MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

[movieman1957]

Being late to the Thanksgiving watching (or early to the Christmas watching) I think all of the Peanuts specials are on Apple +. My Bride bought us the Thanksgiving Peanuts special and so wanted to replicate their menu but alas, we went more traditional.

[Hibi]

The second evening of last month's cabaret convention in New York was a tribute to Doris Day. 2023 is the 100th anniversary of Doris' birth. Rex Reed was upset that there was no general recognition of this--no special events, no documentary, no TV show--so he hosted this second of three evenings at the convention. After the first night's program devoted entirely to Kurt Weill, which included too much being sneered at in German, everyone was looking forward to Doris Day songs.

Unfortunately, Rex Reed's evening could have been: 1) better curated (no songs from the great albums You're My Thrill and Day by Night, no "Little Girl Blue"); 2) better hosted (Reed did not keep the show flowing, and he told every biographical detail about the sadness and abuse in Doris Day's life, most of which was totally unnecessary); and 3) better cast. We did hear the great Marilyn Maye singing "With a Song in My Heart," and some of the others were fine, but there were fewer singers than the other two evenings, and the overall quality was lower. In addition, Mr. Reed performed two of the songs himself. There were two schools of thought: 1) Rex Reed is not a very good singer; 2) what Rex Reed did should not be called singing.

One can understand why Doris Day found MIDNIGHT LACE painful to make, given the abusive men in her life. And Rex Reed was absolutely right to be upset about their not being celebrations of her 100th birthday--I think this shows how knowledge of her work is beginning to slip out of the general culture. Even a singer friend of mine wasn't familiar with any Doris Day songs except "Secret Love" and "Que Sera, Sera." As I hope everyone else here knows, Doris was a superb singer of the "art that conceals art" variety, the kind which would not get you very far on THE VOICE or AMERICAN IDOL.

For years no one was really sure of Miss Day's birth year. Like many celebrities, she (or her agents, or the studio's publicity departments) fudged the dates a bit. I thought it was 1922?

Yes, it was 1922. Rex was a bit late.

[Hibi]

MIDNIGHT LACE tonight!! Do not miss!! An underrated campy classic!!

The red herrings are so obvious....

Creepy opening -- "Mrs. Preston!"

Doris Day's hysterical breakdown in the lift is memorable but for all the wrong reasons.

Myrna Loy takes what looks like about 93 pieces of luggage as she prepares to visit niece Doris in London.

Damn! I meant to watch it again, but forgot! But I did watch the far superior Wait Until Dark earlier in the evening.

[Hibi]

Is it true Doris was offered the role of Mrs. Robinson in THE GRADUATE, and was also considered, along with Lucille Ball, for THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE as Raymond Shaw's mother?

EXORCIST ALERT! EXORCIST ALERT! Coming up at 8 p.m. this evening, Eastern Standard Time.

I'd never heard about Manchurian Candidate (I doubt that and it wasn't even a leading role) but it IS true she was offered Mrs. Robinson, but turned it down not wanting to offend her fans. It's too bad as it could've completely changed her image and I think she could've been very effective in the role.

[Hibi]

Rex Reed was upset that there was no general recognition of this--no special events, no documentary, no TV show--so he hosted this second of three evenings at the convention.

Omigod, I thought Rex Reed had died years ago! Oops, sorry Rex.

And didn't Doris Day start out singing in a famous band? Her breakout into show biz was as a velvety voiced singer.

Yes, Doris started as a band singer. She was originally concerned that her movie career would interfere with her band singing. Unfortunately, after her movie career stalled, she never did anything like the Songbook series that Ella Fitzgerald recorded for the top composers of popular songs. Doris Day's earlier recordings of "Little Girl Blue," "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" show that she was a particular fine interpreter of Rodgers & Hart.

Yes, her recording career ended about the same time her movie career did. She packed it all in and retired after her tv show ended. (except for some song recordings made for her tv animal show that were released towards the end of her life). It's too bad.

[CinemaInternational]

I had heard something once, I don't know if it was just a rumor, or if it really was something that never got off the ground, but I heard that Doris had been cast in a version of the dark Sondheim musical Follies, that never ended up getting done. Her costars were to have been Elizabeth Taylor (in the role played on stage by Alexis Smith), Gene Kelly, and Robert Preston....

[Hibi]

I hadn't heard that one. I know there was talk in the 70s of MGM financing a film adaptation set in Hollywood with older stars in supporting roles (Bette Davis etc.) with the Broadway leads and Harold Prince directing, but MGM pulled out and it was never made. I can't imagine Liz in the Alexis Smith role dancing and high kicking! But I could see Doris in the Dorothy Collins role singing Losing My Mind.

[Bronxgirl48]

Speaking of birth dates, I am now THOROUGHLY confused as to Angela Lansbury's age when she made GASLIGHT. The movie premiered in 1944. Angela was born in 1925. Supposedly she was 17 during production but that would mean GASLIGHT was filmed in 1942.

Someone help!!

[Bronxgirl48]

MIDNIGHT LACE tonight!! Do not miss!! An underrated campy classic!!

The red herrings are so obvious....

Creepy opening -- "Mrs. Preston!"

Doris Day's hysterical breakdown in the lift is memorable but for all the wrong reasons.

Myrna Loy takes what looks like about 93 pieces of luggage as she prepares to visit niece Doris in London.

Damn! I meant to watch it again, but forgot! But I did watch the far superior Wait Until Dark earlier in the evening.

Aww, too bad, because MIDNIGHT LACE is much more fun. I'm sure it'll come around again, maybe in April, Doris' birth month.

[Bronxgirl48]

Being late to the Thanksgiving watching (or early to the Christmas watching) I think all of the Peanuts specials are on Apple +. My Bride bought us the Thanksgiving Peanuts special and so wanted to replicate their menu but alas, we went more traditional.

Hi, Chris! I had Snoopy's popcorn! (but no jam sandwiches)

[CinemaInternational]

Speaking of birth dates, I am now THOROUGHLY confused as to Angela Lansbury's age when she made GASLIGHT. The movie premiered in 1944. Angela was born in 1925. Supposedly she was 17 during production but that would mean GASLIGHT was filmed in 1942.

Someone help!!

Gaslight opened in May 1944, and Lansbury's 19th birthday was not until October 1944, so she was still 18 when it was released. It's all a question of how long before its release the movie was filmed. Lansbury turned 18 on October 16, 1943, so if she was indeed 17 while filming, it had to have been filmed in the summer or late autumn of 1943.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Speaking of birth dates, I am now THOROUGHLY confused as to Angela Lansbury's age when she made GASLIGHT. The movie premiered in 1944. Angela was born in 1925. Supposedly she was 17 during production but that would mean GASLIGHT was filmed in 1942.

Someone help!!

Gaslight opened in May 1944, and Lansbury's 19th birthday was not until October 1944, so she was still 18 when it was released. It's all a question of how long before its release the movie was filmed. Lansbury turned 18 on October 16, 1943, so if she was indeed 17 while filming, it had to have been filmed in the summer or late autumn of 1943.

My understanding is that the making of Gaslight took place shortly after Bergman had completed shooting For Whom the Bell Tolls (for Paramount) in the first half of 1943. MGM could have released Gaslight in the winter of 1943, but MGM didn't wish to until after the Oscars. Bergman was nominated for Best Actress for FWTBT, which raised Berman status as the new younger generation "IT" actress (instead of the older superstars Garson and Davis).

MGM released Gaslight in May 1944, it was a major box-office hit and Bergman was nominated again, and this time won, increasing her profile as well as profits for the film. In 1945 Berman was nominated again for The Bells of St. Mary (RKO) thus now placing her at the top of the pack, with Garson's last 40s nomination in 1945 and Davis' in 1944.

Yea, timing is everything!

[Swithin]

Some comments made by Angela Lansbury may be slightly relevant here:

"In the Spring of 1943, I was taken to MGM to meet the casting director of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I had never before stepped inside a studio and was both awed and nervous at the same time. My mother, Moyna MacGill, accompanied me. A young actor named Michael Dyne, who was being considered for the role of Dorian, arranged the meeting. When the moment came for the meeting, we were ushered into the office of Mel Ballerino. He was very pleasant and said yes, indeed the studio was looking for a young actress to play the tragic Sybil Vane, and could I sing? I said, yes, I believed I could handle the little song that had been described to me. While I was waiting to be taken to meet the producer, Sandro S. Berman, another man entered the office. He was introduced to my mother and me as Billy Grady. He asked me how old I was and mentioned that the producer and director of the movie Gaslight, which was to star Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer, were desperately looking for a young girl to play Nancy, the maid, and that he'd like to take me then and there to meet George Cukor, the director. My mother and I were shocked and thrilled by all the attention we were receiving. Here I was, seemingly up for two important roles, in two major MGM productions, and only the week before I had been working at the cosmetics counter of a local department store! Well, the long and the short of it was, I played both roles, starting off with Nancy in Gaslight."

[Hibi]

MIDNIGHT LACE tonight!! Do not miss!! An underrated campy classic!!

The red herrings are so obvious....

Creepy opening -- "Mrs. Preston!"

Doris Day's hysterical breakdown in the lift is memorable but for all the wrong reasons.

Myrna Loy takes what looks like about 93 pieces of luggage as she prepares to visit niece Doris in London.

Damn! I meant to watch it again, but forgot! But I did watch the far superior Wait Until Dark earlier in the evening.

Yes, they seem to show it regularly, so I'm not too miffed.













Aww, too bad, because MIDNIGHT LACE is much more fun. I'm sure it'll come around again, maybe in April, Doris' birth month.