Sue Sue's TCM Film Festival Tidbit Travel Blog

[JackFavell]

Hey can someone take notes on the carl Davis/Kevin Brownlow talk and report back here?


Do you think Cari Beauchamp will go into any more depth than her book, I'd love to hear more about Frances Marion. And does she pronounce it Beaushamp or Beecham?

[JackFavell]

Thanks so much, kingrat! I know that's not written in stone that you are definitely going, but if you do, I'd love to hear about it!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

The HRH pool will never be the same! Mitzi dishes cheesecake
with TCMFF 2013 passholders on Thursday, April 25!

Franchesca Marlene Czanyi von Gerber left Chicago with her family
and traveled to Hollywood on the advice of her dance teacher,
Madame Kathryn Etienne, who recognized her talent early on.
Her mother, a dancer, and her father, a violinist and music director,
must have thought Madame Etienne knew what she was talking
about, and by the age of thirteen or so, Miss Mitzi was singing and
dancing with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera company. But she didn't
marry the wrong man from the Civic Light Opera company and
find herself stranded in Paris like Victoria Grant in Blake Edward's
famous 1982 film. By the 1954, von Gerber had already been dubbed Mitzi
Gaynor by those savvy Fox executives who first offered her a seven year
contract way back when.

In 1954 she married Jack Bean, talent agent, and the love of her life
who managed her career and her heart for 52 years. What a sweet
"run of the play," faithful contract was that?

She appeared with her childhood idols Betty Grable and Dan Dailey in 1950s
My Blue Heaven, a film where Dan Dailey sings "Friendly Island," a parody
of South Pacific, which would foreshadow Gaynor's most critically
acclaimed film role. Appearing with Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor,
and Ethel Merman in There's No Business Like Show Business, the
set had a little backstage drama of its own as Dan Dailey was dating Donald
O'Connor's estranged wife. After the film, Dailey and O'Connor's ex-wife
married, but the big buzz on the MGM lot had over 1,000 employees and
onlookers on hand to watch O'Connor and Monroe's onscreen kiss.

Les Girls (1957) paired her with dancing legend Gene Kellly, the last film Kelly
starred in until That's Entertainment, and the last film ever in which Cole Porter
was employed. The most romantic kiss Gaynor ever gave on screen, however, must
belong to the man who played Emil de Becque in South Pacific, Rosanno Brazzi,
and the sales of the original cast album supposedly rewarded Gaynor more handsomely
than her fee for appearing in the movie!

If you are "Ditzy" for Mitzi, don't miss her "once in a lifetime"
appearance at the Turner Classic Movie Festival 2013 as she graces the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Pool where former costar Monroe posed for
iconic photos. Bubbly, effervescent Gaynor shares her comments with
South Pacific castmate France Nuyen.

Still sparkling in a Bob Mackie creation, Mitzi Gaynor is yet wowing
them in a touring production entitled "Razzle Dazzle" My Life Behind
the Sequins, written and developed by Miss Gaynor.


Links! We've got links!
Mitzi's website: http://missmitzigaynor.com/index.html
(Her next gig after the TCMFF 2013 is in October in Escondido, according to the calendar. What a trouper!)
Interview at Academy of AmericanTelevision archives:
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews ... tzi-gaynor

[Rita Hayworth]

Great Pictures and Write Up on Mitzi Gaynor - I loved her Television Specials in the glory days of Television and RAZZLE DAZZLE is on top of the list. She is quite an entertainer and loved her dancing with flair and high energy too.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thanks, kingme!

[sandykaypax]

Lovely post on Mitzi Gaynor. I love her Les Girls and South Pacific, especially. Wish I could go to the festival and see her.

Sandy K

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thank you, Sandy!

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Apple pie a la mode, anyone?

A delectable dessert and a delicious delivery is something everyone
expects from a screening of Mildred Pierce. The picture of a happy
family? Not really. A woman who is determined to succeed in an apron
and a man who financially flounders is not the recipe for suburban
tranquility, but it does cook up a delicious story.
And part of the reason it's such tasty fare is Ann Blyth.

Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce (1947)

Yes, Joan Crawford was certain that Mildred Pierce was her forte, and
possibly the threshold of the final act of a successful career. Maybe
that was why she was participated in the screen tests for other
principal roles. Maybe Crawford wanted to be sure herself, and have her
say in who would take center stage with her in the last great gem of
her "studio" career.

James M.Cain's original "pulp fiction," purchased in 1944 when Jack
Warner gave the go ahead after producer Jerry Wald's flashback inducing
revamp added more "morality" to the tale to meet Breen Office
standards, mirrored Lucille Le Sueur's own working gal background before
she became JOAN CRAWFORD.

According to rumors, Ann Sheridan was interested in Mildred's
character, and so was Ann Rutherford. Director Michael Curtiz
supposedly preferred Barbara Stanwyck in the titled role.Virginia
Weidler, and even Shirley Temple were considered for the role of Veda,
sans a good ship full of lollipops. But it wasn't in the cards. The
cupcake with the goods, however, was Ann Blyth.

A member of Manhattan's Children's Professional School and New York' s
Children's Opera Society, by the time Blyth was touring in Lillian
Hellman's Watch on the Rhine in the Los Angeles area, Universal
director Henry Koster recognized her talent with a screen test, and her
first film role, Chip Off The Old Block (1944) with veteran hoofer
Donald O'Connor.

Blyth among the blooms...

Evidently, the Crawford steel considered Blyth's screen test serious
mettle, and emoted for the practice run, ensuring that Blyth's spirit
graced Veda's costumes with her vitriol, and movie history was made
for Crawford, Jack Carson, Eve Arden, and Blyth.

Eve Arden, Zachary Scott, and Blyth...

Arden's ever-snippy, often philosophic Ida Corwin insured her status as supporting
professional sidebar into the sixties, as in her Anatomy of a Murder(1959) portrayal
of Maida, which helped Jimmy Stewart stumble and bumble to a courtroom climax.

After her success in Mildred Pierce, Blyth's talent afforded her high
profile roles in The Helen Morgan Story (1957), The Great Caruso(1951), Rose
Marie(1954), The Student Prince(1954), and Kismet(1955).

She also ventured forth in a light comedy with William Powell called Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid where she laughed, giggled, but had little or no dialogue.But that is not William Powell hoisting Blyth. Filming Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, veteran character actor Glenn Strange obviously enjoyed lunching with Blyth and they both knew a good photo op when presented with a see-worthy opportunity...

At a perky 5'2", men just like to carry her around!
This is what her lovely legs look like without her mermaid costume
as she's photo-opped with Rock Hudson...

After marrying Dr. James McNulty in 1953, and having five children,
Blyth focused more on her stage and musical career, but in 1954, she
shocked members of the Academy Award ceremony by performing "Once I Had
a Secret Love," Doris Day's showcase song from Calamity Jane while
seven months pregnant. At that time, Lucy and Desi couldn't even say
"pregnant" on the air while they were rushing to the hospital for
"Little Ricky's" heralded television birth. Later a spokeswoman for Hostess,
Blyth has spent much of her time and resources on various charities.

Don't miss Ann Blyth at the screenings of Mildred Pierce and Kismet at the TCMFF 2013!

Last year's schedule was released 14 days before the festival, so we should have one soon...

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Kingrat, I received my pass in the mail Thursday of last week. And, yes, those tough decisions are coming. Last year it was two weeks before the opening date. I predict a little earlier release this year. Maybe this week?

Another festival attendee is warming up his blog on his "Route 66" to the TCMFF 2013: http://davekicksitonroute66totcmiv.word ... mountains/

I try to prioritize, but I usually don't make any final decisions until the official schedule release.

[Rita Hayworth]

Man, those prices of desserts ... 20 cents for a Strawberry Shortcake sounds mighty good ... I remember hearing about these prices when I talked to my great aunts, grandparents, and great grand-parents back in their days. My Grandmother boasted at one time that she had (went to thrift store) a complete outfit that cost her $0.95 ... Summer Dress, Shoes, Undergarments (the works), and Stockings for that price including a Straw Hat. It was her shopping outfit for the Summer on a Saturdays and she often wore that to Picnics, etc.

[moira finnie]

Nice take on Ann Blyth's career, Christy. I really hope you Festival Attendees get to see this actress in person. I'd love to hear her discuss the great filmmakers and performers she worked with over the years. It would also be fun to hear her take on her classic Twilight Zone appearance and her memorable dual role on Wagon Train too!

Just a quick additional mention of a couple of Ann Blyth flicks that few people seem to know about. I think that they are often more entertaining than her best known movies--though nothing could ever come close to her satisfyingly demonic performance in Mildred Pierce:

Thunder on the Hill (1951-Douglas Sirk):
One of the director's quieter, thoughtful black and white dramas made prior to his more popular Universal films. This movie, set in an English convent during a flood, gave Blyth a chance to play a defiant murderess on her way to her execution. Her emotional journey over the course of a few days is quite well done, though it is not a great film. Claudette Colbert and Gladys Cooper are very good as nuns with plenty of attitude. The film's conclusion may well have influenced Hitchcock when he made Vertigo. This film is on DVD from TCM via Movies Unlimited, though it never seems to show up on television anymore.

Sally and Saint Anne (1953-Rudolph Maté):
An endearingly corny and disarming little movie about how magical thinking and simple faith shapes the life of a schoolgirl (a convincing Ann Blyth who matures throughout the movie, physically if not spiritually). She seeks favors from Saint Anne for her family and friends' needs with an occasional wish for her own life. Blyth hits the right naive notes as the girl throughout the film without letting the gossamer story turn to treacle. Her efforts are strongly boosted by the presence of the gifted Edmund Gwenn, John McIntire, and Frances Bavier as well. This movie never shows up on the tube either, though places such as ioffer may have DVD-r copies available.

The Helen Morgan Story (1957-Michael Curtiz):
Love Me or Leave Me meets I'll Cry Tomorrow in this edited version of the great '20s singer's tough rise and harder, longer fall from grace thanks to booze and bad choices. Ann Blyth captures much of the vulnerability that the diminutive Helen Morgan projected and enacts her singing with considerable eloquence, (Blyth was lip-synced by Gogi Grant, whose smokier notes were chosen over Blyth's own lilting, formally trained voice). A very young Paul Newman as a likable hood who loves and leaves Morgan, the stolid Richard Carlson (apparently on a sabbatical from his many turns in sci-fi hell), and Alan King (doing a near-perfect George Tobias imitation) are also along for the ride. This movie is readily available on DVD.

[CineMaven]

Apple pie a la mode, anyone?



...Yes, Joan Crawford was certain that Mildred Pierce was her forte, and possibly the threshold of the final act of a successful career. Maybe that was why she participated in the screen tests for other principal roles. Maybe Crawford wanted to be sure herself, and have her say in who would take center stage with her in the last great gem of her "studio" career...

What a wonderful encapsulation of ANN BLYTH's career by you, SueSue. I'm looking at those other casting choices you listed, and though I like several of those actresses named, I think the version of "MILDRED PIERCE" that we all know and love, was perfectly cast. I'm thinking of movies that featured Mothers & Daughters ( "STELLA DALLAS" to name just one ) where the casting of both parts is crucial to these films' success; a high-wire act that's all about give and take. And if an actress...a star...a diva, can get out of her own way, and think of the other gal, it results in both she and that younger actress looking good. "Mildred Pierce" is one of the greats of "The Golden Era of Hollywood" and I look forward to sitting in a packed theatre looking up at a big screen, the way movies are intended to be viewed. Everyone will be splendidly spellbound by the performances of Joan Crawford and Ann Blyth. I'm sure one will be able to hear a pin drop, in between applause points, that is. That's how audiences roll at the TCMFF: quiet respect and awe. Having Ms. Blyth there is just the cherry on top of it all. I can't wait.

...And three cheers for the incomparable EVE ARDEN. Long may she wave...and drip with delicious bon mots.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Thank you all for your kind words!

Moira, I thoroughly enjoyed The Helen Morgan Story but haven't seen the other two films you mentioned. Happy to read your comments!

Cinemaven, long may Eve wave. I developed my "killer" instructor glance because of Eve Arden, and I can't wait to see Ann Blyth!