Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: The Ann-Margret Edition

Wonderland Burlesque's 

Let's All Go To The Movies: 

The Ann-Margret Edition

Today is Ann-Margret's birthday! How old is she? 

Honey,  the lady is timeless!

That's the beauty of cinema. And that's the beauty of Ann-Margret.

In honor of her big day, here's a sampling of some of her classic-age films. 

Enjoy!

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Kitten With A Whip

"She's all out for kicks... and every inch of her spells excitement!"

(Ann-Margret was shy and reserved offstage, but wildly exuberant and sensuous onstage. In her autobiography, she wrote she changed "from Little Miss Lollipop to Sexpot-Banshee" once the music began.)

(Her red hair color (she's a natural brunette) was the idea of Sydney Guilaroff, the hairdresser who is also responsible for changing the hair color of Lucille Ball.)

(Despite the title, this film was made to promote Ann-Margret as a serious actress.)

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The Swinger

"The bunniest picture of the year!"

(George Sidney had previously made Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas with Ann-Margret. Sidney says the script for Viva Las Vegas was written in eleven days in order to meet a commitment and The Swinger was no different. "We did the script in ten days," he said. "The studio had a commitment and needed to fulfil it. We devised a script that would give Ann-Margret an opportunity to show her facets. And boom, boom - off we went.")

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Made In Paris

"This is Ann-Margret before she went to Paris."

"This is Ann-Margret after she got to Paris."

"And what happens in between is what it's all about!"

(Lots of drama behind the scenes with this one. Doris Day was meant to star but she did not like the script. Bob Crane (Hogan's Heroes) was originally offered the male lead. Louis Jourdan signed on to play the male lead, but tried to get out of it after he found out he didn't get the girl in the end. And Richard Chamberlain was set to play a role, but dropped out after reading the script.)

(Ann-Margret never saw Paris. The entire film was shot on the MGM backlot, with fashions designed by Helen Rose.)

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The Pleasure Seekers

"Where do good little girls go when they want to be bad?"

(This is a musical adaptation of Three Coins In A Fountain, set in Madrid.)

(Ann-Margret was paid $2,000 a week for ten weeks. This was less than she received from other studios, but she owed Fox a film.)

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Bus Riley's Back In Town

"It lays bare the innermost emotions of a town and its people and shows them brazen and unashamed!"

"Ann-Margret strikes a new kind of fire in a new kind of man..."

(Written by playwright William Inge (Picnic, Bust Stop, Come Back Little, Sheba), Inge was very unhappy with changes made to his script and had his name removed from the credits.)

"Something wild and scandalous always happens when..."

(Also in the cast: Larry Storch (F Troop), Kim Darby (True Grit), Mimsy Farmer (Hot Rods To Hell), Brett Sommers (Match Game, The Odd Couple), and David Carradine (Kung Fu)

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Murderers' Row

(The second in the Matt Helm series. It was supposed to be shot on location in Europe, but Dean Martin refused to go!)

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Viva Las Vegas

"It's that 'go-go' guy and that 'bye-bye' gal in the fun capital of the world!

(The chemistry onscreen between the two stars was genuine. Presley and Ann-Margret began a torrid affair during filming - one so hot, it was erroneously reported that the two were engaged to be married. This led to a showdown with Presley's future wife, Priscilla. In her memoirs, Ann-Margret refers to Presley as her "soulmate.")

(There were also lots of arguments on the set, between the director, George Sidney, and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Seems Parker objected to all the money being spent on Ann-Margret's production numbers and the amount of screen time she was stealing from Elvis.)

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Bye Bye Birdie

"The most wonderful entertainment ever!"

(Speaking of Elvis, this musical was inspired by his rapid rise as a rock 'n roll heart throb, though the title character's name (Conrad Birdie) was actually a spoof on Conway Twitty's moniker. Elvis, in fact, was offered the role of Birdie, but his manager Colonel Tom Parker did not want his meal ticket playing a parody of himself.)

(According to Ann-Margret, she was cast when director George Sidney saw her dancing while on a date at the Sands Casino on New Year's Eve in 1961. Sidney was so smitten with the flaming redhead that Janet Leigh - the star of the film - was "very upset that all the close-ups were going to Ann-Margret." Ann-Margret was paid $3,500 a week and earned $85,000 in all.)

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The Cincinnati Kid

(This is the second film Ann-Margret did with Karl Malden. Spencer Tracy was originally cast in the Edward G. Robinson role, but was forced to withdraw due to ill health. Sam Peckinpah was originally hired to direct, but was fired shortly after filming began for "vulgarizing the picture.")

"He'd take on anyone at anything at anytime."

(The film also featured Tuesday Weld and Joan Blondell.)

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The Tiger & The Pussycat

"Fur flying! Fangs gnashing! Claws lashing!"

(This was the first of a series of Italian films capitalizing on Ann-Margret's sex appeal.) 

Seven Men And One Brain

(One look at Ann-Margret and you damn well know which brain these men were thinking with!)

(This film was a box office bomb. It was re-dubbed, re-edited and re-scored by the distributor and released in the US under the title Criminal Affair.)

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Rebus

(This 1969 crime drama starring Laurence Harvey and Ann-Margret was an international co-production, it was largely filmed in Venezuela, the UK and Lebanon.)

(Ann-Margret plays a singer and... that is how the character is billed in the end credits - Singer.)

(The stills from this film look awful.)

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The Prophet

(Also released under the title, Mr. Kinky.)

(Among the many roles she was either offered or considered for: the Jane Fonda role in Cat Ballou and Sandy in Grease.)

(Ann-Margret plays a hippy. And that is how the character is billed in the end credits - Hippy.)

(On Sunday, September 10, 1972, while performing at Lake Tahoe, she fell 22 feet from an elevated platform to the stage and suffered injuries including a broken left arm, cheekbone, and jawbone. She required meticulous facial reconstructive surgery that required wiring her mouth shut and putting her on a liquid diet. Unable to work for ten weeks, she then returned to the stage looking fabulous as always.)

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And that's all for now...

Tune in next week.

Same time, same channel.

Oh! And Happy Birthday, Ann-Margret!

From Viva Las Vegas - Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley

1961 Screen Test - Bill Bailey - Ann-Margret

Dance sequences from The Swinger, Bye-Bye Birdie, 

and Viva Las Vegas - Ann-Margret