Just Watched: Forever Female

...OK - I know a lot of y'all have not seen this one yet, so I will keep this one as 'basic' as possible...

Generally, it is a pretty neat tale, set 'on Broadway'...it does have a kind of 'Barkley's of Broadway' feel, w/o the dancing and singing, so that may help the movie description as much as anything...rehearsal scenes, lots of 'shop talk' at the bar on Broadway with the pictures of all the actors...otherwise known as _____ (can't think of it...anyway, y'all know where I mean)... and your typical penthouse views... seems to capture the New York scene of the early 50's pretty well.

Ginger plays a 'seasoned' stage actress (Beatrice Page), who can do no wrong (natch), but somehow keeps landing in bad plays... a 'novice' playwright (William Holden) crosses paths with her and her manager/producer/ex-husband (played well by Paul Douglas), and gets them to try out his 'life's work' script, which shows promise... meanwhile, a 'starving' actress ( 'introducing' Pat Crowley...who was good, but really never heard of her...sure she was in more stuff...) basically throws herself into the fray, trying to land a role in the play, which she just had happened to read while working at a 'typing agency' (not too many of THOSE around anymore)... aaannddd, that's probably about as far as I will go - it has a few turns here and there, but no 'major woahs' (technical term for plot twists).

As usual, plenty of cool outfits for Ginger - maybe none in the all-time 'Top Ten', but very nice. From memory (I watched it late last night), most were 'basic black and/or white' numbers, not much in the way of patterns, feathers, etc... The amount of 'Ginger Time' in this one is fair, but there are a couple of other 'storylines' working, too...but overall cannot complain.

Ginger's role is quite 'refined' (but in a very nice way), as many of her 'later' roles were... in a way, it almost seems how she would be in real life... And, I realized she was in her early 40's in this one, where I happen to be right now... and as I have said before, IMO she is quite fetching at this 'stage' in her career. So, this one rates pretty high for me. There is one scene where she is 'away' from Broadway, a retreat, if you will, and is just in work clothes and hair all messed up and stuff, doing sculpture, or casting, or something (she did a lot of that in real life) - well, for some reason, I think she just looks very cool in that scene (well, other than a part in this scene where she cries, which I really don't EVER like to see from Ginger)... can't explain it, other than she has a 'real, just everyday person (but DEFINITELY still Ginger)' look to her, if you get the idea.

Anyway, this one falls in the 'top half' of things, I would say (gotta love my scientific grading scale!) - worth the effort to find. P.S. - check out the friend of the 'young actress' (her name keeps getting changed throughout the movie) - the friend is Marion Ross, better known as Mrs. Cunningham on the 70s' sitcom 'Happy Days'...well, I bet a few of you have seen it...otherwise, ask your parents... oof, I'm getting old...
JW

Just Watched: "The First Traveling Saleslady"

...Made in 1956, this movie is your basic '50's Western'... not really my favorite 'genre', but they are ok... of course, this one has our VKM going for it, so there's your motive for watching it! (duh)... and she IS the central character, so that's the perfect 'foundation'...speaking of 'foundations', that's exactly what Ginger's character, Rose Gillray, is selling...corsets, that is. Evidently, that is easier said than done, as corsets were not 'acceptable' in the Old West...so the business is in trouble, and she has to go to her suppliers and make 'deals'...one of which is the steel manufacturer, where the corset 'stays' (I think that is what they are called) come from. Anyway, this company also makes barbed wire, which is also not accepted in the west... well, that's about as far as I will go, but you probably see where it is going...
As usual, there are many suitors pursuing Ginger, with only one eventual winner... won't tell you that, either.
Her character basically has 'moxie', as one would expect from the first traveling saleslady, no? Although she has her share of 'setbacks', she keeps plugging away at the problem at hand... and we all know what happens when Ginger sets her mind to anything!
As for Ginger's wardrobe, it is nice, 'turn-of-the-century' stuff, but more 'business lady' style; there are only a few scenes where she is 'to the nines'... she has a dinner date, and is in a white number with gold and black flower print on it... 'off-the-shoulder' style (what I would call it, anyway)...pretty nice.
Ginger is in her mid-forties in this one, and is as fetching as ever, IMHO - I think I have written before that the 'middle-age' Ginger is quite attractive to me, being in my 'low-to-mid-forties' myself....
The fact that it is in color is an interesting feature, too... I know "Ginger in B/W" is our mantra, as it well should be, but it is neat to see Ginger in color every now and then (I wish she would have made one of her color films while she was in her 'dark-hair color' mode, just to figure out the exact color...(just let it go, dude...let it go... :-]).
There is only one 'small' thing about this one, and it is really 'nit-picking'... but Ginger basically kicks her voice up a noticeable amount 'higher' in this one... it may well be that her 'sales partner' (Carol Channing, who is quite funny here in her screen debut) has that 'unusual' voice, and Ginger just thought of a 'complementary' timbre for her character, since they are doing a good chunk of the movie dialouge together... it's not to the point of 'annoying', but I guess enough to be 'aware' of it... but not THAT big a deal, I assure you...probably shouldn't have even mentioned it - sorry.
Overall, it is a pretty 'cute' little movie, and Ginger is the primary focus... and she is her usual charming and perky self... the plot is somewhat predictable, and the 'western' aspect is typical, but without any 'out-and-out mean' characters... just 'antagonists'.
This was the LAST RKO movie made, and thus very appropriate Ginger is in it... also, check out a young Clint Eastwood - his character is a somewhat minor one, tho... and, James Arness is featured, the fellow who played 'Marshal Dillon' on the 60's TV show 'Gunsmoke', which actually ran well over a decade, I believe...
Rating? well, it is in the 'middle' of the pack, I guess... quite entertaining, and 'easy' to watch - nothing too 'heavy', plot-wise. Thumbs-up overall!
Hope this helps out somebody somewhere...
Thanks, JW

Just Watched : 'Magnificent Doll'

...Really enjoyed this one - I am a bit of a 'history buff', so got into the story line pretty easy... this one is not an 'overly romantic' tale, but does have a few 'sweet' moments. Ginger portrays Dolly Madison, who is married to James Madison (Burgess Meredith).
As for the 'Gingerology Quotient' (sounds scientific, no?), she has some very stunning scenes here; I have seen a lot of the 'still' pix from this movie, and knew it should have ample Gingery Goodness in it...(somehow, that just sounds a bit...unusual...but right nevertheless!) The 'period' costumes she wears are generally very stylish and elegant (sorry, I am not a fashion critic...) (and, sorry about all these parentheses...) - there are a few in particular that caught my eye... the outfit when she is riding the horse...cool hat, even with a lot of frilly stuff out of the top of it... and I think this one is actually green - from a pix I saw of it...very fetching - Green is my fav color, so Ginger on Green just...rocks, y'all.... but the best outfit was when she was at the White House party - sparkly white number with the long gloves...yow... and her hair style is pretty cool for this one, too. I think this outfit is the one on the movie 'poster', and the main publicity photos for the movie...just devastating.
Anyway, on to Ginger's role - I think she does quite well in the role, as a 'proper' colonial lady... nothing 'extreme' about the role, but really liked her mannerisms and 'prim and proper' mode, but in a 'warm' manner. You know, it is believed that Ginger is a direct decendent of George Washington... so she should have some 'colonial blood' in her... she has a big 'speech' scene which is pretty inspiring...but I won't give anything away for those who have yet to see it...
I know this sounds kinda 'bad', but, in one scene, when Aaron Burr (David Niven) was talking to her in the park or whatever, lying on the ground, he said something, and she laughed (not a 'HaHa', mind you, but a 'normal' laugh...), and at the end of her laugh, she SNORTED! (in a good, cool way)! I ran it back a few times to be sure... I cracked up...I just never thought of Ginger 'snort-laughing', and it struck me as very cute, especially in this 'proper' role...
Anyway - overall, I really enjoyed this one - plenty of Ginger 'face time', but the overall story was interesting, and did not really drag at all. I don't really have a rating system like Beth - but I will just say this would be in the top third of VKM movies I have seen... Really!

P.S. - when doing these reviews, I will try to not have any 'spoiler' stuff - sorry if that has happened in the past... most of y'all have already seen all her movies, but there may be some who have not... so, hopefully I can describe without any revelations.
JW

Link to the "Ginger's Birthplace' story...

...I know I placed this over on Beth's site, in a comment, but just wanted to put it over here for anyone who is interested...

http://www.kansascity.com/stargazing/story/1353233.html

also, a few others...

http://www.examiner.net/news/x592700784/Ginger-Rogers-birthplace-Yours-for-20-000

http://www.examiner.com/x-10204-Kansas-City-Pop-Culture-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Ginger-Rogers-Independence-birthplace-home-now-on-the-market-for-20000

http://wikimapia.org/4540373/Ginger-Rogers-birthplace

...I think it just kinda rubs me the wrong way that the phrase 'folks today have never heard of Ginger' keeps popping up... guess we have some work to do!!!

Just Wondering if I am the only one...

...who is a bit 'puzzled' at the lack of activity on the ' Ginger Rogers Official Website' - www.gingerrogers.com ??? The last info on there was December of 2008, about the paper doll book... It would seem like there would be someone in charge of it... I (sadly) think it is a 'dormant site'... which is sad, if someone out there needs Ginger info, just Googling her would probably put this website at or near the top of the list... I mean, it has the basic info, but there is a lot more to discuss Ginger, we all know... like when her movies are being released or shown, the 'birthplace' story, even birthday stuff...also polls, pictures (the site basically just has pix from ginger: My Story...great pix, no doubt, but the 'official' site should have TONS of pix, no?)...anyway, I guess a 'soapbox' moment... maybe we should all 'inquire' and help that site out some... i'm game!