Off we go... Real-life best friends Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon co-starred in nine movies, which is, funnily enough, one more than Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn and two more than Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Anyway, Lemmon and Matthau's next-to-last movie together was 1997's Out To Sea, a fun if uneven comedy that has its heart … Continue reading Dancing With Walter and Jack
For the Boys
Strike up the band... Big star showcases were a staple of the World War Two era, and one of them was 1943's Thousands Cheer. MGM's trade paper, The Lion's Roar, declared, "On all the Broadways of America, there’s a milling to get into the most extravagant extravaganza in years entitled “Thousands Cheer”." On one hand, Lion's hyperbole is … Continue reading For the Boys
Judy’s Last MGM Movie
Miss Judy is back... It's no secret that Judy's life got difficult towards the end of her time at MGM, which was an endless push-pull between her trying to take control of her health and well-being and the studio wanting her back at work. Judy was fired from two movies in 1949--Annie Get Your Gun and The … Continue reading Judy’s Last MGM Movie
Let’s Put On A Show
Escapism can take some funny shapes, and in 1944's Broadway Rhythm it literally does. It was meant to be the latest installment in the Broadway Melody series, but L.B. Mayer decided to change it to a vehicle for up and coming singer Ginny Sims. It was also an adaptation of a Kern and Hammerstein musical called Very Warm … Continue reading Let’s Put On A Show
Somebody’s Watching Me
Here's June... So many of the early stars got their start on the stage, such as on Broadway or in vaudeville, and June Allyson was no different. She went from working in Vitaphone shorts and in the choruses of various Broadway shows to her first lead in the successful 1941 musical, Best Foot Forward. M-G-M soon bought … Continue reading Somebody’s Watching Me
Taking Up Room 