Una Merkel
Encyclopedia
Una Merkel was an American
Tony Award
-winning stage
and film
actress.
, and grew up in Philadelphia
and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish
and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928 classic The Wind
, a late silent film. Merkel appeared in a few films during the silent era
, including the two-reel Love's Old Sweet Song (1923) made by Lee DeForest in his Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process, and starring Louis Wolheim
and Donald Gallaher
. However, she spent most of her time in New York City
working on Broadway
.
Merkel returned to Hollywood and achieved her greatest success with the advent of "talkies".
She played Ann Rutledge
in the film Abraham Lincoln
(1930) directed by D. W. Griffith
. During the 1930s, Merkel became a popular second lead in a number of films, usually playing the wisecracking best friend of the heroine, supporting actresses such as Jean Harlow
, Carole Lombard
, Loretta Young
, and Dorothy Lamour
.
With her kewpie doll looks, combined with a strong Southern accent and wry line delivery, she enlivened scores of films of the era and worked with most of the stars of the period. She played Sam Spade
's secretary in the original 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon
. Merkel was an MGM contract player from 1932 to 1938, appearing in as many as twelve films in a year, often on loan-out to other studios. She was also often cast as leading lady to a number of comedians in their starring pictures, including Jack Benny
, Harold Lloyd
, and Charles Butterworth
.
In 42nd Street
(1933), Merkel played a streetwise showgirl who was Ginger Rogers
's character's buddy. In the famous "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" number, Merkel and Rogers sang the verse: "Matrimony is baloney. She'll be wanting alimony in a year or so./Still they go and shuffle, shuffle off to Buffalo." Merkel appeared in both the 1934
and the 1952
film versions of The Merry Widow
, playing different roles in each.
One of her most famous roles was in the Western Destry Rides Again
(1939) in which her character, Lillibelle, gets into a famous "cat-fight" with Frenchie (Marlene Dietrich
) over the possession of her husband's trousers, won by Frenchie in a crooked card game. She played the elder daughter to the W. C. Fields
character, Egbert Sousé in the 1940 film The Bank Dick
. Her film career went into decline during the 1940s, although she continued working in smaller productions. In 1950 she was leading lady to William Bendix
in a baseball comedy Kill the Umpire
which was a surprise hit.
She made a comeback as a middle-aged woman playing mothers and maiden aunts, and in 1956 won a Tony Award
for her role on Broadway in The Ponder Heart. She had a major part in the MGM 1959 film, The Mating Game
as Paul Douglas
's wife and Debbie Reynolds
's mother, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
in Summer and Smoke
(1961).
Merkel, whose final film role was in the Elvis Presley
film Spinout
(1966), has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6230 Hollywood Boulevard. She died in Los Angeles, California
, aged 82, from undisclosed causes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning stage
Stage
- acting :Stage , a space for the performance of theatrical productions* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"* The Stage, a weekly British theatre newspaper...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actress.
Life and career
Una Merkel was born in Covington, KentuckyCovington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
, and grew up in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928 classic The Wind
The Wind
The Wind is a 1928 American dramatic silent film directed by Victor Sjöström. The movie was adapted by Frances Marion from the novel The Wind written by Dorothy Scarborough. It features Lillian Gish, Lars Hanson, Montagu Love, Dorothy Cumming, and others...
, a late silent film. Merkel appeared in a few films during the silent era
Silent Movies
Silent Movies are 13 solo guitar compositions by Marc Ribot released September 28, 2010 on Pi Recordings.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "For those interested in one of the more compelling and quietly provocative and graceful guitar records of 2010,...
, including the two-reel Love's Old Sweet Song (1923) made by Lee DeForest in his Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process, and starring Louis Wolheim
Louis Wolheim
Louis Wolheim was an American character actor.His trademark broken nose was the result of an injury sustained while playing football for Cornell University. Despite his rugged visage, Wolheim was intelligent and cultivated, speaking French, German, Spanish, and Yiddish. He was also a mathematics...
and Donald Gallaher
Donald Gallaher
Donald Gallaher was an American actor.Gallaher was born in Quincy, Illinois. After moving to New York City as a child with his mother, he began acting in productions such as A Royal Family....
. However, she spent most of her time in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
working on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Merkel returned to Hollywood and achieved her greatest success with the advent of "talkies".
She played Ann Rutledge
Ann Rutledge
Ann Rutledge was allegedly Abraham Lincoln's first love.-Relationship:Born near Henderson, Kentucky Ann Mayes Rutledge was the third of ten children born to Mary and James Rutledge. In 1829, her father, along with John M. Cameron, founded New Salem, Illinois...
in the film Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (film)
Abraham Lincoln, also released under the title D. W. Griffith's 'Abraham Lincoln', is a biographical film about American president Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her first talking role, as Ann Rutledge...
(1930) directed by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
. During the 1930s, Merkel became a popular second lead in a number of films, usually playing the wisecracking best friend of the heroine, supporting actresses such as Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
, Loretta Young
Loretta Young
Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...
, and Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
.
With her kewpie doll looks, combined with a strong Southern accent and wry line delivery, she enlivened scores of films of the era and worked with most of the stars of the period. She played Sam Spade
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is a fictional character who is the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon and the various films and adaptations based on it, as well as in three lesser known short stories by Hammett....
's secretary in the original 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1931 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
. Merkel was an MGM contract player from 1932 to 1938, appearing in as many as twelve films in a year, often on loan-out to other studios. She was also often cast as leading lady to a number of comedians in their starring pictures, including Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
, and Charles Butterworth
Charles Butterworth
Charles Butterworth, Ph.D. is a noted philosopher of the Straussian school and currently a professor of political philosophy at the University of Maryland, College Park....
.
In 42nd Street
42nd Street (film)
-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
(1933), Merkel played a streetwise showgirl who was Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
's character's buddy. In the famous "Shuffle Off To Buffalo" number, Merkel and Rogers sang the verse: "Matrimony is baloney. She'll be wanting alimony in a year or so./Still they go and shuffle, shuffle off to Buffalo." Merkel appeared in both the 1934
The Merry Widow (1934 film)
The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald...
and the 1952
The Merry Widow (1952 film)
The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.The film received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color...
film versions of The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
, playing different roles in each.
One of her most famous roles was in the Western Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again
Destry Rides Again is a western starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Billy Gilbert, Bill Cody, Jr., and Una Merkel. The original Max Brand novel was translated into an "oater" with the...
(1939) in which her character, Lillibelle, gets into a famous "cat-fight" with Frenchie (Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
) over the possession of her husband's trousers, won by Frenchie in a crooked card game. She played the elder daughter to the W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
character, Egbert Sousé in the 1940 film The Bank Dick
The Bank Dick
The Bank Dick is a 1940 comedy film. W. C. Fields plays a character named Egbert Sousé who trips a bank robber and ends up a security guard as a result...
. Her film career went into decline during the 1940s, although she continued working in smaller productions. In 1950 she was leading lady to William Bendix
William Bendix
William Bendix was an American film, radio, and television actor, best remembered in movies for the title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story and for portraying clumsily earnest aircraft plant worker Chester A. Riley in radio and television's The Life of Riley...
in a baseball comedy Kill the Umpire
Kill the Umpire
Kill the Umpire is a 1950 comedy starring William Bendix and Una Merkel, directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Frank Tashlin.-Plot:Bendix plays a former baseball player who continues to be a baseball fanatic whose devotion to the game has cost him several jobs, but who remains steadfast in one...
which was a surprise hit.
She made a comeback as a middle-aged woman playing mothers and maiden aunts, and in 1956 won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her role on Broadway in The Ponder Heart. She had a major part in the MGM 1959 film, The Mating Game
The Mating Game (film)
The Mating Game is an MGM color film made in 1959 and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and Paul Douglas in his final screen appearance. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits....
as Paul Douglas
Paul Douglas (actor)
Paul Douglas was an American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Paul Douglas Fleischer.-Career:...
's wife and Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
's mother, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
in Summer and Smoke
Summer and Smoke (film)
Summer and Smoke is a 1961 film directed by Peter Glenville based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name.The film starred Laurence Harvey and Geraldine Page with Rita Moreno, Una Merkel, John McIntire, Thomas Gomez, Pamela Tiffin, Malcolm Atterbury, Lee Patrick and Earl Holliman...
(1961).
Merkel, whose final film role was in the Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
film Spinout
Spinout
Spinout is a 1966 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The movie was #57 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1966.-Plot:...
(1966), has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 6230 Hollywood Boulevard. She died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, aged 82, from undisclosed causes.
Features
- Love's Old Sweet Song (19231923 in film-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...
) two-reeler in PhonofilmPhonofilmIn 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back... - The Fifth Horseman (19241924 in film-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
) - Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln (film)Abraham Lincoln, also released under the title D. W. Griffith's 'Abraham Lincoln', is a biographical film about American president Abraham Lincoln directed by D. W. Griffith. It stars Walter Huston as Lincoln and Una Merkel, in her first talking role, as Ann Rutledge...
(19301930 in film-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
) - The Eyes of the World (1930)
- The Bat WhispersThe Bat WhispersThe Bat Whispers is a mystery film directed by Roland West, produced by Joseph M. Schenck, and released by United Artists.-Plot:A mysterious criminal by the name of "The Bat" eludes police and then finally announces his retirement to the country, while a wealthy Cornelia Van Gorder takes up...
(1930) - Command Performance (1930)
- Don't Bet on Women (19311931 in film-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:*Best Picture: Cimarron - MGM*Best Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul*Best Actor: Wallace Beery - The Champ*Best Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) - Six Cylinder Love (1931)
- Daddy Long LegsDaddy-Long-Legs (novel)Daddy Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, through her college years. She writes the letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen....
(1931) - The Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon (1931 film)The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
(1931) - The Bargain (1931)
- Wicked (1931)
- The Secret Witness (1931)
- Private LivesPrivate Lives (film)Private Lives is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Sidney Franklin. The screenplay by Hanns Kräly and Richard Schayer is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Noël Coward.-Plot synopsis:...
(1931) - She Wanted a Millionaire (19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Impatient MaidenImpatient MaidenImpatient Maiden is a drama film directed by James Whale, starring Lew Ayres and Mae Clarke, and released by Universal Pictures. The screenplay was written by Richard Schayer and Winifred Dunn, based on the novel The Impatient Virgin by Donald Henderson Clarke.-Cast:*Lew Ayres as Dr...
(1932) - Man WantedMan WantedMan Wanted is a 1932 romance film starring Kay Francis as a married magazine editor who hires a handsome secretary .-Cast:*Kay Francis as Lois Ames*David Manners as Thomas Sherman*Una Merkel as Ruth Holman*Andy Devine as Andy Doyle...
(1932) - Huddle (1932)
- Red-Headed WomanRed-Headed WomanRed-Headed Woman is a 1932 Pre-Code comedy film, produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, based on a novel by Katherine Brush, and with a screenplay by Anita Loos. It was directed by Jack Conway, and stars Jean Harlow as a woman who uses sex to advance her social position...
(1932) - They Call It Sin (1932)
- Men Are Such Fools (1932)
- Whistling in the DarkWhistling in the Dark (1933 film)Whistling in the Dark is a 1933 comedy crime film starring Ernest Truex as a murder mystery writer whose scheme for a perfect murder comes to the attention of a gangster, played by Edward Arnold, who decides to use it...
(19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - 42nd Street42nd Street (film)-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
(1933) - The Secret of Madame Blanche (1933)
- Clear All Wires! (1933)
- Reunion in Vienna (1933)
- Midnight MaryMidnight MaryMidnight Mary is a 1933 film that reveals in flashbacks the hard life of a woman on trial for murder. It stars Loretta Young, Ricardo Cortez, and Franchot Tone.-Cast:*Loretta Young as Mary Martin AKA "Midnight Mary"*Ricardo Cortez as Leo Darcy...
(1933) - Her First Mate (1933)
- Broadway to HollywoodBroadway to Hollywood (1933 film)Broadway to Hollywood is a film directed by Willard Mack, produced by Harry Rapf, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film features many of MGM's stars of the time, including Frank Morgan, Alice Brady, Madge Evans, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, and Jackie Cooper...
(1933) - Beauty for SaleBeauty for SaleBeauty for Sale is a 1933 film about the romantic entanglements of three beauty salon employees. It stars Madge Evans, Alice Brady, and Otto Kruger. It was based on the novel Beauty by Faith Baldwin.-Cast:*Madge Evans as Letty Lawson...
(1933) - BombshellBombshell (film)Bombshell is a Pre-Code film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Jean Harlow, Lee Tracy, Frank Morgan, C. Aubrey Smith, Mary Forbes and Franchot Tone.-Plot:...
(1933) - Day of Reckoning (1933)
- The Women in His LifeThe Women in His Life-Cast:* Otto Kruger as Kent 'Barry' Barringer* Una Merkel as Miss 'Simmy' Simmons* Ben Lyon as Roger McKane* Isabel Jewell as Catherine 'Cathy' Watson* Roscoe Karns as Lester* Irene Hervey as Doris Worthing* C. Henry Gordon as Tony Perez...
(1933) - This Side of Heaven (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...
) - Murder in the Private Car (1934)
- Paris Interlude (1934)
- The Cat's-PawThe Cat's-PawThe Cat’s-Paw is a 1934 comedy film starring Harold Lloyd and directed by Sam Taylor. It was one of the great silent film comedian’s few sound films....
(1934) - Bulldog Drummond Strikes BackBulldog Drummond Strikes BackBulldog Drummond Strikes Back is a 1934 American comedy-mystery-adventure film directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film stars Ronald Colman and Loretta Young.-Plot:...
(1934) - Have a Heart (1934)
- The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow (1934 film)The Merry Widow is a 1934 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It was directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald...
(1934) - Evelyn PrenticeEvelyn PrenticeEvelyn Prentice is a 1934 film teaming William Powell and Myrna Loy, with Rosalind Russell in her film debut. The movie was based on the 1933 novel of the same name....
(1934) - Biography of a Bachelor Girl (19351935 in film-Events:*Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .*Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
) - The Night Is Young (1935)
- One New York Night (1935)
- Baby Face Harrington (1935)
- Murder in the Fleet (1935)
- Broadway Melody of 1936Broadway Melody of 1936Broadway Melody of 1936 is a musical released by MGM in 1935. It was a follow up of sorts to the successful The Broadway Melody, which had been released in 1929, although, beyond the title and some music, there is no story connection with the earlier film.The film was written by Harry W. Conn, Moss...
(1935) - It's in the Air (1935)
- RiffraffRiffraff (1936 film)Riffraff is a 1936 film starring Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. The movie was written by Frances Marion, Anita Loos, and H. W. Hannaford, and directed by J. Walter Ruben.-Plot:...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - SpeedSpeed (1936 film)Speed is a 1936 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer action film starring James Stewart in his first starring role, and Wendy Barrie. Although only a low-budget "B" movie, the film was notable for its realistic cinematography by Lester White, incorporating scenes from the Indianapolis 500 race and on-location...
(1936) - We Went to College (1936)
- Born to DanceBorn to DanceBorn to Dance is an American musical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and directed by Roy Del Ruth.The film stars dancer Eleanor Powell and was a follow-up to her successful debut in Broadway Melody of 1936...
(1936) - Don't Tell the Wife (19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - The Good Old SoakThe Good Old SoakThe Good Old Soak is a 1937 drama film directed by J. Walter Ruben, with a screenplay by A. E. Thomas based upon the stage play of the same name by Don Marquis. The film stars Wallace Beery with a supporting cast of Una Merkel, Eric Linden, Betty Furness, and Ted Healy.According to E.J...
(1937) - SaratogaSaratoga (film)Saratoga is a 1937 film written by Anita Loos and directed by Jack Conway. The movie stars Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in their sixth and final film collaboration....
(1937) - Checkers (1937)
- True ConfessionTrue ConfessionTrue Confession is a 1937 screwball comedy film starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. It was directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on the play Mon Crime, written by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil.-Plot:...
(1937) - Four Girls in WhiteFour Girls in WhiteFour Girls in White is a 1939 Drama directed by S. Sylvan Simon, starring Florence Rice and Una Merkel. The comical exploits of four nursing students enrolled in a three-year training course.-Cast:* Florence Rice as Norma Page* Una Merkel as Robbins...
(19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Some Like It HotSome Like It Hot (1939 film)Some Like It Hot is a 1939 comedy film starring Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, and Gene Krupa. The movie was directed by George Archainbaud, and the screenplay was written by Wilkie C. Mahoney and Lewis R. Foster, based on the play The Great Magoo by Ben Hecht and Gene Fowler, which performed briefly on...
(1939) - On Borrowed TimeOn Borrowed TimeOn Borrowed Time is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from Paul Osborn's 1938 Broadway hit play. The play, based on a novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin, has been revived twice on Broadway since its original run.Set in small-town...
(1939) - Destry Rides AgainDestry Rides AgainDestry Rides Again is a western starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart. The supporting cast includes Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy, Allen Jenkins, Irene Hervey, Billy Gilbert, Bill Cody, Jr., and Una Merkel. The original Max Brand novel was translated into an "oater" with the...
(1939) - Comin' Round the Mountain (19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - Sandy Gets Her Man (1940)
- The Bank DickThe Bank DickThe Bank Dick is a 1940 comedy film. W. C. Fields plays a character named Egbert Sousé who trips a bank robber and ends up a security guard as a result...
(1940) - Double Date (19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - Road to ZanzibarRoad to ZanzibarRoad to Zanzibar is a 1941 Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second picture in the popular "Road to …" series made by the trio....
(1941) - Cracked Nuts (1941)
- The Mad Doctor of Market Street (19421942 in filmThe 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:...
) - Twin Beds (1942)
- This Is the ArmyThis Is the ArmyThis Is the Army is a 1943 American wartime motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, and a wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, directed by Sgt. Ezra Stone...
(19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Sweethearts of the U.S.A. (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - It's a Joke, Son! (19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - The Bride Goes Wild (19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Man from Texas (1948)
- Kill the UmpireKill the UmpireKill the Umpire is a 1950 comedy starring William Bendix and Una Merkel, directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Frank Tashlin.-Plot:Bendix plays a former baseball player who continues to be a baseball fanatic whose devotion to the game has cost him several jobs, but who remains steadfast in one...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - My Blue Heaven (1950)
- Emergency Wedding (1950)
- Rich, Young and PrettyRich, Young and PrettyRich, Young and Pretty is a 1951 musical film produced by Joe Pasternak for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Norman Taurog. It was written by Dorothy Cooper and Sidney Sheldon, starred Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, and Fernando Lamas, and introduced Vic Damone...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - A Millionaire for Christy (1951)
- Golden Girl (1951)
- With a Song in My HeartWith a Song in My Heart (film)With a Song in My Heart is a 1952 biographical film which tells the story of actress and singer Jane Froman, who was crippled by an airplane crash on February 22, 1943, when the Boeing 314 Pan American Clipper flying boat she was on suffered a crash landing in the Tagus River near Lisbon, Portugal....
(19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow (1952 film)The Merry Widow is a 1952 film adaptation of the operetta of the same name by Franz Lehár. It starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.The film received two Academy Award nominations: for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color...
(1952) - I Love MelvinI Love MelvinI Love Melvin is a 1953 comedy film directed by Don Weis and starring Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.-Plot:Small-time actress Judy Schneider dreams of becoming a Hollywood star even as she struggles along playing a human football in a kitschy Broadway musical. One day in Central Park she bumps...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - The KentuckianThe KentuckianThe Kentuckian is a 1955 adventure film directed by Burt Lancaster, who also starred. It also marked the feature film debut of Walter Matthau. The picture is an adaptation of the novel The Gabriel Horn by Felix Holt...
(19551955 in filmThe 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....
) - The Kettles in the OzarksMa and Pa KettleMa and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late '40s and '50s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives turn upside-down when they win a model-home-of-the-future in a slogan-writing contest...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - Bundle of JoyBundle of JoyBundle of Joy is a musical remake of the comedy film Bachelor Mother . It stars Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and Adolphe Menjou. An unmarried salesgirl at a department store finds and takes care of an abandoned baby...
(1956) - The Fuzzy Pink NightgownThe Fuzzy Pink NightgownThe Fuzzy Pink Nightgown is an American comedy film made by Russ-Field Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Norman Taurog from a screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons, based on a novel by Sylvia Tate....
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - The Girl Most LikelyThe Girl Most LikelyThe Girl Most Likely is a musical about a young woman who ends up engaged to three men at the same time. The film, a remake of Tom, Dick and Harry , was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, and Keith Andes...
(1957) - The Mating GameThe Mating Game (film)The Mating Game is an MGM color film made in 1959 and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall and Paul Douglas in his final screen appearance. Reynolds sings the title song during the opening credits....
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - The Parent Trap (19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - Summer and SmokeSummer and Smoke (film)Summer and Smoke is a 1961 film directed by Peter Glenville based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name.The film starred Laurence Harvey and Geraldine Page with Rita Moreno, Una Merkel, John McIntire, Thomas Gomez, Pamela Tiffin, Malcolm Atterbury, Lee Patrick and Earl Holliman...
(1961) - Summer MagicSummer MagicSummer Magic is a 1963 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, and Dorothy McGuire in a story about a Boston widow and her children taking up residence in a small town in Maine. The film was based on the book "Mother Carey's Chickens" by Kate Douglas Wiggin and was...
(19631963 in filmThe year 1963 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* June 12 - Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rex Harrison and Richard Burton premieres at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City....
) - A Tiger WalksA Tiger WalksA Tiger Walks is a 1964 family drama film, directed by Norman Tokar and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is based on a novel of the same name by Ian Niall...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
) - SpinoutSpinoutSpinout is a 1966 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley as the lead singer of a band and part-time race car driver. The movie was #57 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1966.-Plot:...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
)
Short subjects
- Love's Old Sweet Song (19231923 in film-Events:*April 15 - Lee De Forest demonstrates the Phonofilm sound-on-film system at the Rivoli Theater in New York with a series of short musical films featuring vaudeville performers.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1923:U.S.A...
) - Menu (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Hollywood Goes to Town (19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Quack Service (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - To Heir Is Human (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
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