How to Be Very, Very Popular
Encyclopedia
How to Be Very, Very Popular is a 1955
comedy film
written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson
and starring Betty Grable
in her final film role, and, introduced newcomer, Sheree North
to the public.
Paramount
comedy She Loves Me Not
which starred Miriam Hopkins
as Curly Flagg and co-starred Bing Crosby
. That was then remade as True to the Army for Paramount in 1942
. However How to Be Very, Very Popular was based on the Broadway play of the same name by Howard Lindsay which was adapted from the Edward Hope novel.
The character of Curly Flagg was the lead in She Loves Me Not but was made the secondary character to Stormy Tornado in Popular to accommodate Betty Grable
.
This was the last film Betty Grable
made in her career. She had been the number one box office attraction throughout the 1940's and early 50's with her films making enormous amounts of money for 20th Century Fox
.
Marilyn Monroe
was actually approached by Fox to star opposite Grable in this film. She wasn't fond of the script and at the time was yearning for some dramatic and challenging roles to play. Grable and Monroe had previously starred together in How to Marry a Millionaire
which is credited for basically creating the change over in who was the top star at Fox. Grable was the top star in the 1940's and Monroe would become the top star of the 50's. However there was no rivalry between the two bombshells, in fact Grable is to have famously said to Monroe, "go and get yours honey! I've had mine". The two became friends after that.
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Johnson
Nunnally Hunter Johnson was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed motion pictures.Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia. He began his career as a journalist, writing for the Columbus Enquirer Sun, the Savannah Press, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the New York Herald Tribune...
and starring Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
in her final film role, and, introduced newcomer, Sheree North
Sheree North
Sheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...
to the public.
Plot
Stormy Tornado and Curly Flagg are two showgirls from a San Francisco cabaret who witness the murder of one of their fellow performers and can identify the killer. Not wanting to get mixed up in a murder rap, the girls flee the scene and hide out at Bristol College, disguising themselves as boys. However the need for attention makes the girls want to stand out in their stage costumes and then the trouble begins.Cast
- Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
as Stormy Tornado - Sheree NorthSheree NorthSheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...
as Curly Flagg - Robert CummingsRobert CummingsCharles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor....
as Fillmore 'Wedge' Wedgewood - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
as Dr. Tweed - Tommy NoonanTommy NoonanTommy Noonan was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of 'A' and 'B' pictures from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best known for his supporting performances as Gus Esmond, Marilyn Monroe's wealthy boyfriend, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , and as the...
as Eddie Jones - Orson BeanOrson BeanOrson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
as Toby Marshall - Fred ClarkFred ClarkFrederick Leonard Clark was an American film character actor.-Career:Born in Lincoln, California, Clark made his film debut in 1947 in The Unsuspected. His 20-year film career included almost 70 films, and numerous television appearances...
as B.J. Marshall - Charlotte Austin as Midge
- Rhys WilliamsRhys Williams (actor)Rhys Williams was a Welsh character actor in movies and television, whose career spanned several decades.He made his film debut in How Green Was My Valley . This movie takes place in rural Wales with a large cast of Welsh characters, but was actually filmed in Hollywood with Canadian, American,...
as Cedric Flagg - Alice PearceAlice PearceAlicia “Alice” Pearce was an American actress. Brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town , Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz in Bewitched in 1964...
as Miss 'Syl' Sylvester - Andrew Tombes as Sergeant Moon
- Noel ToyNoel ToyNoel Toy was an American burlesque performer famous for her fan dance and bubble dance, initially at the Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco, California. Later, she acted in films and on television.-Early years and career:Toy was born in San Francisco, California...
as Cherry Blossom Wang
Background
How to Be Very, Very Popular was the third adaptation derived from the novel She Loves Me Not by Edward Hope. The novel was first made into the 19341934 in film
-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
comedy She Loves Me Not
She Loves Me Not (1934 film)
She Loves Me Not is a 1934 comedy film adapted from the novel of the same name by Edward Hope. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures and starred Miriam Hopkins and Bing Crosby...
which starred Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
as Curly Flagg and co-starred Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
. That was then remade as True to the Army for Paramount in 1942
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
. However How to Be Very, Very Popular was based on the Broadway play of the same name by Howard Lindsay which was adapted from the Edward Hope novel.
The character of Curly Flagg was the lead in She Loves Me Not but was made the secondary character to Stormy Tornado in Popular to accommodate Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
.
This was the last film Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
made in her career. She had been the number one box office attraction throughout the 1940's and early 50's with her films making enormous amounts of money for 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
was actually approached by Fox to star opposite Grable in this film. She wasn't fond of the script and at the time was yearning for some dramatic and challenging roles to play. Grable and Monroe had previously starred together in How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire is a 1953 romantic comedy film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Jean Negulesco and produced and written by Nunnally Johnson. The screenplay was based on the plays The Greeks Had a Word for It by Zoe Akins and Loco by Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert. The music score...
which is credited for basically creating the change over in who was the top star at Fox. Grable was the top star in the 1940's and Monroe would become the top star of the 50's. However there was no rivalry between the two bombshells, in fact Grable is to have famously said to Monroe, "go and get yours honey! I've had mine". The two became friends after that.