Class Collisions and Culinary Cover-Ups: “The Mating Season”

Directed by Mitchell Leisen and released by Paramount Pictures in 1951, The Mating Season is a satirical screwball comedy starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, and Thelma Ritter. The story opens in Jersey City, where working-class hamburger stand owner Ellen McNulty (Thelma Ritter) loses her modest business due to financial misfortune. Undeterred, she travels to Ohio to visit her ambitious son, Val McNulty (John Lund), who has recently married Maggie Carleton (Gene Tierney), a gracious, high-society woman. Val, self-conscious about his humble origins, has kept his mother’s working-class background a secret from his new bride and her aristocratic mother, Fran (Miriam Hopkins).

When Ellen arrives unannounced at the newlyweds’upscale apartment while Val is away, she is mistaken by the snobbish Fran for a newly hired maid and cook. Rather than causing an embarrassing scene that might damage her son's social standing or new marriage, Ellen plays along and accepts the job, deciding to keep her true identity hidden. Val returns home shocked to find his mother cooking and cleaning for his wife and mother-in-law, but Ellen insists on maintaining the masquerade, using her practical wisdom and sharp wit to navigate high-society dinner parties, fix domestic disasters, and quietly mentor the well-meaning Maggie.

Complications multiply as social tensions mount, a snooty corporate rival threatens Val’s career, and Fran continually belittles the “hired help.”  Through her quiet dignity, maternal devotion, and unvarnished common sense, Ellen ultimately wins the genuine affection of Maggie and helps heal the artificial class divides surrounding her son. When the truth of Ellen’s identity is finally revealed, the pretenses of high society crumble, forcing the family to confront their biases and celebrate the enduring, unifying bond of selfless motherly love.

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Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was an American film director, art director, and costume designer known for his sophisticated visual style and elegant handling of romantic comedies and dramas during Hollywood’s studio era. Beginning his career in the 1920s as a set designer and costume maker for Cecil B. DeMille, Leisen transitioned to directing at Paramount Pictures in 1933. He became one of the studio's premier comedy directors, helming classics such as Easy Living (1937), Midnight (1939), and Remember the Night (1940), often working from screenplays written by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Preston Sturges. Leisen earned acclaim for his strong direction of female performers, securing an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for Hold Back the Dawn (1941) and directing Olivia de Havilland to her first Oscar win in To Each His Own (1946).

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an acclaimed American film and stage actress celebrated for her striking beauty and compelling dramatic performances during the 1940s and 1950s. After achieving success on Broadway, she signed with 20th Century Fox and achieved movie stardom as the mysterious title character in Otto Preminger's classic film noir Laura (1944). Tierney earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her chilling performance in Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and starred in acclaimed classics including The Razor’s Edge (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), and Whirlpool (1949). Despite enduring severe personal tragedies and mental health struggles throughout her life, she maintained a memorable career in both dramatic and comedic roles before retiring from screen acting in the late 1960s.

John Lund (1911 – 1992) was an American actor who worked extensively across theater, radio, film, and television. After building a successful stage career as an actor and writer—including starring on Broadway in The Hasty Heart (1945)—Lund was signed by Paramount Pictures, making his screen debut in To Each His Own (1946). He became a reliable leading man for Paramount throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, frequently starring in romantic comedies and dramas such as Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), My Friend Irma (1949), and High Society (1956). Lund served as a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild during his Hollywood tenure before retiring from acting in the early 1960s to pursue business ventures.

Miriam Hopkins (1902 – 1972) was a versatile, high-energy American actress who excelled on the Broadway stage and in classic Hollywood cinema. Emerging as a top leading lady in the 1930s, Hopkins starred in several landmark films, including Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise (1932) and Design for Living (1933), Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), and Becky Sharp (1935), for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Renowned for her sharp intellect, intense dramatic style, and famous off-screen rivalries with fellow stars like Bette Davis, Hopkins successfully transitioned into character roles later in her career, earning critical praise in pictures such as The Heiress (1949), The Mating Season (1951), and The Children’s Hour (1961).

Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1902 – February 5, 1969) was an iconic American character actress renowned for her distinctive Brooklyn accent, razor-sharp comic timing, and dry, working-class cynicism. After working in theater for decades and raising a family, Ritter launched a legendary Hollywood screen career in her late 40s following a minor, scene-stealing role in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). She became one of the most respected character performers in cinema history, earning six Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in All About Eve (1950), The Mating Season (1951), With a Song in My Heart (1952), Pickup on South Street (1953), Pillow Talk (1959), and Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). Ritter also won a Tony Award in 1958 for her performance in the Broadway musical New Girl in Town.

Gene Tierney and John Lund

The Mating Season trivia

• Academy Award Recognition: Thelma Ritter earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Ellen McNulty, marking the second of her six record-setting supporting actress nominations.

• Berlin International Film Festival Win: The Mating Season was recognized internationally at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival in 1951, where it won the Bronze Bear for Best Comedy.

• Brackett Production and Script: The film was produced and co-written by Charles Brackett, marking one of his major comedy projects after his legendary writing and producing partnership with Billy Wilder ended following Sunset Boulevard (1950).

• Oleg Cassini Wardrobe: Gene Tierney’s elegant wardrobe for the film was designed by her husband, high-fashion designer Oleg Cassini, who frequently crafted her screen costumes during their marriage.

Discussion Questions

• How does The Mating Season use the classic comedy trope of mistaken identity to satirize postwar American social mobility and class anxiety?

• In what ways does Thelma Ritter’s character, Ellen McNulty, challenge the traditional portrayals of working-class mothers and household servants in 1950s Hollywood cinema?

• How do the contrasting performance styles of Miriam Hopkins (as the snobbish matriarch) and Thelma Ritter (as the grounded mother) enhance the film’s comedic and thematic conflicts?

• Comparing Mitchell Leisen's direction in The Mating Season to his earlier 1930s screwball comedies, how does the film reflect changing societal attitudes toward marriage, status, and family dynamics in early 1950s America?

Olivia de Havilland’s Masterclass in “To Each His Own”

Directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Olivia de Havilland in an Academy Award-winning performance, To Each His Own (1946) is a sweeping drama that spans nearly three decades. The story begins in London during the Blitz of World War II, where an aging, hardened woman named Jody Norris works as a fire warden. As she waits for a train, the film transitions into an extended flashback, revealing the poignant, secret history of her life in a small American town during the First World War.

In the flashback, the young and spirited Jody falls deeply in love with a dashing pilot, Capt. Bart Cosgrove (played by John Lund). Their brief, intense romance results in an unplanned pregnancy, but Bart is tragically killed in action before they can marry. To avoid the social scandal of the era and protect her child's future, Jody devises a plan to leave her infant son on a doorstep, intending to “find” and adopt him legally. However, the plan goes awry when a wealthy neighbor adopts the boy first, forcing Jody to watch her son grow up from a distance.

As the years pass, Jody transforms from a heartbroken girl into a cold, successful businesswoman, driven by her singular obsession with being near her son, Griggsy. She eventually moves to New York and becomes a high-powered executive in the cosmetics industry, providing for the boy financially through anonymous “commissions” while remaining a family friend he barely knows. The emotional weight of the film rests on Jody’s internal struggle: the agony of a mother who cannot claim her own child and the sacrificial love required to let him believe he belongs to another family.

Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was a master of Hollywood’s “Golden Age,” uniquely known for blending a sophisticated visual aesthetic with deep emotional sensitivity. Before moving into the director’s chair, he began his career as an architect, set designer, and costume designer—most notably for Cecil B. DeMille—a background that gifted his films with an unmatched level of style and glamour. While he excelled in the screwball comedy genre with hits like Easy Living (1937) and Midnight (1939), he was equally revered for his “woman’s pictures” and lush melodramas, such as To Each His Own (1946) and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). Often overshadowed by the writers he worked with, such as Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges, Leisen is now remembered as a director’s director whose meticulous attention to detail and ability to elicit nuanced, Academy Award-winning performances defined the Paramount Pictures house style of the 1930s and 40s.

Olivia de Havilland (1916 – 2020) was a British-American actress and two-time Best Actress Academy Award winner. De Havilland’s career spanned more than five decades. She was one of the leading actresses of the 1940s and was the last major surviving star from Hollywood’s “Golden Age.” Some of de Havilland’s classic films include The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Gone with the Wind (1939), Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949).

John Lund (1911 – 1992) was a versatile American actor who rose to prominence during the post-war era of Hollywood, initially carving out a career as a writer and stage performer. Before his film debut, Lund showcased his creative range on Broadway, not only acting in productions like The Hasty Heart (1945) but also writing the book and lyrics for the revue New Faces of 1943. His transition to the screen was immediate and prestigious, starring in dual roles as both the father and son in Mitchell Leisen’s To Each His Own (1946). This debut established him as a reliable and sophisticated leading man, leading to a decade of high-profile collaborations at Paramount and MGM. He famously held his own against powerhouse stars like Marlene Dietrich in Billy Wilder’s A Foreign Affair (1948) and Barbara Stanwyck in No Man of Her Own (1950). Though he eventually moved into character roles—most notably as the straight-laced fiancé George Kittredge in the musical High Society (1956)—Lund remained a respected figure in the industry, serving as a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild for nearly a decade before retiring from the screen in the early 1960s.

 

Olivia de Havilland and John Lund

Too Each His Own trivia

• The “De Havilland Decision” Catalyst: This was the first film Olivia de Havilland made after her landmark legal victory against Warner Bros. She had been blacklisted for two years while fighting a studio system that extended actor contracts indefinitely. Her performance—and subsequent Oscar win—proved she could still command the screen despite the long absence and industry hostility.
• Sequential Storytelling: Unusually for a major production, director Mitchell Leisen insisted on filming the movie in chronological order. This was done to help de Havilland naturally portray the character’s physical and emotional aging over the film's 27-year span, allowing her to gradually adjust her voice, posture, and energy.
• Olfactory Method Acting: To further distinguish the three different eras of her character's life (youth, middle age, and older age), Olivia de Havilland wore a different perfume for each section of the shoot. She famously chose Chanel No. 5 for the final World War II sequences to help her inhabit the persona of a sophisticated, successful businesswoman.
• The "Human" Oscar: On the final day of filming, Mitchell Leisen and producer Charles Brackett were so impressed by de Havilland’s performance that they presented her with a “living Oscar” as a wrap gift: a man painted entirely in gold body-stocking material, mimicking the famous statuette.

 

Olivia de Havilland and Griff Barnett

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Olivia de Havilland received her Best Actress Oscar from Ray Milland.

Discussion questions

1. The Burden of Social Morality: Jody Norris makes the agonizing decision to give up her son to avoid a scandal in her small town. In the context of 1917 America, was her choice an act of maternal sacrifice or an act of cowardice? How does the film portray the community’s judgment as a character in its own right?
2. The Duality of John Lund: Director Mitchell Leisen made the deliberate choice to cast John Lund as both the father (Capt. Bart Cosgrove) and the grown son (Gregory). How does this double-casting affect the audience’s emotional experience? Does seeing the father’s face on the son make Jody’s obsession more sympathetic, or does it make her inability to move on feel more tragic?
3. Professional Success vs. Personal Loss: As the years pass, Jody becomes a wealthy and powerful executive in the cosmetics industry. To what extent is her professional drive a substitute for her missing motherhood? Does the film suggest that her success is hollow without her son, or does it present her as a trailblazing woman of her time?
4. The Final Recognition: In the film’s famous climax, Gregory finally acknowledges Jody with the line, “I think this is our dance, Mother.” Why do you think the film waits until the very last moment for this revelation? Does this happy ending make up for the twenty-seven years of separation, or is the resolution bittersweet given the time they lost?

Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, and Paulette Goddard try to “Hold Back the Dawn”

Set against the backdrop of a dusty Mexican border town, Hold Back the Dawn (1941), directed by Mitchell Leisen, follows the story of Georges Iscovescu (Charles Boyer), a suave but desperate European dancer stranded in a crowded hotel. Having fled the turmoil of war-torn Europe, Georges is one of many refugees stuck in a bureaucratic limbo, waiting for a quota number that will allow him to legally enter the United States. When he realizes his wait could last years, he becomes disillusioned and decides to take a more cynical path to gain entry.

The plot pivots when Georges encounters an old flame and former dance partner, Anita Dixon (Paulette Goddard), who has successfully entered the U.S. by marrying an American citizen and then quickly divorcing him. Anita convinces Georges that his best chance at freedom is to find a naive American woman to marry for the sole purpose of obtaining a visa. This cold-hearted plan sets the stage for a calculated seduction, as Georges begins to scan the various tourists visiting the border for a suitable target.

His mark arrives in the form of Emmy Brown (Olivia de Havilland), a sweet, wholesome schoolteacher from California who has brought her students on a brief field trip across the border. Sensing her innocence and romantic nature, Georges turns on his considerable charm, sweeping her off her feet in a whirlwind twenty-four-hour courtship. Emmy, unaware of the legal mechanics behind his sudden affection, falls deeply in love and agrees to marry him, believing she has found a genuine soulmate amidst the chaos of the world.

The final act of the story explores the growing tension between Georges’s deceptive intentions and the unexpected emotional impact of Emmy’s unwavering kindness. As an immigration officer begins to investigate the suspicious speed of their marriage, Georges is forced to navigate a high-stakes game of pretense. The film focuses on the psychological conflict of a man caught between his desperate need for a new life and the guilt of exploiting a woman who represents the very best of the country he is so desperate to join.

 

Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland

Hold Back the Dawn trivia

1. The Movie That Made Billy Wilder a Director

The legendary Billy Wilder co-wrote the screenplay, but he was so infuriated by the filming process that he vowed never to let another director “ruin” his scripts again. Specifically, lead actor Charles Boyer refused to film a scene Wilder had written where his character, in a moment of despondent isolation, has a conversation with a cockroach on his hotel wall. When director Mitchell Leisen sided with the actor and cut the scene, Wilder decided he had to become a director himself to protect his work. His very next project was his directorial debut, The Major and the Minor (1942).

2. Semi-Autobiographical Origins

The film’s focus on the grueling wait for a U.S. visa was deeply personal for Billy Wilder. As a Jewish refugee fleeing Nazi Germany, Wilder had actually spent time stranded in a Mexican border town (Mexicali) in the late 1930s, waiting for his own quota number to come up so he could legally re-enter the United States. He channeled that genuine anxiety and the “limbo” of the border hotels directly into the script.

3. The Sister vs. Sister Oscar Showdown

The 1941 Academy Awards featured one of the most famous sibling rivalries in history. Olivia de Havilland was nominated for Best Actress for Hold Back the Dawn, while her sister, Joan Fontaine, was nominated in the same category for Hitchcock’s Suspicion. When Fontaine won, it notoriously cooled their relationship for years. This remains one of the few times in Oscar history that two sisters competed against each other for the same top honor.

4. A Clever “Meta” Cameo

The film uses a “story-within-a-story” framing device where Charles Boyer’s character enters a movie studio to sell his life story to a director. The director he speaks to is played by none other than Mitchell Leisen, the real-life director of Hold Back the Dawn. In the scene, Leisen is shown directing a movie starring Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy, which was actually real footage from I Wanted Wings, a film Leisen had completed just months earlier.

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Discussion questions

 1. The Morality of the “Visa Marriage”

Georges begins the film as a cynical opportunist who views Emmy merely as a “passport” to the United States. Given the desperate circumstances of the European refugees in the hotel, does the film successfully make Georges a sympathetic protagonist, or does his exploitation of Emmy’s innocence make him irredeemable? At what specific point in the film—if ever—do you think his feelings for her become genuine?

2. The Portrayal of Bureaucracy and the Border

Hold Back the Dawn was released in 1941, while the real-world visa crisis for refugees was at its peak. How does the film portray the American immigration system? Does the “limbo” of the Mexican border town feel like a prison, or is it presented with the lighthearted touch typical of Paramount romances of that era? Consider how the setting of the Hotel Esperanza reflects the emotional state of its residents.

3. Emmy Brown: Naivety vs. Strength

Emmy is often described as a “wholesome schoolteacher,” a archetype common in 1940s cinema. However, by the end of the film, she is forced to confront a devastating betrayal. Does Emmy remain a victim throughout the story, or does her reaction to the truth show a different kind of strength? Discuss how Olivia de Havilland’s performance (which earned her an Oscar nomination) elevates a character that could have been a one-dimensional "mark."

4. The “Wilder” Influence and Tone

Knowing that Billy Wilder was frustrated by the direction of this film, can you spot the “Wilder touch” in the dialogue or the darker, more cynical moments of the plot? Compare the sophisticated, witty banter between Georges and Anita to the earnest, romantic scenes with Emmy. How do these two different “worlds”—the cynical European past and the optimistic American future—clash within the film’s narrative?

 

 

Barbara Stanwyck has “No Man of Her Own”

The film tells the suspenseful story of Helen Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck), a desperate, unwed, and pregnant woman who has been abandoned by her callous lover.

While traveling on a train, a tragic accident results in a dramatic twist of fate: Helen is mistaken for a wealthy, deceased woman, Patrice Harkness (Phyllis Thaxter), whose new in-laws, the kindly and affluent Harkness family, have never met her.

With nowhere else to turn and motivated by a desire to provide a secure life for her newborn son, Helen reluctantly steps into the new identity. She finds herself welcomed into a loving, comfortable home, all while trying to maintain the deception.

However, her fragile new world is threatened when her sleazy ex-boyfriend, Stephen Morley (Lyle Bettger), reappears, eager to exploit her newfound wealth and position. Helen must fight to keep her secret and protect the life she’s desperately built, especially as she develops a growing mutual attraction with William “Bill” Harkness (John Lund), the deceased husband’s brother.

This film noir-tinged melodrama explores themes of desperation, mistaken identity, and the possibility of reinvention and redemption when one is pushed to the limit.

Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund

Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was an American director who was one of Paramount Pictures' most successful directors during the 1930s and 1940s. He directed Olivia de Havilland to her first Best Actress Oscar in To Each His Own (1946). He also directed Ginger Rogers in Lady in the Dark (1944), as well as the Christmas classic Remember the Night  (1940) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Leisen’s last big movie success was the comedy The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, and Thelma Ritter in an Oscar-nominated performance.

Barbara Stanwyck (1907 – 1990) was an American film star who got her acting start with a supporting role on Broadway in a play called The Noose (1926). The next year, she had the lead in another Broadway production, Burlesque which was a huge hit. She eventually made it to Hollywood, where her success was not immediate. Director Frank Capra saw something in Stanwyck, and he educated her in filmmaking and film acting; the rest is history. Stanwyck was nominated four times for the Best Actress Oscar—Stella Dallas (1937), Ball of Fire (1941), Double Indemnity (1945), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)—and remains one of the most beloved movie stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

John Lund (1911 – 1992) was an American film, stage, and radio actor known for his work across drama and comedy genres from the 1940s to the 1960s. After an early career that included work in advertising and appearances on Broadway, such as the play The Hasty Heart, he was signed to a film contract with Paramount Pictures. Lund’s breakthrough film role was in To Each His Own (1946), and he went on to star in films like the Billy Wilder-directed A Foreign Affair (1948), No Man of Her Own (1950), alongside Barbara Stanwyck, The Mating Season (1951), and the musical High Society (1956). He also starred in the radio series Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar from 1952 to 1954 and served as a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild throughout the 1950s before retiring from acting in the early 1960s.

No Man of Her Own trivia

• Stanwyck played Helen Ferguson, which happened to be the name of her publicist. Ferguson was one of the best-known publicists of the era.
• Remade as Mrs. Winterbourne starring Shirley MacLane and Riki Lake.
• The film was Lyle Bettger’s film debut. They would work together again in All I Desire (1953).
• Filmed in 1949, but not released until 1950.
• One of Jane Cowl’s last films. She died in 1950, the year the film was released.

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Discussion questions

1. Moral Dilemma and Sympathy: Helen Ferguson’s decision to assume Patrice’s identity is based on desperation and a desire to protect her child. At what point in the film does the audience's sympathy for Helen’s predicament shift, and does her initial motive justify the subsequent lies and actions she takes?
2. Genre and Tone: The film is often described as a blend of the “woman's picture” and Film Noir. How do the visual style, plot elements (like the train crash and the blackmail subplot), and Helen’s narration contribute to the feeling of doom and inescapable fate typical of Film Noir, even within the melodramatic framework of a family drama?
3. Identity and Class: Helen, a poor, unwed mother, steps into the life of the wealthy Patrice Harkness. What does the film suggest about the societal importance of identity and class in post-war America? Could Helen have achieved a similar level of security and acceptance if she had revealed her true self to the Harkness family immediately?
4. The Role of the Harkness Family: How do the kindness and immediate acceptance of Mr. and Mrs. Harkness—people who were essentially strangers—influence Helen’s choices? Does their profound goodness make Helen’s deceit more heartbreaking or more understandable, and how does John Lund’s character, Bill, complicate her new life?

Edward Arnold shows Jean Arthur some “Easy Living”

Easy Living (1937) is an American screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, and Ray Milland. The screenplay was written by Preston Sturges from a story by Vera Caspary (Laura). The supporting cast includes William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Luis Alberni, and Robert Greig.

On her way to work, Mary Smith (Arthur) is hit with a sable coat while riding in a double-decker bus. The coat was thrown off of the New York City penthouse by J.B. Ball (Arnold) during an argument with his wife. Little does Mary know how that sable coat will change her life, especially after she meets J.B. Ball Jr. (Milland), not knowing who he is.

Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, and Ray Milland

Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was an American director who was one of Paramount Pictures most successful directors during the 1930s and 1940s. He directed Olivia de Havilland to her first Best Actress Oscar in To Each His Own (1946). He also directed Ginger Rogers in Lady in the Dark (1944), as wekk as the Christmas classic Remember the Night  (1940) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Leisen’s last big movie success was the comedy The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, and Thelma Ritter in an Oscar-nominated performance.

Jean Arthur (1900 – 1991) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned three decades. Arthur got her start in silent films but became a major star with the advent of sound. Her unique speaking voice made her a natural for comedy. She came to prominence with major roles in a series of films directed by Frank Capra: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other popular films Arthur starred in included Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), The More the Merrier (1943). For her work in The More the Merrier, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, her only Academy Award nomination. Arthur’s last film role was in the western classic Shane (1953). After retiring from acting, she taught drama at Vassar College where one of her students was Meryl Streep.

Edward Arnold (1890 – 1956) was an American film and stage actor. Arnold started acting on the legitimate stage before finding work in film in 1916. He returned to the stage in 1919 and didn’t appear in film again until Okay America! (1932). In the early years of his film career, he played leading man roles but as he got older, he appeared in character roles and was never without work. He often worked on more than one picture at once. Some popular films that Arnold starred in include The Toast of New York (1937), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and Meet John Doe (1941).

Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) was a Welsh-American movie star and film director. He won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). Milland played bit parts at M-G-M and Paramount. While at Paramount, he was loaned to Universal to for a lead in the Deanna Durbin movie Three Smart Girls (1936). The success of the film led to him being cast in leading roles. He became one of Paramount’s biggest stars, remaining there for almost 20 years. Other films starring Milland include The Major and the Minor (1942), Reap the Wild Wind (1942) where he had top billing over John Wayne, the horror classic The Uninvited (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Later in his career, he starred as Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story (1970).

 

Jean Arthur at the automat.

Easy Living trivia

• The furs and jewelry used in the film were real. Guards were posted during the shooting to ensure that none of the valuables were stolen.
• The $58,000 sable coat in 1937, would cost more than $1.18M today.
• This was the first film that Preston Sturges worked on at Paramount.
• Jean Arthur was almost seven years older than Ray Milland.

 

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Discussion questions

1. What did you think of the character of J. B. Ball played by Edward Arnold?
2. Was Jean Arthur believable as a working-class young woman caught up in a scandal?
3. Were Ray Milland and Jean Arthur believable as a couple?
4. What did you think of the automat scene?
5. Did you have a favorite scene, piece of dialogue, or character actor?
6. How would you rank this screwball comedy? Is it in your top ten?

Screening of "Remember the Night" December 5 at the Daystar Center

“Holiday” Series: Remember the Night (1940)
Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street
When: December 5, 2017
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald


Remember the Night (1940) is a rarely seen holiday classic features the first screen pairing of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray.

Stanwyck is Lee Leander, a shoplifter on trial for stealing an expensive bracelet from a jewelry store during the Christmas holidays. The judge decides to postpone her trial till after the New Year, which means Stanwyck would be spending Christmas in jail. Lawyer, John Sargent (MacMurray) takes pity on Lee and pays her bail so she doesn’t have to spend the holidays locked up. John invites Lee to his mother’s home, where he grew up, which makes a big impression on her. The warmth of Sargent’s family and the magic of the Christmas holiday make Lee take stock of her life.

Directed by the too-often-neglected Mitchell Leisen, with a script by Preston Sturges, Remember the Night features a dream of a supporting cast that includes Beulah Bondi, Elizabeth Patterson, and Sterling Holloway.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Preston Sturges series: Screening of “Easy Living” February 23 at Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: Easy Living
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: February 23, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Easy Living (1937) is a classic screwball comedy with a screenplay by Preston Sturges and direction
by Mitchell Leisen. Jean Arthur stars as a poor working girl whose life is turned upside down when a sable coat, thrown from the penthouse apartment of financier J.B. Bull (Edward Arnold), lands on her head, ruining her hat. Bull lets Mary keep the coat, leading gossipers to assume that she is his mistress.

The plot begins when J.B. Bull finds out that his wife (Mary Nash) has purchased a $58,000 (almost a million dollars today!) sable coat without letting him know about it. In frustration, Bull throws the coat off of his terrace. The coat floats down and lands on the head of Mary Smith (Arthur) while she is riding to work on a double-decker bus with an open roof. Startled and confused, Mary goes door to door looking for the coat’s owner. While she is doing this she runs into Bull who lets her keep the coat (she has no idea it’s sable)) and offers to buy her a new hat on his way to the office. The hat shop proprietor, Van Buren (Franklin Pangborn) starts the rumor that Mary is Bull’s mistress. The rumor is passed along to Mr. Louis (Luis Alberni) the owner of the Luis Hotel, which is about to be foreclosed on by Bull.

Before you know it, Mr. Louis is offering Mary a suite in his hotel as a way to promote it. Meanwhile, Mary is completely oblivious to the ramifications of her new circumstances. She’s even ignorant of the fact that she’s been dating Bull’s son, John Ball Jr. (Ray Milland). Things get more complicated and hilarious with each passing moment.

Easy Living is the second screenplay written by Sturges that starred Arnold and Arthur. Diamond Jim featuring both stars was penned by Sturges two years earlier.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Great films of 1939: Screening of “Midnight” January 16 at Daystar Center

Great films of 1939: Midnight
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: January 16, 2016
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

A rainy night in Paris
Midnight is a delightful romantic screwball comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche. Colbert plays Eve Peabody, a down-on-her-luck showgirl stuck in Paris on a miserable rainy night. Ameche plays Tibor Czerny, a Hungarian cab driver, working in The City of Light, who takes pity on her. Pity turns to attraction, for both Tibor and Eve, but Eve is set on the finer things in life.

Pawn ticket to paradise
After Tibor has driven Eve to all the cabarets in Paris helping her find work as a blues singer, Eve slips out of Tibor’s cab while he’s getting gas. Dressed in a beautiful evening gown—the only garment she owns after losing all her money in Monte Carlo—Eve wanders into a society party to get out of the rain, using a pawn ticket as her invitation. Eve relaxes into a comfortable chair while she listens to the party’s entertainment: an overweight soprano and a very serious pianist. Stephanie (Hedda Hopper), the party host, is alerted to the fact that someone entered the party with a pawn ticket. While interrupting the pianist, she asks if anyone in the room is or knows a Eve Peabody. As Colbert sinks into her chair, she is rescued from discovery.

From bridge game to high society
Before you know it, Eve is playing bridge with rich society swells Helen Flammarion (Mary Astor), Jacques Picot (Francis Lederer), and Marcel Renaud (Rex O’Malley). When Eve asks him why he picked her to be his partner, Marcel responds, “You looked charming, you looked bored, and you looked as though you wouldn’t trump your partner’s ace.” Eve introduces herself as Madame Czerny from Hungary and Jacques is smitten with her. His current lover, Helen, is enjoying the card game less and less. In the background is George Flammarion, Helen’s husband who knows his wife is having an affair with Picot, but is still in love with her.

from left to right: Mary Astor, Don Ameche, Rex O'Malley, Francis Lederer, Claudette Colbert, and John Barrymore

The further along Eve’s deception goes, the more complicated it gets, especially when Tibor shows up at the Flammarion’s estate unannounced during a high society party. Will Tibor give Eve away or will he help keep her secret?

Midnight, a clever twist on the Cinderella tale, is a delightful romp with a brilliantly witty script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. It’s directed with a classy polish by Mitchell Leisen, a director who isn’t as well known today as he should be.

A popular commercial and critical success Midnight garnered this praise on April 6, 1939 from New York Times reviewer Frank S. Nugent:

“The ice went out of the river at the Paramount [theater] yesterday, and Spring came laughing in with “Midnight,” one of the liveliest, gayest, wittiest and naughtiest comedies of a long hard season. Its direction, by Mitchell Leisen, is strikingly reminiscent of that of the old Lubitsch… Pictures like “Midnight” should strike more often.”

We couldn’t agree more!

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Fred MacMurray: Nice-Guy Movie Star

Fred MacMurray (1908-1991) was a popular movie star during Hollywood’s Golden Age. He was so popular, that in 1943, MacMurray was the highest paid movie star in the world. For most of his career, MacMurray played likeable characters in comedies, musicals, and dramas. The few times MacMurray played heavies or “bad” guys, he surprised audiences and impressed the critics. In the 1960s and 1970s, MacMurray was America’s favorite dad on TV’s My Three Sons.

Illinois Born
Born Frederick Martin MacMurray in Kankakee, Illinois. His parents, Frederick MacMurray and Maleta Martin, eventually settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where Martin was born.

Music Scholar and Broadway Star
MacMurray studied music in school and was talented enough to win a full scholarship to Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In the early 1930s, he was part of an orchestra. He eventually ended up on Broadway working alongside the likes of Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope. In 1934, he signed with Paramount where he was groomed for movie stardom. In 1935, MacMurray appeared in seven movies, starring opposite some of the most popular leading actresses of the day, including Claudette Colbert and Katharine Hepburn. But it was his star turn opposite Carole Lombard in Michell Leisen’s Hands Across the Table that made him a bonafide movie star.

Box Office Success

Hands Across the Table was a breakthrough for both Lombard and MacMurray. The Lombard-MacMurray on-screen chemistry was a big hit with movie audiences. Paramount was quick to capitalize on their popularity by costarring them in three more films over the next two years. Lombard and MacMurray starred in two majors successes in 1937, Swing High, Swing Low (Paramount’s biggest success that year) and True Confession. Had it not been for Lombard’s untimely death in 1942, there might have been more pairings.

A "Paramount" Leading Man
During the late 1930s and 1940s, Paramount cast MacMurray opposite all of it’s top female stars, including Marlene Dietrich, Paulette Goddard, and Barbara Stanwyck. MacMurray starred with Stanwyck in the Preston Sturges scripted, Leisen directed classic, Remember the Night (1940), but it would be 1944’s Double Indemnity that would forever link the two together.

Icon Status
Cast against type as insurance salesman Walter Neff by director Billy Wilder, MacMurray showed a darker side the public had not seen before. Playing opposite Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson and Edward G. Robinson as Barton Keyes, MacMurray, who was topped billed, more than held his own. The film was a hit with the public and most critics of the day. Over the years, the film’s reputation has grown. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Double Indemnity 29 on its list of the 100 best American Films, which was nine spots higher than when the poll was taken in 1998.

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in the Billy Wilder classic Double Indemnity

Popular Costars
MacMurray continued his winning streak throughout the 1940s. He developed a reputation around Paramount as the perfect leading man. Never overpowering the leading lady, MacMurray costarred in seven films with Colbert, four with Stanwyck as well as starring in several films with Goddard and Madeleine Carroll. MacMurray could carry a film on his own as evidenced by the successful Murder, He Says (1945), directed by George Marshall.

MacMurray and Claudette Colbert starred together in seven movies.

A Turn in the Road
In 1953, his wife of 17 years passed away, leaving him with two children: 13-year old Susan and seven-year-old Robert. The following year, he married June Haver; they adopted twin daughters Katherine and Laurie in 1956. During the mid-1950s, MacMurray, like James Stewart, stayed busy starring in mostly western movies. As the 1950s came to an end, MacMurray’s career took yet another turn.

MacMurray in The Absent-Minded Professor

Disney Legend
In 1959, Walt Disney tapped MacMurray for a starring role in The Shaggy Dog. The low-budget film was a monster hit for the studio, which led to the title role in The Absent-Minded Professor in 1961 and its sequel, Son of Flubber in 1963. Disney’s top director, Robert Stevenson (Jane Eyre, Marry Poppins), turned both films into box office gold.

MacMurray caused a stir by playing a philandering husband in The Apartment.

Wilder Called Again
Director Billy Wilder called on MacMurray once again to play against type in 1960’s The Apartment. Starring alongside Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, MacMurray played wife-cheating executive Jeff D. Sheldrake. His performance was jarring to many filmgoers, who were now used to his persona as a Disney star. The Apartment would be the last film in which he would play a heel.

The first season of My Three Sons featured William Frawley as Bub.

 TV Star
Along with his new career at Disney, MacMurray entered series television in 1960 starring as widowed father Steve Douglas on My Three Sons. One of the most popular TV series of all time, it ran for 12 years and cemented MacMurray’s place in American popular culture. MacMurray, always the shrewd businessman, arranged his TV filming schedule so he could continue making films. Between 1959-1973, MacMurray starred in seven movies for Disney, with Charley and the Angel (1973) being his last.

Well Remembered

MacMurray's star is at 6421 Hollywood Blvd.

MacMurray had a natural, comfortable acting style that was often overlooked. His comedic timing was as good as anyone’s and his dramatic performances gain new respect and appreciation with each passing year. In 1987, MacMurray was the first person honored as a Disney Legend.

A true movie legend, MacMurray earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.



Trivia: MacMurray worked with two of his My Three Sons co-stars long before the series debuted. William Frawley, who played grandfather Bub, co-starred alongside MacMurray in The Princess Comes Across (1936). And William Demarest, who replaced the ailing Frawley as Uncle Charley, was one of Carole Lombard's prospective boyfriends in Hands Across the Table (1935).