...Review of the 'Short Films' by Ginger...

...has it ALREADY been over a week since the last post? Yowzah, time is just chugging on down the line, y'all...

Well, I originally was going to start this GingerFilm review process with her first 'full length' film, "Young Man of Manhattan"... but, if this is truly a review of EVERYTHING Ginger ever committed to film, then we must start at the beginning (more often than not, a proper location for starting things...) ...AND, this will kind of give ME a 'starting point' for this whole series - a 'test run', if you will, to make sure all the bases will be covered for the 'full-length' film reviews...AND for YOU to give me some 'pointers' as to what else is needed.


The beginnings of Ginger's film career started in 1929, when she was recruited for several 'two-reeler' shorts, from various studios. The introduction of 'talkies' had proved to be very successful, and studios were churning out whatever they could get on film and to the theaters ASAP, to keep the ball rolling. A large portion of these 'shorts' consisted of vaudeville routines that were popular at the time; Ginger's contribution was no exception, as she was 'promoted' as a stage act, with potential to become a film star as well...

It is estimated Ginger appeared in ten to twelve 'shorts' between 1929 and 1931; the most well-known of these are the following:

Campus Sweethearts (1929 - Radio Pictures) - Also Starring: Rudy Vallee, Joe and Jane McKenna, Joey Ray, Leon Leonard, Anne Franklin and Joe Sawyer.


A Night in a Dormitory (1929 - Pathe)


A Day of a Man of Affairs (1929 - Columbia) - Also Starring: Maurice Holland and Mell Ray. BTW...Ginger is DEFINITELY putting the 'shorts' in THIS particular short, eh? Huey is quite interested in obtaining a copy of this one, as if you couldn't guess...


Office Blues (1930 - Paramount)

Of these, only "A Night in a Dormitory" and "Office Blues" are currently 'available'; BTW, if ANYONE has a copy of the other two, OR any other 'early' Ginger short, we can begin negotiations anytime... :-]

On to the reviews of these two 'available' shorts...

"A Night in a Dormitory"
(September 1929 - Pathe)
Run time - approx. 22 minutes

Produced and Directed by Harry Delmar.

Written by Benny Ryan. Also Starring: Morgan Morley, Ruth Hamilton, Thelma White, and Eddie Elkins and his Orchestra.

Ginger's Character - "Ginger Rogers"

Ginger 'Screen Time' - approx. 3 min, 45 sec.

Ginger Tunes - "Why Can't You Love That Way", "I Love a Man in a Uniform"

Favorite Ginger Line(s) / Moment(s) - She has no 'dialogue', just singing...quite cutely throughout.

Gingery Goodness Factor (1-10): (6.5) - Always love Ginger singing, but no dialogue limits the overall Ginger Experience in this one.

Review - A bunch of girls live in (you guessed it) a dormitory (Ginger ISN'T one of them...). The gist of the tale is when one of the chicks sneaks home late one night after a 'night on the town'...she speaks to a friend about the rotund gent she was escorted by, the comedy act she saw (a rather weird slapstick deal with bearded Russian dudes...), a pretty cool dance routine by Thelma White, and of course, the two very cute GingerTunes. In an unrelated story, two other dudes with dames are also at the 'club', and they have cooked up an 'eat-for-free' scheme where they get in a 'take it outside' brawl in order to skirt payment; a few dicey moments ensue, but it works out in the end.. Ultimately, this film is a vehicle for some performers to 'do their thing', and we are fortunate enough to see Ginger in action in her 'vaudeville mode'... a rare find 80 years hence...

GingerFilm Ranking - N/A

Available From - TCM, YouTube (copy/paste the link below).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C96KI1cq034&playnext=1&list=PLB1F436AC75D6F060

"Office Blues"
(November 1930 - Paramount)
Run time - approx. 9 minutes

Directed by Mort Blumenstock.

Written by Walton Butterfield.

Also Starring: Clayborne Bryson, and E.R. Rogers (no known relation)

Ginger's Character - "Miss Gray"

Ginger 'Screen Time' - approx. 9 minutes

Ginger Tunes - "We Can't Get Along", "Dear Sir"

Favorite Ginger Line(s) / Moment(s) - Well, she pretty much sings throughout this one, too... but it is kind of cute how she 'shuts down' the poor sap who tries to ask her out to lunch...the first glimpses of that SassyGinger we all love...

Gingery Goodness Factor (1-10): (7.5) - Pretty much all singing, but with a bit of dialogue... and 'wall-to-wall' Ginger camera time, this one rates a bit better than 'Dorm'.

Review - Well, not much in the way of a story... Miss Gray (Ginger) is a secretary (what administrative professionals used to be called back in the day...) for a Big Cheese, who happens to also appear to be all of 20 years old... She is sweet on this dude - he IS the Big Cheese, after all... so she sings a few tunes that will eventually woo him into her arms. There is another dude who is a co-worker of Miss Gray's, but she dispatches his ill-fated advances in short order. The 'big' number, "Dear Sir", morphs into a 'dream sequence', and Ginger is very cute in it...her singing here, as in most of her 'early years', is a bit 'youngish' sounding, but still just as neat as all-get-out, y'all...

GingerFilm Ranking - N/A

Available From - YouTube...Or, (hopefully) check it out below:

Well, hope this kind of 'sets up' the template for all of the subsequent reviews I will be cranking out... again, will TRY to get all of them done before July 16th....but if it doesn't look too promising, will stretch it out - I want to make sure each film is given its proper due, y'all...

In the meantime - KIG!!!

VKMfanHuey
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Just call me ResolutionHuey...

...A little late with these resolutions, but...

...I have been pondering and pontificating about how to properly approach this year in Gingerology... of course, the proposed journey to where it all began is still the 'highlight', but also trying to keep the blog cooking at a 'normal' clip. But first, a picture that is so unbelievably beautiful, it just needs no real elaboration... it's just slap-dawg perfect, as so many are... this would definitely qualify for a 'pic of the week' or whatever...
OK...FIRST... I am going to watch every GingerFilm currently available (hey, to have 73 out of 74 ain't bad!) in chronological order, then post a general review, generally noting the 'GingeryGoodness' of the film, favorite scenes, favorite lines, favorite tunes, and a general overview of the film itself. If you know my 'philosophy' (using that term VERY loosely) regarding movie reviews, I will seldom, if ever, reveal the end of one - although most of y'all know them by heart - I might just do a 'spoiler alert' deal and place the rest in the comment section or whatever. I will also attempt to 'rank' each movie as I go along, compiling the list until the '1-73 rankings by Huey' are revealed. The goal is to get all of these done by her BIRTHDAY... that's just under six months off; I will not have a 'set schedule', as Ginger did not care for structured plans... I WILL, however, try to be as diligent as possible (dang, how hard is it to get me to watch a Ginger movie anyway? :-P ) So, hopefully at least a few a week will be appearing...so stay tuned.

SECOND... I am still in the process of 'organizing' my GingerFiles, both electronic and 'hard copy'... and I will be posting specific stuff such as magazine articles, items of interest, etc... throughout the year. As a 'extra' for the site, I may institute a 'Huey's fave pic of the week' (as alluded to above...let's just consider that one the 'first entry' :-] ), which really may prove difficult in terms of narrowing it down to one at a time - but worth sorting out and meticulously studying pics for the selections (tough work, but... :-] )
THIRD... A long-running 'project' I have been compiling is a 'This Day in Gingerology' feature... which is pretty self-explanatory...but I am just hung up on the fact there are still some days not covered (It's pretty hard to fill out 366 (yeah, I'm including leap year) days with unique events) - I am putting in births/deaths of folks associated with Ginger, as well as recent events from Gingerologists... SO, I am going to try to get that up and running VERY soon.

FOURTH... Bolster the musical portion of the site... I have quite a collection of GingerTunes (again, both electronically and 'hard copy') that need to be placed here for access... just haven't gotten it DONE yet, dang it! In a related issue, video clips would also be an awesome addition - even ones y'all are familiar with, but to just have them 'collected' at one spot for easy access.
... I LUV that pic above - I am quite the audiophile, with a closet full of LPs - yep - vinyl 33-1/3 RPM discs of goodness... and ya know, it usually irks me to see someone NOT handling a record by its edges... but if there EVER was a glaring exception to that retentive trait of mine, it would fall at the feet of our Miss Rogers, of course... Play Frisbee with them if ya want to, Ginger!!! :-)

Well, guess that's enough to deal with... the issue I have is time, like everyone else... different circumstances, but same 24 hours/day... but maybe things will lighten up and Huey can finally give Miss Rogers the attention she deserves.

In the meantime, y'all keep up the great work on your respective sites... it's so great to see so many folks with love for the classic era... at times it's hard not to try to want to 'convert the world', but it is quite unrealistic, and honestly...it's kinda cool to not be 'like everyone else'...ain't it? :-]

Y'all Keep It Gingery...and wish me luck in these Gingery endeavors!

VKMfanHuey
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Welcome to 2011...The GingerCentennial festivities have offically begun!

...well...hiyahiyahiya, y'all!!! ...first of all, sorry for the 'down time' between posts... I have not really had much happening, other than trying to get back to 'normal' from the holidays (although it is sleeting here as we speak, and by morning 3-4 inches of snow is expected, thus throwing the 'normal' thing back off for a few days...oh well...) ...anyway - hope everyone had a tremendous holiday season! Just rummaging through all my 'Gingerbilia', and found this beauty of a pic above, which I am guessing is from Barkleys... due to the hair, and also the eyebrows (yeah, we are REALLY Gingerologists, y'all...:-] )

The year 2011, of course, marks the 100th since Ginger's birth...and to celebrate, Gingerology will hopefully have lots of cool stuff going on...I have had a few things 'developing' for awhile now... and should be ready to get rolling on them!

Someone asked HOW will Gingerology celebrate on 07/16/11... well, the plan is... to be in Independence, Missouri - at 100 West Moore Street, of course - SOMETIME on the day of July 16, 2011... it just seems to be the right place at the right time... my wife has a cousin who lives in Kansas City, and we have been wanting to get up there to see her anyway... so it's really quite feasible, y'all... more info as it becomes available. I also just want to check out the archives or whatever there and see what kind of Gingery goodness I can unearth...
Here's a brief article and pic regarding Ginger's birth house..she lived there about a year or so, if I remember correctly... it's not extremely clear in her bio. I think this has actually been posted before, but...here ya go again:



OK - well, I am off now to prep for the 'blizzard' or whatever it is that's approaching nigh... hope all of you are faring well - it seems to be hitting everything east of the Mississippi. Stay hunkered down and fuzzy!!! :-] and of course, be sure to also...

KIG!

VKMfanHuey
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Ginger Rogers Blogspot...

...for Clarissa! AND, as she so wisely brings up, the title above hopefully throws Gingerology into the mix when a Google Search is performed on VKM! Thanks for the suggestion, CS! I have Googled 'Ginger Rogers' and 'Gingerology' a few times, and you are correct in that G-ology strangely enough does not appear right off...I am not trying to be the 'big dawg' here or anything, but would REALLY just like to see more folks interested in Ginger to visit the site...

...NOW, for SassyGinger! AND PinkGinger! The question from PG was, "What color was Ginger's (well, Susan Applegate's) 'after the ball' dress in Major and the Minor?" The answer (via photo) from SG is...well, see below!

...so, hope this answers it properly! Although, there ARE a few pics of her in this dress shown 'colored' in green - which DOES look pretty awesome as well! Again, see below!

...ok - one more 'topic', while I am thinking about it...to two of our newest Gingerologists, PinkGinger and princesskay... both of y'all have set up awesome websites which are VERY Gingery! AWESOME!!! But...(seems like I always have a big but...) - I cannot figure out how to 'comment' on posts of either site... now, it may well be that y'all don't wish to HAVE anyone comment, which is totally fine... but just wondering if I am missing a 'magic button' somewhere to allow commenting... any info would be MOST helpful and VERY much appreciated! Bottom line, I'm a comment junkie!!! :-}

OK - well, as 2010 is about to give way to 2011, and all of us here at G-ology hope all of y'all have a simply BEGUILING New Year's celebration!!! This will most likely be the final G-ology post for 2010, so... see y'all next year! Remember, it's Ginger's 100th in 2011, so it's gonna be GREAT!!!

KIG!!! - and also FUN, and SAFE this weekend, y'all!!!

Sincerely,
VKMfanHuey
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Kitty turns SEVENTY!!!

Happy Birthday to Miss Foyle from Huey and all the folks at Gingerology!!! Still pretty dang AWESOME for a Septuagenarian, Miss Kitty!!! The Natural History of a Woman, indeed!!!

If ya ever wonder...yeah, Huey's ALL-TIME fave GingerFilm is... Kitty Foyle. Of course, it's an awesome Academy-Award winning performance, but on top of that, the film itself is just 'wall-to-wall' Ginger! It HAS to be the most 'camera time' Ginger receives in any of her films, as of course, it's all about Kitty!

The movie was released on December 27, 1940 by RKO Radio Pictures, with much anticipation, for the role was much sought after by many Hollywood actresses. Ginger's studio, RKO, bought the rights to it, and gave her 'right of first refusal' for it. She initially balked at the role after reading the 'uncut' novel - she recalled in her bio that "...there were explicit love scenes in it that were quite disturbing to me. As I read these passages, I found myself passing judgement on them. "That could never pass the censor board. So what good is it for me to spend time reading it? I was really embarrassed that RKO would send me something like this."
For example, Kitty and Wyn never marry in the book, but all the other 'events' DO happen... of course in 1940 this was not acceptable, so RKO had to marry them 'up front' to pass the glare of the Hays Office. And, I'm pretty sure Ginger was in line with the more 'proper' storyline as well (...she was such a good girl, y'all! :-] ) While the final film script was quite 'toned down', it was still a bit 'edgy' for mainstream audiences at the time.

Ginger had been wanting to do a 'drama' for awhile. She had just finished up a 'semi-dramatic' film, 'Primrose Path'; it was part drama, part comedy, part romance...and it 'whetted' Ginger's appetite for a 'full' dramatic role. She still had reservations about Kitty's storyline, but the producer (David Hempstead) sent Ginger the 'revised' script, and as she recalled in her bio, "I realized it was one hell of a script, and was convinced that whoever played the role would end up with an Oscar. I saw it that vividly."
Ginger played the role to perfection, and she 'owned' the part - it's hard to imagine anyone else as Kitty. Her performance not only earned her an Oscar, but it galvanized her as an actress that could rub elbows with Hepburn, Fontaine and Davis and not end up with tennis elbow (bah-dum-dah... :-} ), and it solidified her 'Hard-Working American Girl' persona, which she portrayed so well in many subsequent films, and endeared her to an entire generation of moviegoers.
And the rest is cinematic history, as they say... Kitty Foyle was a pretty major story in its day, and for Ginger to play it was the 'watershed moment' which vaulted her to the pinnacle of her career...and proved to all that, as an actress, she could pretty much nail any role that was presented to her, in grand fashion...including Kitty Foyle, by Judas Priest!!!
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Interesting stuff...

- The role of Wyn was sought by David Niven, Robert Montgomery, Ray Milland, Laurence Olivier, Franchot Tone, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., George Brent and Melvin Douglas...but NOT Dennis Morgan; Morgan was originally considered for the role of Mark Eisen (the doc), along with Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Jeffrey Lynn, Patric Knowles and James Craig, who eventually was picked for the doc role.

- Molly, one of Kitty's roommates in New York (the blondish one), was played by director Sam Wood's daughter, Katharine (K.T.) Stevens.

- In order to get in a 'somber, tear-inducing mood' for the 'Kitty gives birth' scene, Ginger went to her dressing room and listened to Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet".

- The December 9, 1940 edition of LIFE magazine featured Ginger as Kitty Foyle on its cover - Ginger's second appearance on LIFE's cover. The article was about filming specific scenes of the movie, and did not really have much Ginger info, save for a few pictures.

- Of course, Ginger won the 1940 Best Actress Oscar for her role as Kitty, but the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Wood), Best Screenplay (Dalton Trumbo), and Best Sound (John Aalberg).

- In the movie Ginger made just before 'Kitty', "Lucky Partners", Ginger's character (Jean Newton) works in her aunt's (Spring Bynington) bookstore; in one scene, Jean is looking out the store window (where she is observing Ronald Coleman across the street), and the book "Kitty Foyle" is displayed in the window.

- When Ginger won the Oscar, she was greeted on the set of "Tom, Dick and Harry" the next day at RKO by staffers and actors dressed in top hats and tails.

- The dark sleeved dress with white collar and cuffs which Ginger wore in the movie is still known today in the garment trade as a "Kitty Foyle Dress".

- The movie was RKO's largest hit of 1940, earning $869,000.

- MGM's Tom and Jerry animated series gave it a nod in the title of 1948's short, "Kitty Foiled". The cartoon itself had, of course, nothing in common with "The Natural History of a Woman."

And finally, here is an overview of Kitty Foyle, and in Ginger's career in general, from none other than Mr. Robert Osborne, the 'overseer' of Turner Movie Classics, and probably one of the top 'classic' movie historians of our time. It was taken from the back cover of an LP of Ginger's radio production of Kitty Foyle - hopefully Mr. Osborne won't mind if I transcribe this here for all Gingerologists to read... interesting that it was written in 1975, exactly mid-way between Kitty in 1940 and where we currently sit. (BTW, in case Mr. Osborne or anybody else at TCM is reading this, please feel free to contact me regarding filling the 'guest host' spot in celebration of Ginger's 100th birthday on 07/16/11... yeah, I'll do it for FREE... or at LEAST for a lot less than Baldwin is being paid.. :-] )

Ginger Rogers once told a reporter, “Kitty Foyle was my first picture. It was my mother who made all those pictures with Fred Astaire.” The lady was kidding, of course, but there is no denying that everything connected with the spectacular Rogers career dates B.K. (Before Kitty) and A.K. (After Kitty). The Foyle role fit her like a coat of enamel, won her an Academy Award and kept her from being known solely as part of something called Astairenrogers.

Kitty Foyle was made at RKO Radio Studios in Hollywood in 1940, long after blonde and bouncy Ginger had been established as Fred Astaire’s most popular on-screen partner. She’d also proven her solo box office worth in a few comedies of her own. Up to that point, however, she hadn’t been established as an actress (and no fault of her own, but critics and the public have always assumed performances in musicals and comedies require no acting prowess, only nervous feet). One day she’d had quite enough, put down her foot – one of the unnervous ones – and divorced Fred as a partner. “No more musicals!” she told her bosses. While they ran for the aspirin bottle, Ginger started looking for a juicy role.

Enter Kitty Foyle, the most popular literary heroine of the day – and the timing couldn’t have been better. Kitty was the creation of author Christopher Morley, a hard-working white collar girl who was fed up to her typewriter ribbons. “I read about the guts of the pioneer woman, and the woman of the dust bowl, and the gingham goddess of the covered wagon,” says Kitty. “What about the woman of the covered typewriter? What has she got when she leaves the office?” It wasn’t all work for Kitty – she also had to choose between a liaison with a rich, married socialite and a romance with an industrious young doctor. But the public loved her, and every actress in the movie world wanted to play her. RKO, meanwhile, bought the screen rights and Ginger snapped it up. She darkened her hair, replaced the usual maribo feathers with a working girl’s wardrobe and went to town on the part, turning in a performance that made one critic clap his hands in glee, writing “Ginger Rogers plays Kitty Foyle so well it’s hard to remember she ever danced her way to fame.” The flourishing, epic touch came when she won that hard-to-get Oscar over the likes of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Martha Scott and Joan Fontaine. Goodbye, Fred!

In the years that followed, Ginger got to play everything from gum-chewing molls and ex-convicts to Dolly Madison and Dolly Levi, all thanks in great measure to that first encounter with Ms. Foyle. Her movie career has been long winded (36 active years, 73 major films), quite dazzling, an audience pleaser, always fun to watch. And despite the enduring fame of Astaire n’ Rogers, Rogers n’ Astaire, she is still best remembered as Kitty Foyle, the white collar girl. Their names remain synonymous. This is a permanent record of that collaboration – and proof the lady known as Ginger could do very well indeed without the hint of a Carioca, a Continental or a Castle Walk in reel three.

ROBERT OSBORNE, author of Academy Awards Illustrated and four other books on motion pictures. (circa 1975)

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Finally, one of my fave Ginger pics ('screen captures') from the movie, from the 'Kitty meets the fam' scene... I think the 'black dorito' hat is just SO cool... with the black lace stuff...and the frilly, puffy collar...yow, that works, y'all :-] ...and of course, this scene is where Kitty gets her Irish up to the Nth degree (i.e., 'maximum' SassyGinger), so, yep...a great scene.

Well, hope this was informative and fun for y'all... of course, I can think of no better way to celebrate this occasion than by watching Kitty Foyle tonight...I believe I'll just do that!

KIG (AND Kitty-like!)

VKMfanHuey
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