The Major and The Minor

[Fossy]

While browsing I found Sue Sue Applegate`s posting of Jan 22 2010. I see that Sue Sue has taken her name from this movie. From the noms de plume in SSO, and the information gleaned from things said in SSO, I imagined what people were like. For instance, for Red River I imagine a cowboy riding along the Texas-Oklahoma border.
In your case Sue Sue, I had imagined you to be a middle aged school teacher. Having discovered the origin of your name I now know that you are young and beautiful.
On the subject of Diana Lynn, I think this is one of her best. She was just great in her earlier movies.
I have ten of her movies. I initially did not set out to collect her movies. She just happened to be in movies which featured other people I was collecting. For instance Gale Sherwood, Ginger Rogers, Susanna Foster and Betty Hutton.

[JackFavell]

Oh gosh, I am a big Diana Lynn fan, especially in this film and Miracle of Morgan's Creek. It's funny, because I just loved her right off the bat, and found out later that my dad had a huge crush on her when he was a kid, at the time the movie came out. He had good taste.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I am a big Diana Lynn fan, too, Jackie and Fossy.And if you adoreThe Major and The Minor, you will love Dear Ruth if you can ever find a decent copy of it.

I am a middle-aged schoolteacher! HA! I currently teach college English! Good guess...

"Just get out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini!"
And who else but Robert Benchley could say that line and make it sound so easy!

Here's Ginger Rogers telling Billy Wilder how she really felt about making The Major and The Minor:

[youtube][/youtube]
Champagne for everybody!

[CineMaven]

...On the subject of Diana Lynn, I think this is one of her best. She was just great in her earlier movies.
I have ten of her movies. I initially did not set out to collect her movies. She just happened to be in movies which featured other people I was collecting. For instance Gale Sherwood, Ginger Rogers, Susanna Foster and Betty Hutton.

Oh gosh, I am a big Diana Lynn fan, especially in this film and Miracle of Morgan's Creek. It's funny, because I just loved her right off the bat, and found out later that my dad had a huge crush on her when he was a kid, at the time the movie came out. He had good taste.

I am a big Diana Lynn fan, too, Jackie and Fossy. And if you adore The Major and The Minor, you will love Dear Ruth if you can ever find a decent copy of it...

I came to Diana Lynn a little ***-backwards because the very first time I saw her, was in "PAID IN FULL." She was so mean to Lizabeth Scott and spoiled rotten that I....gr-r-r-r. So everytime I saw Lynn subsequent to that, I didn't have the warm fuzzies about her. And I'm ashamed to say (( )) that I used to mix her up with Peggy Ann Garner. (( )) Ack! Peggy Ann caught some of my flack. ("BLACK WIDOW" - 1954 will be on today at NOON.)

So...because you guys are fans, and to throw some love Diana's way, I thought you might want to see an excerpt from Robert Regan's essay on "LOST WOMEN OF HOLLYWOOD" where he speaks about DIANA LYNN:

LOST WOMEN OF HOLLYWOOD
By: Robert Regan

The reason I still hold on to my printed reference books is to not lose the pleasure and sometimes enlightenment to be had from wandering across the page from one entry to another.

One thing that has struck me while doing this in Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s Companion is that the careers of women acting in movies tend to be shorter than those of the men. They usually start younger, but don’t last as long. Of course, there are notable exceptions such as Davis, Stanwyck, and Crawford: driven women surviving whatever changes in the nature of film production. But most of the women in film (this may be changing in our time) have faded away or retired after five years, ten if they have been lucky. The Lost Women of Hollywood mostly come from this largely forgotten majority, and they are people who made a particular impact in one or a few pictures, people for whom I, for one, regret losing so early.

This is an ongoing project of mine to which I will be adding regularly. My definition of Lost and of Hollywood will become clearer as more names are added to the list. Your definition may be as good as mine, and your suggestions are welcome...

DIANA LYNN (1926-1971) was in the movies for sixteen years, but her best parts came while she was still in her teens, and her two best pictures were at the beginning of the Paramount contact signed when she was fifteen. She played the real teen confidante of Ginger Rogers, the faux teen, in "The Major and the Minor" and Betty Hutton’s younger, smarter sister in "The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek." It is no surprise that the only directors who appreciated her sense of humor and gave her characters with a caustic wit were Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges. She had a pretty big hit in "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay" in which she and Gail Russell played memoirists Emily Kimbrough and Cornelia Otis Skinner, both of whom, some twenty years older, outlived the two young women who played them. As Lynn matured, there was no place in the post-war American cinema for a sassy, sarcastic young woman, and she was molded into a more conventional young lead, retaining only her quirky voice. There were a few decent parts in films by Ulmer, Sirk, and Wellman, and in "You’re Never Too Young", the Martin and Lewis remake of "The Major and the Minor", she was cast in the “heavy” role played by Lost Woman Rita Johnson in the original. There was stage work in California, New York, and London and a good deal of television which, ironically, included adaptations of movies that had been successful with other leading women, like "A Farewell to Arms", "The Philadelphia Story", and "The Seventh Veil". In 1971, she was retired and director of a New York travel agency, when her old studio Paramount offered her the role of Anthony Perkins’ wife in "Play It As It Lays". Shortly after she arrived back in Los Angeles, she suffered a stroke and died at the age of 45. Her part was played by Tammy Grimes, another Lost one.

These...are some of DIANA LYNN’s movies:

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Allen)
Ruthless (Ulmer)
Paid in Full (Dieterle)
Bedtime for Bonzo (de Cordova)
Meet Me at the Fair (Sirk)
Plunder of the Sun (Farrow)
The Kentuckian (Lancaster)

[Robert Regan]

Thanks, Theresa, for reminding me how much I like Diana Lynn. And more thanks for plugging my ongoing pet project Lost Women of Hollywood. If anyone wants to see what else I have done so far, just google "Robert Regan Lost Women", and Voila! I have a lost list of candidates to be added, but still let me know if there are people you would like to see up there.

[RedRiver]

While filming THE KENTUCKIAN, it's likely Miss Lynn stayed in my hometown. Most of the cast and crew did. My mom swore she saw John Carradine wandering about in an inebriated state. Mom was one to stretch a tale for entertainment value. But having heard of Carradine's lifestyle, the story is believable!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks for the information about Robert's blog, and doing your level best to give Diana Lynn a second chance, Mavester.

Robert, have you delved into the twists and turns of Rita Johnson's life? She was a wonderful role model for Cruella De Vil in The Major and The Minor!

[CineMaven]

Rita did a good job in Robert Young's "THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME."

[JackFavell]

All those mentioned were top notch actresses, Rita J., Gail Russell, and Diana Lynn, they just never were able to find a niche in Hollywood. I'll tell you, it makes my heart leap with joy to see them turn up in any movie. I like to think of these women as more character actors than leading ladies, because they had the great acting talent of the supporting players, just didn't fit quite in the usual bland leading lady roles. They made themselves fit where they could and had the chops to become huge stars, had the studios simply tailored some roles to their strengths.

I do wish that Diana Lynn had been able to continue as the too smart for her own good characters, instead of taking up what seem to be Martha Hyer's cast off roles. I had no idea she died so young, that's terrible.

[Fossy]

The first time I saw Diana Lynn was in the 1939 movie "They Shall Have Music", a movie about a school for musically gifted children. I did not recognise her, and in fact did not give her a second glance. This movie was bought to add to my Gale Sherwood collection, who at ten years old sang "Caro Nome" and "Casta Diva". The next time I saw Diana was in the 1941 movie "There`s Magic In Music aka The Hard boiled Canary" which was added to my Susanna Foster collection. This movie was about musical prodigies and was set in a camp situation. Diana appeared under her real name, again as a piano prodigy, and this time I paid attention.

At the start three of the prodigies were introduced, including twelve year old Dolly Loehr. She was the image of my wife at that age. It may have been the long hair, or perhaps the camera angle. I had to switch the movie off, and it took some time to get past the introductions. In later movies the resemblance became less apparent.

[Fossy]

I said,
In your case Sue Sue, I had imagined you to be a middle aged school teacher. Having discovered the origin of your name I now know that you are young and beautiful.

Sue Sue Said
I am a middle-aged schoolteacher! HA! I currently teach college English! Good guess...

Being a gentleman I will ignore your reply and imagine you to still be young and beautiful.

An interesting aside, one of my granddaughters taught English for five years in Japan. She is back in Australia teaching Japanese, but is going back to Japan next year to teach English again. You will appreciate this. When she was first introduced to her class in Japan the children stood, clapped, and then bowed. I doubt if this could happen anywhere else in the world.

[feaito]

Thanks, Theresa, for reminding me how much I like Diana Lynn. And more thanks for plugging my ongoing pet project Lost Women of Hollywood. If anyone wants to see what else I have done so far, just google "Robert Regan Lost Women", and Voila! I have a lost list of candidates to be added, but still let me know if there are people you would like to see up there.

Hi Bob! Great selection. I loved your choices. Last night I saw a film with Helen Chandler and she was indeed an ethereal, unique and gifted actress.What about Helen Vinson, Nancy Carroll, Mary Nolan, Kay Johnson, Rose Hobart, Franciska Gaal and Helen Twelvetrees?

Best of Lucks!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks, Fossy!

When I taught Spanish, I would often have students stand and greet me in Spanish like they often did at some schools I visited in Mexico. It's such a wonderful feeling! It was a highly entertaining job to have, and I loved it!

[Robert Regan]

No, SueSue, I haven't gotten to Rita Johnson yet, though I had better do it soon, as she is one the Maven's favorites.

Wendy, as I am the father of two smart and sassy girls, you can imagine how much I like Morgan's Creek! And it is Diana Lynn who adds the spice to the stew! As to my two sassy ones, Theresa just saw them for the first time since they were little girls, and I believe she was bowled over! Your remarks, Wendy, on Johnson, Russell, and Lynn hit the nail right on the head. The studios did not know what to do with a unique woman who did not fit their conventional definition of a leading lady. Like most of us here, I love the "good old days", but I must say that there are more opportunities today for women who are different and with an off-beat look. I love people for their imperfections as well as their "finer" traits, and I'm so glad that no one was able to "do something" about Rachel Weisz's nose or Reese Witherspoon's chin. Yes, Norma Desmond, we still have faces!

Fealto, you're right about Helen Chandler. What was the film with her you just saw? And yes, the seven actresses you mention are all on my long list of candidates for Lost Women of Hollywood! Gotta get back to work on that soon, or my college friend Theresa will never speak to me again!

[CineMaven]

If you need an Admin. Ass't., I'm your gal Friday. Now get back to work!