...UPDATE on tonight's TCM Schedule...

...SassyGinger received a 'automatic e-mail' thingie from TCM this morning, stating that 'Once Upon a Honeymoon', scheduled to be aired at 5 AM Eastern (4/1/10), has been 'cancelled'... weird... hopefully this is not the case, but...they do show this one somewhat often, so it can be caught... AND, you can splurge and buy the WB Archive edition of it... no extras or anything... in fact, the only difference between the WB stuff and TCM recording is you don't get the 'TCM.com' logo posted every 20 minutes or so...

ANYWAY.... I would probably keep the recorders set as planned, since, If they aren't showing 'OUAH', then what is going in that spot? Hmmm? It should be a Ginger movie, no? Or, are all the movies to follow just gonna be moved up two hours?

Hang in there, y'all... hope it works out well for you! And PLEASE reply with any additional info or updates regarding this matter... this includes YOU, Mr. Osbourne... BTW, I am still waiting for an on-air 'Gingerology shout-out'... :-]

Sincerely,

VKMfan

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GingerMarch, Week Five: The 40's and 50's

Greetings, all! Hope you have had a great weekend!

Well, the fourth and final week of GingerMarch 2010 on TCM occurs on Wednesday, March 31, and runs well into Thursday, April 1... it starts with her most acclaimed role, "Kitty Foyle", along with her other two films of 1940, "Primrose Path" and "Lucky Partners". the remainder of the movies shown are 'post-Kitty', from the 40's and 50's... a somewhat diverse lot of films, but all quite entertaining and including ample "Gingery Goodness" that we all crave... so, on to the synopses for this weeks offerings:

Kitty Foyle (3/31/10 - 8:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Kitty Foyle, who works at an upscale fashion cosmetics store in New York. One day after work, she meets up with her current boyfriend, Dr. Mark Eisen (James Craig); he asks her to marry him, and she accepts. He wants to get married ASAP, and tells her to meet him at the hospital at midnight, and they will go to Gretna Green, which must be a good place to get hitched. All things are humming along well until she stops back by her apartment to pick up some things, only to find her old flame, Wyn Stafford (Dennis Morgan) waiting inside. He wants her to run off with him to South America; the trouble is he is still married to someone else, and she is now engaged to Mark. But she has never gotten over Wyn, and tells him she will meet him at midnight to sail away with him. Now, Kitty is great, but she can’t be in two places at once… so she has to make up her mind. In order to do so, she has to have a ‘heart-to-heart with her conscience, which reminds her of her past experience with Wyn. The movie ‘flashes back’ to when they first met; Wyn, who is from the Philadelphia elite ‘Mainliners’, was looking for a secretary for his new magazine start-up, and Kitty just happened to be a grad from typing school; he hires her, and he instantly falls for her… and they become a couple. However, with Kitty being from the ‘common folk’, Wyn takes Kitty to New York to avoid being seen with her… sad, because he truly seems to love her, but is still more worried about his ‘Mainline’ image. They do eventually get married, and Wyn plans to renounce his ‘heritage’ and live a ‘normal’ life with Kitty… but when he brings her home to ‘meet the folks’, they give her the third degree, and of course she gets her Irish up and leaves, while Wyn tries to reason with the family…Kitty sees he will never let go of them, and she leaves alone for New York. After a bit, she discovers she is pregnant, and later that day she finds out Wyn is re-marrying. The remainder of the story will be left for you… Ginger won the 1940 Academy Award for Best Actress for this role, and it is really her most memorable role.

Tom, Dick and Harry (3/31/10 - 10:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Janie, a telephone operator in a small town, who has aspirations of finding a rich man to marry. In the real world, however, she is courted by a car dealer, Tom (George Murphy). Tom is doing alright, but is obsessed with climbing up the job ladder, thus not connecting with Janie, even though he has proposed to her. Janie has a heavy dream about their possible marriage, and the future routine of being the ‘model housewife’…not her scene. In the meantime, through work, she hears of a rich young millionaire, Dick Hamilton (Alan Marshal), which fuels her dreams… she tempts fate one day at a stoplight by getting in a very nice car which has (supposedly) a wealthy fellow behind the wheel…could it be Hamilton? Nope, it’s only a mechanic working on the car at the time – she doesn’t know this until she agrees to go out with him… this would be Harry (Burgess Meredith). Harry drops the reality on her, and she almost bolts, but he manages to get her to go with him… between frames of bowling, they discuss why ‘average’ girls can’t hook up with rich men… and Harry gives her a reality check…she sets out to prove him wrong, of course… but he is so enamored with her, he proposes to her…and she says ‘sure’… of course, waiting for Mr. Rich Dude… and by dumb luck, she is introduced to the aforementioned Rich Dude named Dick – and promptly sets out on a wild trip with him…of course, he also falls for her, and soon she has her third fiancée, but this last one is the one she has always had her sights set on… it all sorts out from there, as you will see.

The Major and The Minor (3/31/10 - 11:30 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Susan (Su-Su) Applegate, a lady from Stevenson, Iowa who journeyed to New York City with hopes of making it big…but ends up relegated to various dead-end jobs. After being hit on by one of her clients, she is ready to get back to Iowa. But, after a year of being in NYC, the rates for the train home went up…and she only saved enough money to buy ‘last year’s ticket’. She observes a child get a ticket for half-price; this inspires her to ‘convert’ to a child in order to get on the train. It works… but the train conductors are pretty suspicious of her. When she is caught smoking on the caboose, they chase after her – she eludes them by ducking into a compartment that Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland) is traveling in. He takes ‘Su-Su’ in, and she convinces him she is not only a child, but also scared of all the train workers…so he puts her up for the night. Philip’s ‘beguiling’ fiancée Pamela (Rita Johnson) meets Su-Su the next morning in a pretty ‘compromising’ manner; Pamela has traveled to pick up Philip after the train has been blocked by flooding, but runs into Su-Su (in more of a ‘Susan’ mode) instead. They all somehow get to the Academy where Philip works, and Pamela’s father is the head honcho; Philip introduces all of them to Su-Su, and the train incident is determined to be a big misunderstanding. Su-Su is stuck there until the train can get rolling again…in the meantime; all of the cadets are assigned specific time frames to escort Miss Applegate. Susan learns of Philip’s desire to be reinstated into the active service, but also of Pamela’s efforts to thwart that, in favor of Philip marrying her and staying put. So Su-Su and Pamela’s kid sister Lucy (Diana Lynn) start to plot and scheme to get Philip what he wants. They are successful, but can Susan ever reveal her ‘true identity’ to Philip?

Primrose Path (4/1/10 - 1:30 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Ellie May Adams, who is the unfortunate daughter of a very dysfunctional family; her mother, Mamie Adams (Marjorie Rambeau) is a prostitute and her father, Homer Adams (Miles Mander) is a hopeless drunk. Ellie tries to maintain a reputable life by seeking out ‘respectable’ work where she can find it. One day, she meets Ed Wallace (Joel McCrea) on the beach; he runs a nearby restaurant (well, greasy spoon joint), and is in need of a waitress… so Ellie signs on. Of course, they fall in love in short order, and get hitched; however, she is not totally up front with Ed concerning her family, of course, and when he finds out their ‘story’, he is obviously shocked by them, but is also greatly hurt that Ellie did not explain the situation fully. He leaves Ellie, who must go back to the ‘family’… only to discover that her dad has accidently shot her mom, who subsequently dies… leaving Ellie as the only source of income for the (ungrateful) family. The rest of the story will be left for you. Ginger’s role in this movie was originally considered for the 1940 Best Actress nomination, but was deemed too controversial, such that many areas of the country did not allow it to be shown.

Lucky Partners (4/1/10 - 3:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Jean Newton, a book store owner in Greenwich Village who bumps into David Grant (Ronald Coleman), who simply wishes her ‘good luck’ in passing. When she arrives in her store, she has received a nice dress unexpectedly, and thus she chalks it up to David, who must be a source of luck. Upon seeing him again, she wants him to go in with her on buying a sweepstakes ticket; he agrees to it, but on the condition that if they win, they must go on a trip together, on a ‘platonic’ basis – an ‘experiment’ of sorts… Jean’s fiancée, Freddie Harder (Jack Carson) strangely enough, agrees to the deal – and of course they win. Jean and David take off for Niagara Falls, and stump the hotel folks as to their relationship. Of course, Freddie trails them, and tries to break up the ‘experiment’…David has taken off by the time Freddie shows up, who finds Jean alone. The plot then has a weird twist from out of left field…

Once Upon a Honeymoon (4/1/10 - 5:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Katie O’Hara Von Luber (a.k.a. Katherine Butt-Smith), a former burlesque dancer-singer from Brooklyn who has snagged a Baron from Austria, Von Luber (Walter Slezak); American reporter Pat O’Toole (Cary Grant) has been assigned to trail the Baron, who is suspected of being a Nazi ‘con-man’, selling defective weapons to surrounding countries in order to allow their easy overtaking by the Nazis. It is the eve of Katie’s wedding to the Baron, but they quickly leave Vienna and end up in Czechoslovakia, where the Baron has been summoned; they do get married there. Pat keeps up with Katie, and has fallen for her… she tries to put on a show that being a Baroness is terrific, but is in reality not what she thought it would be. After continuous travel by the Baron, Katie figures out he is working for the Nazis; at the time they are in Warsaw, where the Germans invade and subsequently blast the hotel Katie is staying in; the Baron has been arrested for suspicion of plotting to assassinate the Polish general (which he did), but later is released, when the Germans take over. Meanwhile, Katie and Pat have struck up a relationship, and she knows she must flee from the Baron – so she gets her name put on the casualties list, thus, is presumed dead by the Germans and the Baron. Katie and Pat proceed to trail the Baron through numerous countries to try to warn the locals about his deception; they meet an American spy in Paris who talks Katie into going back to the Baron to obtain info about his operation. Quite a few more turns from that point; I’ll let you see for yourself.

Tender Comrade (4/1/10 - 7:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Jo Jones, the wife of Chris Jones (Robert Ryan), who is a U.S. soldier who is leaving to fight overseas during WWII. After he departs, Jo, who works at the Douglas Aircraft Factory, gets together with some of her co-workers and they all decide to rent a house together to save on expenses. The other three ladies, each of which have a man serving in the war, are Doris Dumbrowski (Kim Hunter), Helen Stacy (Patricia Collinge), and Barbara Thomas (Rush Hussey); they also hire a house maid, Manya (Mady Christians), who fled from Germany when the Nazis took over. The general concept of the house is that everyone shares the load and tries to ration for the cause of the war. Jo has flashbacks as to when she met Chris, and their subsequent courtship and marriage… Later, Jo finds out she is with child, which she is happy about, but longs for Chris to get back home so they can start their family. But each time they hear about a battle and the doorbell rings, they know it could be devastating news…

Weekend at the Waldorf (4/1/10 - 8:45 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Irene Malvern, a famous actress who has everything except true love… she is in New York for a premiere of her new movie, and is staying at the Waldorf. Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Chip Collyer (Walter Pidgeon) is camped out at the hotel to cover a scheme concerning oil companies and overseas interests; he finds out that Miss Malvern is staying there, and cooks up a plot to meet her, as she is his favorite actress. He succeeds by sneaking in the room hiding under a serving cart; she takes him for a jewel thief, as her assistant told her earlier that the assistant’s boyfriend was plotting to break in Irene’s room late night and steal her jewels. Chip sweet talks his way to the point to where Irene doesn’t call the hotel security…but security is outside her door, thus he cannot leave (well, he could probably sneak out the way he snuck in, but why in the world would he do THAT? :-] ) then one event gets turned into another, and before it is over, Chip and Irene are presumed to be married by the hotel management. After much work, Chip has seemed to win over Irene’s heart… Lana Turner also appears as Bunny Smith, the hotel stenographer who must decide between a rich oil stock promoter named Martin X. Edley (Edward Arnold) (who is in on the aforementioned scheme) and Air Force Captain James Hollis (Van Johnson) who has been injured and has shrapnel requiring removal, but with great risk.

The First Traveling Saleslady (4/1/10 - 11:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Rose Gillray, a corset saleslady in New York at the ‘Turn of the Century’. She bumps into (literally) Inventor Charlie Masters (Barry Nelson), who is trying to keep his newfangled contraption running, the automobile; he does not impress Rose, and their initial encounter is brief. Rose has problems with her product, as a local singer, Molly Wade (Carol Channing) wants to wear one of Rose’s new designs for her revue; it is deemed too ‘daring’ by locals, which gives Rose more headaches. She has to strike a deal with the steel supplier in town (whom she is in debt to) – if she can go out west to sell his barbed wire fencing, her debt will be cleared. Of course, Rose takes the challenge…but is not aware how barbed wire is vilified out west. On her way out west, she is reunited with Charlie, as well as Molly, and they all team up to try to get the ranchers to go for barbed wire. She soon meets the ‘Kingpin’ cattle man, Joel Kingdom (James Arness); he falls for her, but is anti-barbed wire. He has ‘done away’ with wire salesmen in the past, but he simply tries to discourage Rose’s sales efforts. Of course, Rose is not leaving until she accomplishes what she set out to do… look for a young Clint Eastwood, who plays Molly’s love interest. BTW...this is the LAST film ever made by RKO Radio Pictures.

It Had to Be You (4/1/10 - 12:45 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Victoria Stafford, a young debutante daughter of wealthy businessman Ned Stafford (Percy Waram) and his wife, played by Spring Byington. Victoria has had cold feet quite often as of late, as she has left not one, not two, but THREE different guys standing at the altar. She is engaged yet again, this time to Oliver H.P. Harrington (Ron Randall); she agrees to go to the family vacation home in Cape Cod and thoroughly review all the issues prior to the marriage, and if she is TRULY ready this time. On the train back, she is awakened rudely by an Indian (Cornel Wilde) within her compartment, who says he is her only true love… This ‘dreamed up’ entity does not go away, and ultimately shows up at Victoria’s house…she introduces him to her parents, using the name George McKesson; her excuse for his presence is that he is a model she has been working with, and is finishing up a statue of him – so he must stay at the Stafford mansion until completion. George tries to convince Victoria that Ollie is not the one for her… but she grows frustrated by George’s antics, and defies his advice. One day while out shopping, she runs into George…or so she thinks. She is so mad at him that she ‘sics the police’ on him. She did not know that the man she got tossed from the store was in reality fireman Johnny Blaine, who is her ‘man of destiny’, as George described to her. After she realizes this, she does get acquainted with Johnny, and they fall in love. However, when Victoria’s folks meet Johnny, they think it is just George, who has earned a reputation as being a practical joker in the Stafford mansion at this point, thus is dismissed as such. Johnny takes their behavior as insulting, and he walks out; Victoria catches him and tries to explain the situation, which of course makes it worse. Of course, there are other roads they go down, but do Victoria and Johnny end up together at the end? Hmmm…

Tight Spot (4/1/10 - 2:30 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Sherry Conley, a prisoner who is pulled out of jail by the local police after their ‘star witness’ against Mafia kingpin Ben Costain (Lorne Greene), Pete Tonelli, has been killed while entering the courthouse. Sherry was Pete’s girl for awhile, and observed many of Ben’s misdeeds in the process. Of course, she does not want to get involved, since Ben has already dusted off Pete, and would do the same to her. The lieutenant assigned to her is Vince Striker (Brian Keith), who is pretty hard-boiled, and does not trust Sherry at all or believe what she has to say. Meanwhile, the D.A. on the case, Lloyd Hallett (Edward G. Robinson), tries the ‘warm and fuzzy’ approach to get Sherry to cooperate. He arranges to have the remainder of her sentence dropped, but she is still not budging. After a few days of being cooped up in a hotel room together (with other officers, of course), Sherry and Vince warm up to each other, and eventually fall in love. After an attempt on Sherry’s life by a mob gunman who reached her hotel window via fire escape, Vince sees after her, and the relationship starts to bloom. A weird twist occurs in that Vince is actually working for the mob, and meets with Ben to discuss the matter; Vince is convinced that Sherry will not testify, and pleads with Ben to lay off of her… to no avail. The rest of the story is left for you…

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Well, thus endeth GingerMarch 2010...I hope it has been a fruitful time for you, in terms of 'beefing up' your Ginger collection... not enough accolades can be thrown TCM's way for their extensive airing of the bulk of Ginger's films...certainly all of the ones they have access to, I sincerely believe... Great work, Y'all!!! (hope someone over there reads this...)

Regualrly scheduled Gingerology posting will resume in earnest over the next few days...I have basically just posted these synopses each week for general info, and have tried to leave them as the only posts for the week... hope they have helped out as to at least getting a general idea of each movie which aired.

This is also a good time to thank YOU for making Gingerology successful...hopefully you see it as your "source for all things Ginger"...and to that end, I will hopefully be adding some of the features I have been rambling on about the last 3-4 months, such as a 'Ginger Jukebox', the daily feature 'This Day in Gingerology', and more polls, pics, reviews, and other interesting stuff... please stay tuned...

And, as always...

Keep It Gingery, Y'all!!!

VKMfan

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GingerMarch, Week Three: Essentials!

...In this week's offerings, TCM's GingerMarch will air some pretty heavy hitters... would really classify most, if not all, of these as essential viewing for Gingerologists! Let's jump right into the synopsi... (BTW...still waiting for someone to reveal the plural for 'synopsis'...guess I could crack open the Webster's, eh?) - I found some interesting posters for a few, some of which are languages other than English - interesting...

Vivacious Lady (3/24/10 - 8:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Francey Morgan a nightclub singer who is being courted by Keith Morgan (James Ellison); Keith, however, does not give Francey her married name, but rather, his brother, Peter Morgan (James Stewart). Peter was sent to retrieve Keith from his ‘lost weekend’ in NYC and take him back to Old Sharon, where they work at the college that is led by their father, Mr. Morgan (Charles Coburn). However, when Keith sneaks out to evade Peter, Francey has her performance, and Peter is basically ‘hit by a truck’… Peter and Francey go out for dinner, and eventually spend all night roaming NYC. Not into long courtships, Peter asks for Franceys hand in marriage the next morning, and she becomes Mrs. Morgan. They meet up with Keith, who is a good sport about it, and they all catch the next train to Old Sharon. The remainder of the movie generally involves Peter’s attempts to inform his folks that he has married Francey, but results in a deeper hole being dug. The infamous(?) fight between Francey and Peter’s (unwanted) fiancée, Helen (Francis Mercer), is one of the funniest moments of Ginger’s career.

Bachelor Mother (3/24/10 - 9:45 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Polly Parrish, a struggling single girl who has just been axed from her job at Merlin’s Department Store, just in time for Christmas. On the way to the employment agency, she watches a lady leave a newborn at the stoop of an orphanage; being worried the child gets hurt, she picks it up and takes it in, saying someone left this baby outside for you all…of course, she is pegged as the actual mother by the folks, and she gave them just enough info for them to track her down after she leaves. She gains her job back after the orphanage boss talks with David Merlin (David Niven), the playboy son of the Big Boss, J.B. Merlin (Charles Coburn); the catch is she must keep the baby in order to keep her job. David begins to take an interest in the single mom, at first ‘platonically’, but then romantically as well. Rumors soon circulate that David is the father, and J.B., who has all but given up on David ever settling down and raising a family, seeks to basically ‘abduct’ the baby from Polly, as he thinks it is his grandson. Everything works out in the end as one would suspect… this movie is honestly one of my top 5 Ginger movies ever…just very entertaining from top to bottom…why it isn’t on DVD is a great mystery! Funniest scene is when Polly pretends to be Swedish… and when she walks into David’s office to be reinstated, she is just so beautiful in that scene…

Stage Door (3/24/10 - 11:15 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Jean Maitland, who, along with a WHOLE bunch of other young ladies, lives in a ‘boarding house’ for actresses aspiring to make it to Broadway. Many ‘subplots’ occur in this movie, but ultimately Jean and her new roommate, Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn) are the main focus, as they try to ‘one-up’ each other in various fronts; the primary one involves a Broadway producer, Anthony “Tony” Powell (Adolphe Menjou), who picks Jean out of a dance revue one night and invites her to ‘interview’ for a role in his new production. Jean becomes Tony’s ‘flavor of the month’, but eventually, a ‘serious’ production is lined up, and there are several girls who pursue the female lead. Among those are Kay Hamilton (Andrea Leeds), who has performed the exact role previously to good reviews, thus she feels she is a shoo-in. However, she doesn’t get a shot at it, but Jean and Terry each have ‘private auditions’ in Tony’s penthouse; Neither ends up being what Tony was looking for, but eventually, Terry is chosen, since a major financial backer for the production required her to have the role. As a result, Kay is driven to the point of madness upon hearing the role is taken. I will leave the rest for you to watch. This movie has many young actresses who ended up being big, including Lucille Ball, Ann Miller, Eve Arden, and Gail Patrick, among others.

Having Wonderful Time (3/25/10 - 1:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Teddy Shaw, a frustrated typist who is burned out from her job and is recuperating from a breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Emil Beatty (Jack Carson); time for a vacation to Camp Karefree, basically a summer camp for ‘grown-ups’. Teddy is a bit apprehensive about the whole thing, and has some trouble warming up to the fellow campers in general. A major setback for relations occurs when Chick Kirkland (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) drops her luggage and she snaps at him. However, Teddy later defends Chick when he is reprimanded by the boss while waiting on tables in the Mess Hall. As a result, the two eventually become friendly and, wouldn’t you know it, they fall in love. But Chick tries to ‘put the cart before the horse’, as it were, and they have a falling out. Teddy finds refuge with Maxwell ‘Buzzy’ Pangwell (Lee Bowman), who just happens to be involved with Teddy’s bunkmate, Miriam (Lucille Ball). When Teddy and Buzzy retire to his cabin, both Chick and Miriam catch wind of it, and case the place out to see what transpires between the two – nothing, except for a hot session of backgammon. Meanwhile, Emil shows up from NYC and tries to patch things up with Teddy, who decides to make up with him, just to make Chick jealous…and it does the trick. Look for funny stuff from the camp social director, Itchy (Richard “Red” Skelton).

Fifth Avenue Girl (3/25/10 - 2:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Mary Grey, a struggling lady who is currently ‘in-between jobs’; Mary is befriended by Mr. Timothy Borden (Walter Connolly), who just happens to be a self-made millionaire. However, he is quite depressed, since he has basically lost any connection with his family; his wife Martha (Verree Teasdale) gallivants around nightclubs with young ‘escorts’, and his son Tim (Tim Holt) and daughter Katherine (Kathryn Adams) are hellions as well. So, for his birthday, which his family has forgotten, Timothy seeks the companionship of someone, if anything to celebrate his birthday; who better than Mary to fit the bill? Well, after Martha (with an escort, of course) spies Timothy with Mary in a nightclub, Timothy gets an idea; he will actually ‘hire’ Mary as his ‘personal assistant’, among other things – or at least that is what the family is led to believe. In the process, Timothy hopes to win back his family through sheer jealousy, if nothing else. Mary is quite hesitant in this role, but it beats any other job prospects she currently has… of course, many issues and misunderstandings arise, but eventually things turn out for the best… A neat film directed by Gregory DeCava, of “Stage Door” and “Primrose Path”…much witty banter, at a rapid pace in some segments, not unlike scenes in “Stage Door.”

In Person (3/25/10 - 3:45 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Carol Corliss (a.k.a. Clara Colfax), a famous movie star who suffers from agoraphobia, that is, fear of being in public places. Therefore, she treks outside incognito, as the rather homely Clara Colfax. She is helped by Emory Muir (George Brent) after she faints while out one day; he escorts her back to her hotel, which happens to be where he is staying. Emory and his uncle, judge Thaddeus Parks (Grant Mitchell) are later at the hotel lounge speaking of retreating to their mountain cabin; Clara overhears this, and asks Emory if she could join him in the trip, so she can ‘get away’ for a bit. He agrees, and they are off. They stay in separate cabins, of course, but Clara is told to clean up and cook. This does not sit well with Clara, who, after out swimming one day is spotted by Emory, who figures out she is in reality Carol Corless by seeing pictures of her on movie magazines. After she reveals her true identity, Emory decides to act unconvinced she is Carol Corliss, but just a lady who has problems; ultimately in the hopes of prolonging their stay together. After a series of events, Emory finally relents and admits she is Carol. He gives up any hope of winning her love, and plans to take her back ASAP… but not before they get married (at gunpoint) by the local justice of the peace, who was told they were in the same cabin, but not man and wife. They fall away from each other, but get back together in the end. Ginger has a few dance routines in this one – “Got a New Lease on Life” and “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”, along with a ‘non-dance’ tune, ‘Don’t Mention Love to Me’ (one of my faves).

Twenty Million Sweethearts (3/25/10 - 5:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Peggy Cornell, a radio singer who falls for Buddy Clayton (Dick Powell). Buddy is also a singer who was convinced by talent scout Rush Blake (Pat O’Brien) to quit his ‘singing waiter’ gig and go with him to New York as a new radio singing sensation. After a few ‘misfires’, Buddy finally catches on and becomes famous. Peggy and Buddy get engaged, but Buddy has second thoughts, due to his popularity with his lady fan base. Will they end up together in the end? Hmmm… a cute movie, with the big tune 'I'll String Along With You', and one of my fave Ginger tunes, "Out For No Good."

Upper World (3/25/10 - 7:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Lilly Linder, a burlesque performer who gets plucked out of the river by railroad tycoon Alex Stream (Warren William), who just happened to be passing by on his yacht. Alex and Lilly hit it off, to the point of striking up a ‘deep friendship’…trouble is, Alex is married to Hettie (Mary Astor), although their relationship has grown cold. He continues seeing Lilly, until one day, Lilly’s boyfriend Lou Colima (J. Carroll Naish), gets wind of her relations with Alex, and, knowing he is a millionaire, Lou schemes a way to blackmail Alex with the extramarital affair. Things go quite south from there…but no spoilers here.

Romance in Manhattan (3/25/10 - 8:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Sylvia Dennis, a young chorus girl who befriends Karel Novak (Francis Lederer), who is a Czechoslovakian immigrant who made it to Ellis Island, but not through it…legally, that is. He jumps off the boat taking him back to Czechoslovakia when he does not have the money to obtain citizenship - and when he is fished out of the bay, he is spending the rest of the movie evading the ‘immigrant board’. With money tight, Karel moves in with Sylvia and her young brother Frank (Jimmy Butler); they all hold down jobs, and scrounge up enough money to make it…for awhile. Karel tries to assimilate into the American society and work force, but after some missteps, the immigration board finally catches up with him…in a way. Pretty good movie – Ginger role is pretty ‘normal’ in this one, but she plays it very well.

Star of Midnight (3/25/10 - 9:45 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Donna Mantin, who is the sidekick for detective Clay Dalzell (William Powell). Their case involves a kidnapped actress, who is the star of a theatrical play, Midnight. The plot gets quite involved, a murder occurs, and it becomes a tale of ‘whodunnit’…not unlike many of the “Thin Man” series. Ginger is very cute in this one, although her character is at times a bit clueless… but in a very cute way.

Perfect Strangers (3/25/10 - 11:30 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Terry Scott, who has been recently separated from her husband. She is called in for jury duty, which is for a murder trial; a man is accused of throwing his wife off of a cliff after she refused a divorce so that the man could marry his secretary. Among the twelve jurors chosen is David Campbell (Dennis Morgan), who is married with two kids. Of course, after a few days of being sequestered, David and Terry hit it off, although they try to avoid it, knowing it would be an ill-fated affair; of course, the case they are involved with seems to parallel the probable path they could be on together. There are other interesting and funny characters in the jury, and the typical bantering back and forth about whether the defendant is guilty or not occurs, but in an entertaining manner. Terry has a different conclusion about the case than everyone else, and gets to prove a point about how the crime scene may have happened. After the trial, David and Terry must decide their fate together.

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Well, hope these run-throughs help you out with your recording / viewing strategy - again, ALL of these are worth a look, and most are needed for the typical Gingerologists' collection (well...of course, ALL of them are REQUIRED, but..let's say the 'casual' G-oloist...if there IS such a thing...). If I had to narrow it down to a few, then "Bachelor Mother" and "Vivacious Lady" would be mandatory, "In Person" and "Fifth Avenue Girl" at the next level of necessity, then all of the others really falling just under that... of course, "Stage Door" is a bit out of place here - it really should have been shown last week, it seems, since Ginger was one of a ginormous cast...although it is obviously required viewing and taping/burning (or whatever it is you kids call it these days...), if just for the barbs traded between Ginger and Kate...how classic can you get?

Until next time,

Keep It Gingery!!!

VKMfan

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HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY (AND 'G-DAY'), Y'ALL!!!

...How much cooler can a (week)day get? Ginger, while not wearing green above, is at least backdropped with it...always LOVED this pic, BTW...

Well, hope y'all all have some manner of green on today...it's a pretty cool 'observance'...my wife and I were in New Orleans back...well, nine years ago (oof) - and they have a pretty neat parade, where they throw cabbage heads, potates, and other stuff to make soup with, along with leftover beads and trinkets from Mardi Gras, down from floats which are two stories high... you have to be on your toes for that, to avoid getting clocked with a cabbage head!

AAANNNDDD, hope everyone has made final preps for Week Two of GingerMarch! I have been out of pocket a bit - went last night to my team's NIT basketball game (UAB) - we whupped Coastal Carolina pretty good - they had a chicken mascot, and we have a decent track record against 'chicken' teams... :-] ...anyway, as a result, my blog time has been limited... hope to catch up tonight with folks!

...and, I would be remiss (whatever THAT is) if I did not mention this... we were out eating at an Italian Restaurant the other night, and I ordered a 'Parmesan platter' - had chicken, eggplant, and veal... my daughter said, "Veal? Like Ginger said in 'It Had to Be You, right?" ...Honestly, I said, "What?" - she said - "You know, when the guy said it was something else, she said it was veal!" ...oh yeah, the 'bet' on whatever dish they were talking about at the restaurant...their 'favorite food'... can't remember the name of it, but... just thought it was pretty funny that my daughter came out with that... had me stumped for a second! :-)

OK - off to work, tra-la-la... (ugh)... :-} Until Tonight....

Keep It Gingery, Y'ALL!!!

VKMfan

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GingerMarch, Week Two: The Early Years...

Well, I have finished all the stuff at work regarding exams - trying to get back in the swing...time? of the blog-o-sphere... and no better place to resume than to compile the synopsises (synopsi?...which one of y'all teaches English? :-] ) ...of Week Two of GingerMarch.
A lot of these movies are the 'B & B movies' Ginger speaks of when she was breaking into the industry, and for the immediate timeframe, trying to stay afloat during the Depression... as a result, some of these only have Ginger in limited roles (...NOT 'small' roles, mind you, cause Ginger was NEVER a 'small' actress!)
So, you may or may not be that interested in some of these - can probably tell by the length of each synopsis whether Ginger is featured prominently or not... but of course, the staff here at Gingerology definitely recommends that you take a look at each of them, cause even a bit of Ginger is worth the time and effort!!!

42nd Street (3/17/10 - 8:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Ann “Anytime Annie” Lowell, one of many hopefuls trying out for a new musical, which is bankrolled by the “Sugar Daddy” of the female lead, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels). After Miss Brock sustains an injury after late night shenanigans, the lead role must be taken over by Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler), who becomes a star overnight and hooks up with Billy Lawler (Dick Powell), the show’s ‘juvenile’. Check out Ginger and Una Merkel singing ‘Shuffle Off to Buffalo’…very cool.


Gold Diggers of 1933 (3/17/10 - 9:45 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Fay Fortune, a showgirl working on a premier of a new show which is shut down by the law due to unpaid bills by the producer, Barney Hopkins (Ned Sparks). As Fay and the other girls fret about their next working gig, a nearby songwriter, Brad Roberts (Dick Powell) catches the fancy of Polly Parker (Ruby Keeler). Brad’s tunes catch the ear of Barney, and a new show is in the works. Along the way, two of the girls, Carol King (Joan Blondell) and Trixie Lorraine (Aline MacMahon), mess with Brad’s brother Lawrence and the family attorney Peabody, who track Brad down to ‘save’ him from these ‘Gold Diggers’…to no avail. The first scene is arguably one of Ginger’s most well-known routines (sans Fred), although there’s not much in the way of dancing. ‘We’re In the Money’ is a song folks still know today, and Ginger’s ‘pig-latin stanza’ is about the coolest thing ever caught on film, IMHO…

Professional Sweetheart (3/17/10 - 11:30 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Glory Eden, A.K.A. “The Purity Girl”, a squeaky-clean ‘character’ she portrays on a hit radio show for “Ippsie Wippsie Wash Cloths”, which is owned by Sam Ipswich (Gregory Ratoff). The ‘real’ Glory wants to kick up her heels and go out on the town, or as she puts it, “I want to sin and suffer!” Seeing that Glory is at her ‘breaking point’, Sam decides to pick a random male fan letter and invite him to the show, ultimately to ‘marry Glory off’. The lucky dude is Kentucky ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Jim Davey (Norman Foster); he makes short work of getting Glory in line with the ways of being a wife (in the 1930’s, anyway), but eventually they both end up on the airwaves. For some reason, Ginger's singing voice is 'dubbed in' with some other lady's, who is more high-pitched and warbly... the only 'distracting' aspect of this movie, IMHO...

Rafter Romance (3/18/10 - 1:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Mary Carroll, who, like most folks in 1933, is struggling to stay afloat, but she does find work hawking refrigerators. She lives in an apartment in N.Y. owned by Mr. Eckbaum (George Sidney), who relegates her to the attic area when she can’t make rent for her current room. Unbeknownst to Mary, another tenant already lives there, Jack Bacon (Norman Foster). The catch is, he works nights, and she works days, so they never see each other; they do communicate, but soon are fighting about space issues. Of course, fate throws them together outside the ’rafter’, and love blooms. Watch for Robert Benchley, who plays Mary’s boss (and relentless pursuer), Mr. Hubbell; Laura Hope Crews of GWTW fame also appears as Jack’s soused ‘Sugar Mama’, Elise. One of my Mom's favorite 'non-Fred' Ginger movies...

Carnival Boat (3/18/10 - 2:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Honey, a show girl on a show boat (i.e., the “Carnival Boat”), which runs up and down a river, by a large logging operation; the company’s owner is worried his son and heir apparent, Buck Gannon (Bill Boyd), does not take his role seriously, and does not want him visiting the ‘CB’ when it docks at the camp; of course, he does, and falls for Honey. Ginger has a really cute vocal performance of the song, "How I Could Go For You".

Suicide Fleet (3/18/10 - 3:30 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Sally, the owner of a taffy stand at Coney Island; she is courted by Baltimore Clark (Bill Boyd), Skeets O’Reilly (James Gleason), and Dutch Herman (Robert Armstrong), three fellows who join the Navy in order to prove their mettle to her. Ginger has a somewhat limited role, as most of the movie takes place at sea.

Chance at Heaven (3/18/10 - 5:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Marjorie “Marje” Harris, who is the fiancée of Blackstone ‘Blacky’ Gorman (Joel McCrea), who owns a gas station in a small resort town. One day, New York socialite/debutant/rich chick Glory Franklyn (Marion Nixon) pulls into the station, and Blacky falls hard for her (even with Ginger wearing his ring…right.) Anyway, he basically abandons Ginger (again…WT…?), has a whirlwind marriage to Glory, but finds that money doesn’t necessarily make for a happy couple… Marje (inexplicably) helps Glory out, teaching her how to cook, clean, etc…even that doesn’t help. The ending isn't too hard to determine, but it is a somewhat entertaining process.

The Tenderfoot (3/18/10 - 6:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Ruth, a secretary for a struggling theatrical production company run by Sam Lehman (Lew Cody). Texas cowboy Peter Jones (Joe E. Brown) shows up in New York with life savings in hand to invest in a Broadway play. Jones and Lehman meet and form an improbable partnership with many wacky ups and downs, and Peter and Ruth fall in love. After financial troubles reach critical mass, Peter has to resort to tricks from his cowpoke upbringing to get the mob off his back. Not a bad little movie - I kinda liked Brown's character, for whatever reason...

You Said a Mouthful (3/18/10 - 7:30 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Alice Brandon, a rich socialite who befriends Joe Holt (Joe E. Brown), who has claimed to have invented an ‘unsinkable’ bathing suit, and ends up in a big swimming contest (quite inadvertently) to win her love. Ginger is not as prominent in this one as the previous Joe E. Brown 'vehicle', "The Tenderfoot".

The Tip-Off (3/18/10 - 9:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Baby Face, the girlfriend of Kayo McClure (Robert Armstrong), champion prize fighter who is mixed up with the mob. Radio repairman Tommy Jordan (Eddie Quillan) gets unwittingly pulled into the gang warfare by wooing Edna (Joan Peers), who just happens to be the girlfriend of the mob boss, Nick Vatelli (Ralf Harolde). Kayo protects Tommy from Nick after Tommy gets him out of a jam. Baby Face floats in and out of the picture, forcing Kayo's hand...in marriage, that is...

Finishing School (3/18/10 - 10:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Celeste (Pony) Ferris, a rambunctious student at the Crockett Hall finishing school for ladies. She is paired with a new roommate, Victoria Radcliffe (Frances Dee). After a few days, Pony ‘initiates’ Victoria on the ‘wild side’ of the school, and they end up on a ‘lost weekend’ in the city with some ‘less than’ gentlemen; when one tries a bit much with Victoria, she is ‘rescued’ by a hotel waiter, Ralph “Mac” McFarland (Bruce Cabot). Of course, Victoria and Mac fall in love, much to the dismay of Victoria’s parents…well, her mom, anyway, nicely played by Billie Burke.

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OK - Hope everyone gets the ones they need! I will try to post some more stuff on here soon - getting 'back to normal', as it were... BTW, GingerFan11's Blog, Ginger's Corner, has a link from YouTube which contains a 'overview' of Ginger as Star of the Month from TCM - COOL!!! Here is the link - Thanks, GF11!!!

http://theclassyginger.blogspot.com/

Until next time, KIG!!!

VKMfan

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...IT'S "G-DAY"!!!

...well, for this week, "GandF Day", anyway... the pic below shows Fred bestowing the proper display of appreciation for TCM's Star of the Month, and Gingerology's perpetual Star! I always have loved that dress she has on, too... well, only when SHE has it on... doubt if they have it in my size, anyway... but I mercifully digress... :-]

...Hope everyone has made their final preparations! Just a few 'reminders'... PLEASE go double check on TCM.com for their schedule...it appears correct on Gingerology (all times Eastern), but a 'double-check' from the source never hurts...

Also, go check out the Ginger stuff on there...Cool! The 'main trailer' at the top, and also a clip of Kitty Foyle... pretty neat stuff. There are spots on the site where one can go in and do 'feedback' - I did that back when GingerMarch was first announced - probably need to go drop a few more kind words in the TCM box - March is just really an AWESOME deal for Gingerologists!!! See the link below:

http://www.tcm.com/index.jsp

Well, good luck, hope y'all catch the ones you need!!! I will be 'out-of-pocket' the next few days, well, until Saturday night... I have some tests at work to take - nothing 'earth-shattering', but enough to where I need to study up for them... so I will catch up with y'all then... UNTIL then...

Keep It GINGERY!!!

VKMfan

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Now that the weekend is over...

...I can finally get something DONE!!! Most importantly, posting some 'specifics' regarding the first round of GingerMarch on TCM! This Wednesday Night / Thursday Morning, ALL 10 Ginger /Fred movies will be aired back to back... not in chronological order, tho. Again, most of you probably have all or most of these movies... but for those who don't, check out the posters for each movie (in the order TCM is airing them), along with a brief 'synopsis' of each movie. I will do this each week for GingerMarch... hope it aides you in your viewing/recording strategies...

The Gay Divorcee (3/10/10 - 8:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Mimi Glossop, who is unhappily married, and seeking to put an end to it, as her husband refuses divorce. Her Aunt Hortense (Alice Brady) arranges a meeting with Egbert “Pinky” Fitzgerald (Edward Everett Horton), a lawyer who specializes in arranging ‘professional correspondents’ in order to ‘force divorce’. Eggy’s friend Guy Holden (Fred Astaire) pursues Mimi after a chance meeting, and finally ‘catches’ her, but not very well. All parties end up at a seaside resort; Mimi to meet up with her correspondent, and Guy tagging along with Egbert to take his mind off of losing Mimi back in town. Of course, Mimi and Guy hook back up, do some dancing (to put it lightly!), and become quite enamored with each other, until through misunderstanding, Mimi believes that Guy is her assigned correspondent. The real correspondent, Rodolfo Tonetti (Erik Rhodes) shows up, and you'll just have to see how things end up from there… check out a young Betty Grable in this one, dueting with Edward Everett Horton in “Let’s Knock Knees”. Fred and Ginger dance to “Night and Day”, their first ‘epic’ routine…Ginger sings the bulk of “The Continental”, the first tune ever to win an Academy Award for Best Song.

Top Hat (3/10/10 - 10:00 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Dale Tremont, a wealthy young lady visiting London at exactly the same time as dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire). It takes Jerry a few tries, but eventually he wins Dale over; Jerry sends her flowers, but uses the charge account of his manager, Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). This leads Dale to believe Jerry is actually Horace, who happens to be married to Dale’s friend, Madge (Helen Broderick). Madge has been suspicious of Horace for some time, so when Dale breaks the news that Horace (actually Jerry) was pursuing her, Madge is not surprised, and actually seems ok with it! This floors Dale, and when they all meet up in Venice, she dances with Jerry to ‘Cheek to Cheek’…but then breaks off the romance. She turns around and marries her dress maker, Alberto Beddini (Erik Rhodes), who had asked for her hand for years. Will Dale and Jerry reconcile? I wouldn't bet against it... Their dance down the stairs is pretty dang cool...

Swing Time (3/11/10 - 12:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Penelope “Penny” Carrol, a dance instructor in NYC; John “Lucky” Garnett (Fred Astaire) has just missed his wedding day while gambling with his buds in his stage revue, and is now trying to prove to his fiancée’s dad that he can hold down a job and bring in some money. Thus, he is off to NYC to find work, with his friend, Everett “Pop” Cardetti (Victor Moore) in tow. Of course, John and Penny cross paths, and eventually fall in love; Pop also becomes a ‘sugar daddy’, via gambling, for Penny’s friend, Mabel Anderson (Helen Broderick). In the process, John gambles with a nightclub owner and wins the club orchestra contract so he and Penny can dance, but then loses it after the ‘original owner’ discovered they were bamboozled the first time. At the same time, John tries to not get ‘too’ involved with Penny, remembering his promise to his fiancée back home – so Penny eventually decides to marry the orchestra leader, Ricardo “Ricky” Romero (Georges Metaxa). Meanwhile, John’s fiancée shows up and lets John off the hook about their engagement, thus John proceeds to catch Penny to try to win her back before marrying Ricky…will he make it in time? Probably so…Ginger said this movie was her favorite of her collaborations with Fred Astaire.

Roberta (3/11/10 - 2:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Comtesse “Tanka” Scharwenka (a.k.a. Lizzie Gatz), a nightclub performer in Paris who once was involved with Huck Haines (Fred Astaire), who leads a jazz band that just happens to be in town for a gig at the same nightclub (that gets nixed when the client learns that the Wabash Indianians are not true ‘Indians’). Huck and ‘Tanka’ scheme up a gig at the club for the band but end up on the street anyway. Meanwhile, Huck’s friend John Kent (Randolph Scott), along for the trip, pays a visit to his Aunt Minnie (Helen Westley), who runs a prestigious dress shop, Roberta’s; while there, John meets and quickly falls for Stephanie (Irene Dunne), who just happens to be a Russian Princess. When Minnie passes away, John begrudgingly takes over the dress shop, with the help of Stephanie, as well as Huck and ‘Tanka’. A few bumps in the road occur, including John’s old girlfriend Sophie Teale (Claire Dodd) showing up, but in the end, all is well. Look for Lucille Ball as one of the models – and of course killer dance numbers by G&F, with the ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” routine the most notable.

Follow the Fleet (3/11/10 - 4:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Sherry Martin, who is the former dance partner and girlfriend of “Bake” Baker (Fred Astaire), who decided to join the Navy after the breakup. The Fleet is in, and Bake and his buddy “Bilge” Smith (Randolph Scott) are out to have a good time; they check out the Paradise Club, where Bake discovers that Sherry is singing. Meanwhile, Bilge runs into Sherry’s sister, Connie Martin (Harriet Hilliard), but is not interested in her ‘plainness’. Over time, Bilge and Connie finally hit it off, and Bake wins over Sherry once again. All seems well, until the boys are unexpectedly called back to the ship for departure, thus interrupting all the big plans they have. Bake jumps ship to participate in a fundraiser for Connie’s quest to restore an old ship for her and Bilge to travel on. Bake and Sherry crank out the “Face the Music and Dance” routine, and the final results from there are, well, you could hazard to guess. Check out appearances by Lucille Ball, as well as Betty Grable. Ginger and Fred do a killer routine to “Let Yourself Go”.

Shall We Dance (3/11/10 - 6:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Linda Keene, an American dancer who finds work in Paris; she is pursued by Pete P. Peters from Philadelphia PA…also known as “Petrov”, a great Russian ballet dancer. Petrov introduces himself to Linda by basically bursting into her hotel room and putting on a very impressive, if somewhat pompous, display. He scores no points with her, but does overhear she is leaving for NYC on the Queen Anne tomorrow… so Pete talks his paranoid manager, Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton) into going to NYC as well, or else he will quit the troupe… so, all end up on the QA (?) the next day… soon after, Linda discovers Pete’s ‘real’ persona, and he another good 20 minutes of ‘movie time’ trying to make up for his ‘Petrov’ presentation to her back in Paris. They eventually become ‘better acquainted’ – but a rumor is spread around the boat that they are actually married. This rumor started back in Paris, when Pete made up the story to shake loose from Lady Tarrington (Ketti Gallian), who was formerly in the troupe; she wants to rejoin the troupe, mainly to pursue Pete. Jeffery, who does not want any ladies pursuing Pete (for fear his career would be ruined), tells Linda that Pete is just ‘using’ her to get away from Lady Tarrington. Linda hops on the mail plane from the boat to NYC to get away from Pete as well as her manager, Arthur Miller (Jerome Cowan). All eventually arrive in NYC and several misfires occur between Pete and Linda; but, since everyone thinks they are married, they eventually decide to actually get married just to get a divorce, in order to settle the matter in the public eye… but the divorce is not as easy as planned... Look for some classic exchanges between ‘Jeffrey Baird’ and ‘Cecil Flintridge’ (Eric Blore).

Carefree (3/11/10 - 8:00 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Amanda Cooper, who is the fiancée of Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy). Stephen is frustrated that Amanda doesn’t commit to a date for marriage, and he turns to his old bud, Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire), who happens to be a psychiatrist. Stephen wants Tony to analyze Amanda to figure out what the problem is. Tony agrees, but the visit gets off to a bad start when Amanda overhears Tony saying she will probably be another dizzy, mindless female. So, the analysis goes downhill from there. Later, Stephen arranges an ‘impromptu’ meeting in the park between Tony and Amanda to try to get an analysis; Tony does apologize for his remarks, Amanda accepts, and begins to open up to him. Another appointment is set up, and by now Amanda is falling for Tony. So, she makes up a crazy story about a dream she had, in order to keep seeing Tony; he is amazed at her weirdness, and puts her under hypnosis to find out more stuff. She gets loose while hypnotized, however, and wreaks havoc on the town. After several episodes, Tony has ‘programmed’ Amanda to hate him and love Stephen; however, doubt starts to get the best of Tony, as she seemed to be truly in love with him. But he cannot get her ‘de-programmed’, since by now, Stephen has become defensive of his brainwashed bride to be. Tony makes it to their wedding, but can he get the ‘real’ Amanda back? Some very funny scenes for Ginger in this one, but the music and dance routines are not quite what they were in previous Ginger/Fred movies (Although I STILL think she is very cute when she does “The Yam”!)

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (3/11/10 - 9:30 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Irene Castle, who was the former Miss Irene Foote. The Footes live in a small resort town, where Vernon Castle (Fred Astaire), a vaudevillian ‘second banana’, is anticipating a meeting with a ladyfriend. When the lady doesn’t show, he is set to leave when a little dog he has been playing fetch with swims out too far in the water, and he swims out to rescue it; at the same time, Miss Irene jumps out of her boat to do the same; thus begins the courtship of Vernon and Irene. Irene discovers Vernon is a great dancer, but is shocked to see him perform as a clown instead of using his dancing talent. He is happy to get whatever work, but tries to talk his boss into letting him do a dance routine or two. Vernon marries Irene and they intend to become a dance team; but no one gives them a shot. So, they move to Paris, where they are supposedly hired to perform dance numbers, but again, they are shot down when the ‘gig’ ends up being Vernon’s ‘second banana’ routine again. They eventually catch a break with Maggie Sutton (Edna May Oliver), who is an English talent agent who hooks them up with a performance. Of course, when the public sees their routines, they become overnight celebrities and enormously popular. At the height of their popularity, World War I erupts, which prompts British-born Vernon to join up to fight for his native country. Most of y’all know the rest, but I will leave it at that. This was the last Ginger and Fred feature for RKO Radio; while it was a departure from the ‘textbook’ Ginger/Fred feature it was a very well done movie, although not received well by the public, unfortunately.

The Barkleys of Broadway (3/11/10 - 11:15 AM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Dinah Barkley, wife and dance partner of Josh Barkley (Fred Astaire). Dinah and Josh are an ‘old married couple’ that have come to a crossroads in their relationship, both personal and professional. Josh is too critical of Dinah in regards to her stage performance, which results in their quarreling from their opening night show to the after-show reception for them. While there, Dinah converses with a young French play writer, Jacques Pierre Barredout (Jacques Francois), who tells her she could be a fine stage actress if she would forget the ‘song and dance’ routines. Of course, Josh is not fond of Jacques…but of course, Dinah’s curiosity is aroused as to her chances of pursuing the ‘serious stage’. When Josh and Dinah (along with their wisecracking producer, Ezra Miller (Oscar Levant)) head to Jacques’ house in the country, where he is having a reception for his latest play, Dinah delves further into the actress idea, and Jacques tells her she would be perfect in his new play about Sarah Bernhardt. This hooks Dinah into trying out the role; however, she tries to keep it secret from Josh – with little success. Josh explodes and when the dust settles, Dinah is gone to Jacques and the play. Of course, Josh grieves, and tries to win her back. Ezra talks both of them individually to perform at a benefit, and ultimately get them together to dance very gracefully to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”; however, after the dance, Dinah does not reconcile. Josh is devastated, but still helps out Dinah in her play by impersonating Jacques on the phone to Dinah, while giving her acting ‘tips’… Josh eventually gets caught in his ‘prank calls’…and I’ll leave the rest for you to find out. Also love the 'Bouncin' the Blues' routine...hey, 10 years after, they still 'got it'!!!

Flying Down to Rio (3/11/10 - 1:15 PM Eastern): Ginger portrayed Honey Hale, a singer in the “Yankee Clipper Band”, which gets ousted from a gig in Miami due to the womanizing of the band leader, Roger Bond (Gene Raymond). However, the woman he pursued is Belinha De Rezende (Dolores Del Rio), who Roger (a pilot) arranges to fly down to Rio, with the rest of the band in tow, albeit separately. When all finally DO get to Rio, Roger meets up with an old friend, Julio Rubeiro (Raul Roulien), who just happens to be engaged to Belinha…and you can most likely fill in the blanks from there. Of course, this movie marks the first pairing of Ginger with Fred Astaire, who portrays Fred Ayers, who is the ‘second in command’ of the band, in charge of things when Roger is out ‘pursuing’. The Carioca dance Ginger and Fred perform is what launched them into stardom and the G&F franchise. Also check out Ginger’s song “Music Makes Me” near the beginning – one of my faves.

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WELL, hope this helps someone out there somewhere... in the weeks to come, this type of post may help out a bit more with the 'less mainstream' Ginger films which will air. Also, as always, PLEASE double-check the times in the TV listings - the last check over on the TCM website was OK, but remember, things are ALWAYS subject to change...

Keep It Gingery!!!

VKMfan

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