeth (Spring Byington) and is quickly charmed by both–especially Elizabeth. He then meets Mary’s boyfriend, Joe O’Brien (Robert Cummings), and learns that he is the person behind the unionization campaign. However, at this point Merrick has developed a friendship with these employees and starts to sympathize with their cause. This film is very funny and charming.
Conflict (1945). This is a great, unsung film noir, that even the film’s star, Humphrey Bogart, disliked immensely. However, I disagree with Bogart and think that this is a great film. In this film, Bogart plays Richard Mason, husband to Kathryn (Rose Hobart). In the opening scene, we can see that there is trouble with the Masons. Kathryn nags Richard relentlessly, and even tells him he’s wrong about disliking mutton when he very pointedly says he hates it. However, the tension in their marriage isn’t due to mutton, it’s due to the fact that Richard is openly smitten with Kathryn’s sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith). Richard eventually comes up with a scheme to “off” Kathryn, and make it look like an accident. The plan seems to go off without a hitch. Family friend, Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet), however is suspicious as are the police. This is a great movie and the ending was done very well. While it might not be at the top of the Bogart canon of films, it’s a good movie. Bogart also played a wife murderer in a few films after this one–The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) with Barbara Stanwyck, which is also very good.
Out of the Blue (1947). This is an insane, but very funny movie. This film stars George Brent and Carole Landis as Arthur and Mae Earthleigh. The Earthleighs live in an apartment in New York City’s Greenwhich village. Their terrace is next door to bachelor David (Turhan Bey) who owns the very rowdy German Shepherd, Rabelais. David is also an artist and employs a lot of models to pose for him. His current muse is Deborah (Virginia Mayo), who also wants to breed her German Shepherd with his. Later, Mae goes out of town. Bored, Arthur goes to a bar where he meets Olive (Ann Dvorak), a woman who loves brandy, which she says helps soothe a heart condition. However, while the brandy may help Olive’s heart, it also causes her to pass out. In a questionable move for a married man, Arthur invites Olive to his home for brandy. Later, Arthur asks Olive to leave and she does. Until she reenters his home and passes out in his guest room, but not before redecorating the room! The next morning, he discovers Olive and accidentally knocks her down onto the floor. He thinks she’s dead; but she’s actually passed out. This starts a hilarious third act where Arthur, Deborah and David try to move Olive’s “body” around–all while the nosey old lady neighbors, including Elizabeth “Mrs. Trumbull” Patterson watch in shock.
That Funny Feeling (1965). This is a very funny movie starring power couple Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. Nita Talbot, Larry Storch, and Donald O’Connor provide excellent and hilarious support. In this film, Dee plays Joan Howell, an aspiring actress who makes a living as a maid, cleaning clients’ homes. Darin plays Tom Milford, a publishing executive. On three separate occasions, he and Dee run into each other (literally) at the neighborhood newstand. What Tom doesn’t know is that Joan is the maid who cleans his apartment. Tom’s boss, Harvey (O’Connor), is in the middle of a divorce and is using Tom’s apartment to hide some of his expensive oil paintings, so that they’re not taken from him during the divorce settlement. Harvey wants to send Tom away on a business trip for two weeks. Tom leaves a note for his maid, letting her know that he’ll be gone and requests additional cleaning. She decides to invite herself and friend Audrey (Talbot) to spend the two weeks at her client’s apartment, to getaway from their horribly crummy and cramped place. Tom’s business trip ends up being canceled. He takes Joan out on a date. When it comes time to take her home, Joan directs Tom to his apartment, telling her it’s her home. He is amused and confused, but decides not to come clean just to see how far she’ll go in her deception. At one point, Tom is with Joan and his friends and has to pretend that Harvey’s place is his new place, as they would recognize his place that Joan is pretending is hers. This movie is very funny–especially the part when Dee and Talbot attempt to make Duck a l’orange to disasterous results.
Virginia Mayo, Ann Dvorak, and Turhan Bey in Out of the Blue
2. How did you become a classic film fan and/or who introduced you to classic films?
I’ve always watched classic films, as they were just films. My family never considered movies “old,” they were just movies. My love for classic film really increased though in 1994 when I was 10, when I discovered I Love Lucy one night on my beloved Nick at Nite. I loved the show and especially loved Lucille Ball. My family also went to the library once a month. I discovered that my library had a lot of Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy, and everything adjacent. I read all of it. From these biographies about Lucy, I learned about her movie career. My library also just happened to have a large number of Lucy’s films available on VHS in their audio/visual department. I borrowed every single one. From Lucy’s films and I Love Lucy, I discovered even more favorites–Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, William Holden, Eve Arden… the list goes on. Then from seeing some of these stars’ movies, I discovered other favorite stars like Fred Astaire, Grace Kelly, Ann Blyth, etc. etc. Even 30+ years later, I’m still finding new favorites and I don’t anticipate that trend ending anytime soon.
Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Desi Arnaz, and Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy.
3. What is your favorite film memory?
Seeing Casablanca at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, completely packed house (almost 1000 seats), and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Another favorite film memory is seeing Barbarella in a sold-out house at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. The audience was completely entranced by the campfest that is Barbarella. One of the female attendees even dressed as Barbarella, which is admirable, because it was January in Oregon. Now THAT is dedication to cosplay.
Finally, another favorite memory is seeing Titanic on opening day in December 1997 when I was in the 8th grade. Me, my parents, my sister, my friends, my friend’s parents… at least 10 of us, filled most of an entire theater row at the now defunct Movieland in downtown Salem, OR (where I grew up). My mom worked a few blocks from the theater and went a week or two ahead of time to get the tickets. That was such a fun memory and I ended up seeing Titanic in the theater three times before it finally left the screens in late 1998.
4. What film(s) would you watch to introduce kids to classics?
I would probably choose a colorful, exciting film like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with my fave, Errol Flynn, or something colorful and funny like Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Kids, I’m sure would love Cosmo’s “Make ’em Laugh” dance where he does backflips off of the walls. I also think kids would like Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) because of Margaret O’Brien’s antics and for the bright colors and music.
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood
5. Talk about your favorite film era/decade/genre
I love the 1940s, it’s my favorite decade of my favorite era (Classic Hollywood) and it is also the peak of my favorite genre–film noir. I love the 1940s for the wartime, homefront movies. I love the advent of film noir and the switch from the glamorous escapist films of the 1930s to the shadow-filled, moody, sometimes derelict locations of film noir. The 1940s were also when another of my favorite genres, musicals, started to become popular with the emergence of Gene Kelly, another of my favorite stars. Two of my favorite films, Casablanca (1942) and Mildred Pierce (1945) came out during this era.
Ann Blyth and Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce
6. Create a watch list
I’ll admit that I’m not the watch list type. My letterboxd watch list contains exactly zero films. However, right now, these are the films I’m trying to watch, mostly because I got them from the library and need to return them:
1. Nights of Cabiria (1957) 2. Days of Heaven (1978) 3. The Twelve Chairs (1970) 4. Manhattan (1979) 5. The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) 6. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 7. Ishtar (1987) 8. Lonely Are the Brave (1962) 9. Swingers (1996) 10. Vanishing Point (1971) 11. Dangerous Liasions (1989) 12. Jerry Maguire (1996) 13. Money From Home (1953) 14. The Towering Inferno (1974)
7. Is there a film that has been passed down generations in your family?
Only films that my parents shared with me. I didn’t really grow up seeing extended family very often, mine lived halfway across the country from us.
8. Share any bucket list classic film you have
Besides allegedly lost films like Convention City (1932) and the full version of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), I need to watch the entirety of Gone with the Wind (1939). I’ve only seen the first half. I also sometime want to watch Cleopatra (1963) because of the legendary stories about the tumultuous filming. My “bucket list” films are going to be many of the very long films that are supposedly masterpieces.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra
9. What are your favorite classic film resources?
TCM (of course), My own physical media shelves, Criterion Channel, and the library–especially the Inter-Library Loan program.
10. What classic films do you long to see on the big screen?
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to see a lot of my favorite films on the big screen, including my all-time #1 favorite film, The Long Long Trailer (1954) which I’ve seen on the big screen twice. As for some of my other favorites that I haven’t been able to see on the big screen, I’d love to see The More the Merrier (1943), Funny Face (1957), Dark Passage (1947), and Gaslight (1944).
Charles Coburn and Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier
I’m not a big fan of war movies, however, what I do love are movies set against the backdrop of war, where a different story unfolds, something that isn’t just one battle scene after another. While there are films set during pretty much every war (some major, some minor), perhaps no other war inspired as many war films as World War II (1939-1945). While there were many films that focused on the individual WWII military campaigns, battles, prominent figures, etc. there were just as many films focused on the homefront in the United States after December 8, 1941, the day that the United States officially entered the war–the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It is these homefront films that I find more compelling and interesting than the films that just depict the military.
World War II was an era of great patriotism in the United States, citizens were encouraged to do their part to support the war effort. Hollywood stars used their celebrity to sell war bonds which helped to finance the United States’ military efforts. Star Carole Lombard was one of the war’s first American casualities when she died in January 1942 in a Nevada plane crash on her way home to Los Angeles from selling war bonds in her home state of Indiana. Other stars like Bette Davis and John Garfield formed the Hollywood Canteen to provide food, drinks and entertainment to the troops.
Ordinary citizens were issued ration stamps for both food and fuel to manage shortages of essential goods and supplies. Victory gardens were grown by countless families across the country as a way to reduce the strain on public food supplies. Women drew lines on the backs of their legs to simulate the seams of their stockings, because all nylon production was devoted to manufacturing parachutes and other war-related objects. Another way that citizens were asked to help the war effort was by offering up extra rooms in their homes to help alleviate the housing shortage. After the United States’ entry into World War II following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the government halted all non-essential construction projects, citing that all building materials were needed for the military effort. The subsequent housing shortage is the subject covered in one of my favorite comedies, Director George Stevens’ The More the Merrier, from 1943.
Jean Arthur keeps Charles Coburn on schedule.
In The More the Merrier, Jean Arthur plays Constance “Connie” Milligan who lives in a 2-bedroom apartment in Washington DC. To do her part for the war effort, she sublets out half of her apartment for $12/week ($229 in 2026) and puts out an ad. Retired millionaire Benjamin Dingle (Charles Coburn), who has arrived in DC two days early to discuss plans with a government bureaucrat to alleviate the housing shortage, answers Connie’s ad. Mr. Dingle lives by the mantra, “Damn the torpedos! Full speed ahead!” where he’s just going to go for “it” regardless of the potential consequences. It’s a great mantra, because frankly, sometimes you just have to take a risk (provided what you want to do isn’t illegal or harmful). Connie is reluctant to sublet half her apartment to a man, but relents after Mr. Dingle tells her a fictitious scenario where she rents her apartment to a dumpy looking roommate who is always dirty and insists on borrowing all her things. The next day, Mr. Dingle meets Sergeant Joe Carter (Joel McCrea) who needs somewhere to stay for a week while he waits to be shipped overseas. To help out Joe, Mr. Dingle sublets him half of his half for $6 ($114/week). Connie is not pleased.
MR. DINGLE: Well, any woman, no matter who, would insist upon borrowing that dress you got on right now. Because it’s so pretty. CONNIE: I made it myself. MR. DINGLE: And how would you like it if she spilled a cocktail all over it…at a party you couldn’t go with her to because she borrowed it to go to it in. CONNIE: She might have something I could wear. MR. DINGLE: Not her. CONNIE: Why not? MR. DINGLE: Because she’s so dumpy looking. Never has anything clean. That’s why she’s always borrowing your dresses.
Charles Coburn and Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier.
JOE: What do you do? MR. DINGLE: I’m a well-to-do retired millionaire. How about you? JOE: Same.
Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn in The More the Merrier.
MR. DINGLE: What’s your name? JOE: Carter. MR. DINGLE: Bill Carter? JOE: Joe Carter. MR. DINGLE: I used to know a party named Bill Carter. JOE: Wasn’t me. MR. DINGLE: Don’t you suppose I know that? JOE: What’d you ask for then? MR. DINGLE: Get you to know I know what Bill Carter looked like. JOE: Not like me. MR. DINGLE: Then you know Bill Carter? JOE: No I don’t. But he sounds like a great guy.
Charles Coburn and Joel McCrea in The More the Merrier.
MR. DINGLE: Oh. Maybe you think it is none of my business. JOE: Maybe I do. MR. DINGLE: Probably your name isn’t even Bill Carter. JOE: Probably not. It’s probably Joe Carter.
Charles Coburn and Joel McCrea in The More the Merrier.
Charles Coburn struggles to keep up with Jean Arthur’s extremely tight morning routine
The entire scene where Connie gives Mr. Dingle the lowdown on her schedule is hysterical and one of my favorite parts. First of all, Mr. Dingle is retired, why does he need to follow her schedule? Connie should just do her thing and leave him to do his. Second, Connie is an extremely efficient and organized woman. Here is the schedule that she gives to Mr. Dingle:
7:00am Connie’s alarm goes off, she and Mr. Dingle get up. 7:01am Connie goes into the bathroom. Mr. Dingle goes out to the hall to get the milk. 7:05am Mr. Dingle starts the coffee. 7:06am Connie leaves the bathroom. 7:07am Mr. Dingle enters the bathroom. 7:08am Connie starts to get dressed for the day. 7:11am Connie drinks her coffee. 7:12am Mr. Dingle leaves the bathroom. 7:13am Connie puts her eggs on the stove and finishes dressing while the eggs cook. Mr. Dingle puts on his shoes. 7:16am Connie takes her eggs off the stove. 7:17am Mr. Dingle starts shaving. 7:18am Connie eats her eggs. 7:21am Connie is in the bathroom fixing her hair. 7:24am Mr. Dingle is in the kitchen putting his eggs on the stove. 7:25am Mr. Dingle makes his bed. 7:26am Connie makes her bed. 7:27am Mr. Dingle eats his eggs, while Connie takes out the papers and cans. 7:29am Mr. Dingle washes the dishes. 7:30am Connie and Mr. Dingle are all finished, ready for the day. 7:32am Connie’s carpool comes to take her to work.
Jean Arthur meets Joel McCrea as matchmaker Charles Coburn looks on.
This woman does not leave herself much wiggle room in her schedule. 32 mins total from wake-up to carpool and in between she gets ready for work, has time to put on some sort of bed jacket while she eats her eggs, then puts on her actual work clothes, puts out her trash, and does the dishes! Mr. Dingle cannot keep up and has a hilarious scene where he accidentally brings the coffee into the shower with him.
Mr. Dingle quickly realizes that Connie and Joe are very compatible and should be together. The only person who stands in their way is Connie’s fiance of 22 months, Charles J. Pendergast (Richard Gaines), a 42-year old businessman who wears a terrible toupee and makes $8600/year ($164k in 2026), not too shabby. One of my favorite quotes in this movie comes in the scene where Joe and Mr. Dingle razz Connie about her relationship with Pendergast.
CONNIE: You look messy. Don’t you ever brush your hair? JOE: I s’pose Mr. Pendergast combs his hair every hour, on the hour. CONNIE: Mr. Pendergast has NO hair!
Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea in The More the Merrier.
Joel McCrea and Jean Arthur’s sexy scene on the stoop
Eventually, we know that the relationship between Connie and Mr. Pendergast is going to fizzle out. It has to! He is NO hunky Joel McCrea. We especially know that Connie and Joe will end up together after they share a very romantic scene on the front stoop of the apartment building. The scene between Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea on the stoop is one of the sexiest scenes in Classic Hollywood. Apparently, Arthur’s stage fright made her extremely nervous and anxious and she was having trouble with the scene. McCrea decided to ad-lib and distract her by nuzzling and touching her hands, shoulders and arms. Arthur’s nervousness is present, but it comes across as her character obviously becoming somewhat aroused by Joe’s actions, versus an actress nervous about shooting a scene.
CONNIE: What happened? Nothing. I’m not the kind of person anything happens to.
Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier.
There is also a scene with Morton (Stanley Clements) who may be the most annoying character ever committed to film. I hate this character. He’s too old to join the Scouts so who cares whether he’s the camp craft-type or not? I don’t want to talk about him any more because I hate him so much. However, his character does serve as the plot device that brings about the third act of the film–where Mr. Dingle is able to finish his scheme to bring Joe and Connie together.
Boo! The “L” must be for “loser.”
Charles Coburn won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, which I think his deserved, because he’s hilarious in this movie. Except when I see he beat Claude Rains for Casablanca, it’s hard to accept whether Coburn deserved the award instead of Rains. If only there’d been a tie. Coburn gets to do a lot of physical comedy in this film, one of my favorite bits being his reoccuring schtick with his suspendered-pants repeatedly getting caught on something and flying out the window.
Jean Arthur and Joel McCrea make for a great pairing. They appeared together in two other films aside from The More the Merrier, The Silver Horde (1930), and Adventure in Manhattan (1936). They have amazing chemistry together and McCrea was one of the few actors that could relax the notoriously anxious Arthur and calm her nerves. Arthur also has fun chemistry (thankfully not romantic) with Coburn, having memorably appeared with him earlier in 1941’s The Devil and Miss Jones. It also helps that Arthur and McCrea are very attractive people and make for an even more attractive couple.
Joel McCrea is fawned over by a bunch of women, including Ann Savage on his left.
There is a very funny scene where Connie and Joe dance together at a nightclub. They were just introduced by Mr. Pendergast after he is introduced to Joe courtesy of Mr. Dingle. Mr. Pendergast just happens to be the bureaucrat with whom Mr Dingle was planning to meet to discuss the housing shortage. After their dance, a group of Connie’s acquaintances (including an uncredited Ann Savage!) show up and fawn over Joe, and Connie is only too happy to show that he’s with her. I guarantee that they don’t fawn over Mr. Pendergast.
I would highly recommend this film as it features everything that I want in a film. It’s hilarious, it’s romantic, and it captures a unique moment in United States history. Why doesn’t this movie have a Blu Ray?! The More the Merrier also has great dialogue with Joel McCrea getting in a lot of funny sarcastic lines. The only blights on this film are McCrea’s comment about “being a Jap” to scare Morton away, and every single scene involving Morton. I loathe him.
I do love “Picnic” and who doesn’t want some beefcake on their page?
Director Otto Preminger’s The Moon is Blue (1953) is memorable for being featured in a 1982 episode of M*A*S*H, “The Moon is Not Blue.” M*A*S*H took place during the Korean War (1950-1953) and during this particular episode, Hawkeye and BJ try to obtain a copy of the newly released film, The Moon is Blue, having heard about its scandalous content. Upon finally viewing the film, the two men are dismayed about how innocent and non-salacious it was. One of the other characters states that a character did say “virgin,” and Hawkeye replies with “that’s because everyone was!”
This movie has a great poster!
The Moon is Blue, debuted on my birthday June 22, 1953, albeit 31 years before I was born. It was memorable for being the first film to be released into theaters nationwide, without PCA (Production Code Administration) approval. This was a landmark decision by United Artists (who distributed The Moon is Blue) and was the beginning of the end for the production code. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) starring Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak would follow suit a couple years later and also be released without PCA approval. The modern ratings system would come into play in 1968 and put an end to the production code once and for all.
Now why was The Moon is Blue so controversial? This film, based on the 1951 play of the same name, depicted the modern and progressive attitudes about sex exhibited by 22-year old Patty O’Neill (Maggie McNamara in her film debut). The Moon is Blue starts with a kicky (and corny) theme song and opening credits and then segues into a scene taking place inside the Empire State Building. We spot Patty, then we spot architect Don Gresham (William Holden) spotting Patty too. Immediately smitten, Don follows Patty up to the fabeled observation deck at the top of the Empire State Building.
William Holden, Maggie McNamara, David Niven
It’s immediately obvious to the audience that Don is putting on the charm and trying to pick up Patty and she allows him to try and pick her up. She’s not oblivious. He tells her that he paid for her ticket, he gets her to try and sew a button on his jacket, he gives her a dime for the telescope so she can get a closer look at New York… Don does everything. Eventually, he lowers the boom and invites Patty over to his apartment for dinner and drinks. This seems wildly dangerous to meet a stranger at his home, but it’s 1953, and Patty takes him up on it.
William Holden is knocked out by Maggie McNamara’s overprotective father, Tom Tully.
Throughout their conversation, Patty shares that she’s a virgin, but not because she’s pious or self-righteous or anything. She just hasn’t made the choice to have sex yet. Patty asks Don point blank if he’s trying to seduce her, to which he’s taken aback. However, it’s obvious that that was his intent. Patty’s frank talk about sex intrigues Don. When she discovers a photo of Cynthia (Dawn Addams), Don’s ex-fiancee, Patty asks him if Cynthia is his mistress. In 1953, a mistress was a sexual partner, not “the other woman.” Again, Don is somewhat shocked by Patty’s frankness and apparent lack of decorum when it comes to asking personal questions. Despite this however, Don finds Patty charming and interesting, and continues trying to seduce her.
Adding to the tension in the film is Don’s neighbor, David Slater (David Niven), who also happens to be Cynthia’s father. I do have to say that Niven’s casting is odd. In the film, he states that he’s 41, but Cynthia is stated to be older than Patty, who is 22. This means that David I guess was a teen father. This is the only weakness in the film, imo, I think Niven’s character should have been made older, or perhaps Cynthia maybe should have been another neighbor in the building. But I digress. David is presented as a bit of a playboy, who is always on the prowl. David discovers Patty’s attitudes re: sex and also makes it a mission to try and seduce her.
Cynthia, Don’s ex-fiancee, just can’t accept that the relationship is over.
Don eventually becomes frustrated with Patty. He more or less finds her a tease, and that she seems to have made her virginity her entire personality—it’s all she talks about. Patty tells Don that she won’t lose her virginity without marriage. She tells Don that men find virgins boring and prefer a life without monogamy. Patty expends a lot of effort informing Don that women are also sexual beings, to the point that Don asks her why she’s preoccupied with sex. Patty responds with a glib, “Don’t you think it’s better for a girl to be preoccupied with sex, than occupied?” Finally, Don has had enough and accuses Patty of being a “professional virgin.” This criticism is on the nose, maybe too on the nose, and Patty is offended. Don rubs salt in the wound by stating that someone who talks about their experience all the time probably doesn’t have any. This scene reminded me of Where the Boys Are (1960) where Merritt spends much of the film expelling various progressive philosophies about sex, only for us to discover that she’s all talk.
David Niven’s character, David, is an odd one. He’s not a particularly good character. He’s always trying to get Patty to “sin” by drinking or smoking–behaviors that she likens to high school, saying that it’s immature to do these things without having a craving. David is also always trying to seduce Patty, in fact, he proposes marriage to her within hours of meeting. Obviously, this was his desperate attempt to bed her by appealing to her virgin status. He is a lech throughout the film, and tells this horrible story about his ex-wife and hitting her with a hot muffin pan. However, he’s weirdly entertaining as well.
William Holden puts the moves on Maggie McNamara.
William Holden plays his usual type, however, he is very good and it’s easy to see why Patty would be so smitten. His character, Don, is handsome, has a good job, a nice apartment, and is charming. Don would obviously be a much better partner than David, since he’d probably be loyal. David would drop Patty the second someone else came along. Don also finds Patty’s attitudes about sex somewhat funny, even if he’s somewhat taken aback and shocked by them. There is also a funny scene where Don is watching TV and sees the “sophisticated actress” Patty, appearing in a “Chloro-foam Beer” commercial. Terrible beer title. “Chloro-foam, more like Boro-foam!” (to paraphrase Billy Madison).
Patty McNamara was United Artists’ attempt at finding their own Audrey Hepburn. McNamara had the pixie, gamine type quality of Hepburn, but she lacks the European sophistication, stature, and glamour of Hepburn. McNamara’s Patty was very young and sweet, but also naive despite her progressive views on sex. Patty reminded me very much of Debbie Reynolds’ character, Julie, in The Tender Trap (1955). In the film, Julie is also old-fashioned (or seems old-fashioned) and informs Frank Sinatra, David Wayne, and Celeste Holm, of her exact plan for her life–marriage, 3 children, life in the country, kids attending school in Scarsdale, NY. Both Patty and Julie seem to believe they’re mature when it comes to sex and marriage; but when conversing with older adults who have lived more life than they have, it’s obvious how immature they are.
David Niven and Maggie McNamara
The Moon is Blue is tame by today’s standards, even tame by 1982 standards when Hawkeye and BJ watched it in M*A*S*H. But it caused quite the scandal in 1953. Nice society just didn’t talk about seduction, mistresses, or virginity. Even in 1952, I Love Lucy was not allowed to say the word “pregnant,” despite Lucy Ricardo (and Lucille Ball!) being a married, pregnant, woman. Instead, she was ‘spectin. However, The Moon is Blue is an interesting time capsule of the early-to-mid 1950s and shows just how much the world was changing after World War II. Stars like Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Elvis Presley burst onto the scene in the 1950s and all of them shocked the country with their blatant shows of sexuality and sensuality–things that wouldn’t have been on the screen even just ten years prior. While The Moon is Blue is not a household name in the movie world, it is an important film as it was the first film to challenge the puritanical production code, and weaken its interference in filmmaking.
