Ann Sothern as TCM Star of the Month
Posted: March 18th, 2015, 9:57 am
As most people know, the down-to-earth and rather lovely Ann Sothern has been celebrated as TCM''s Star of the Month in March, with many of her earliest and more obscure films being featured each Wednesday evening. Pre-codes, musicals, dramas, comedies, film noirs, film and television series--heck, she was one workhorse! Tonight on TCM features two decades' worth of her appearances at three different studios. More about Annie and her many movies can be seen here on the TCM site.
Do you have a favorite Sothern movie?
Mine is a tossup between Swing Shift Maisie (1943) and Gold Rush Maisie (1940), which aired last week on TCM and are available on DVD. The latter movie followed the iconic working class show biz veteran as she becomes acquainted with a family of Okies looking to strike it rich and hanging on by their fingernails. It didn't hurt to have Virginia Weidler as the central character's little pal in this hardscrabble family. This and all the other picaresque adventures of Maisie are available on DVDs. Here's tonight's lineup of films:
8:00 PM
NANCY GOES TO RIO (1950)
Mother-and-daughter singers compete for the same role and the same man.
Dir: Robert Z. Leonard Cast: Ann Sothern , Jane Powell , Barry Sullivan .
C-100 mins, CC,
9:45 PM
APRIL SHOWERS (1948)
A family vaudeville act is torn apart by the father's drinking problem.
Dir: James V. Kern Cast: Jack Carson , Ann Sothern , Robert Alda .
BW-94 mins, CC,
11:30 PM
PANAMA HATTIE (1942)
A nightclub owner in Panama takes on Nazi spies.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod Cast: Red Skelton , Ann Sothern , "Rags" Ragland .
BW-79 mins, CC,
1:00 AM
LADY BE GOOD (1941)
Married songwriters almost split up while putting on a big show.
Dir: Norman Z. McLeod Cast: Eleanor Powell , Ann Sothern , Robert Young .
BW-112 mins, CC,
3:00 AM
WALKING ON AIR (1936)
A girl torments her parents by hiring a phony suitor.
Dir: Joseph Santley Cast: Gene Raymond , Ann Sothern , Jessie Ralph .
BW-70 mins,
4:15 AM
HOORAY FOR LOVE (1935)
A playboy student backs a musical show.
Dir: Walter Lang Cast: Ann Sothern , Gene Raymond , Bill Robinson .