Paulll Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 GREAT list. I meant to include Mary Martin in my earlier post. Thanks for mentioning her. Would people consider Rita Hayworth a musical star? I think she is...she came from a very musical family. Thank you! I was going to add Rita Hayworth, but wasn't sure. Added to the list: Rita Hayworth! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarshaKatz Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Gloria De Haven Lucille Bremer Grace Moore Jeanette McDonald Betty Grable June Haver Janet Blair Eleanor Powell Dolores Grey Ann Blyth Charlotte Greenwood Judy Holliday Deanna Durbin Janis Paige Joan Leslie Mitzi Gaynor Dinah Shore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 Grace Moore Mentioning her reminds me of two other opera stars who made movies: Lily Pons and Gladys Swarthout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarshaKatz Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 Also Rise Stevens 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 Has anyone else seen THE STARS ARE SINGING, a Paramount Technicolor musical from the early 50s..? It stars Rosemary Clooney and Anna Maria Alberghetti, whose vocal styles could not be more dissimilar-- but it's a fun movie. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulll Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Has anyone else seen THE STARS ARE SINGING, a Paramount Technicolor musical from the early 50s..? It stars Rosemary Clooney and Anna Maria Alberghetti, whose vocal styles could not be more dissimilar-- but it's a fun movie. I also had Rosemary Clooney on my original list, but took her off with Rita Hayworth, because I wasn't sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Ethel Merman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 I also had Rosemary Clooney on my original list, but took her off with Rita Hayworth, because I wasn't sure. Well, unlike Hayworth, all Clooney's films were musicals or musical comedies. Hayworth did many non-musical roles, so I wasn't sure how the public really categorizes her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Ethel Merman Good example. She did various kinds of musical films, including a skating one with Sonja Henie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 two hundred fifth categoryNotable screen comebacks Alla Nazimova...silent actress played Robert Taylor's mother in the 1940 espionage thriller ESCAPE. She hadn't been in a major motion picture since 1925. She went on to play other character roles in the 1940s. Alice Faye...she was absent from the cinema between 1945 and 1962, a 17 year gap between FALLEN ANGEL and the remake of STATE FAIR. James Cagney...when he made RAGTIME in 1981 (his last movie), he hadn't acted in a motion picture since 1961. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregoryPeckfan Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Ingrid Bergman made a comeback after being ostracized following her affair and child with Rossilini. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Ingrid Bergman made a comeback after being ostracized following her affair and child with Rossilini. Yes, excellent example. By the way, we did have an earlier category called One-Shot Return to Acting (which applies to the James Cagney example)..but in the case of Nazimova and Bergman, their comebacks led to a career resurgence and they went on to make a number of other movies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulll Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Fred Astaire: He had announced his retirement after Blue Skies in 1946. [it wasn't a long gap like other actors, but still a comeback!] Gene Kelly was to do Easter Parade with Judy Garland in 1948; apparently, he fractured his leg or something right before filming was to start. He requested Fred Astaire replace him and called him to ask if he would. Without hesitation Fred Astaire agreed, came out of retirement because he was "Excited to work with Judy Garland! He never had, so there was no question!" Astaire went on to star in such films as Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, The Band Wagon, Silk Stockings, Finian's Rainbow, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (voice), and Ghost Story, among other films and television appearances! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Fred Astaire: He had announced his retirement after Blue Skies in 1946. Gene Kelly was to do Easter Parade with Judy Garland in 1948; apparently, he fractured his leg or something right before filming was to start. He requested Fred Astaire replace him and called him to ask if he would. Without hesitation Fred Astaire agreed, came out of retirement because he was "Excited to work with Judy Garland! He never had, so there was no question!" Astaire went on to star in such films as Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, The Band Wagon, Silk Stockings, Finian's Rainbow, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (voice), and Ghost Story, among other films and television appearances. Yes, can you imagine if there had been no BAND WAGON with Fred Astaire? So glad he didn't retire from the movies in 1946. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulll Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Katharine Hepburn: She started off with critically acclaimed films. However starting in 1933 she starred in "Box office failures," of which included Bringing Up Baby. In 1940, she made her comeback in The Philadelphia Story. She went on to win 4 of her 12 Oscar Nominations! I know, The Band Wagon with no Fred Astaire would be.... surreal! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulll Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Walt Disney: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a major success for Disney. Unfortunately, throughout the 1940's, all the classics and combination shorts were unsuccessful. He took a gamble on Cinderella. With production costs of 3 million dollars, if it was a flop, that would be the end of the Disney studio. Cinderella was a major success! Between all the profits, Disney was able to start production on many new films, establish his own distribution company, enter television production, and begin building Disneyland in California. If you love visiting Disney World, Disneyland, and/or any of the other Disney theme parks; or love watching a classic animated Disney film (post 1950) you can thank Cinderella! Disney (productions) would go on to create classics such as; Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, among many others! One of the reasons Cinderella is my favorite Disney film of all time!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Katharine Hepburn: She started off with critically acclaimed films. However starting in 1933 she starred in "Box office failures," of which included Bringing Up Baby. In 1940, she made her comeback in The Philadelphia Story. She went on to win 4 of her 12 Oscar Nominations! Yes...for awhile, it looked like her movie career was over. Her comeback on screen was notable indeed. But if she hadn't scored a hit on Broadway during her time away, who knows what might have happened. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Robert Downey Jr -- was in CHAPLIN and other critical successes then his drug abuse got the better of him, but now he's Mr Big William Holden -- was Hollywood's Golden Boy after starring in the 1939 film of the same name, then wasn't doing too well for many years. His big comeback was SUNSET BLVD where he played a washed out has been. Hm... And speaking of SUNSET BLVD, that was Gloria Swanson's big comeback since hrr silent film days 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 And speaking of SUNSET BLVD, that was Gloria Swanson's big comeback since hrr silent film days I agree that Swanson had a huge comeback in 1950. But her next film, THREE FOR BEDROOM C, was a flop and she was suddenly box office poison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarmaGirl Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 two hundred seventh category Notable screen comebacks Alla Nazimova...silent actress played Robert Taylor's mother in the 1940 espionage thriller ESCAPE. She hadn't been in a major motion picture since 1925. She went on to play other character roles in the 1940s. Alice Faye...she was absent from the cinema between 1945 and 1962, a 17 year gap between FALLEN ANGEL and the remake of STATE FAIR. James Cagney...when he made RAGTIME in 1981 (his last movie), he hadn't acted in a motion picture since 1961. Maureen O'Hara was hadn't made a film since 1973 (a TV movie called THE RED PONY) when she was cast in ONLY THE LONELY in 1991. The director, Chris Columbus, wrote the part especially for her. Her costar, John Candy, traded trailers with her because the producers had originally given her a tiny trailer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Maureen O'Hara was hadn't made a film since 1973 (a TV movie called THE RED PONY) when she was cast in ONLY THE LONELY in 1991. The director, Chris Columbus, wrote the part especially for her. Her costar, John Candy, traded trailers with her because the producers had originally given her a tiny trailer. Nice example. She was very good in that movie, which people don't usually realize, was a remake of MARTY. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 Before moving on to the next category, I wanted to tell Marsha that I watched the first episode of Vera last night, based on her recommendations in the crime solvers list she posted. Instantly hooked. Brenda Blethyn is wonderful. Can't wait to watch the other episodes now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 two hundred sixth categoryWomen's rights in the movies THE SHOCKING MISS PILGRIM...Betty Grable is a suffragette at the turn of century. NORMA RAE...Sally Field is a union organizer fighting for better conditions. Roe vs. Wade...Holly Hunter stars in an NBC TV movie about the landmark court case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregoryPeckfan Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 The documentary Rosie the Riviter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 4, 2016 Author Share Posted April 4, 2016 The documentary Rosie the Riviter. Have you seen the musical called ROSIE THE RIVETER, from the mid-40s? It stars Jane Frazee and is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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