Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple star in “The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer”

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) is an American screwball comedy-romance directed by Irving Reis and starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. The supporting cast includes Rudy Vallee, Ray Collins, Henry Davenport, Veda Ann Borg, Johnny Sands, and Lillian Randolph. The screenplay, written by Sidney Sheldon, won an Academy Award for Best Writing Original Screenplay. It was the only Academy Award nomination for the film.

Richard Nugent (Grant), a carefree and charming artist who finds himself in legal trouble after being accused of corrupting a minor. The accuser is the stern and elegant Judge Margaret Turner (Loy), whose younger sister, Susan (Temple), has developed a fierce crush on Richard. Susan's infatuation, sparked by his magazine photo, leads to a series of chaotic misunderstandings that land Richard in Margaret's courtroom. In a fit of frustrated fury and a desire to teach her sister a lesson, Margaret sentences Richard to "rehabilitate" Susan by pretending to be her boyfriend until her teenage crush fades away.

What could go wrong?

 

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), and All My Sons (1948).

Cary Grant (1904 – 1986) was an English-born American actor who became one of the most popular leading men in film history. 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 presented with an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.

Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Loy was a trained dancer but decided to concentrate on acting, appearing in silent films before becoming a major star with the advent of sound. Perhaps Loy is most famous for playing Nora Charles opposite William Powell in The Thin Man (1934) and its subsequent sequels. Loy and Powell were one of the screen’s most popular acting teams; they appeared in 14 films together. Loy starred opposite the top leading men of the day, including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Tyrone Power, and Cary Grant. Some of her films include Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Love Crazy  (1941), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948).

 

Cary Grant, Shirley Temple, and Myrna Loy

Shirley Temple (1928 – 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat. Temple was Hollywood’s number-one box-office star from 1934 to 1938. As the most famous child star of all time, Temple achieved worldwide fame. Her films are still popular today. Some of Temple’s movies during her child star period include Baby Take a Bow (1934), Bright Eyes (1934), Captain January (1936), Stowaway (1936), Heidi (1937), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), and The Little Princess (1939). Her popularity as a top star at Twentieth-Century Fox ended with the release of The Blue Bird (1940). The film was Fox’s answer to The Wizard of Oz (1930), but it was a disaster with critics and, more importantly, with audiences. She had some success as a teen star in films like Since You Went Away (1944) and The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). Temple turned to politics in the 1960s. She was the United States Ambassador to Ghana (1974 – 1976). She was the first female Chief of Protocol of the United States (1976 – 1977), where she was in charge of President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration and inaugural ball. She was appointed the United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia (1989 – 1992) by George H. W. Bush.

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer trivia

• At the time of filming, Shirley Temple was 18 and had been married for ten months. Cary Grant was 42 years old.
• Movie in-joke references to Shirley Temple appear in the film. Cary Grant is served a “Shirley Temple” drink in a soda shop. When Shirley’s character is packing in her room, she takes a Shirley Temple doll off the mantle of her fireplace in her bedroom.
• Myrna Loy was almost 23 years older than her younger “sister” in the film.
• This was the second of three movies starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy:
• Wings in the Dark (1934), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse (1948).

 Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on September 1, 2025, 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

1. How does the film's title, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, reflect the central conflict and themes of the story? What does the term "bobby-soxer" reveal about the period in which the film was made?
2. Analyze the character of Judge Margaret Turner. Is her decision to sentence Richard to "rehabilitate" her sister an abuse of power, a clever solution, or both? How does her professional role as a judge contrast with her personal role as an older sister?
3. The film uses a significant age gap between the characters of Richard Nugent and Susan Turner for comedic effect. How do the performances of Cary Grant and Shirley Temple ensure that the relationship remains a lighthearted infatuation and never feels inappropriate?
4. Beyond the central love story, what does the film say about the differences between generations and the expectations placed on young people and adults in the 1940s?

"The Best Years of Our Lives" is the Best Picture of 1946

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) is an American drama directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Virginia Mayo. The screenplay was written by Robert E. Sherwood, based on a novella, Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor. The cinematography was by Greg Toland.

The plot of the movie concerns three United States servicemen returning home after World War II and the struggle they have re-adjusting to civilian life. The movie is almost a time capsule of what life was like after the war and the changes it brought to American society. Apart from winning the Best Picture Academy Award, it was the top-grossing film of the year and the top-grossing film of the decade. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top 100 grossing films in the United States.

The movie lobby card downplays the seriousness of the film.

William Wyler (1902 - 1981) was an American (born in Mulhouse, Alsace, then part of Germany) film director and producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Direction three times: Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959). Wyler was nominated 12 times for Best Director, an Academy Awards history record. Wyler started working in the movie business during the silent era, eventually making a name for himself as a director in the early 1930s. He would go on to direct Wuthering Heights (1939), The Westerner (1940), and The Little Foxes (1941). Actress Bette Davis received three Oscar nominations under Wyler’s direction, winning her second Oscar for her performance in Jezebel (1938). Other popular films directed by Wyler include The Heiress (1949), Roman Holiday (1954), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1958), and Funny Girl 1968).

Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Loy was a trained dancer but decided to concentrate on acting, appearing in silent films before becoming a major star with the advent of sound. Perhaps Loy is most famous for playing Nora Charles opposite William Powell in The Thin Man (1934) and its subsequent sequels. Loy and Powell were one of the screen’s most popular acting teams; they appeared in 14 films together. Loy starred opposite the top leading men of the day including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Tyrone Power, and Cary Grant. Some of her films include Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Love Crazy  (1941), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Film character: Milly Stephenson.

Fredric March (1897 - 1975) was an American actor and two-time Best Actor Academy Award winner. Also a famous stage actor, March won two Tony Awards as well and is one of a few actors to have won both the Academy Award and the Tony Award twice. March was an immediate success in films receiving his first Best Actor nomination in 1930. He won his first Best Actor Oscar for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and his second for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). During the 1930s and 1940s, March was a popular leading man starring opposite Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn, and Carole Lombard. March continued acting on stage and in films until 1973, two years before his death from cancer. Film character: Al Stephenson.

Actor Dana Andrews (standing) refuses to serve cinematographer Greg Toland (left) and director William Wyler (right) on the set.

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) co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda; so popular was Andrews during the 1940s that he was billed above 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. Film character: Fred Derry.

Teresa Wright and Dana Andrews in a crucial scene from
The Best Years of Our Lives

Teresa Wright (1918 - 2005) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations in her first three films, a record that still holds today. In 1942, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs. Miniver and for Best Actress in The Pride of the Yankees. She won the Supporting Oscar for Mrs. Miniver, and her co-star, Greer Garson won Best Actress. Today Wright is most famous for playing Lou Gehrig’s wife in The Pride of the Yankees, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Wright was a popular star throughout the 1940s starring opposite Robert Mitchum, Ray Milland, Gary Cooper, and David Niven. She starred opposite Marlon Brando in his first film role in The Men (1950). Wright continued working in film, with her last role as Miss Birdie in The Rainmaker (1997). Wright is the only non-baseball player to be honored by the New York Yankees when she passed away at age 86. Film character: Peggy Stephenson.

Virginia Mayo (1920 - 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She made a series of popular films with Danny Kaye while under contract to Samuel Goldwyn which made her a star. In the late 1940s, Warner Bros. bought her contract from Goldwyn and she became one of the studio’s top box office attractions. At Warners, Mayo made a variety of films including musicals, comedies, and dramas. She co-starred with James Cagney in White Heat (1949), The Flame and the Arrow (1950) opposite Burt Lancaster, Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. co-starring Gregory Peck (1951), the studio’s biggest hit of the year. After her film career ended, Mayo guest-starred on much popular television series including Remington Steele, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote. Film character: Marie Derry.

Harold Russell (1914 - 2002) was a Canadian-born American World War II veteran. Russell lost both hands in a training accident when a defective fuse detonated the explosives he was handling. He was given two hooks to serve as hands and he was featured in an Army rehabilitation film, Diary of a Sergeant. This film brought Russell to the attention of director Wyler who cast him in the film. Russell won two Academy Awards. He won an honorary award for bringing hope and courage to veterans and he also won the Best Supporting Actor award, something he was not predicted to win. Russell remains one of only two non-professional actors to win Academy Awards. Haing S. Ngor won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in The Killing Field (1985). Film character: Homer Parrish.

Cathy O’Donnell (1923 - 1970) was an American actress best known for her roles in The Best Years of Our Lives, They Live by Night (1948), and Ben-Hur (1959) where she played Tirzah, the sister of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston). She appeared on the small screen on Perry Mason and Bonanza. She was married to director Wyler’s older brother Robert. She passed away after a long illness on her 22nd wedding anniversary. Film character: Wilma Cameron.

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

The Best Years of Our Lives trivia:

• The fictional Boone City was modeled after Cincinnati, Ohio.
• William Wyler hated the score by Hugo Friedhofer; it won the Oscar that year for the best film score.
• Myrna Loy was only 13 years older than Teresa Wright who played her daughter.
• The film includes four Oscar winners: Fredric March, Teresa Wright, Hoagy Carmichael (Uncle Butch), and Harold Russell.
• Future director Blake Edwards has an uncredited part as a Corporal and actor Sean Penn’s father, Leo, played a soldier working as a scheduling clerk at the beginning of the film.

To join the discussion on August 29, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you'll receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Questions for discussion:

1. The film is a product of its time. Does it still have meaning for us today in 2022?
2. What if anything surprised you about the film?
3. Did you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue that stood out to you?
4. Would you recommend this film to a friend to watch?
5. How do you think the acting holds up? Are the performances true to life?
6. Do you think the film had an anti-war message?
7. Why do you think this film resonated with audiences in 1946?

Best Picture of 1946: "The Best Years of Our Lives"

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) is an American drama directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Virginia Mayo. The screenplay was written by Robert E. Sherwood, based on a novella, Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor. The cinematography was by Greg Toland.

The plot of the movie concerns three United States servicemen returning home after World War II and the struggle they have re-adjusting to civilian life. The movie is almost a time capsule of what life was like after the war and the changes it brought to American society. Apart from winning the Best Picture Academy Award, it was the top-grossing film of the year and the top-grossing film of the decade. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top 100 grossing films in the United States.

The movie poster downplays the seriousness of the film.

William Wyler (1902 - 1981) was an American (born in Mulhouse, Alsace, then part of Germany) film director and producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Direction three times: Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959). Wyler was nominated 12 times for Best Director, an Academy Awards history record. Wyler started working in the movie business during the silent era, eventually making a name for himself as a director in the early 1930s. He would go on to direct Wuthering Heights (1939), The Westerner (1940), and The Little Foxes (1941). Actress Bette Davis received three Oscar nominations under Wyler’s direction, winning her second Oscar for her performance in Jezebel (1938). Other popular films directed by Wyler include The Heiress (1949), Roman Holiday (1954), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1958), and Funny Girl 1968).

Myrna Loy (1905 - 1993) was an American film, television, and stage actress. Loy was a trained dancer but decided to concentrate on acting, appearing in silent films before becoming a major star with the advent of sound. Perhaps Loy is most famous for playing Nora Charles opposite William Powell in The Thin Man (1934) and its subsequent sequels. Loy and Powell were one of the screen’s most popular acting teams; they appeared in 14 films together. Loy starred opposite the top leading men of the day including Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Tyrone Power, and Cary Grant. Some of her films include Wife vs. Secretary (1936), Libeled Lady (1936), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Test Pilot (1938), Too Hot to Handle (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Love Crazy  (1941), The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Film character: Milly Stephenson.

Myrna Loy (left), Fredric March, and Teresa Wright

Fredric March (1897 - 1975) was an American actor and two-time Best Actor Academy Award winner. Also a famous stage actor, March won two Tony Awards as well and is one of a few actors to have won both the Academy Award and the Tony Award twice. March was an immediate success in films receiving his first Best Actor nomination in 1930. He won his first Best Actor Oscar for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) and his second for The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). During the 1930s and 1940s, March was a popular leading man starring opposite Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Janet Gaynor, Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn, and Carole Lombard. March continued acting on stage and in films until 1973, two years before his death from cancer. Film character: Al Stephenson.

Actor Dana Andrews (standing) refuses to serve cinematographer Greg Toland (left) and director William Wyler (right) on the set.

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) co-starring Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda; so popular was Andrews during the 1940s that he was billed above 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. Film character: Fred Derry.

Teresa Wright (1918 - 2005) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations in her first three films, a record that still holds today. In 1942, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs. Miniver and for Best Actress in The Pride of the Yankees. She won the Supporting Oscar for Mrs. Miniver, her co-star, Greer Garson won Best Actress. Today Wright is most famous for playing Lou Gehrig’s wife in The Pride of the Yankees, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Wright was a popular star throughout the 1940s starring opposite Robert Mitchum, Ray Milland, Gary Cooper, and David Niven. She starred opposite Marlon Brando in his first film role in The Men (1950). Wright continued working in film, with her last role as Miss Birdie in The Rainmaker (1997). Wright is the only non-baseball player to be honored by the New York Yankees when she passed away at age 86. Film character: Peggy Stephenson.

Virginia Mayo (1920 - 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She made a series of popular films with Danny Kaye while under contract to Samuel Goldwyn which made her a star. In the late 1940s, Warner Bros. bought her contract from Goldwyn and she became one of the studio’s top box office attractions. At Warners, Mayo made a variety of films including musicals, comedies, and dramas. She co-starred with James Cagney in White Heat (1949), The Flame and the Arrow (1950) opposite Burt Lancaster, Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. co-starring Gregory Peck (1951), the studio’s biggest hit of the year. After her film career ended, Mayo guest-starred on many popular television series including Remington Steele, The Love Boat, and Murder, She Wrote. Film character: Marie Derry.

Harold Russell (1914 - 2002) was a Canadian-born American World War II veteran. Russell lost both hands in a training accident when a defective fuse detonated the explosives he was handling. He was given two hooks to serve as hands and he was featured in an Army rehabilitation film, Diary of a Sergeant. This film brought Russell to the attention of director Wyler who cast him in the film. Russell won two Academy Awards. He won an honorary award for bringing hope and courage to veterans and he also won the Best Supporting Actor award, something he was not predicted to win. Russell remains one of only two non-professional actors to win Academy Awards. Haing S. Ngor won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in The Killing Field (1985). Film character: Homer Parrish.

Cathy O’Donnell (1923 - 1970) was an American actress best known for her roles in The Best Years of Our Lives, They Live by Night (1948), and Ben-Hur (1959) where she played Tirzah, the sister of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston). She appeared on the small screen on Perry Mason and Bonanza. She was married to director Wyler’s older brother Robert. She passed away after a long illness on her 22nd wedding anniversary. Film character: Wilma Cameron.

The Best Years of Our Lives trivia:

• The fictional Boone City was modeled after Cincinnati, Ohio.
• William Wyler hated the score by Hugo Friedhofer; it won the Oscar that year for the best film score.
• Myrna Loy was only 13 years older than Teresa Wright who played her daughter.
• The film includes four Oscar winners: Fredric March, Teresa Wright, Hoagy Carmichael (Uncle Butch), and Harold Russell.
• Future director Blake Edwards has an uncredited part as a Corporal and actor Sean Penn’s father, Leo, played a soldier working as a scheduling clerk at the beginning of the film.

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

Questions for discussion:

1. The film is a product of its time. Does it still have meaning for us today in 2021?
2. What if anything surprised you about the film?
3. Did you have a favorite scene or piece of dialogue that stood out to you?
4. Would you recommend this film to a friend to watch?
5. How do you think the acting holds up? Are the performances true to life?
6. Do you think the film had an anti-war message?
7. Why do you think this film resonated with audiences in 1946?

2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival (#TCMFF) Recap: The First Day

Hollywood, Thursday April 6, 2017
The first day of the 2017 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival started for me as a reunion of sorts. After checking into my room, I headed toward the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and Club TCM to catch up with #TCMParty friends. Then it was a mad dash to the hotel pool for the annual #TCMParty “class photo.” The last two years I’ve missed the photo, but this year I was determined. After some confusion about the pool area being closed, I made it! I guess three’s a charm.

Since I had the Classic Pass, I wasn’t able to attend the 50th anniversary screening of In the Heat of the Night (1967). So my choices were Love Crazy (1941), Some like it Hot (1959), Jezebel (1938), the documentary Dawson City: Frozen in Time (2016), and the poolside screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). For me, the choice was pretty easy. I decided on Love Crazy with William Powell and Myrna Loy at the Egyptian. Actress Dana Delaney introduced the film and she was excited to do so, being a big Powell/Loy fan. This movie was new to me and it was hilarious. As always, Powell and Loy didn’t disappoint, but the movie featured great support from Gail Patrick, playing the other woman, of course, and Florence Bates, the mother-in-law from hell. And then there’s the always dependable Jack Carson on loan from Warner Bros. as the “other man.” This was a great pick to open my festival and a chance to appreciate the exceptional comic abilities of Powell and Loy, the perfect screen team.

Next up was a choice between The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Harold and Maude (1971), Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), and I’m All Right Jack (1959). Again, this was a pretty easy choice for me. I’ve seen The Man Who Knew Too Much before, but the chance to see this early Hitchcock classic featuring a nitrate print, sealed the deal for me. Martin Scorsese introduced the film, which was a big surprise since no introduction was mentioned in the printed program. He was excited to be able to share the nitrate print of this film with us. The Man Who Knew Too Much was also presented at the Egyptian (all the nitrate screenings were shown there) which made it really easy to just exit after Love Crazy and get on line for the Hitchcock classic! Nitrate prints boast a “luminous quality and higher contrast than the cellulose acetate film that replaced it,” but honestly, without a comparison, it was hard for me to notice any real difference. But it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the film. Even though I prefer the remake to the original, the 1934 version has a lot to offer in the way of suspense. We also get to see Edna Best as a leading lady before she started playing character parts like Martha Huggins in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947). Plus the way the villain is dispatched is amazingly cool and completely Hitchcockian!

Alfred Hitchcock directing The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

After that is was bedtime. Friday would be the first full day and the first films screened at 9 a.m. And my choices would be: Rafter Romance (1933), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Cry, The Beloved Country (1951), Beyond the Mouse, The 1930s Cartoons of UB Iwerks, and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). What film did I choose?

What film would you choose?

Classic Movie Man’s Favorite Christmas Movies: 2014 Edition

It’s Christmastime again. And it’s time for some more classic Christmas films to enjoy during the holidays. Some of these films you might not associate with Christmas, but all feature the holiday prominently. Make some hot chocolate, light up the fireplace and get cozy on the couch or your favorite chair to watch some great classic movies!


Lady for a Day—1933 This early Frank Capra classic (released a year before It Happened One Night) is about Apple Annie (May Robson), a poor woman who sells fruit on the streets of New York City to support her daughter’s education in a Spanish convent school. Her daughter is coming to visit her mother, who she thinks is a society lady. Annie needs a Christmas miracle to keep up the charade when her daughter arrives with her fiancé Carlos and his father, Count Romero. Will Annie’s street friends and gambler Dave the Dude (Warren William) come to her aid? What do you think? It’s great classic entertainment from one of Hollywood’s great masters.

Backstory: Capra wanted Robert Montgomery (it was written with Montgomery in mind), James Cagney or William Powell to star as Dave the Dude and Marie Dressler to star as Annie, but their respective studios wouldn’t loan them out.

The Thin Man—1934 The first of the classic films featuring Nick and Nora Charles (William Powell and Myrna Loy) includes several scenes during the Christmas holiday. Nick, a former detective and Nora, his rich wife, solve murders for the fun of it. The film combines comedy, mystery, and slapstick (check out Myrna Loy’s terrific pratfall at the beginning of the movie). The Thin Man basically invented the comedy murder-mystery genre. It’s fast and furious, featuring some of the best dialogue of all time. Nora utters my favorite: “Waiter, will you serve the nuts? I mean, will you serve the guests the nuts?”

Backstory: The very efficient W. S. Van Dyke reportedly shot the film in only two weeks. The Thin Man was the first of six movies featuring the sleuthing Nick and Nora Charles, all starring Powell and Loy.

Bright Eyes—1934 This was the first film developed for Shirley Temple. Temple is Shirley Blake who lives with her mother Mary, (Lois Wilson) a maid in the house of the Smythe family. When she becomes an orphan on Christmas morning, Shirley’s future is uncertain. Her bachelor godfather and pilot, James “Loop” Merritt (James Dunn) would like to adopt the orphan, but wheelchair-bound Uncle Ned Smythe (Charles Sellon) wants Shirley to live with him. His snooty relatives, Anita and J. Wellington Smythe and their obnoxious daughter Joy (Jane Withers) reluctantly agree to his wishes, hoping to stay in his good graces financially. This is the film that features the song “On The Good Ship Lollipop,” a tune forever identified with Temple. Bright Eyes established Temple as a top box office star. Temple would continue to be a major fan favorite throughout the 1930s.

Backstory: Temple won a special juvenile Academy Award in 1935, the first year it was presented, for her work in Bright Eyes and Little Miss Marker. Shirley’s dog, Rags (Terry) was the same dog that played Totto in The Wizard of Oz.

Love Affair—1939 One of the great films from that amazing year stars Irene Dunne as singer Terry McKay and Charles Boyer as painter and playboy Michel Marnet. The two, both engaged to other people, meet on a trans-Atlantic liner and fall in love. Terry and Michel decide to meet at the top of the Empire State Building (the closest place to heaven) six months later. When the date arrives, Terry is hit by a car crossing the street and is badly injured. It is uncertain if she will ever be able to walk. Not wanting to gain Michel’s sympathy or be a burden, Terry refuses to contact him and tell him the reason she didn’t’ show up. The two accidentally meet at a theater, but it isn’t obvious to Michel that Terry cannot walk. Michel visits Terry on Christmas, gifting her with his mother’s shawl, something Terry had admired when she met the old woman who is now deceased. Michel finds out about Terry’s injury, but decides it doesn’t matter; they will be together whatever the diagnosis.

Backstory: Love Affair was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Dunne). The film was remade twice: An Affair to Remember (1957) starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr and Love Affair (1994), starring Warren Beatty and Annette Benning.


My Reputation—1946 Barbara Stanwyck plays Jessica Drummond, a young widow and mother of two sons from Chicago’s North Shore. Jess is mourning the loss of her husband as well as attempting to navigate the demands of being an upper class society woman. Her mother, Mary (Lucille Watson) is no help at all. She’s shocked when her daughter refuses to dress in black and makes Jess feel guilty for not following her example—Mary, a widow herself has been wearing black for decades. Fortunately for Jess, she has a great friend in Gina Abbott (Eve Arden) whom she confides in. Gina invites Jess to spend a week at Lake Tahoe with her husband. While skiing she meets Major Scott Landis (George Brent) who takes an immediate interest in her. Jess likes Scott and enjoys his company, but is reluctant to get too involved. The plot thickens when a friend of Jess’s mother sees her enter Scott’s apartment. It doesn’t take long for the society gang to spread rumors about Jess and her reputation, now seemingly tarnished. When Jess’s boys Kim (Scotty Beckett) and Keith (Bobby Cooper) come home from a Christmas party after hearing the gossip about their mother, things take an interesting turn. Stanwyck gives a subtle and sensitive performance as Jess and is ably supported by Brent and the rest of the cast. My Reputation is so well done and it’s a wonderful film to watch during the holidays.

Backstory: Made in 1944, the movie wasn’t released until 1946. The movie premiered in England to the Armed Forces. My Reputation was the first movie since the production code—enforced in 1934—to feature a double bed in a married couple’s bedroom.

In the Good Old Summertime—1949 Don’t let the title fool you! This musical remake of the Ernst Lubitsch classic, The Shop Around the Corner has several critical scenes that take place during the Christmas holidays and features the song “Merry Christmas.” Veronica Fisher (Judy Garland) and Andrew Larking (Van Johnson) are battling coworkers in a music store owned by Otto Oberkugen (S.Z. Sakall). Unbeknownst to Veronica and Andrew is the fact that they are each other’s secret pen pal. Garland is absolutely charming as Veronica and Johnson is perfect as Andrew. The supporting cast is a film buff’s delight that features the talents of Sakall, Spring Byington, Clinton Sundberg, and Buster Keaton, making his first film at M-G-M since being fired from the studio in 1933.

Backstory: Judy Garland replaced June Alyson who had to drop out of the movie due to pregnancy. Liza Minnelli made her film debut as the child of Veronica and Andrew in the closing shot.

Room for One More—1952 This heartwarming family film was a favorite of my family, especially around Christmastime. The movie stars Cary Grant and Betsy Drake (who were married at the time) as George “Poppy” and Anna Rose, a middle-class family who foster children who eventually become permanent members of their family. Anna is the softy of the two, or so it seems. The Roses have three children of their own, but after visiting an orphanage, Anna feels compelled to help at least one child. Poppy who is reluctant and grumpy about his wife’s willingness to bring strange children into their home, eventually warms up to the idea. Room for One More is a wonderfully entertaining film that demonstrates the importance of family, love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Backstory: The words “under God” are missing from the Pledge of Allegiance the schoolchildren recite because they weren’t added until 1954.

What do you think these of these choices? I would love to hear from you. Merry Christmas!

There are so many great classic movies to watch during the holidays. The above are just a small sampling. For a list of some other classic Christmas movies, click on the links below.

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies: 2010 Edition
Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies: 2011 Edition

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies: 2012 Edition

Classic Movie Man's Favorite Christmas Movies: 2013 Edition

Classic Movies for Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so I thought I’d suggest five classic films with mothers as the main characters. Several of the movies listed will be familiar to most, but there may be a few you haven’t seen. These films are hardly an exhaustive list and I know I’ve left out some beloved films, but these are all great movies starring true Hollywood legends. Let me know what you think and feel free to offer up your personal Mother’s Day favorites.

Irene Dunne as Marta Hanson

I Remember Mama (1948)—Irene Dunne received her fifth Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in this film. The story is told through the eyes of daughter Katrin (Barbara Bel Geddes). Katrin yearns to be a writer, but can’t seem to write anything worth publishing. That is until she writes about her mother. As Marta Hanson the matriarch of a clan of Norwegian Americans living in San Francisco during the early 1900s, Dunne gives a sensitive and multi-layered characterization. A simple story, simply told, it is both charming and poignant; you’ll find it hard to resist. Dunne was still a beautiful woman when filming began—she was 50, but looked decades younger—so she put on a fat suit, acquired a perfect Norwegian accent, and dressed in simple, worn-looking dresses. The amazing supporting cast includes Ellen Corby, Edgar Bergen, Philip Dorn, Florence Bates, Rudy Vallee, and Oscar Homolka. Directed with a steady hand by George Stevens, I Remember Mama holds up extraordinarily well and is a classic in every sense of the word. Hankie Alert: One, but it will be wringing wet!

Joan Crawford (left) and Ann Blyth play mother
and daughter in Mildred Pierce.

Mildred Pierce (1945)—Joan Crawford stars in the title role as a mother determined to be successful in the business world. After divorcing her husband Bert (Bruce Bennett), Mildred works hard to support her children as a waitress. She learns the restaurant business inside and out, eventually saving enough money to open Mildred’s, a restaurant of her own. Soon she has a small chain of restaurants and Mildred is riding high. But nothing can satisfy her spoiled eldest daughter Veda (Ann Blyth). Veda is a social-climbing snob who resents her mother’s middle-class roots. No matter what Mildred does for Veda, it just isn’t enough. As the self-sacrificing mother, Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Based on the novel by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce is an engrossing film told from the woman’s point of view. Warner Brothers’s top director, Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), ably supported Crawford. A great supporting cast that includes Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden, all doing great work here, only adds to the fun. Hankie Alert: One.

Barbara Stanwyck as Stella Dallas

Stella Dallas (1937)—Barbara Stanwyck in the title role, plays the ultimate self-sacrificing mother in this classic directed by King Vidor. As a poor girl who marries up only to find out that life at the top isn’t exactly what she thought it would be, Stanwyck is amazing. In the hands of a less talented actress, this film could have been one big hot, sentimental mess. When Stanwyck marries the richest guy in town, she is disillusioned with society life and finds it constraining. After she gives birth to a baby girl, her husband Stephen (John Boles) has society expectations that Stella rebels against. Divorced, Stella raises her daughter Laurel (Anne Shirley) on her own. When Stephen enters a relationship with an upper-class widow, Laurel is introduced to a world of refinement and beauty that are hard to resist. Although she loves her mother, the garish way she dresses and how Stella carries on with old family friend Ed Munn (Alan Hale) embarrass Laurel. Stella sees her daughter slowly drifting away and makes a decision that changes both of their lives forever. Hankie Alert: Three, at least.

Dunne and Alan Marshall share a moment
in The White Cliffs of Dover.

The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)—A huge hit when released in 1944, this film isn’t as well remembered today. However, M-G-M thought this film was good enough to be the studio’s 20th Anniversary release. The movie is based on the verse novel The White Cliffs by Alice Duer Miller. Irene Dunne plays Susan Dunn, a young American woman on vacation in England with her father (Frank Morgan). During her visit, she meets John Asherwood (Alan Marshall), a young British officer and titled gentleman. After a brief courtship, they marry. Shortly thereafter, World War I breaks out and John is off to war. Susan loses John just before the war ends, but gives birth to a son, John Jr. As John grows up and the shadow of another world war blankets Europe, Susan fears she will lose her son too. Susan learns that she cannot hold onto John Jr. just like she couldn’t hold onto his father. The film gives us a glimpse of the tragedy of war from a female perspective that is compelling and heartbreaking. Directed by Clarence Brown (National Velvet), the film features some great British actors in supporting roles, including C. Aubrey Smith, Dame May Whitty, Gladys Cooper, and Roddy McDowell. Van Johnson and an unbilled, and very young, Elizabeth Taylor, round out the cast. Hankie Alert: Two, maybe three.

Myrna Loy played the mother of 12 children
in Cheaper By the Dozen.

Cheaper By the Dozen (1950) This film is based on the real life story of efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth (Clifton Webb) and Lillian Moller Gilbreth (Myrna Loy) and their 12 children! Jeanne Crain plays eldest daughter Ann who narrates the film. Directed by Walter Lang and shot in beautiful Technicolor by the award-winning cinematographer, Leon Shamroy, it’s picture postcard perfect. As the mother of the Gilbreth brood, Loy radiates warmth and charm. One of the most popular films of 1950, Cheaper By the Dozen was followed up with Belles on Their Toes in 1952 starring Crain and Loy. Hankie Alert: Maybe half a hankie. You’ll mostly be smiling during this family classic.

Classic Movie Man's Guilty Pleasure: "Elephant Walk"

Part of the fun of loving movies is loving the ones that don’t quite hit the mark and are sometimes so bad they’re good. One of my guilty movie pleasures is 1954’s Elephant Walk. A big-budget spectacle from Paramount Studios, it’s a mixed bag of movie cliches with several allusions to better films.


From London Bookshop to Ceylon Tea Plantation
The plot surrounds a tea planter, John Wiley from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), who comes to England at the end of World War II to find a bride to take back with him. The tea planter is the serious and sober Peter Finch. His young bride is the breathtakingly beautiful and young Elizabeth Taylor (she was 23 when the film was released). From the film narrative, we find that this was some kind of a whirlwind romance, with Ruth, a bookstore clerk, (Taylor’s character) hardly knowing anything about her new husband or his family (like Liz Taylor's real life).

Mandalay in South Asia

South Asian Mandalay
As you probably already guessed, Ruth is at first swept off her feet by John. When she arrives at Elephant Walk, the family mansion, a kind of South Asian Mandalay, its beauty and opulence awe Ruth. She learns that her new home was deliberately built on the path the elephants used to get to their water source by John’s father, alternately known as the “Old Master” and “the Guv’nor.” Apparently, the Old Master, even though long passed away, seems to be the force behind Elephant Walk. Two minutes cannot go by without someone talking about the Guv’nor. You know almost immediately that the elephants will be causing trouble and boy do they ever.

Appuhamy: Mrs. Danvers with a mustache

"Didn't I See You in Rebecca?"
When Ruth arrives at Elephant Walk, an army of servants headed by Appuhamy, the estate’s majordomo, greet her. Sinister and reserved, Appuhamy is a male version of Judith Anderson’s character in Rebecca. The welcome home scene is similar to the Hitchcock classic. Even though he is a servant, Appuhamy looks at Ruth with suspicion and disdain. If we jump ahead two years, Mercedes McCambridge’s Luz Benedict, is a female Appuhamy, giving Taylor’s character, Leslie the same kind of treatment in Giant (a much better film for sure).

Bicycle polo at Elephant Walk

Bicycle Polo, Anyone?
At a party to meet John’s friends and associates, Ruth is introduced to Dick Carver, (Dana Andrews) the plantation boss. Carver is instantly attracted to Ruth, and who wouldn’t be? Taylor’s character is sewed into some pretty remarkable Edith Head creations, showing that 23-year-old body off to its best advantage. When Taylor realizes that she’s the only white woman within miles of Elephant Walk, she begins to wonder if she made a mistake by marrying John. When John and his friends stay up to all hours of the night drinking and playing bicycle polo inside the house, Ruth is distraught. As the film progresses, she feels more and more isolated. And then there’s the secret room that only Appuhamy has the key to. It’s the key to the Old Master’s room, a virtual shrine to the dead man, just like the first Mrs. DeWinter’s room in Rebecca. And just like Rebecca, the Old Master’s presence permeates the film. Jeepers, his crypt is in the backyard, just outside Ruth’s bedroom window!

Paris or Bust
While John is confined to bed with a leg fracture from his bicycle polo exploits, Ruth spends time with Dick. As the only one at Elephant Walk who doesn’t worship the Old Master, he becomes Ruth’s confidant. Dick makes a pass at Ruth, but she tries to resist his advances. As time goes by, Ruth plans to leave Elephant Walk and go to Paris with Dick, something Dick was planning to do before Ruth arrived.

Elizabeth Taylor (Ruth) and Dana Andrews (Dick) in a publicity still for the film

But then, a cholera epidemic breaks out and Ruth decides she cannot leave her husband, even though we’re not exactly sure what she sees in the bore. Dick, as played by Andrews, is a much warmer and sympathetic character; it isn’t hard to understand why she (or any other woman under the same circumstances) might want to run off with him. Dick’s character is dressed elegantly in white and khaki suits, often wearing a lightweight fedora. He looks like the tropical version of detective Mark McPherson from Laura, a role Andrews played ten years earlier.

That Pesky Epidemic
Oh, yes, the cholera epidemic. Servants all of a sudden start passing out, falling down, and the whole area is put under quarantine. This keeps Ruth from running off with Dick to Paris (rats!). After about two seconds, Ruth throws herself into helping the natives fight the epidemic. Looking like Myrna Loy in The Rains Came, she spends her days cutting pieces of cloth, filling jugs with water, disinfecting things, and constantly wiping the sweat off her brow while Appuhamy, her new best friend, tells her to rest. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, the elephants come back, reclaiming their pathway while the estate is left unguarded.

Tyrone Power and Myrna Loy in The Rains Came (1939)

Elephants Rule!
The elephants stampede Elephant Walk, demolishing the wall that surrounds it. They enter the house, upending the furniture, and knocking over burning candles and chandeliers. And they maul Appuhamy, Ruth's new BFF right in front of her eyes (she closes them of course) while she screams in terror. As the elephants destroy the house, it catches fire. Ruth tries to outrun the elephants and escape but finds herself trapped. Her husband back from burying the dead cholera victims rescues Ruth from the fire and the elephants, but Elephant Walk is no more. As the mansion burns to the ground, Ruth recommits herself to John, just like, oh, yeah, Rebecca (and Jane Eyre too)! Dick coming back for Ruth, sees her on a hill with her husband. Realizing that he and Ruth have no future together, Dick decides to go to Paris by himself since Ruth was the only reason he stayed at Elephant Walk for as long as he did. The End.

The Classic Movie Man's Verdict
Even with all the cliches and sometimes hackneyed dialogue, I still find this film incredibly compelling. Maybe it’s the cast, although my favorite New York Times critic, Bosley Crowther, had these kind words for the three stars: “Miss Taylor's performance of the young wife is petulant and smug. Mr. Andrews is pompous as the manager. And Mr. Finch, as the husband, is just plain bad.” Oh, my. On the plus side, the movie looks good. The on-location cinematography isn’t too bad. The score by Franz Waxman is lush and beautiful. Taylor’s Edith Head costumes are stunning and show the actress off to her best advantage. On the negative side, the process photography looks cheap. There’s a scene where Ruth and Dick are riding horses. The horses are at a slow trot, but the background is practically racing by. Perhaps, audiences in 1954 were more forgiving than we are today, but it looks really fake. The direction by William Dieterle can be described as plodding at best; nothing seems to flow very smoothly. But fortunately, those stampeding elephants save the day by adding some much-needed action and excitement.

I mentioned Rebecca earlier in this piece and I think it tries to borrow some of the tension and suspense that movie engendered, but with limited success. The comparisons, some already noted are too obvious: Appuhamy as a male Mrs. Danvers, the room that is a shrine, and the climatic fire that destroys the mansion and the memory of the Old Master. But that’s what films do, borrow from each other. Some do so successfully, some not so. Elephant Walk falls into the not-so category. Still as mentioned before, it’s somehow compelling. It’s one of my classic movie guilty pleasures. And that’s okay. In spite of it all, enough people went to see Elephant Walk in 1954 to make it a box office hit.

What are your movie guilty pleasures? I’d love to hear from you.

Lombard Comes Across

If 1935 was a good year for Carole Lombard, 1936 was the year she became a screen immortal. The three films she made in 1936 were critical and box offices successes, with My Man Godfrey (which will be the subject of a future post) becoming one of the most famous film comedies of all time.

Becoming a film icon
Lombard's first release of 1936 was Love Before Breakfast, a modern-day take on The Taming of the Shrew, costarring Preston Foster and Cesar Romero. On loan to Universal, Lombard's name is the only one appearing above the title. The poster art for the film features a painting of Lombard with a black eye. When the poster, plastered on a wall in an Atlanta, Georgia, town became the subject of a photograph by Walker Evans, it only helped burnish Lombard's emergence as a screen icon.  Love Before Breakfast is far from a classic, but it is an entertaining film and it showcases Lombard's ability to carry a picture.


The second Lombard release is an interesting comedy, The Princess Comes Across. It reunited her with Fred MacMurray, who she costarred with the year before in the much-heralded Hands Across the Table. The Princess Comes Across combined elements of screwball comedy with a murder mystery,  popularized by films like The Thin Man, starring Lombard's ex-husband William Powell and Myrna Loy.

I want to be alone
The Princess Comes Across is a romp for Lombard. She gets to imitate Greta Garbo in her characterization of princess Olga, the personality she creates to get a movie contract. The cast headlined by Lombard is ably supported by MacMurray, Alison Skipworth, Porter Hall, Sig Rumann, William Frawley, and Mischa Auer.

You can take that to the bank
Lombard was fast becoming one of Paramount Pictures's biggest and most bankable stars. During this period, she was a bigger box office draw than Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Janet Gaynor, and Marlene Dietrich. In 1935, Lombard was making $3000 a week, but her fortunes would change in 1937 when she would earn $150,000 per picture, making her one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood.