Arturo

*It was also a successful stage play by the guy who later wrote the somewhat similar Victorian thriller Hangover Square on which the 1945 Fox Film is based.* *If you like Gaslight you've just got to check out Hangover Square- it is one of my favorite films of the 1940's.* I too love HANGOVER SQUARE, but actually the book this thriller was based on was NOT set in the Victorian era. It was set in (then) modern times. 20th Century Fox decided to change the locale to the turn of the last century to capitalize not so much on GASLIGHT, but their own 1944 success, THE LODGER, featuring two of the stars of HS, Laird Cregar and George Sanders, in this tale of Jack The Ripper. THE LODGER and HANGOVER SQUARE also had the same director, John Brahm.

*Love Donald Meek, and boy, does his name suit him!* Meek he is in many films; my favorite role of his in this guise is in YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU. But he could also have a downright mean streak (even if it's only to cover up some innate cowardice). Good examples of this are YOUNG MR. LINCOLN and JESSE JAMES and the sequel THE RETURN OF FRANK JAMES.

*EVERYBODY DOES IT. This comedy was a(n almost word for word) remake of 1939's WIFE, HUSBAND AND FRIEND, a screwball comedy which had starred Loretta Young, Warner Baxter and Binnie Barnes.* FYI, the original WIFE HUSBAND AND FRIEND is scheduled this month as part of Loretta Young's SOTM. I believe it's on next Wednesday, January 23, as part of a night of mostly screwball comedies, if I remember the schedule correctly.

*My point was that young was playing women older than she was. Was Liz Taylor doing that as a teenager?* She did CONSPIRATOR and THE BIG HANGOVER when she was 16 years old. She played adutl women; her costars were Robert Taylor and Van Johnson, respectively.

Linda Darnell and Paul Douglas had audiences rolling in the aisles with their verbal sparring in A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, so in early 1949, Darryl Zanuck decided to re-team them in another comedy, and for good measure, throw in the unseen Addie Ross from that movie, Celeste Holm, in EVERYBODY DOES IT. This comedy was a(n almost word for word) remake of 1939's WIFE, HUSBAND AND FRIEND, a screwball comedy which had starred Loretta Young, Warner Baxter and Binnie Barnes. In EDI, Celeste Holm plays a would-be professional singer, dying for a career on the stage. A viewing in concert of diva Cecile Carver (Linda) has her interest renewed, and voice lessons resumed, to the chagrin of husband Paul. He feels she is no good, as does her father, played by Charles Coburn, who had to deal with her mother, Lucile Watson, go through a similar phase. Well, Paul meets up with Linda, to get her professional opinion about his wife's singing, and lo and behold, they discover that he has a concert-potential baritone. Linda convinces him to show up his wife by singing professionally, as well as allowing her to spend time with him, since she is interested in him. Celeste assumes that they are having an affair. All in all a fun movie, with a riotous finale, with Paul falling all over the sets while performing with Linda in an opera. It is as good as the original, and an ideal vehicle for the three stars. It did well at the boxoffice in the fall of 1949, but of course, this didn't mean much to Linda, who by then was upset that she did not get cast in PINKY. More on that to come.....

Must've been her birthday. Fox Movie Channel featured THE PRESIDENT'S LADY early this morning.

*Has any other actress been given so many adult roles at such a young age?* Linda Darnell beginning at age 15. Elizabeth Taylor beginning at age 16.

Definitely overdue, if she has not had one.

Finance, Actually no. From what I remember reading, Linda went back into her friends' burning home, thinking their teenage daughter was still in there.

Quite a diverse lineup. From one of her earliest bit parts (GIRLS ON PROBATION), to some of her early starring roles from the mid-40s (THE HAIRY APE, DEADLINE AT DAWN), to one of her greatest from the peak of her career in the 50s (I'LL CRY TOMORROW), to a rare stab at comedy (TOP-SECRET AFFAIR) to later roles in the wake of her oscar win (I THANK A FOOL). Oh and of course TULSA, made for Wanger before he sold her contract to Fox. All that are missing are examples of her contract years to Paramount in the first half of the 40s, where she gained notoriety as a second lead for walking away with movie after movie, and Fox in the 50s, where she finally became a top boxoffice star.

After Linda Darnell's unqualified triumph in A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, she was hoping to be given more careful consideration in her movie assignments at 20th Century Fox. This would not seem to be the case. She had begged Zanuck to cast her as Lola Montez, in a biography of that colorful lady, but despite that this could've made a superb vehicle for her, he wouldn't do it. She would've probably done well if she had been considered for the female lead in I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE, sparring opposite Cary Grant, having proven in ALTTW that she could trade barbed wits with her leading man. Zanuck chose to borrow Ann Sheridan instead. She would have been happily as the female lead in her lover's next film, HOUSE OF STRANGERS, with Edward G. Robinson and Richard Conte. Or with Conte in THIEVES' HIGHWAY, playing the trampy femme fatale Rica. The studio cast new contractees Susan Hayward and Valentina Cortese, respectively. Also announced for Linda, but never filmed, was a version of Conrad Woolich's WALTZ INTO DARKNESS, which was to have re-teamed her with Cornel Wilde. The role of a mysterious mail-order bride in 19th Century New Orleans might've made a strong vehicle for the stars of FOREVER AMBER. Linda did get cast in a melodrama next up, but she was very unhappy about it. She felt that SLATTERY'S HURRICANE would a routine picture, with the technical aspects of incorporating actual footage of a hurricane being the main selling point. Despite a strong cast that included Richard Widmark, Veronica Lake and John Russell, Linda thought that it was quite a comedown from her last two movies. She was also reluctant to travel to Florida late in the summer rainy season in 1948, for some location work, especially since she would be separated from Joe Mankiewicz, with whom she was having an affair. Linda was right about SH being a comedown, but it isn't that bad. It is a melodrama of a four way triangle. Linda is married to Russell, who is a wartime buddy of Widmark, who was once involved with Linda, but is now with Lake. The cast is uniformly good, if the script has a number of holes in it. Some, like Lake's character, were changed by the production code; she could not be a drug addict, as originally written, so her illness is kept mysterious. My main objection is why Darnell, happily married, would take up with Widmark, quite an unpleasant character, without much resistance. Oh well, such is this melodrama. Linda never looked more beautiful, IMHO, and that's saying A LOT. She could still come off as innocent or wise to the world. With that cast, SLATTERY'S HURRICANE was a hit when it was released in the summer of 1949, but it wasn't the best movie for Linda at this time, as she had feared, more like treading water.

Someone here mentioned continuity issues. This is most likely because Zanuck cut out over half hour of the completed film, due to its length. This may be the reason for the brevity of Darnell's role; some of the Tuptim scenes must've been cut out. This was the first post-war epic that Hollywood filmed. It had been planned to be filmed in Technicolor, but that was scrapped because it would have added considerably to its already large budget. I agree that Dunne, Harrison and Darnell are very good, Cobb and Sondagaard a little less so. The little girl with the cute (whiny) voice was grating, but the other children were ok, especially Anna's son.

*On the Robert Osborne intro, who did he say Zanuck originally wanted to cast in the leads for this film?* Dorothy McGuire. He also had a number of other female stars that he was considering offering it to, or that wanted it. Ironically, he thought Dunne would be too old; she was superb. But again, another instance, as I've mentioned before, where the studio head would consider outside actresses for some of his important roles instead of selecting his own. Gene Tierney would have done well, IMHO, even if she was a little young for it (so was McGuire I believe); she played a similar role of a widow with a small child quite well a year later, THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR.

Addison de Witless wrote: Weird irony that, along with Hangover Square made the previous year, this was the second film in which one of her characters is burned to death. Weird since she allegedly had a lifelong fear of fire and burned to death in an accidental housefire in real life. Markus21 wrote: *I agree that it's eerie that poor Linda Darnell perished in a fire as her character does here. I also agree that she gave a very good performance, and it's interesting to see the Tuptim character as a haughty, angry concubine/wife, in contrast to the demure wide-eyed "child" she's portrayed in the R & H version.* Yes, this was actually the second of four instances when Linda was burned slightly while filming. The first was in HANGOVER SQUARE, as mentioned by AdW, this (ANNA) was the second, the third (which I forgot to mention on the thread on Darnell) happened during FOREVER AMBER. During the London Fire, Linda arrives with her husband, the Earl of Radclyffe, at their townhouse, direct from a ball at the Royal Court (Linda was forced to leave by her husband, due to the undue attention the King was paying her). There he locks her in her room, as the fire approaches. He returns to tell her that her "reeducation' would be hopeless, and that the fire would have a cleansing effect. At that point, her handmaiden Nan and his sevant Galiato come to rescue her. he is struck down by Galiato, who throws him into the path of the fire. The other three retreat just as the burning ceiling comes crashing down on them. Well, Linda actually got burned filming this, and someone from the crew was barely able to move out of the way for her to get out. The fourth time was somewhat different, with Linda's car exploding and bursting into flames as she was about to arrive at the studio, where she was filming NO WAY OUT. Quite ironic that she had this lifelong fear of fire and that is how she perished. Edited by: Arturo on Jan 15, 2013 12:30 AM

jamesjazzguitar: There is nothing about the relationship between Rita and George Phipps that's supposed to convey older woman/younger man. The script states that the character played by Jeffrey Lynn (Brad), Rita, George, AND the unseen Addie, all grew up together. Brad, by way of identifying Rita and George to his wie (Jeanne Crain), states, "George and Rita were engaged by exchanging beetles at the age of 8; Rita was never my type", or something to that effect. Again, it has to do with what one KNOWS about the actors: Sothern is some years older than Douglas. I completely buy the premise that they are of the same age, as nothing onscreen tells me otherwise, just like I buy Kirk as a high school teacher; his later persona does not play into it. My suspension of disbelief is never called into question. Kirk Douglas does quite well in this role; his acting totally makes the part work. Especially surprising considering he didn't normally do comedies later, or have a very light touch doing them. BTW, their segment has them stressed over Rita earning more money than he does as an English teacher, she writing "moronic" radio tripe he feels is beneath her. He also feels she kowtows to her boss, Florence Bates, who lives and breathes these programs and their commercials, "Why, they're perfection!". Rita, in turn wonders why Addie is sending him classical music recordings with a note quoting Shakespeare, "If music be the food of love, play on" Edited by: Arturo on Jan 13, 2013 11:22 PM

A LETTER TO THREE WIVES was an all around success, both critically and with audiences. Trenchant, sparkling and witty dialogue, full of incisive performances, it has become a classic study of mid-20th century suburban mores. Writer/Director Joe Mankiewicz came in for his share of praise; this is considered the first of his "typical Mankiewicz' movies. The cast was uniformly excellent. Jeanne Crain's playing in the adult surroundings must've convinced Zanuck that she was ready to tackle more serious subject matter, such as PINKY. Ann Sothern had perhaps the best role of her long movie career. She and Kirk Douglas played well together, feeling like a real married couple with an occasional serious flare-up. Best received were Linda Darnell and Paul Douglas, she hardbitten and he bellowing, each giving as good as they got. Paul Douglas achieved stardom as a result, and Linda received te best notices of her career; there was widespread talk that Linda would be nominated for an Oscar. Standouts among the supporting players were Thelma Ritter as the maid, Connie Gilchist as Linda's mother, and Florence Bates as Ann Sothern's single-minded boss. Special mention should be made to Celeste Holm's voiceover narration; despite wanting to play the Sothern role, she is just as memorable playing the unseen Addie Ross.. The Academy Awards celebrating movies from 1949 took place in April 1950. Joseph Mankiewicz would win for Best Writer and Best Director; he would repeat this twin feat the following year, for ALL ABOUT EVE. However, Linda Darnell did not get the expected nomination for Best Actress, nor was anyone else from the cast nominated for the acting awards. Perhaps it was because the movie came out at the beginning of 1949, but that didn't keep it from getting other nominations. With Linda, it was probably that the studio decided to put their promotional muscle behind Crain's subsequent performance in PINKY, who did get a nomination.

Jamesjazguitar wrote: Do you think the Ann Sothern Kirk Douglas paring works in 3 Letters? Something just doesn't feel right about it. I just don't see Douglas as a school teacher. Then there is the age difference. James, I actually do think it works. The trick is not to think of the pugnacious in-your-face Kirk that became his image once he achieved fame. Although this he would achieve later in 1949, at this time his image had yet to jell. And anyways, he is just as intense and impassioned here, only its of an intellectual nature. I think the relationship with Sothern works, chiefly because I'm not aware of any age difference between them, whatever the actual difference may be in real life.

In the regular part of the Hollywood Museum, in the makeup rooms for Marilyn Monroe and others, they had three Christmas trees, one each for Monroe, Judy Garland and Elizabeth Taylor. They had ornaments with the likenesses of each star.

Twinkee, i totally agree. I recently watched it over the holidays, as some of the scenes in the last segment, with Darnell and Paul Douglas take place around Christmas and New Year's. Ritter is priceless. Also superb are Connie Gilchrist and Florence Bates IMHO.

A LETTER TO THREE WIVES would be released in January 1949. Written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the film dealt with a woman, Addie Ross, writing a letter stating she has run off with the husband of one of three friends, all of whom have no access to a telephone, being on an all day picnic river cruise for underpriviledged children. The wives reflect on their marriages, and any reason why their husband might have left. Jeanne Crain, as the unsophisticated country girl, remembers gow she embarrased new husband Jeffrey Lynn in their first social event after both returned from the war married. Ann Sothern is the main breadwinner of he family, writing radio dramas, considered drivel by her underpaid husband, high-school teacher Kirk Douglas. Linda, as a beautiful scheming golddigger from the wrong side of the track, sets a trap to ensnare her boss Paul Douglas. They settle for a loveless marriage arrangement. Besides the principles, the supporting cast included supporting players Barbara Lawrence, Thelma Ritter, Connie Gilchrist, and Florence Bates. Celeste Holm was the voice of the unseen Addie Ross. Edited by: Arturo on Jan 12, 2013 1:34 AM

I got invited tonight to what I thought was going to be a 100 year tribute to Loretta, at the Hollywood Museum. I guess it's the opening for this exhibit. The Hollywood Museum is located in the old Max Factor Building, an integral part of Hollywood history, and a great Deco bldg. This was indeed an exhibit celebrating Loretta's Hundred year birthday. Featured were many photographs from the estimated 125,000 (!) stills Loretta is thought to have posed for during her career. Also posters of some of her movies, clips from her movies and TV shows, and gowns and accessories from same. Featured also was the gown she wore when she won Best Actress, the actual Oscar she won, and a clip of her winning the award. All very interesting, and the only thing that could improve it, is if they were to screen some of her movies occasionally for the duration of the exhibit.

A reminder....Linda has a small but showy role in ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, which TCM will show this Sunday at 8 PM Eastern, 5 PM Pacific time.

Linda Darnell went from UNFAITHFULLY YOURS into another comedy, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. Before the start of shooting in mid-1948, the storyline had been whittled down from five, to four, to the final three wives, so as to better focus on each of the wives' stories. Besides Linda, Zanuck favorite Jeanne Crain and freelancing Ann Sothern played the other wives. The husband's included former WB leading man Jeffrey Lynn, a still under the radar Kirk Douglas shortly before his starmaking performance in CHAMPION, and fresh from Broadway Paul Douglas, who had scored in the tycoon role of 'Born Yesterday". The movie started location shooting in New York state along the Hudson river, upstream from NYC. Rain kept cast and crew from working a number of days, and trips to New York City occupied them during those times. The film fell behind schedule due to the weather. After several weeks, once all the necessary footage had been complete, filming resumed back in Hollywood, on the 20th Century Fox lot. By the end of summer, the film had completed filming. While on location, Linda and Joe Mankiewicz, both married, started an affair. Early on, he had endeared himself to her by using a photograph of Otto Preminger, in a frame that supposedly had a picture of Addie Ross, the villainess who wrote the letter to the others, in order to elicit the proper look of contempt from Linda (Mankiewicz knew she grew to despise Preminger). Linda fell head over heels for Joe, and the affair would continue when filming resumed back at the studio; it would last for some six years. Soon, the papers reported that Linda had again separated from husband Pev Marley. Despite the euphoria Linda experienced with the man she would forever after consider the love of her life, in time Linda realized that the situation was hopeless; Mankiewicz would not leave his wife. Linda also returned to her husband; the adoption of Lola was not yet final, and the adoption agency would not look favorably on the parents being separated. The state of affairs over this affair would cause her much heartache over the years, and even had her contemplate suicide on more than one occasion. More to come..... Edited by: Arturo on Jan 11, 2013 12:38 AM

The studio previewed UY in June 1948. I forgot to mention that after the early previews of UNFAITHFULLY YOURS, Zanuck had over 20 minutes cut out of the film. From what I remember reading, the excised scenes had to do with when Harrison first met his young wife, and they take place in Linda's, and sister Barbara Lawrence's, hometown. While this movie as released has a long playing time for a comedy, it would have been interesting to see these early developments, not least for Sturges' writing. I wonder if the footage still exists in a tin can somewhere.

Darryl F. Zanuck was not working overtime to come up with vehicles for Linda Darnell in 1948. A part that would have been perfect for her imho, would have been the sexy singer in ROAD HOUSE. She had already done a few roles where she sang, and she definitely would have been someone Richard Widmark and Cornel Wilde might have tussled over. And the scenes with her in short shorts and a makeshift bikini would definitely given her male fans an eyeful. But Ida Lupino, straight from the expiration of her long-term contract with WB, was borrowed for this noir. Linda wanted to do a biography of Lola Montez, feeling the part of the fiery dancer out in the old west would've made an appropriate vehicle for her; Zanuck would not contenance the idea. And so on. Zanuck did cast her, at the last minute, into UNFAITHFULLY YOURS. The role of the beautiful young wife had been meant for Gene Tierney, but she bowed out (i believe she was pregnant, although later miscarried). So Linda excitedly went to work for Preston Sturges, and sang his praises far and wide, "At last, a real director". She even made the cover of either Time or Newsweek with a shot of her being directed by the fez-wearing Sturges. Linda was surrounded by a mix of Fox contractees: Linda, Rex Harrison, Barbara Lawrence, Kurt Kreuger; with Sturges' stock company players: Rudy Vallee, William Demarest, etc. The story was a screwball comedy blacker than any previously released. Rex Harrison is a middle-aged conductor with a beautiful young wife (Linda, natch). He begins to suspect her of having an affair with his male secretary. During a concert, Harrison begins to fantasize how he is going to get his revenge. During three different pieces of music, each music segment sets the mood on how to do his wife and her lover in. After the concert is over, bungling as he sets about to try to recreate each of the fantasy sequences, to comic effect. He is unable to carry any out, and all is cleared up at the fade out. Although this is Harrison's tour-de-force, the cast in general is excellent. Linda, while early on having too good to be true dialogue, really sparkles in each of the three fantasy sequence. She is subtly different in her playing for each, mirroring the different tones set by the music. The film is on the long side for a comedy, but holds up quite well imo. The studio previewed UY in June 1948. However, the scandal that rocked Harrison's Hollywood career, Carole Landis' suicide, happened over the 4th of July weekend. She had been unhappy about her affair with "Sexy Rexy' (as the press dubbed him), since he wouldn't get the divorce he had apparently led her to believe he would. So the release of the film was postponed until late in the year, since a comedy about Harrison fantasizing about killing his wife was seen to not be kosher at that moment. To little avail. Despite mostly positive reviews, it failed to attract an audience. It did next to nothing at the boxoffice in all but larger metropolitan areas; even there, people gasped in dismay when Rex slashes his wife in the first fantasy scene. While the laughs were there, word of mouth was not good. Today, of course, it is considered a classic, and Sturges' last classic. So maybe, as the saying goes, it was ahead of its time.