This site is devoted to the love of classic movies. What qualifies as a classic film or movie is somewhat subjective. There are certain films which endure because they strike an emotional chord long after their initial release. For example, a movie like "Casablanca" (1942) would qualify as a classic under that definition.
Christmas Holiday (1944) is a film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Deanna Durbin and Gene Kelly. Audiences in 1944 might have thought they were going to see a light musical, considering the talent involved, but it’s a heavy drama with both Durbin and Kelly playing against type.
This was Durbin’s biggest box office success up to that time and Universal’s biggest hit of the year, but it’s practically forgotten today. The film has an interesting pedigree. It’s based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, with a screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane). The cinematographer was Woody Bredell (The Killers, The Inspector General). It had an Academy Award-nominated film score by Hans J. Salter (The Reckless Moment), and a new song, “Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year” by Frank Loesser.
Deanna Durbin reads her fan mail. Durbin had the largest fan club in the world.
Like Judy Garland, Durbin had grown up on film. At 15, Durbin starred in Three Smart Girls (1936) and became an overnight sensation. She had the vocal range of a legitimate lyric soprano. Durbin had considered a career in opera, but the movies changed all that. In 1938, she was awarded the Academy Juvenile Award. Durbin starred in a string of box office hits where she was the wholesome heroine with a beautiful singing voice. In almost all of her features, Durbin would sing a famous opera aria. As she matured, Durbin wanted to tackle more adult roles. Durbin was 23 when Christmas Holiday was released. Critics weren’t too sure the role was right for Durbin, but director Siodmak thought she was a “real actress” and had confidence that she was up to playing the abused wife of a small-time criminal (Kelly).
This publicity still for Christmas Holiday belies the dark subject matter.
Kelly was brought to Hollywood and put under contract by M-G-M based on his performance in Pal Joey on Broadway. The same year that Christmas Holiday was released, Kelly, on loan to Columbia, starred with Rita Hayworth in the Technicolor musical Cover Girl. With Durbin and Kelly in the same picture, movie fans surely expected a musical or light comedy but were drawn into a complicated drama set during the Christmas holiday.
Despite the critics being “bothered” that wholesome Durbin was playing a woman of questionable character, audiences ate it up. It was a huge commercial success. Based on the film’s box office, Durbin signed a new exclusive six-year contract.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on December 16, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
Discussion questions
What did you think of Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin playing against type?
Would you consider Christmas Holiday a film noir? If not a film noir, what genre would you categorize it?
Did the setting (New Orleans) add anything to the film?
The film has a strong supporting cast. Did any of the supporting performances stand out to you?
In 1937, Irene Dunne was at the height of her career. The year before, Dunne received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Theodora Goes Wild, a comedy role she was reluctant to take. That picture was a critical success for Dunne and a huge box office hit for Columbia Pictures. So it wasn’t surprising that the next picture she would make for the studio would be another comedy.
From Stage To Screen The Awful Truth was based on a play by Arthur Richman and brought to the screen with the aid of screenwriter Vina Delmar and Theodora Goes Wild screenwriter, Sidney Buchman, who went uncredited. Teamed with Dunne for the first time was Cary Grant. Grant quickly became a top leading man in Hollywood, but his pairing with Dunne was inspired and their on-screen chemistry delighted movie-going audiences. B.R. Crisler writing in his New York Times review said, “Miss Dunne and Mr. Grant, as the couple...have fun with their roles, and the pleasure seems to be shared, on the whole, by the [Radio City] Music Hall audience.”
What Is The Awful Truth? The plot revolves around the marital woes of Lucy (Dunne) and Jerry (Grant) Warriner. Each becomes suspicious of the others’ marital fidelity, which eventually leads them to divorce court. After the divorce, Lucy and Jerry are consumed with foiling each other’s new romantic interests. Is the awful truth the fact that Lucy and Jerry are still in love?
Get Me Out Of This Picture
Irene Dunne and Cary Grant
Like Dunne in the previous year’s Theodora Goes Wild, Grant wasn’t too happy working on this film. Director Leo McCarey’s working style didn’t sit well with Grant and he tried to get out of the movie, even going so far as requesting he swap roles with supporting player Ralph Bellamy! McCarey liked to get spontaneous performances out of his cast, which meant a lot of on-set improvising, which Grant found unsettling. Eventually, things worked out for all concerned. Ironically, this is the movie that catapulted Grant to superstar status and is responsible for the Grant movie persona beloved by generations of moviegoers.
Comedy Triumph For Dunne, The Awful Truth was a delightful experience. She loved working with both McCarey (who became a personal friend) and Grant. Professionally, it was another triumph. Once again, the critics raved about her and the film. And once again she was nominated for Best Actress by the Motion Picture Academy. If there was any doubt about Dunne’s comedy chops, they were all dispelled when the film was first released on October 21, 1937. Dunne and Grant would go on to star in two other popular films: the comedy My Favorite Wife (1940) and the melodrama Penny Serenade (1941).
Award Winner The Awful Truth was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor. McCarey won the only Oscar for his direction and ensured his place in motion picture history.
Lasting Legacy In 2000, the American Film Institute listed The Awful Truth at #68 on its list of 100 Years…100 Laughs. In 2002, the AFI listed it at #77 on the 100 Years…100 Passions list.
Leo McCarey (1898 – 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. McCarey is perhaps most famous for his critically acclaimed and commercially popular comedies like Duck Soup (1933), The Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), and The Awful Truth (1937). Other popular films directed by McCarey include Going My Way (1944), The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), and Good Sam (1948). McCarey won two Best Director Oscars for The Awful Truth and Going My Way.
Irene Dunne (1898 –1990) was an American actress and singer who was one of the most popular movie stars during Hollywood’s Golden Age. She is probably best remembered for her comedic roles, though she first became famous playing in melodramas like Back Street (1932) and MagnificentObsession (1935). In fact, Dunne was so popular as a star of melodramas that she was dubbed “The Queen of the Weepies” by the press. Her comedic breakout performance was in Theodora Goes Wild (1936), earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She would go on to make other comedy classics like The Awful Truth (1937) where she earned another Best Actress nod, and MyFavorite Wife (1940). Dunne and Grant were one of the most popular screen teams in movie history. All three of their films were critical and box office successes. Dunne earned five Academy Award nominations for Best Actress but never won a competitive Oscar. The fact that the Motion Picture Academy never awarded her an Honorary Academy Award for her work is a travesty.
Cary Grant (1904 – 1986) was an English-born American actor who became one of film history's most popular leading men. Grant started his career in vaudeville before heading to Hollywood. He became a superstar in the late 1930s in a series of screwball comedies including The Awful Truth (1937) with Irene Dunne. He was a memorable C. K. Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story (1940) opposite Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart. He received two Best Actor nominations for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Hearts (1944). Other classic Grant films include Gunga Din (1939), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). He made four popular films with Alfred Hitchcock: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). He was awarded an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.
Click HERE to watch the film on the Internet Archive.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on December 9, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a like to join the discussion on Zoom.
Discussion questions
Did either character, Jerry or Lucy break their marriage vows?
Do you think there was a serious message about marriage underneath all the comedy?
What did you think of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant together as a team?
Ralph Bellamy made a career out of being the other man. What did you think of his performance?
Did you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue?
Daisy Kenyon (1947), based on the best-selling novel by Elizabeth Janeway, is one of many films referred to as “women’s pictures” during Hollywood’s Golden Age. In many ways, it fits that genre perfectly, especially with Joan Crawford—“an old hand at being emotionally confused” according to The New York Times review—playing the title role. However, in director Otto Preminger’s hands, it’s so much more, with the male protagonists, Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews, also grabbing the spotlight.
Andrews plays prominent attorney, Dan O’Mara who is married to Lucile (Ruth Warrick). They have two daughters Rosamund (Peggy Ann Garner) and Marie (Connie Marshall). O’Mara leads a double life: On the one hand, he’s a family man, and on the other, he’s a philandering husband carrying on an affair with Daisy (Crawford), a single career woman. The relationship is a strained one primarily because O’Mara refuses to divorce his wife and marry Daisy. Daisy is torn between her love for Dan and her desire for a relationship that doesn’t need to be kept secret. To complicate matters further, Daisy meets World War II veteran, Peter Lapham (Fonda). Not as exciting a character as Dan, but a safe one.
Who will Daisy choose?
Otto Preminger (1905 -1986) was an American film director who made more than 35 feature films during a five-decade career. Born in Austro-Hungarian into a Jewish family. Preminger was drawn to acting from an early age and became the apprentice of famed stage director Max Reinhardt. In 1935, he was recruited by Twentieth Century-Fox to apprentice as a director at the studio. After a rocky start, Preminger established himself as an A-list director after Rouben Mamoulian was fired from Laura (1944). The film noir classic made major stars of Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews and is considered one of the best film noirs of all time. While under contract to Fox, Preminger directed Fallen Angel (1945), Centennial Summer (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947). After he left Fox, Preminger became a maverick, constantly clashing with members of the Production Code. He released two films without the approval of the Production Code: The Moon is Blue (1953) and The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). Both films were financial successes and helped bring an end to the Code entirely. Later successes for Preminger include Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Exodus (1960).
Crawford at the top of the triangle.
Joan Crawford (190? – 1977) was an American actress. A former dancer, Crawford was signed to a movie contract by M-G-M in 1925. She started out in small parts in silent films, sometimes doubling for established star Norma Shearer. Crawford was an amazing self-promoter and by the 1930s, her popularity rivaled Shearer and Greta Garbo. She was famous for playing shop girls who somehow made it big. During the height of the Depression, women flocked to her films. But by the late 1930s, her popularity was beginning to wane. She left M-G-M and was absent from the screen for almost two years. She signed with Warner Bros. and made a successful comeback in Mildred Pierce (1945). The film was a hit with audiences and critics alike and won Crawford her one-and-only Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on the star in Humoresque (1946) with John Garfield, Possessed (1947) with Van Heflin, and Flamingo Road (1949).
Dana Andrews (1909 – 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. During the 1940s, Andrews was a major star and leading man starring in Laura (1944), State Fair (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Canyon Passage (1946), Boomerang! (1947), and Daisy Kenyon (1947), the latter co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda. During the 1950s, film roles were harder to come by, but he had success in Elephant Walk (1954) co-starring Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch, While the City Sleeps (1956), and Curse of the Demon (1957). In 1958 he replaced Henry Fonda on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw. Andrews worked a lot on television guest-starring on shows like The Twilight Zone, Checkmate, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Ben Casey, The Love Boat, Ironside, and Falcon Crest. He also starred in the daytime soap opera Bright Promise (1969 - 1971).
Trouble in the O’Mara household
Henry Fonda (1905 –1982) was an American stage and film actor. Fonda came to Hollywood in 1935 and became a star overnight. Early starring roles include Jezebel (1938), Jesse James (1939), Young Mr. Lincoln (1939), and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) for which he received his first Best Actor nomination for playing Tom Joad. Fonda played opposite Barbara Stanwyck in The Lady Eve (1942), My Darling Clementine (1946), and Mister Roberts (1955). In 1981 he finally won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Norman Thayer Jr. in On Golden Pond.
Daisy Kenyon trivia
Joan Crawford requested both Henry Fonda and Dana Andrews as her co-stars.
Fond and Andrews didn’t want to make the film but had to it to fulfill their contracts.
During an interview during the 1970s, Otto Preminger said he had no recollection of Daisy Kenyon.
Crawford was borrowed from Warner Bros. for her role as Daisy.
Andrews had already worked with Preminger on Laura (1944) and Fallen Angel (1945).
John Garfield appears as an extra sitting at the bar in the Stork Club.
Columnist Walter Winchel, writer Damon Runyon, and New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons all have cameos as themselves.
Dan O’Mara at the Stock Club with Leonard Lyons and check out John Garfield drinking far left!
Click HERE to watch the film on the Internet Archive.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 25, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
Discussion questions
When the film was released on DVD, the film company classified it as a film noir. Do you think this film fits that genre? How would you classify it?
Did you find the relationships between the three stars believable?
Crack-Up (1946) is an American film noir directed by
Irving Reis and starring Pat O’Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall. The
supporting cast includes Ray Collins and Wallace Ford.
Art critic George Steele (O'Brien) remembers surviving a
train wreck that never took place; it's just the first incident in a growing
web of intrigue and murder.
Film critic Leonard Maltin described the film as a “Tense, fast-paced
Hitchcockian thriller with many imaginative touches.
Irving Reis (1906 – 1953) was a radio program
producer and director and a film director. Reis directed several notable and
popular films including Hitler’s Children (1943) The Bachelor and the
Bobby-Soxer (1947) All My Sons (1948).
Pat O’Brien (1899 – 1983) was an American film actor.
O’Brien appeared in more than 100 films, often playing characters of Irish
descent. He played cops, priests, and reporters. He was often paired with friend
and movie star James Cagney. O’Brien is probably best known for his roles in Angels
with Dirty Faces (1938), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), and Some
Like it Hot (1959).
Claire Trevor (1910 - 2000) was an American
actress who appeared in over 60 movies. She received nominations for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dead End (1937),
and The High and the Mighty (1954). She won the award for her
performance in Key Largo (1948). Trevor got her start on the
New York stage and made her film debut in 1933. She also appeared on radio with
Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio program Big Town. Trevor’s
most famous role is probably Dallas in Stagecoach, but she had
other memorable roles in Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Born
to Kill (1947). Her last film role was in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982)
where she played Sally Field’s mother.
Herbert Marshall (1890 – 1966) was an English actor
of stage, screen, and radio. Marshall was a popular leading man during the
1930s and 1940s. He starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford,
and Bette Davis. Some of his films include Trouble in Paradise (1932), The
Good Fairy (1935), Foreign Correspondence (1940), The Little Foxes
(1941), and The Razor’s Edge (1946).
Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, and Herbert Marshall
Crack-Up trivia
Crack-Up was the only film noir from director Irving
Reis.
Laura (1944) and Scarlet Street (1945) also
make use of painting and art.
The film was set in New York City, but several scenes were
filmed in Los Angeles harbor.
Reis directed many of the “Falcon” movies during the early
1940s.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 18,
2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation
and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
Discussion questions
Did you like the background of the art world?
Was the story believable? Were you able to just enjoy the
ride?
What did you think of the performances?
Did O’Brien and Trevor have good on-screen chemistry?
Detour (1945) is an American film noir directed by
Edgar G. Ulmer and starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage. It was released by
Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), a Poverty Row movie studio that operated
during the 1930s and 1940s.
Al Roberts (Neal) is depressed that his career as a piano
player is going nowhere. To top it off, his girlfriend Sue Harvey (Claudia
Drake) quits her job as a singer in a New York City nightclub to pursue a
career in Hollywood. With little money in his pocket, Al decides to hitchhike across the country with the hopes of marrying Sue when he gets there.
Charles Haskell Jr. (Edmund MacDonald), an Arizona bookie
gives Al a ride in his Lincoln convertible. During the ride, Haskell takes several
pills and at one point asks Al to drive. Al pulls over to put the top up with Haskell asleep in the car during a rainstorm. Al tries to rouse Haskell from
his sleep but he appears dead. Al opens the passenger side door and
Haskell tumbles out and hits his head on a rock.
Fearing that the police will think he killed Haskell, Al
hides the body and assumes his identity along with his money and clothes. Al
picks up a woman named Vera (Savage) who knows that he isn’t Haskell and doesn’t
own the car he is driving.
What happens next is a battle of wills between Vera and Al
as they travel West.
Edgar G. Ulmer (1904 – 1972) was an Austrian film
director noted for the B movies he made at Producers Releasing Corporation
(PRC). He worked as a set designer for Max Reinhardt’s theater in Europe. He was
an apprentice to F. W. Murnau. He also
worked with the directors Robert Siodmak, Billy Wilder, and Fred Zinneman. His
most famous films include The Black Cat (1934) starring Bela Lugosi and
Boris Karloff made at Universal Pictures and Detour (1945) at PRC.
Tom Neal (1914 – 1972) was an American actor and
amateur boxer. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Neal was the son of a banker and
grew up in a ten-room home in Chicago. He enrolled at Northwestern University
where he majored in mathematics. Neal dropped out of Northwestern after a year
and began appearing in various stage productions including Summer Stock. He made
his Broadway debut in 1935 and his movie debut three years later in Out West
with the Hardys, the series starring Mickey Rooney. He appeared in many B movies, with Detour
(1945) being his most famous. His personal life was tempestuous and it derailed
his career resulting in his being blackballed in Hollywood.
Ann Savage (1921 – 2008) was an American film and
television actress. She starred in several B movies with actor Tom Neal with
their most famous pairing being Detour (1945). As a teenager, she failed
a screen test with M-G-M and decided not to show up at a screen test for Twentieth-Century
Fox because she felt they had plenty of pretty blondes. Savage worked at
Columbian Pictures co-starring with Rosalind Russell in What a Woman
(1943). Savage was a popular pin-up model during World War II. During the war,
she sold war bonds on two nationwide drives. After her film career faded,
Savage became a businesswoman and took flying lessons, becoming a licensed
pilot in 1979.
Detour trivia
While setting up the hitchhiking scene, a driver tried to
pick up Ann Savage.
The 1941 Lincoln Continental V-12 convertible driven by
Haskell was Ulmer’s personal car.
Ann Savage and Tom Neal didn’t get along at all during
filming and spent days not speaking to each other except when filming movie
scenes.
Director Wim Wenders called Ann Savage’s performance as Vera
“30 years ahead of its time.”
The film was made in 28 days.
Ann Savage’s autobiography was titled Savage Detours,
acknowledging her most famous film role.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 11,
2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation
with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
Ann Savage and Tom Neal
Discussion questions
Supposedly, this film had a budget of $100,000. Would it have been a better film with a higher budget?
Director Ulmer was famous for making the best use of the
money he was given to direct his features at PRC. Does Detour look like
a low-budget film?
What did you think of the onscreen relationship between Tom
Neal and Ann Savage? Were their characters believable?
Did this film remind you of any other films noir you’ve
seen?
Born to Kill (1947) is an American film noir directed
by Robert Wise and starring Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor, and Walter Slezak.
The supporting cast includes Esther Howard, Elisha Cook Jr. Philip Terry, and
Audrey Long. The cinematography was by Robert De Grasse (Stage Door, Carefree,
Kitty Foyle).
After obtaining her divorce in Reno, Nevada, San Francisco
socialite Helen Brent (Trevor) meets Sam Wilde (Tierney), a mysterious man who
intrigues her. Little does she know that he is responsible for two murders.
Wilde follows Helen back to San Francisco and begins to
court Helen’s sister Georgia (Long). Helen believes Sam is marrying Georgia for
her money. Georgia inherited the largest newspaper in the city and lives in a
beautiful mansion. Sam quickly convinces Georgia to marry him and that’s when
the trouble starts.
Lawrence Tierney and Claire Trevor
Robert Wise (1914 - 2000) was an American
director, producer, and editor. Wise began his movie career at RKO as a sound
and music editor. For several years, he worked with senior editor William
Hamilton. Wise’s first solo film editing credits were on Bachelor
Mother (1939) and My Favorite Wife (1940). He was the
film editor on Citizen Kane and was nominated for an Academy
Award for Film Editing. Wise got his chance to direct at RKO from Val Lewton,
the producer of horror classics like Cat People (1942). The
Curse of the Cat People (1944) was the first film that Wise received
director credit for. He eventually directed films noir, westerns, melodramas,
and science fiction. Some popular films directed by Wise include The
Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Executive Suite (1954), I
Want to Live! (1958), which earned Wise his first Oscar nomination for
Best Director. He went on to win Best Director Oscars for West Side
Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965).
Lawrence Tierney (1919 – 2002) was an American film
and television actor best known for his roles as gangsters and tough-guys. He
became a popular star with the release of Dillinger (1945). His
performance as the notorious gangster led to a string of popular films noir.
Some of his famous films include The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) Born
to Kill (1947), Bodyguard (1948), and Kill or Be Killed (1950).
Once Tierney’s film career slowed, he appeared on television guest
starring on shows like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
Claire Trevor (1910 - 2000) was an American
actress who appeared in over 60 movies. She received nominations for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Dead End (1937),
and The High and the Mighty (1954). She won the award for her
performance in Key Largo (1948). Trevor got her start on the
New York stage and made her film debut in 1933. She also appeared on radio with
Edward G. Robinson in the popular radio program Big Town. Trevor’s
most famous role is probably Dallas in Stagecoach, but she had
other memorable roles in Murder, My Sweet (1944), and Born
to Kill (1947). Her last film role was in Kiss Me Goodbye (1982)
where she played Sally Field’s mother.
Walter Slezak (1902 – 1983) was an Austrian-born film
and stage actor. Slezak started in silent films as a leading man, often
directed by his friend Michael Curtiz. As he aged and gained weight, Slezak
played character roles. He made his American film debut in Once Upon a
Honeymoon (1942) starring Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers. He appeared in over
100 films. He also worked on Broadway where he won a Tony Award for Best Actor
in a Musical for his work in Fanny. Slezak also worked on radio and television.
In 1974, he appeared on the soap opera One Life to Live, playing the
godfather of Victoria Lord, played by his daughter Erika Slezak.
Born to Kill trivia
Tallulah Bankhead was considered for the role of Helen, but
she was unavailable and the role went to Claire Trevor.
Phillip Terry divorced Joan Crawford the year before the
film’s release.
Esther Howard, part of Preston Sturges’ stock company, does
a rare dramatic turn.
Claire Trevor wears more hats in this film than probably any
other film actress.
Although not a box office success when first released, it is
considered a classic film noir by many of today’s critics and fans.
Click HERE to join the online discussion on November 4,
2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with
an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
Discussion questions
What did you think of Lawrence Tierney’s tough-guy
performance?
The film was considered shocking in its day with many
contemporary critics considering it unsavory. Did you find it shocking?
What did you think of Claire Trevor’s performance as Helen? She’s
not the typical femme fatale. Instead of leading the man astray, Helen is
drawn to his brutality.
Ladies in Retirement(1941) is an American gothic suspense film directed by Charles Vidor and starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward. The movie was based on the play of the same name by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy. The cinematography was by George Barnes who won an Academy Award the previous year for his work on Alfred Hitchcock’sRebecca.
The plot involves Ellen Creed (Lupino), a middle-aged spinster forced to work as a housekeeper/companion to Miss Leonora Fiske (Isobel Elsom), a wealthy retiree and former chorus girl in her youth. Ellen gets a letter about her two sisters Emily (Elsa Lanchester) and Louisa (Edith Barrett) who are odd, to put it mildly. The letter threatens to evict the sisters and send them to an institution.
Ellen suggests to Miss Fiske that her two sisters come for a visit. The visit turns disastrous with Miss Fiske ordering the sisters and Ellen to leave her home. To complicate matters, Albert Feather (Hayward), a distant relative shows up at the most inopportune moment.
Charles Vidor (1900 – 1959) was a Hungarian film director whose career started during the early days of talking pictures. Vidor is most famous for the work he did under contract to Columbia Pictures including Ladies in Retirement (1941), Cover Girl (1944), Together Again (1944), A Song to Remember (1945), and Gilda (1946). After leaving Columbia, Vidor directed Hans Christian Andersen (1952) for Sam Goldwyn, Love Me or Leave Me (1955) for M-G-M, and The Joker is Wild (1957) for Paramount. Vidor suffered a heart attack and died three weeks into filming.
George Barnes (1892 – 1953) was an American cinematographer who began his career during the silent era and worked into the early 1950s. Barnes was competent in both black-and-white and color cinematography. He won an Academy Award for black-and-white photography in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940). Some other films Barnes photographed include Jesse James (1939), Meet John Doe (1941), Jane Eyre (1944), Spellbound (1945), Samson Delilah (1949), and The War of the Worlds (1953).
Lupino and Hayward at home with their dog
Ida Lupino (1918 – 1995) was an English-American actress, director, and producer. She appeared in over 50 films and was one of Warner Bros.’s biggest contract players during the 1940s starring in High Sierra (1941), The Sea Wolf (1941), and The Man I Love (1947). After she left Warner Bros., Lupino formed her own production company, producing, writing, and directing films that tackled subjects the big studios wouldn’t touch. During the 1950s, Lupino was the only female director working in Hollywood. She directed several small independent films but made a name for herself directing for television. Lupino directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (starred in one too), The Rifleman, Bonanza, Gilligan’s Island, It Takes a Thief, Family Affair, and Columbo. In 1966, she directed her one-and-only big-budget studio picture, The Trouble with Angels starring Rosalind Russell and Haley Mills.
Charles Laughton visits the set of Ladies in Retirement
Louis Hayward (1909 – 1985) was a British-American actor. He worked on the London stage under the tutelage of Noel Coward. He made some films in England in the early 1930s and came to Broadway in 1935 working with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Noel Coward’s Point Valaine. His Broadway fame brought him to Hollywood where he was cast in some minor roles before getting starring roles in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), My Son, My Son! (1940), and The Son of Monte Cristo (1940). Hayward was married to Ida Lupino from 1938 to 1945.
Ladies in Retirement trivia:
Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward were married during the filming.
Rosalind Russell was originally announced as the film’s lead.
Lupino was 23 playing a woman in her mid-40s.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture
Click HERE to join the online discussion on October 28, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.
