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...