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

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies

She's A Lady!

Part XXXII

Yes, sometimes? It takes a lady.

And sometimes that lady must take risks!

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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The Lady Takes A Sailor

(1949)

Jennifer Smith heads a company which tests and reports the reliability of various products and her reputation for honesty is her greatest asset. While out boating one day she encounters a top-secret prototype submarine piloted by Bill Craig. When her boat sinks, she is taken aboard the sub. Once one dry land, she mus explain her absence. She tells the truth, but in order to keep the sub a secret Bill and his cohorts do all they can to discredit her story, calling into question the lady's integrity!

This comedy was directed by Michael Curtiz, and stars Jane Wyman, Eve Arden and Dennis Morgan. 

Bette Davis and Robert Montgomery were originally announced as the leads for this picture.

Jack Lemmon makes his big screen debut in this film, playing an uncredited minor role as a plasterer/painter.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Lady And The Bandit

(1951)

AKA: Dick Turpin's Ride

While escaping from the police, English highwayman Dick Turpin meets Joyce Greene. They marry and Turpin settles down until his mother-in-law discovers he is the famous outlaw. He then resumes his former career alongside Tom King. He then uncovers evidence which proves his arch-enemy, Lord Willoughby, is plotting against King George. He is betrayed by Cecile, a jealous accomplice, and to protect his wife, Turpin rides 200 miles from London to York.

Based on the poem Dick Turpin's Ride by Alfred Noyes, this American adventure film was directed by Ralph Murphy and stars Louis Hayward and Patricia Medina.

This film follows the career of the real life eighteenth century highwayman Dick Turpin.

This was one of two 1951 cinematic releases based on an Alfred Noyes' poem, the other being  The Highwayman (1951) starring Phillip Friend. Filming for The Highwayman was underway by February of 1951, one month after The Lady and the Bandit shoot had commenced. Both films include location filming at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley.

Louis Hayward was married to actress/director Ida Lupino in 1938. However, after he returned from the war, he was a changed man, which caused a strain on the marriage, leading the two to divorce in 1945. He would marry twice more, having a son with his third wife.

You can watch this film in its entirety for free on YouTube.

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The Lady With A Lamp

(1951)

This historical drama offers a depiction of the life story of Florence Nightingale , the young 19th-century Englishwoman famously drawn to a career in nursing. Traveling to Turkey during the Crimean War, Florence gains a reputation for being devoted to the care of wounded soldiers and for pioneering higher standards for sanitary hospital conditions. Opposed in the uppermost circles of British government because she is "merely" a woman, perseveres and is eventually granted permission for her and her nursing staff to access battlefield hospitals, and in so doing changes the course of medical history.

Based on the 1929 Reginald Berkeley stage play, this British historical drama was directed by Herbert Wilcox and stars Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding and Felix Aylmer.

Shot primarily at Shepperton Studios outside London with location shooting taking place at Cole Green railway station in Hertfordshire and at Lea Hurst, the Nightingale family home, near Matlock in Derbyshire.

The locomotive seen in this film is one of the world's oldest. The 'Lion' originally pulled passenger and freight cars between Manchester and Liverpool for 20 years, starting in the 1830s. It was rediscovered in 1923 and restored to working order for the centenary of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1930. It is now on exhibit in the Museum of Liverpool, after spending many years at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester.

Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding

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The Lady Takes A Flyer

(1958)

Daredevil pilot Mike Dandridge goes into a business partnership with flight-school pal Al Reynolds and meets Maggie Colby, who's also a pilot. The two flyers take cargo to Japan, where they become romantically involved. Al is best man at their wedding, then joins the Air Force. Mike hires new pilot Nikki Taylor and might be having an affair with her during business trips while Maggie stays home with their new baby. Maggie decides to fly a shipment herself and let Mike care of their daughter for a change. He and co-pilot Phil take a risk by bringing the baby along on a flight to London. Their plane has difficulty landing in a fog, angering Maggie, whose own plane barely got there safely. But at least Mike and Maggie are brought closer by the experience.

Based on a story by Edmund H. North, this American CinemaScope Eastmancolor comedy-drama romance was directed by Jack Arnold and written by Danny Arnold  and stars Lana Turner and Jeff Chandler.

The story is based on the real life experiences of couple Jack and Mary Ford, known among aviators as 'The Flying Fords'. Jack Ford served as a consultant on the film.

At various times, the film was known as  Pilots for Hire, Lion in the Sky and Wild and Wonderful. 

This was the first of a two-picture deal that Turner had signed with Universal.

Shortly after this film's release, Academy Award nominations for the previous year were announced. Lana Turner received a Best Actress Nomination for her role in Peyton Place (1957).

Variety magazine said of the film: "Teaming of Lana Turner and Jeff Chandler figure to help the chances of this peacetime air yarn, which: otherwise falls short of satisfactory entertainment. Film is burdened with plodding treatment that militates against ready acceptance, but star names - particularly femme’s firepower after her performance in Peyton Place (1957) - coupled with a spicy bathtub sequence may be exploited for fair returns in general market."

Jeff Chandler was an American actor/singer. He was best known for his portrayal of Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Universal Pictures' most popular male stars of the 1950s.

Chandler married actress Marjorie Hoshelle in 1946. The couple had two daughters. They first separated in 1951, again in 1954, and filed for divorce in 1954. His wife complained that Chandler was "chronically fatigued so that he would fall asleep wherever we were." They reconciled in March 1955 - but it didn't last long.

In 1957, he had an affair with Esther Williams while they made a movie together, and his wife filed for divorce at the end of the year. Esther Williams wrote in her 1999 autobiography that she broke off their relationship after he proposed because Chandler revealed he was a cross dresser.

Chandler had a relationship with Gloria DeHaven that was exposed in Confidential magazine.

He was also romantically linked with Ann Sheridan. 

While working on Merrill's Marauders in the Philippines, on April 15, 1961, Chandler injured his back playing baseball with U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers who served as extras in the film. He had injections to deaden the pain which enabled him to finish the production. He then entered a hospital in Culver City, California. During surgery for a spinal disc herniation, severe complications arose and an artery was damaged. Chandler hemorrhaged. Three operations and 55 pints of blood later, he died.

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The Lady Is A Square

(1959)

Young pop singer Johnny Burns is reluctantly enlisted by socialite widow Frances Baring in an attempt to keep her late husband's symphony orchestra going. As a result, Johnny falls for Baring's daughter Joanna, much to he chagrin of his benefactor.

This black and white British musical comedy was directed by Herbert Wilcox and stars Anna Neagle, Frankie Vaughan, Janette Scott and Anthony Newley.

This was to be Anna Neagle's final film. She returned to the stage, concentrating on theatre with the occasional television performance thrown in.

This was also director Wilcox's final film, although he continued to produce pictures until his bankruptcy in 1964.

The film is set in the then contemporary London theatre world and features the then-new London nightclub The Talk of the Town and the Royal Festival Hall.

The film includes Vaughan singing Love Is the Sweetest Thing which was released as a single in 1959.

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Elegant décor, luxury foods, beautiful clothes and exotic nightlife are the main features in this British musical's attempt to reconcile 'pop' addicts and serious music lovers. Unfortunately, this latest variation in the Wilcox-Neagle dream world lacks two essentials – glamour and excitement. Anna Neagle remains too determinedly graceful in the face of Frances's money difficulties, while Frankie Vaughan's acting has none of the zest that he puts into his singing. Even the excellent work of the National Youth Orchestra seems more of an intrusion than an advantage, and Wilcox's direction suffers through straining too hard to contain both the gloss of 'high life' and the more suburban course dictated by the screenplay."

While Variety wrote: "Herbert Wilcox has whipped up a shrewd concoction of romance, comedy and music, with the pic having a foot in both camps – the 'pop' and classical music fields. It is an exuberant, funny piece of work."

Frankie Vaughan

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And that's all for now, folks.

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel.

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The Lady Is A Square - Frankie Vaughan