Getting Testy!

Tonight on TCM! Can't wait!

The Constant Nymph (1943) A composer finds inspiration in his wife's romantic cousin. Edmund Goulding Cast: Charles Boyer, Joan Fontaine, Alexis Smith.

The Prince and the Showgirl (1957)

Based on Terence Rattigan's play The Sleeping Prince, the story takes place in London in 1911 during the coronation of King George V. Grandduke Charles, the Rrince-Regent of Carpatha (Laurence Olivier) has arrived for the ceremonies with his son King Nicholas (Jeremy Spenser) and mother-in-law the Queen Dowager (Sybil Thorndike). Quite the playboy, Charles sets his sights on Elsie (Marilyn Monroe) a showgirl currently performing at the Coconut Club and depends upon Northbrook (Richard Wattis), his attaché from the British Foreign Office, to arrange a private dinner for them. Though Elsie is excited to be invited to what she thinks is a formal dinner, she puts her foot down when she realizes the dinner will be on a more tête-à-tête basis. Having dealt with this kind of issue before, she makes an agreement with Northbrook, who is nervous about displeasing The Regent, that she will stay for a short time before he will break into the dinner with an “emergency”. What Elsie didn’t count on was the vodka and champagne combination. After initially being ignored by Charles, who is a stickler for protocol and has business to attend to, he returns his attention to Elsie who has gotten quite tipsy. Trying his best romantic maneuvers, Elsie laughs him off, calling his game quite dull. Enraged, he sets about getting a car ready to take her home but when she leaves the room to get her wrap, he amps up the romantic atmosphere and Elsie (quite literally) falls for him. Slightly disgusted she has passed out from the vodka consumption, Elsie is put into a guest room and Charles goes to bed. The next day he is upset to find Elsie, who is now madly in love with him, still there. Through a series of events, she manages to stay with him the entire day, getting to attend the coronation and the ball afterwards. In that time Elsie manages to find out the true relationship between father and son, brook the gap between them and made the stuffiest of Regents fall in love with her.


I don’t think it needs repeating that this was a strange pairing of actors. Monroe, who now had her own production company and enough star power to choose who she wanted to work with, was interested in becoming a more serious actor. Teaming up with Olivier, Britain’s premiere Shakespearean and otherwise actor was definitely aiming for the apex. Though her part in The Prince and the Showgirl wasn’t quite dramatic, she certainly didn’t play an airhead either. Managing to disconcert The Regent in a most innocent way, the viewer can’t but wonder if she’s hiding some real intelligence behind those wide eyes of her. In the end, she has everyone eating out of her hand- a simple showgirl prone to wardrobe malfunctions. Though Olivier played the part of the stuffy regent to perfection and Thorndike was a delight as the hard-of-hearing Dowager, I was most impressed with Monroe’s performance. This was another scenario where her behavior on set was quite deplorable (something that My Week with Marilyn will apparently go into more detail about- Kenneth Branagh is to play Olivier- swoon!). Despite that and the struggles she had with Olivier who was directing the film and who had no tolerance for any of her nonsense, he got a very fine performance out of her. Looking at the movie, you wouldn’t know she was seriously intimidated by Olivier, so much so, she often wouldn’t arrive on set for days, once even leaving the elderly Thorndike waiting for hours in costume for her arrival.


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Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

 Lyn Lesley (Anne Bancroft in her first movie role) a bar singer at New York's McKinley Hotel. Upset that her boyfriend, pilot Jed Towers (Richard Widmark), disregarded her letter ending their relationship and has shown up to question her motives, they argue. She admits she thinks he’s too cynical and lacks an understanding heart. Meanwhile, elevator operator Eddie (Elisha Cook, Jr.) introduces his shy niece, Nell Forbes (Marilyn Monroe), to guests Peter and Ruth Jones (Jim Backus and Lurene Tuttle) who are in need of a babysitter for their daughter Bunny (Donna Corcoran) while they attend an event in the hotel's banquet hall.

After the Joneses have left, Nell reads Bunny a story and then insists she go to sleep. Nell then wanders around the room putting on Ruth’s negligee, perfume and jewelry. Jed, who has returned to his room catches sight of Nell across the courtyard. When Nell realizes he is watching her she shuts the blinds but then opens them again. Jed decides to give her room a call, and asks to be invited over. Nell tells him someone is at the door, hangs up the phone and shuts the blinds. Her uncle Eddie is checking in on her and admonishes her for wearing Ruth’s things, upsetting Nell. He soothes her by stating that she can have nice things when she finds another boyfriend to replace the one who was killed. Eddie leaves and Nell decides to invite Jed over.

When Jed arrives, he is amazed at her beauty, however he is bewildered nervous manner and attempts to be flirtatious. Her inconsistent excuses as to why she is staying at the hotel put him on guard. Startled to learn that Jed is a pilot, Nell is instantly attracted. But then Bunny interrupts them and Jed learns why Nell is really at the hotel. Nell viciously orders the girl to bed, scaring Bunny who retreats back to her room. Nell admits that she has recently arrived in New York, finally escaping her repressive parents. Jed takes pity and suggests they soothe the crying Bunny. Nell allows her to look out the window to see the other rooms in the courtyard and there is a terrifying moment when she may push Bunny from the eight-story height. The incident is witnessed by Emma Ballew (Verna Felton), a nosy neighbor who screams. Jed quickly removes Bunny from the window thinking Nell is just being careless. When Nell takes Bunny back to bed she threatens to harm her if she makes another noise. When she returns to the other room, Jed has decided to leave to see if he can make amends with Lyn.

Becoming desperate, Nell begs him not to leave and when he refuses to kiss her, he sees the suicide scars on her wrists. Nell confesses that after her boyfriend, Phillip, died flying over the Pacific, she tried to kill herself with a razor. Eddie has come to check up on her again again so Jed hides in the bathroom. Eddie becomes irate when he sees that Nell is still wearing Ruth's things. His reaction enrages her, reminding her of her own strict and cruel parents. When Eddie tries to gain access into the bathroom she brains him with an ashtray stand. Trance like, she steps away as Jed revives Eddie, going into Bunny's room. When she returns Mrs.Ballews and her husband (Don Beddoe) are at the door demanding to be let in. Eddie and Jed hide as Nell tries to turn them away. Jed sneaks into Bunny's room but does not notice she is bound and gagged. When he sneaks out the other door leading to the hallway, the Ballews see him and assume he forced his way in and was holding Nell captive.They bust past the stunned Nell who is devastated that Jed left and call the hotel detective. So deluded that she believes Jed is Philip, Nell walks over to the closet Eddie is hiding in and locks the door. Eventually the Ballews are encouraged to leave, reassured that the house detective is on his way. But Pat (Michael Ross) only half-heartedly listened to Mrs. Ballew, as he is use to her constant complaining.

Meanwhile, Jed is back with Lyn telling her how he has spent the last hour and as he tells his story he realizes that when he left, Bunny was in the wrong bed and not moving. As he rushes back to the elevator, Rochelle (Jeanne Cagney) the phone operator suspects something fishy really is going on and urges Pat to check it out the Joneses room. However, Mrs. Jones beat both men there to catch Nell trying to murder Bunny. The women fight and Nell escapes to the lobby where she is eventually surrounded. Lyn comes to her side to try and keep her calm and then Jed arrives to take away the razor she stole and was presumably going to slash herself with. Realizing that Jed really does have an understanding heart, he and Lyn reunite as Nell is gently led off by a policeman.

Director Roy Ward Baker thought Monroe grossly miscast as Nell Forbes and I am inclined to agree. I won’t say that Monroe did not have talent, she did. It just wasn’t as a dramatic actress. Apparently she was very difficult to work with on this film, constantly tardy, unable to deliver more than a few lines at a time and torn between listening to Baker and her acting coach, Natasha Lytess. Eventually Lytess was barred from the set. That being said, Don’t Bother to Knock is not a horrible film, I was quite impressed with the plot line (although the ending was quite weak) and more impressed with Monroe’s attempt to do her part justice. No doubt her own insecurities helped her perform this role that ironically hit a little too close to home. The other cast members, despite...er, because of rather, the difficulties of working with Monroe, should also be commended for putting in good performances.


Tonight on TCM!
Get carried away with the Carry On... film series!

Through the looking glass: 5 minutes to curtain!

Today on TCM! I recommend:

All the King's Men (1949)A backwoods politician rises to the top only to become corrupted. Cast: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek Dir: Robert Rossen

The Night Of The Iguana (1964)A defrocked priest surrenders to the sins of the flesh in a Mexican hotel. Cast: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon Dir: John Huston

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) An academic couple reveal their deepest secret to a pair of newcomers during an all-night booze fest. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis Dir: Mike Nichols

The Goodbye Girl(1977)
A dancer discovers her runaway boyfriend has sublet her apartment to an aspiring actor. Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings, Paul Benedict Dir: Herbert Ross

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Tonight on TCM! Och! This is such a good movie!!
Enchanted April (1991)Four women search for happiness on an Italian vacation. Cast: Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker Dir: Mike Newell

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for wonderful classic cinema!

Speakeasy: Bacall and Monroe

Dyeing for a job!

Myrna Loy

Jayne Mansfield


Lana Turner

Jean Harlow

Rita Hayworth

Vivien Leigh

Bette Davis

Joan Fontaine

Ann Miller

Jane Russell

Norma Shearer

Joan Crawford

Marilyn Monroe

Jane Fonda

Tonight on TCM!

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Two free-spirited bank robbers flee railroad detectives and head for Bolivia. Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin Dir: George Roy Hill. ****