Wonderland Burlesque: Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: She's A Lady

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: She's A Lady - Part VIII

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies:

She's A Lady!

Part VIII

Sometimes? It takes a lady.

Or so these films would have us believe.

They promise lots of drama, the occasional comedy or musical, and a little bit of dirt!

Let's take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. and shine a light on these magnificent classic films.

This way, if you please. But remember...

Ladies first!

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Lady And Gent

(1932)

Slow-witted prizefighter Stag Bailey and his girlfriend, speakeasy hostess Puff Rogers, take over the upbringing of Ted Streaver after his father, Stag's manager, is killed. Ted is a bright boy bound for college, but he wants to become a prizefighter. Stag and Puff do their best to dissuade him.

This American pre-Code drama was directed by Stephen Roberts for Paramount and stars George Bancroft, Wynne Gibson and Jack Gleason. It also features a young Charles ('Durango Kid') Starrett, Syd ('Three Mesquiteers') Saylor and an early supporting role by John Wayne.

For Wynne Gibson, it was the stage that interested her most. She began her stage career in chorus and was soon playing leads. She toured Europe then returned to America and attempted a dramatic role but failed, so she returned to musical comedy. Paramount signed her when about to film Nothing But the Truth (1929), starting her success which continued in 50 films between 1929 and 1956 although many were B movies. Gibson had a brief marriage to a stage manager. After that, she married John Gallaudet, an actor, in 1927. They divorced in 1930. She was a long-time companion of former Warner Brothers actress Beverly Roberts.

Wynne Gibson

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Lady For A Day

(1933)

Apple Annie, a woman who peddles apples on the street, has always written to her daughter in Spain that she is a member of New York's high society. With her daughter suddenly en route to America with her new fiancé and his father, a member of Spain's aristocracy, Annie must find a way of continue her pretense of wealth or the count will not give his blessing. She gets unexpected help from Dave the Dude, a well-known figure in underground circles who considers Annie his good luck charm, and who obtains for her a luxury apartment to entertain the visitors - but this uncharacteristic act of kindness from a man with a disreputable reputation arouses suspicions, leading to complications which further cause things to not always go quite as planned.

Based on the short story Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon, this American pre-Code comedy-drama was directed by Frank Capra and stars May Robson, Warren William, Guy Kibbee and Glenda Farrell.

Capra's choice to play Apple Annie was MGM's big box office draw, Marie Dressler, but studio boss Harry Cohn rejected the request and cast May Robson instead. Ironically Robson, who had just played a supporting role to Dressler in Dinner at Eight, received an Oscar nomination for her work in this film.

Frank Capra had been loaned to MGM to work on a film called Soviet in exchange for $50,000 and Robert Montgomery's participation in this picture. After Soviet was cancelled, Columbia was unable to get either James Cagney from Warner Bros. or William Powell from MGM for the role of Dave the Dude. In addition, they also tried to get W.C. Fields from Paramount to play Judge Blake, but again could not make a deal.

One of the reasons Glenda Farrell was borrowed by Columbia from Warner Brothers, her home studio, and cast as Missouri Martin was because she was screenwriter Robert Riskin's then current girlfriend. When Capra remade Damon Runyon's story 28 years later, he found himself forced to accept Hope Lange in the same part, rechristened Queenie Martin, because she was then the current paramour of co-producer/star Glenn Ford. Missouri Martin, played by Glenda Farrell, was loosely based on real-life personality Texas Guinan. Texas Guinan was a well-known New York character in the 1920s. She was a performer, actress and speakeasy owner.

A number of beggars in downtown Los Angeles were cast in small roles, including the legless man, nicknamed William F. Sauls, whom Capra had remembered as selling pencils when the director was a paperboy.

At this point Columbia Pictures was still a 'Poverty Row' operation with studio chief Harry Cohn adamant against hiring actors under long-term contracts. The cast of this film was largely obtained on loan from Warner Brothers' pool of talented character actors. Warren William was at the peak of his career and being loaned out to lowly Columbia was meant to humble any thoughts of greater salary demands. Although his career would wane in the mid-'30s, this film was a big hit.

The first Columbia Pictures release to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. A year later, they would go on to win Best Picture for another Capra film, It Happened One Night (1934), helping to solidify the studio's reputation as a major player.

When Frank Capra was nominated for his first Best Director Oscar in 1934 for his work on this movie, presenter Will Rogers merely opened the envelope and said, "Come and get it, Frank!". Already halfway to the stage, Capra halted, realizing that Rogers wasn't referring to him, but to Frank Lloyd, who was getting the award for Cavalcade (1933).

Frank Capra would later remake this as Pocketful of Miracles (1961), his final film.

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Lady For A Night

(1942)

Gambling boat operator Jenny Blake jilts her gambler beau Jack Morgan in order to get a let up by marrying into high society.

This American drama was directed by Leigh Jason and stars Joan Blondell, John Wayne, and Ray Middleton.

The World War II B-17 bomber the Memphis Belle is named after a steamboat in this film. It is also known as The Lady from New Orleans, Memphis Belle and Lady of New Orleans.

After the making of this film, Blondell returned to the Broadway stage. She wouldn't make another picture until 1945 - at which point she was reduced to supporting roles and no longer billed above the title.

The first of seven films released in 1942 starring John Wayne.

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Lady Of The Tropics

(1939)

A party of yachting jet-setters visit French Saigon, where they meet lovely Manon deVargnes, a second-class citizen not allowed to leave the country due to her part-Oriental ancestry. When the others move on to other exotic locales, playboy Bill Carey stays behind to woo Manon; but all his efforts to get her out of the country run into brick walls, as Pierre Delaroch, Manon's wealthy former admirer, waits for him to give up.

This American drama film directed by Jack Conway and stars Robert Taylor, Hedy Lamarr, and Joseph Schildkraut.

Leslie Fenton filled in as director for some added scenes after Jack Conway fell ill.

This was Hedy Lamarr's first feature for MGM.

This film was a mild success at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $99,000.

Hedy Lamarr

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Lady Sings The Blues

(1972)

Born Elinore Harris, Billie Holiday had a difficult time as a teen, working in brothels, both as a cleaning woman and a prostitute. One day, a client of the brothel followed her home and raped her. Carrying her through it all, she clung to her dream of becoming a jazz singer. She got her initial singing break when she applied at a Harlem club that was looking for a dancer. After an awkward audition, she was hired on as a singer. There, she met the love of her life, the suave Louis McKay. Billie wanted her singing career to move into the mainstream, with her sights on the clubs in downtown Manhattan. To accomplish this, she agrees to be the lead singer for the Reg Hanley Band, a primarily white group. To make her mark, she must first do a series of regional tours before her breaking into the Manhattan scene. As she tries to advance her career, the pressures of life, including being a black woman, lead to substance abuse (heroin), a secret she can't keep because of her increasingly erratic behavior both on and off-stage. While those around her work to support Billie emotionally, encouraging to get off drugs, Billie faces trouble with the law. It all culminates in her dramatic downfall, which not even her talent can save her from.

Very loosely based on Holiday's 1956 autobiography, this American biographical musical drama was directed by Sidney J. Furie, produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures and stars Diana Ross, in her feature film debut, alongside a cast which includes Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, and Scatman Crothers.

According to James Monroe, one of Billie Holiday's husbands, in 1959 Columbia Pictures had plans to do Lady Sings The Blues with Holiday's good friend, Ava Gardner in the lead role. Monroe said Billie didn't mind Gardner playing her, but she thought it would be better to have someone who had actually experienced drug addiction to know how to approach the role. But the film was not meant to be; Columbia Pictures was suffering financially at the time and the film had to be scrubbed.

In another earlier proposed film version of Holiday's autobiography, Dorothy Dandridge was set to star, but died before the film was made.

When the film was next suggested in the late 1960s, Abbey Lincoln was the initial casting choice for the role of Holiday, with Diana Sands as second choice. Scuttled, the project was revived a few years later with Diahann Carroll as the lead, but after discussions between Jay Weston and director Sidney J. Furie, the role was given to Diana Ross.

Diahann Carroll, Cicely Tyson, and Lola Falana were early contenders for the role of Billie Holiday before Diana Ross demanded that Motown head Berry Gordy land that role for her.

Diana Ross's debut. She was pregnant with daughter Rhonda Ross Kendrick while preparing for this role.

Paul Winfield was considered for the role of Louis McKay in the early planning stages of this production. Berry Gordy originally considered Four Tops' lead singer Levi Stubbs for the role, but Stubbs turned it down because he thought it would interfere with the group's future success. In addition, Ketty Lester was considered for the role of Mama Holiday.

According to Diana Ross, Richard Pryor instructed her on how to behave during the scenes of drug use.

The soundtrack album was a huge hit for Ross, holding the #1 position on the Billboard album chart for two weeks in April of 1973.

This was the first African-American biopic to be nominated for an Academy Award, earning five nominations, including Diana Ross for Best Actress. With this film, Suzanne De Passe became the first African-American and person of color to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.