TopBilled Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 It's June in May! _MAY 7_ THE GLENN MILLER STORY (1954) with James Stewart THE STRATTON STORY (1949) with James Stewart GIRL CRAZY (1943) with Judy Garland THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1948) with Gene Kelly RIGHT CROSS (1950) with Dick Powell THE SAILOR TAKES A WIFE (1945) with Robert Walker _MAY 8_ THE SECRET HEART (1946) with Claudette Colbert WORDS AND MUSIC (1948) with Mickey Rooney _MAY 14_ LITTLE WOMEN (1949) with Peter Lawford THE MCCONNELL STORY (1955) with Alan Ladd MEET THE PEOPLE (1944) with Dick Powell THE GIRL IN WHITE (1952) with Arthur Kennedy THE REFORMER AND THE REDHEAD (1950) with Dick Powell HER HIGHNESS AND THE BELLBOY (1945) with Robert Walker _MAY 15_ TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY (1946) with Robert Walker _MAY 21_ TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR (1944) with Van Johnson BEST FOOT FORWARD (1943) with Lucille Ball GOOD NEWS (1947) with Peter Lawford TOO YOUNG TO KISS (1951) with Van Johnson THE BRIDE GOES WILD (1948) with Van Johnson HIGH BARBAREE (1947) with Van Johnson _MAY 22_ THOUSANDS CHEER (1943) with Kathryn Grayson _MAY 28_ MY MAN GODFREY (1957) with David Niven THE OPPOSITE SEX (1956) with Joan Collins MUSIC FOR MILLIONS (1944) with Margaret O'Brien BATTLE CIRCUS (1953) with Humphrey Bogart THEY ONLY KILL THEIR MASTERS (1972) with Peter Lawford EXECUTIVE SUITE (1954) with William Holden _MAY 29_ TWO SISTERS FROM BOSTON (1946) with Kathryn Grayson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Gotta luv it, finance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Not selected for this tribute: REMAINS TO BE SEEN (MGM) with Van Johnson WOMAN'S WORLD (Fox) with Cornel Wilde STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (Paramount) with James Stewart THE SHRIKE (Universal) with Jose Ferrer YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM IT (Columbia) with Jack Lemmon INTERLUDE (Universal) with Rossano Brazzi STRANGER IN MY ARMS (Universal) with Jeff Chandler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Gag me with a spoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I am not a fan of June Allyson either. I don't know what it is about her; but she gets on my nerves. While I liked the 1949 remake of "Little Women" overall, I thought Allyson was completely wrong for the part of Jo. I may watch some of the films in spite of her, only because they have other actors that I enjoy. I liked "Executive Suite" because I like William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Now, now finance. I think if someone is going to make such a comment they should at least back it up; i.e. explain why they don't like a specific actress or actor. As you know Allyson is my least favorite actress. My reasons are that her voice just gets on my nerves (while some might say it is similar to Jean Arthurs, I find Jean's charming and cute. I just don't get the same vibe from June's voice), she isn't very good looking (she always looked 10 - 15 years older than she really was IMO), and I just don't feel she was a very good actress. She often looked like she was forcing her performance. Add to this that generally the type of movies she was in were just not my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 >As you know Allyson is my least favorite actress. My reasons are that her voice just gets on my nerves >she isn't very good looking (she always looked 10 - 15 years older than she really was IMO I think this is what I was trying to articulate in my comment a few minutes ago. Her voice is grating. She also is very plain. I don't think she's hideous by any means; but she doesn't have the glamour factor that her contemporaries like Rita Hayworth, Ingrid Bergman and Viven Leigh had, for example. Unfortunately for Allyson, what she lacks in aesthetics, she doesn't make up for in the acting department. I always find her kind of wooden. She isn't compelling and is easily overshadowed by her costars. Actresses like Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis, while not beautiful by conventional standards, posses the acting chops to make up for that. As a result, in many of their films, they are alluring and believable that someone like William Holden or Errol Flynn (who are both very attractive men) would fall for them. I have seen quite a few of her films; but like I said, it's only because actors I like just happened to like her costar and I wanted to watch to see their work. -Best Foot Forward (Lucille Ball) -Girl Crazy (Judy Garland) -The Three Musketeers (Gene Kelly & Angela Lansbury) -Little Women (Elizabeth Taylor, though I didn't enjoy her as a blond) -Executive Suite (William Holden & Barbara Stanwyck) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Your second paragraph could have been written by me. In addition, she's too short to be SOTM. The fact that they kept pairing her with Jimmy Stewart was ludicrous. The two of them also had no chemistry. I can't think of any actor who had any chemistry with June Allyson......Maybe they should have paired her with Peter Lorre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Executive Suite, a great movie on many levels is a good one to use to compare acting styles. Stanwyck and Foch shine in their roles. Foch has a smaller role than Allyson but she stands out a lot more. I just don't see where Allyson brings the emotional depth required for the role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 ..and she also has no chemistry with Holden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 She wasn't suppose to be a "glamour girl". She was supposed to be the "girl/wife next door", and in those kind of roles she's "adequate". (...but that being said, that hoarse voice o' hers always has driven me a little nuts too...I'm always hoping one of her co-stars asks her: "Care for a lozenge, lady?"...but alas, it never happens) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Read Speadracer's post. Yes, we understand Allyson wasn't cast to be a glamour girl. The main issue is really her acting. She just isn't very convicing. Add to that her other faults and it all adds up to her being my least favorite actress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 No matter how June Allyson's screen image strikes us, she appeared to have a way with some men, at least, off screen. Joan Blondell lost her husband, Dick Powell, to her, of course. During the Powell marriage both Alan Ladd and, I believe, Dean Martin were threats to that marriage. When Sue Carol, Ladd's wife, telephoned Dick Powell to tell him that her husband was madly in love with his wife, Powell's unruffled reply was, "Isn't everyone?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 A lot of the actresses typically cast as "the girl next door" usually had some kind of "cute" quality about her as well. June Allyson just doesn't have any of that. She seems like she'd be the actress that you'd settle for if your first choice, Judy Garland, and your second choice, Debbie Reynolds, were unavailable. I think it's her voice most of all that drives me up the wall. I don't even mind husky voiced actresses; but I think it depends on which persona they've cultivated and what characters they're trying to pass off. Lauren Bacall always played kind of seductive, sassy, no-nonsense type characters and a husky voice matches that. When you think of "the girl next door," you don't think of a husky voice. June Allyson to me always sounds like a 5 pack a day smoker. I know Hollywood executives had a lot of actresses work on developing a "new" voice, Lauren Bacall, being an example. I wonder if Allyson always had that voice, or whether she "made" it. I'm really hoping that TCM picks some more interesting people for upcoming star of the month. Though, I do enjoy Mary Astor, so I'm excited to see what films will air in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 >I believe, Dean Martin were threats to that marriage. I cannot imagine June Allyson and Dean Martin together. He seems like he'd need a more glamorous woman. I think he and Kim Novak would be good together (I believe they're even in a film together). He also would be great with Angie Dickenson, who was the gal pal of The Rat Pack. He and Lauren Bacall would have been interesting. I see Lauren and Dean being more compatible than Lauren and Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountessDracula Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 June Allyson is also my least favorite actress of all time. Previous posts have nailed it. She is wooden and dull and her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. I have tried numerous times over the years to sit through some of her films and never seem to make it. A month or so ago, I finally made it through Little Women. She was horribly miscast in that. And as someone said earlier, she easily looked 10-15 years older than she was. I know she tried to cultivate a very likable personality through the years ( in films and commercials ) but I just don't buy it, never have. If she were going for the girl next door look she missed that horribly as well. Generally, they are cute and likable. She is neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyM108 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 I can think of at least 50 actors and actresses I've have chosen before June Allyson, but OTOH if I can survive Mickey Rooney, Esther Williams, "Singing Cowboys" and "Teen Idols", I figure I can survive pretty much any form of month-long punishment that TCM can dole out. And as Jack Webb said in Red Nightmare. . . . "Don't worry Jerry, that bullet will never reach you. Because, you see, Jerry, *in America there's always a tomorrow.* " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Ooh I'm not a fan of Mickey Rooney either. I have seen a few of his films; but only because Judy Garland was in them. Don't even get me started on his appearance in "Breakfast at Tiffanys." Horrible. I also am not a fan of Esther Williams. She kind of falls into the same category as Allyson. Except she is pretty, but dull. She's kind of a novelty though. She is mostly known for her swimming musicals. Other films she was a supporting player or co-star in, but weren't swimming musicals, like "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and "Easy to Wed," it seemed like they had to throw in a scene of her swimming just so we remembered who she was. I have to admit, I kind of enjoyed teen idols month. Singing cowboys, not so much. I'm not a big westerns fan. Except if it has Errol Flynn. I did watch "Red River" and that was really good. The only reason I watched it initially though was Montgomery Clift. I'm hoping for some other SOTM (which I'm sure some will grimace about, because I'm not sure how recent some of these stars were honored): William Holden, Errol Flynn, Olivia De Havilland, Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant, William Powell and Myrna Loy are some that I'd like to see. I'm hoping this year's SUTS will prove satisfactory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikisoo Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 As soon as I saw the title of this thread I knew there would be pages of disdain for Allyson. Well, I like her just fine. I like her sunny face & personality. Her voice sounds fine to me, especially when singing. Her hairdo, yeah, it's like a rigid blonde helmet and not really flattering to her face, but I can think of other hairdos on other actresses just as bad. And yes, I wasn't crazy about her in LITTLE WOMEN, but Kate Hepburn gets the same disdain for her portrayal as well. But just like with Kate, I just don't understand the hatred Allyson garners. Someone mentioned Rosiland Russell as SOTM, people generally dislike her screen presence too. What is it about these women people dislike? Their "mannishness"? They can't ALL be sex kittens like Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner, what a boring world that would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Excellent post, Tiki. Thank you for posting it. It provides some much-needed balance and differing perspective given all the June Allyson bashing. The ones who bash Allyson, Rooney and Williams fail to see that these kinds of wholesome marquee names in the 1940s and 1950s were very popular. It is not about our liking or disliking them according to present-day tastes-- it is that they are an undeniable part of Hollywood history and no matter what, their box office appeal among movie-goers of their generation really cannot be diminished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 You people are grouping actresses with Allyson that have no business being grouped with Allyson. I, for one, always loved Esther Williams. Kate Hepburn and Roz Russell? Allyson gets far more disdain on these boards than these two. If there is anyone on these boards who is turning cartwheels because Allyson has been selected as SOTM, please stand up and be counted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 >If there is anyone on these boards who is turning cartwheels because Allyson has been selected as SOTM, please stand up and be counted. Count me! I am very grateful that TCM has chosen June Allyson for this retrospective. It gives us a good chance to look at her special appeal with audiences of her era and to also look at MGM studio product from those years. Her most frequent costars were Van Johnson, Peter Lawford, Robert Walker and Dick Powell at MGM. She did several films with James Stewart, but two of those were done at other studios. She was frequently paired with Margaret O'Brien and with Kathryn Grayson, too. So even for those who are not yet June Allyson converts, I am sure there is still pleasure to be found seeing films that feature Allyson's illustrious costars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Yet? Yet? Yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Yes. I think some people will become June Allyson fans due to this retrospective. Many will be people that are new to classic film, and others will be those who have previously not been too keen about her, but will start looking at her work in films in a new light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesJazGuitar Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Why do we so called Allyson haters have to repeat ourselves; It isn't just her looks or her voice; many of us just believe she wasn't a very convincing actress (wooden, forced), and lacked chemistry with many of her co-stars. Hey, disagree with these opinions that is fine, but please don't act clueless about why we dislike her. The question has been asked and answered more than once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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