Day 6 and Day 7 - Lucille Ball and Ginger Rogers

Today must be bombshell day, and I'm not talking about the stereotypical blond-haired sexpots.  I'm talking about bombshell actresses in the sense that they took the stage (and the set) by storm.  Following on my post about the tough-talking Jane Russell who reminds me of a female Robert Mitchum, I move on to two of the hardest working actresses of their time - Lucille Ball and Ginger Rogers.  Now, while this combination might seem a bit odd for a film post, I should preface it with the fact that yesterday, August 6, 2011, was Lucille Ball's 100th birthday.  To celebrate, TCM named her their star of the day (in their month long Summer Under the Stars program) and showed a wonderful classic called Stage Door, which also features the amazingly talented Ginger Rogers AND also incredible Katharine Hepburn (about whom I could write so much, she'll have to wait until I have the time to dedicate an entire post to her).  So to try and make some sense of this combination (read as: Amanda is way too busy to post every day!) blog update, here's how it'll go - first, I'll talk about Stage Door, then Lucy, then Ginger.  Got it?  Let's go!

Stage Door

Now, I've never seen the play Stage Door, which I've heard is vastly different from the film.  However, I can't imagine it any different - or any better - than it is in this sizzling 1937 movie.  It revolves around the lives of struggling actresses all living together in a boarding house.  The main leads, wise-cracking Jean (Ginger Rogers) and newly arrived actress Terry (Katharine Hepburn), at first hit it off, but their gentle ribs turn brutal once Jean's producer-boyfriend ditches her for Terry, to whom he gives the lead in his new play.  Jean isn't the only one crushed by it - soft-spoken actress Kay also feels the blow as she's been without work and lobbying for that role for a year.  The banter between the boarding house girls, including familiar faces Lucille Ball and Ann Miller, is fast-paced and funny, but it's all just a cover for the suffering of broken-hearts and between-jobs hunger.  It gets so bad, severely depressed Kay commits suicide on Terry's premiere opening-night.  All in all, the girls carry on in the tradition of the theater and find friendship in an industry fraught with enemies.  What I love about Stage Door is the chemistry between the girls.  At the time, Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers were both the queen bee at RKO Pictures, so putting them into a film together was a guaranteed hit.  They are both such fine actresses on their own, but add in the great comedic and musical talents of Ball and Miller and it's a show-stopper.  Even relatively unknown actress Andrea Leeds gives a heart-rending performance as Kay.  It's an almost exclusively female cast, but these are independent women - witty, smart, talented and a please to watch over and over again.

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball has been called one of the hardest working women in the entertainment field.  Off camera she was known to be all business, and judging from her massive contributions to film and television, it's not hard to believe.  I was happy to hear of the big celebrations for her 100th birthday yesterday and I wish I had been able to take part in the festivities.  Lucy was an icon even in her own time.      

Lucille Ball (left), Eve Arden (I think?) and Andrea Leeds waiting hopefully for a meeting with a producer.  Stage Door (RKO Pictures, 1937)

I think it's that can-do, all-business attitude that really makes Lucy such a force to be reckoned with.  It was hard enough in Hollywood to break into the movies as a leading lady and perhaps even harder in comedy, since no one could take you seriously.  But Lucy proved them wrong and went from the supporting cast (in films like Stage Door) to leading roles.  Soon she was in films like Du Barry Was a Lady (a favorite film in the TCM crossword puzzles), where she held her own with (and probably out-witted!) comedic great Red Skelton.  With the development of television in the fifties, Lucy, unlike some stars of her time, wanted in on it and from 1951 to 1957 created one of the most well-loved and often-imitated characters - Lucy Ricardo.  She was a pioneer in many senses of the word, being the first woman to show her pregnant figure on television and the first woman to own her own film production company and studio.  Although she and Desi Arnaz split in 1960, I've read that they had trouble during the the fifties, which may have been part of the reason they ventured into both I Love Lucy and Desilu Productions together.  Whatever their personal lives, you couldn't tell when you watched the show - that's called good acting.  Lucy's gifts on screen were her sense of presence and amazing comedic delivery.  Her timing and her willingness to take risks along the lines of slapstick are legendary.  I doubt there is any comedian today who has not learned something from her.  I also doubt anyone today hasn't laughed at her and with her.  She is a true legend.    

Ginger Rogers

I've often heard the saying "Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels."  It's usually a slogan taken up by feminist groups and advocates of women's rights.  What most people don't know is how much Ginger Rogers sizzled even when she wasn't dancing.  She had the right amount of sass to keep Fred Astaire in line on all their films and enough for the other leading men in her life too (she was also married and divorced five times!).  After making her films with Fred, the studio wanted her to branch out on her own.  Her first real foray was Kitty Foyle (1940), for which she won an Oscar.  Before that though, she popped in Vivacious Lady, a film I previously reviewed (and liked!).  

Ginger Rogers (right) looks less than pleased that a producer is watching she and excited Ann Miller (left) in their rehearsal.  Stage Door (RKO Pictures, 1937)

I loved Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940), but had no idea Ginger Rogers had been an earlier choice.  She turned the part down, but I think of all the actresses at that time, she would've been the only one able to fill that role and dish it back to sharp-tongued newspaperman Walter (Cary Grant).  Luckily we still got to see her and Grant together, though in a not-as-memorable comedy, Monkey Business (1952).  Ginger Rogers continues to delight and surprise me whenever I see her.  She is so much more than just half of a dancing team - she was a powerhouse performer on her own.  A woman of many talents, she and her mother (to whom she was very close), designed most of her gowns for her dancing films and later in her life, Ginger acted as a fashion consultant to J.C. Penny.  She even had her own lingerie business based in Tennessee called FormFit Rogers (though sadly the company is either defunct or moved to a Spanish speaking country, because all the internet hits come up in Spanish).  Anyway, the point is that Ginger has a lot of spunk and reading through her biography, that applied to her both on and off screen.  When asked in an interview what it takes to be a movie star, she replied, "Intelligence, adaptability and talent. And by talent I mean the capacity for hard work. Lots of girls come here with little but good looks. Beauty is a valuable asset, but it is not the whole cheese."  And Ginger had all of the above in spades.

What a great weekend for female empowerment!  I'm not sure how often I'll be posting here, but I'm determined to write about 31 stars in 31 days, so stay tuned!

P.S. Fun fact?  According to IMDb and Lucille Ball's daughter, Lucie, Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball were distant cousins.  Who knew?

Vivacious Lady (1938)

Intro.

Vivacious Lady was one of those films I hadn't planned on watching, but when I saw it come on television, I was happily surprised.  As a part of a Ginger Rogers marathon, the film emphasized how great she was even without Fred Astaire.  I especially liked Robert Osborne's commentary on the film.  Apparently the film had been delayed several times because RKO had to borrow Jimmy Stewart from his home studio.  And the good rapport between Jimmy and Ginger existed off stage too, as they used to double-date with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball.  How cool is that?

Overview

Jimmy Stewart plays Peter Morgan, a shy, conservative professor of botany who, on a trip to New York City, meets glamorous nightclub singer Francey (Ginger Rogers).  As he gets to know her, he realizes that she is very down to earth and a perfect match for him.  They fall in love, marry, then take the train back to his home town of Old Sharon.  Peter, afraid that his parents will object to Francey's way of life, suggests that she stay with his cousin, Keith (James Ellison) while he tries to explain the situation to them.  He also has to explain it to Jenny (Phyllis Kennedy), the blue-blooded woman to whom he is engaged (or was engaged!).  A lot of twists and turns prevent Peter from confronting his father with the truth and keeps the couple apart.  The best parts include Francey attending Peter's botany class as an eager new student, an all out fist-fight between Jenny and Francey, and straight-laced Peter drinking a lot of alcohol during his class.  It all ends with a tearful Jenny and her mother-in-law leaving their husbands and then a train-stopping finale.   

Highlights

Robert Osborne said at the film's introduction how difficult it would be to find the right actor to make the role of Peter believable.  If anyone could do it, that person was definitely Jimmy Stewart.  He makes Peter a quiet, somewhat awkward professor without turning him into a bumbling, absent-minded researcher.  Charles Coburn and Beulah Bondi both give good performances as his parents and get almost as many laughs as the main couple.

Ginger Rogers really makes this film.  She is graceful and charming, with a good measure of sass.  She delivers some stunning one liners with perfect comedic timing.  Her performance reminded me of a softer version of her character in Stage Door - sweet and good-natured with a razor sharp wit beneath those blond curls.  Anyone who thinks she's just Fred's dance partner obviously hasn't seen her other films - and definitely should.   

Review

Vivacious Lady is one of those old fashioned romantic comedies where the emphasis was on the comedy.  It's little known, but definitely worth watching to see Ginger Rogers and Jimmy Stewart together.  My only complaint (and it's minor) is that we don't get to see Ginger and Jimmy dance.  That would've made it a 10+.  Anyway, it's a fun, light movie with endearing characters.  You won't be disappointed!

Monkey Business (1952)

Intro.
Here is yet another film that is a must see simply because of the cast.  This film is a perfect way to round out Cary Grant month, as it pairs him with wonderful co-stars and a chance to show off his wonderful sense of humor.  This film, much like most of Hawks's comedies, is rather silly but still provides some depth to the story.  While it is a wild and entertaining romp about what can happen when adults are turned into children, it also touches upon the sadness of losing that innocence. As Cary Grant's character, Barnaby, muses: "I'm beginning to wonder if being young is all it's cracked up to be. We dream of youth. We remember it as a time of nightingales and Valentines. And what are the facts? Mal-adjustment, near idiocy and a series of low comedy disasters, that's what youth is."


Overview
Cary Grant plays Dr. Barnaby Fulton, a chemist who is hoping to discover a formula that will ease the aches and pains of age.  He has a laboratory of chimpanzees and one very funny boss who is more focused on profits (played by Charles Coburn).  Barnaby's wife Edwina (played by Ginger Rogers) supports him wholeheartedly and they have a wonderful marriage.  One day one of the chimps gets loose and concocts a formula, which she then dumps into the water cooler of the lab.  Barnaby tests his latest formula on himself and takes a drink of water to wash it down.  Almost instantly he begins acting like a 20 year old college boy - not only is he free of aches and pains and bad vision, he drives like a maniac and goes roller skating and swimming and such with his boss's beautiful secretary, Lois Laurel (Marilyn Monroe).  After a wild day, he sleeps it off, but as he attempts to try it again, Edwina instead takes the formula followed by a drink of the lab's water.  She begins to act like her 20 year old self, and as she convinces Barnaby to return to the hotel where they honeymooned, she then begins to re-enact all of the drama of their wedding night.  Poor Barnaby gets kicked out of their room and again a crazy night ensues.  Emotions settled the following morning, they make up and go back to the lab.  Edwina uses the lab water to make them some coffee while Barnaby resolves to destroy all his notes.  Meanwhile his boss has heard of the success and demands that Barnaby turn over the formula.  Both Edwina and Barnaby are taken back to their 8 year old selves and the chaos only increases!  At long last and many laughs later, the truth of the water is discovered and the chimp responsible is put to work to replicate it (which echoes the idea of monkeys writing Shakespeare).  

Highlights
The big draw today for this film is Marilyn Monroe's real break out role.  She is delightful as the dim-witted but beautiful Lois, and seems to have a good sense of comedic timing.  She's quite a supporting actress and holds her own with such established and talented co-stars.  You can tell that Hawks is really trying to figure her out, getting her ready for his next picture, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (also wonderful, by the way, as is How to Marry a Millionaire).

Not only is Marilyn wonderful, but so is Ginger Rogers!  It's easy to forget that Ginger appeared in films without Fred Astaire, but without his big shadow you can really see her shine.  She's just as funny as Cary Grant (even funnier at times) with impeccable timing.  It reminded me of her amazing comedic role in Stage Door (which, if you haven't seen, you should add to your list!!).  She's pure dynamite. 

I wondered in this film if any other two actors could carry a film about reverting to childhood so well.  Both Grant and Rogers make the effects of the formula apparent and believeable.  Together they make an endearing, fun-loving couple who discover that love only gets better with time and youth is not all it's cracked up to be.

Review and Recommendation
Instead of sounding like a broken record and saying that you should see this film because of the great cast, I'm only going to say that it is one of the best Hawks comedies I've seen.  And really, how can you resist Cary Grant playing with a chimpanzee named Ester?

Also, keep your eyes peeled for a great cameo by Harry Carey Jr!!  And as always, you can read more at IMDb.