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Post by dianedebuda on Mar 4, 2023 19:52:40 GMT
It's too bad that Julie London never made it big in the movies like she did in the TV series Emergency. She had the looks and the acting chops.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 6, 2023 0:15:34 GMT
Rosemay Clooney too. For a moment she seemed poised for a big film career, but it didn't pan out. Paramount's White Christmas (1954) was the highlight, with this incredible solo.
She did a cameo in hubby Jose Ferrer's Deep in My Heart (1954) at MGM that same year.
Red Garters (1954) was a follow-up to White Christmas at Paramount but didn't do well and, frankly, wasn't anything special. Nothing seemed right about it, the sets, the costuming, the whole idea. But Rosemary was Rosemary and that's a lot.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 7, 2023 15:05:53 GMT
I've got a question and I'll post it here where people would be most likely to know the answer. On the old TCM boards someone posted an early black-and-white musical number which I can't get out of my head because it was so wild. It started with a corps of female "eskimos" dancing around igloos on a kind of snow-covered domed hill. Gradually, the snow began to melt and the inflatable igloos started to deflate and be absorbed into the ground. As the snow all washed away, Palm trees started to sprout out of the ground until they were tall and free-standing and the women returned as hula dancers. It was the craziest, most imaginative musical number I've ever seen, but I have no idea where it came from. Any clues?
While you're thinking, I'll keep us in a tropical mood. I mentioned Greenwich Village before, so here's one of Carmen's numbers. She dressed down for this one, very unusual for her.
And another quickie from the same movie while I'm at it.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 9, 2023 15:51:35 GMT
Mitzi Gaynor was one of the few true triple threats (actor/singer/dancer) in Hollywood. One of her earliest pictures, The I Don't Care Girl (1953) isn't especially well-known, maybe mostly because it's weirdly constructed with a recurring narrative overlay of George Jessel trying to marshal a movie biography of Eva Tanguay into shape. Yes, the charisma-less George Jessel. That one. Also, it was a Fox musical from 1953, the year the studio was reshaping itself for CinemaScope, so the movie was sort of dated right out of the gate. It's a kind of traditional show biz up-from-nothing tale but the musical numbers are something else, Jack Cole extravaganzas that make the movie worth watching. They're in the grand tradition of movie musical numbers which are supposed to be taking place on a theater stage but which actually fill a movie soundstage, but that's not a criticism. It's what makes movies special.
Mitzi appeared with Robert Osborne during a night of her films in 2014 and they had a nice discussion about the movie.
I also want to post Robert's discussion with Debra Levine from 2012 about Jack Cole re: this movie. Hope it's not TMI, but it's all interesting to me.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 9, 2023 17:33:38 GMT
Georgie got no rizz
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 9, 2023 18:37:08 GMT
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 9, 2023 18:45:49 GMT
But Mitzi's fire bruh.
I don't recall seeing that one but I remember Les Girls. Schwingggg
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 9, 2023 19:01:51 GMT
So Sorry. I have time on my hands right now and I'm going down a Jack Cole rabbit hole. It's amazing how identifiable as his this early number from On the Riviera (1951) is. The image is stretched but it's the clearest print available on YouTube.
Same stylish elegance five years later in Les Girls (1957). I'm sure many assume that Gene Kelly was the choreographer on this film, but it's Jack all the way.
Marilyn worked with Jack early on in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and requested his services a number of times afterward, sometimes uncredited and paid for out of her own pocket. Apparently director Howard Hawks wasn't even on the set when the big numbers like "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" were filmed. It's all Jack. In her last musical, Let's Make Love (1960), he helped keep her reputation as a viable musical star alive with this lively version of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". It's in two parts but it's the best available.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 9, 2023 19:10:49 GMT
Melvin. Servin up the Cole slaw. Helz ya. Flog it.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 10, 2023 0:05:09 GMT
Melvin. Servin up the Cole slaw. Helz ya. Flog it. Shut up. I feel old enough already.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 10, 2023 0:24:31 GMT
Melvin. Servin up the Cole slaw. Helz ya. Flog it. Shut up. I feel old enough already. Age is just a number, man. In our case high af.
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 10, 2023 0:38:56 GMT
I can't stop but I'll be turning in soon so this should do it for now. Jack Cole also choreographed Three for the Show (1955) for Columbia, Betty Grable's last musical and something I don't believe TCM has ever shown(?). The kicker is that he took the opportunity to reference and spoof his own work in films like Kismet (1955) and There's No Business Like Show Business (1954). This number steals from his choreography and staging for Kismet. Gower Champion and Jack Lemmon back Betty up. The first 3 minutes explain what's going on so you might want to skip ahead to the music.
And, OMG, look how liberally he borrows from his own "Heat Wave" number from TNBLSB. And what's with those half-umbrellas? So far we've seen them in two other numbers. Must be some kind of signature.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 10, 2023 0:46:29 GMT
I can't stop but I'll be turning in soon so this should do it for now. Jack Cole also choreographed Three for the Show (1955) for Columbia, Betty Grable's last musical Yo.(Edit: Nevermind. I thought it was a musical)
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Post by I Love Melvin on Mar 10, 2023 20:56:28 GMT
I can't stop but I'll be turning in soon so this should do it for now. Jack Cole also choreographed Three for the Show (1955) for Columbia, Betty Grable's last musical Yo.(Edit: Nevermind. I thought it was a musical) It was barely even a comedy. This one was apparently on Marilyn's list of reasons why she flew the coop to NYC after they pressured her to do it. I like Sheree North but Zanuck seemed to think he could just sub her in for Marilyn and nobody would notice. The threat of Sheree was supposed to bring Marilyn to heel. Nice work, Darryl. But she had her own thing going on so let's give Sheree her due. From The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956). And, Dan, it's got gangsters. You can see her dance training in this one with Jacques D'Amboise from the same film. It's pretty sexy by 1956 standards. I'm sure Jacques D'Amboise didn't suffer fools gladly and she more that held her own here.
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Post by Lucky Dan on Mar 10, 2023 21:04:30 GMT
Yo.(Edit: Nevermind. I thought it was a musical) It was barely even a comedy. And another rung down the ladder in Noonan's movie career. I was sure I remembered a dance number. I shouldn't have doubted you, but I was probably thinking you wouldn't know this wreck.
I remember Sheree best from the MTM Show, as the saloon singer who was too much for Lou to handle. She was fun.
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