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TCM Schedule for Friday, January 27, 2017 -- TCM Memorial Tribute: Debbie Reynolds
Today is TCM tribute to the films of Debbie Reynolds. From the TCM website:Entertainer Debbie Reynolds embodied the cheerful bounce and youthful innocence of the post World War II era, buoying the genre's good-natured hokum with her sincere charm and energy. One of a long line of girls-next-door like Doris Day and June Allyson, Reynolds was never as sultry as Day could be, and was more of a showbiz cheerleader and less of a tomboy than either. In her most successful films like Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) and Singin' in the Rain (1952), she was often cast as a sincere young adult in the throes of puppy love - never the virgin chased by rogues like Day or the placid housewife like Allyson. Her squeaky clean image came in handy when, in the biggest Hollywood scandal of the 1950s, her then-husband, crooner Eddie Fisher, left her and their two children - Carrie and Todd Fisher - for sultry screen goddess, Elizabeth Taylor. Not surprisingly, the public was more than on Reynolds' side as the jilted wife. Once that furor died down, Reynolds was left to reinvent herself. In the late 1960s, when new sexual mores suddenly rendered the docile suburban female image a thing of the past, Reynolds shifted her focus to nightclub and theatrical stages. She was absent from the big screen for decades but settled into a comfortable presence in the American fabric by returning to film in the 1990s with funny mom roles in films like Mother (1996) and In and Out (1997) and hysterical guest appearances as the over-the-top mother of Grace Adler (Debra Messing) on Will & Grace (NBC, 1998-2006). Reynolds brought both self-mocking and nostalgia to these and other well-received comedic outings, using her persona as a perennially perky throwback to mine genuine laughs well into her 70s.
Mary Frances Reynolds was born in El Paso, TX, on April 1, 1932. Her railroad worker father moved the family to Southern California when Reynolds was young, and growing up in Burbank, Reynolds performed with the town symphony and was active in school plays. When she was 16, she was crowned Miss Burbank in a beauty contest and subsequently MGM and Warner Bros. courted her for a movie contract. The latter won out, but Reynolds mostly treaded water there for two years, playing only a modest part in The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950). She moved to MGM in 1950 and made an instant impression in small roles in her first two films, impersonating 1920s "boop-oop-a-doop" singer Helen Kane in the biopic Three Little Words (1950) and teaming with equally cute boy-next-door Carleton Carpenter in Two Weeks with Love (1950), which included a high-speed rendition of the novelty song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" that hit No. 3 on the Billboard charts. The studio and directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen responded by casting her in a leading role - with star billing - in the brilliant musical, Singin' in the Rain (1952). Her pleasant alto sold several old-time song standards and Reynolds, not a trained hoofer, literally danced her feet raw to keep up buoyantly onscreen with Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Best of all, her acting conveyed the sincerity of the aspiring neophyte that was both the role and the performer. Just like her role in Singin' in the Rain, a star was born.
During her tenure at MGM, Reynolds performed primarily in musicals; none of which approached the landmark status of her first big success. The underrated Give a Girl a Break (1953) was full of ideas and energy, but as was typical of MGM and the studio system, Athena (1954) and Hit the Deck (1955) were too formulaic. The lively and playful comedienne overdid the teen boisterousness in Susan Slept Here (1954) but had a more successful foray into romantic comedy with The Tender Trap (1955). A standout was her most sober film of the period - one of only two or three dramas she ever acted in - The Catered Affair (1956), where Reynolds provided tender and quietly touching work that her sis-boom-ba roles rarely called upon. As the studio system disintegrated, Reynolds turned to freelancing, enjoying a big hit with Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), whose theme song - the highly sentimental but equally memorable "Tammy" - gave Reynolds a second smash hit single (five weeks at No. 1). The film also marked one of the occasional "country girl" roles which she would also play in The Mating Game (1958). Reynolds had begun appearing on TV by this time, and was a semi-regular on The Eddie Fisher Show (NBC, 1953-57), starring the popular crooner Reynolds had wed in 1955. Together, Reynolds and Fisher were second only to Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as "America's Sweethearts."
The first of several unsuccessful marriages showed its sour side in 1958, when Fisher announced that he was leaving Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of his recently deceased best friend, producer Mike Todd, who had perished in a plane crash. The attendant public sympathy for Reynolds - now a single mother of two - meshed well with her wholesome "can do" screen persona, which had fully matured by the time of This Happy Feeling (1958). At the time of the scandal of all scandals, Reynolds ranked as one of the top ten box-office stars in both 1959 and 1960. In 1962, she joined the all-star cast of the Oscar-nominated epic How the West Was Won and two years later starred in the screen adaptation of the aptly titled musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) - one of her best vehicles, and one which earned her a Best Actress Oscar® nomination. Raising her two children by Fisher - future director Todd and future actress and author Carrie - kept Reynolds busy and her screen career, which relied to some extent on her youthful, girlish qualities, slowly began to decline. Worse, the new frankness in films began to date her image. When she finally did try a Doris Day-style sex farce with Divorce American Style (1967) and How Sweet It Is (1968), even that vogue was waning. A few TV spots and a first try at a series, The Debbie Reynolds Show/Debbie (NBC, 1969-70) did little to stem the tide. Her last feature acting for over 20 years, though, was striking. What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), a late entry in the often unpleasant "aging female star" horror subgenre, was redeemed by a very offbeat story, Curtis Harrington's directorial flair, and fine acting.
Effectively out of films before age 40, Reynolds enjoyed smash success on Broadway with a revival of the old musical chestnut Irene in 1973, played the London Palladium in a 1975 revue, and polished to a lively sparkle the nightclub talent she had first tested earlier in her career. Live performing kept Reynolds busiest for the next 20 years, though she occasionally surfaced in a the recurring role of the title character's acerbic mother on the sitcom Alice (CBS, 1976-1985) and did likewise on Jennifer Slept Here (NBC, 1983-84). She tried her hand at helming another series with the unsuccessful Aloha Paradise (ABC, 1981) - a Fantasy Island/Love Boat rip-off with Reynolds as a female Ricardo Montalban - and enjoyed a feisty role as a woman cop teamed with her son in the TV-movie, Sadie and Son (CBS, 1987). She also basked in the boom of nostalgia for her studio heyday when she purchased a Las Vegas hotel and casino and added a Hollywood Movie Museum packed with the memorabilia she had been collecting for decades. The largest collection of its kind in the world, Reynolds' memorabilia included over 40,000 costumes including Dorothy's ruby slippers and the white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in her infamous 1952 Life magazine photo spread. Ever the hard worker, Reynolds performed constantly at her own hotel's nightclub to make the enterprise fly, and her love of the work and her finely honed presence kept her venture afloat.
After being known for decades as "the mother of Princess Leia" after daughter Carrie struck iconic status with her role in Star Wars (1977), Reynolds blithely withstood gossip surrounding her daughter's 1987 novel, Postcards from the Edge when wags assumed it was "really" about Fisher's relationship with Reynolds. Even Mike Nichols' 1990 film version made the mother into something of a attention-craving gorgon. Fisher always said it was an homage to her mother - not an exact portrait of their sometimes strained relationship. The ensuing decade saw Reynolds own return to the big screen, first in Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth (1993). Her renaissance really began when, at her daughter's suggestion, Albert Brooks cast Reynolds in the title role of his critically acclaimed Mother (1996). Reynolds received raves for her rich characterization of a sunny and loving but subtly disapproving and forbidding parent. The widespread attention she received helped pave the way for her casting as Kevin Kline's mother in In and Out (1997). The following year, she starred as a magical matriarch in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown (1998) and went on to make regular guest appearances on the hit sitcom Will & Grace as Grace's highly critical entertainer mother. She worked steadily as a voice actor in family fare, including The Rugrats (Nickelodeon, 1991-2004) and Kim Possible (Disney Channel, 2002-07) and well past the normal retirement age, Reynolds maintained a busy stage schedule as a song and dance gal on the casino and resort circuit.
Mary Frances Reynolds was born in El Paso, TX, on April 1, 1932. Her railroad worker father moved the family to Southern California when Reynolds was young, and growing up in Burbank, Reynolds performed with the town symphony and was active in school plays. When she was 16, she was crowned Miss Burbank in a beauty contest and subsequently MGM and Warner Bros. courted her for a movie contract. The latter won out, but Reynolds mostly treaded water there for two years, playing only a modest part in The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950). She moved to MGM in 1950 and made an instant impression in small roles in her first two films, impersonating 1920s "boop-oop-a-doop" singer Helen Kane in the biopic Three Little Words (1950) and teaming with equally cute boy-next-door Carleton Carpenter in Two Weeks with Love (1950), which included a high-speed rendition of the novelty song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" that hit No. 3 on the Billboard charts. The studio and directors Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen responded by casting her in a leading role - with star billing - in the brilliant musical, Singin' in the Rain (1952). Her pleasant alto sold several old-time song standards and Reynolds, not a trained hoofer, literally danced her feet raw to keep up buoyantly onscreen with Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Best of all, her acting conveyed the sincerity of the aspiring neophyte that was both the role and the performer. Just like her role in Singin' in the Rain, a star was born.
During her tenure at MGM, Reynolds performed primarily in musicals; none of which approached the landmark status of her first big success. The underrated Give a Girl a Break (1953) was full of ideas and energy, but as was typical of MGM and the studio system, Athena (1954) and Hit the Deck (1955) were too formulaic. The lively and playful comedienne overdid the teen boisterousness in Susan Slept Here (1954) but had a more successful foray into romantic comedy with The Tender Trap (1955). A standout was her most sober film of the period - one of only two or three dramas she ever acted in - The Catered Affair (1956), where Reynolds provided tender and quietly touching work that her sis-boom-ba roles rarely called upon. As the studio system disintegrated, Reynolds turned to freelancing, enjoying a big hit with Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), whose theme song - the highly sentimental but equally memorable "Tammy" - gave Reynolds a second smash hit single (five weeks at No. 1). The film also marked one of the occasional "country girl" roles which she would also play in The Mating Game (1958). Reynolds had begun appearing on TV by this time, and was a semi-regular on The Eddie Fisher Show (NBC, 1953-57), starring the popular crooner Reynolds had wed in 1955. Together, Reynolds and Fisher were second only to Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh as "America's Sweethearts."
The first of several unsuccessful marriages showed its sour side in 1958, when Fisher announced that he was leaving Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor, the widow of his recently deceased best friend, producer Mike Todd, who had perished in a plane crash. The attendant public sympathy for Reynolds - now a single mother of two - meshed well with her wholesome "can do" screen persona, which had fully matured by the time of This Happy Feeling (1958). At the time of the scandal of all scandals, Reynolds ranked as one of the top ten box-office stars in both 1959 and 1960. In 1962, she joined the all-star cast of the Oscar-nominated epic How the West Was Won and two years later starred in the screen adaptation of the aptly titled musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) - one of her best vehicles, and one which earned her a Best Actress Oscar® nomination. Raising her two children by Fisher - future director Todd and future actress and author Carrie - kept Reynolds busy and her screen career, which relied to some extent on her youthful, girlish qualities, slowly began to decline. Worse, the new frankness in films began to date her image. When she finally did try a Doris Day-style sex farce with Divorce American Style (1967) and How Sweet It Is (1968), even that vogue was waning. A few TV spots and a first try at a series, The Debbie Reynolds Show/Debbie (NBC, 1969-70) did little to stem the tide. Her last feature acting for over 20 years, though, was striking. What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), a late entry in the often unpleasant "aging female star" horror subgenre, was redeemed by a very offbeat story, Curtis Harrington's directorial flair, and fine acting.
Effectively out of films before age 40, Reynolds enjoyed smash success on Broadway with a revival of the old musical chestnut Irene in 1973, played the London Palladium in a 1975 revue, and polished to a lively sparkle the nightclub talent she had first tested earlier in her career. Live performing kept Reynolds busiest for the next 20 years, though she occasionally surfaced in a the recurring role of the title character's acerbic mother on the sitcom Alice (CBS, 1976-1985) and did likewise on Jennifer Slept Here (NBC, 1983-84). She tried her hand at helming another series with the unsuccessful Aloha Paradise (ABC, 1981) - a Fantasy Island/Love Boat rip-off with Reynolds as a female Ricardo Montalban - and enjoyed a feisty role as a woman cop teamed with her son in the TV-movie, Sadie and Son (CBS, 1987). She also basked in the boom of nostalgia for her studio heyday when she purchased a Las Vegas hotel and casino and added a Hollywood Movie Museum packed with the memorabilia she had been collecting for decades. The largest collection of its kind in the world, Reynolds' memorabilia included over 40,000 costumes including Dorothy's ruby slippers and the white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in her infamous 1952 Life magazine photo spread. Ever the hard worker, Reynolds performed constantly at her own hotel's nightclub to make the enterprise fly, and her love of the work and her finely honed presence kept her venture afloat.
After being known for decades as "the mother of Princess Leia" after daughter Carrie struck iconic status with her role in Star Wars (1977), Reynolds blithely withstood gossip surrounding her daughter's 1987 novel, Postcards from the Edge when wags assumed it was "really" about Fisher's relationship with Reynolds. Even Mike Nichols' 1990 film version made the mother into something of a attention-craving gorgon. Fisher always said it was an homage to her mother - not an exact portrait of their sometimes strained relationship. The ensuing decade saw Reynolds own return to the big screen, first in Oliver Stone's Heaven and Earth (1993). Her renaissance really began when, at her daughter's suggestion, Albert Brooks cast Reynolds in the title role of his critically acclaimed Mother (1996). Reynolds received raves for her rich characterization of a sunny and loving but subtly disapproving and forbidding parent. The widespread attention she received helped pave the way for her casting as Kevin Kline's mother in In and Out (1997). The following year, she starred as a magical matriarch in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown (1998) and went on to make regular guest appearances on the hit sitcom Will & Grace as Grace's highly critical entertainer mother. She worked steadily as a voice actor in family fare, including The Rugrats (Nickelodeon, 1991-2004) and Kim Possible (Disney Channel, 2002-07) and well past the normal retirement age, Reynolds maintained a busy stage schedule as a song and dance gal on the casino and resort circuit.
Remember and enjoy!
6:00 AM -- IT STARTED WITH A KISS (1959)
After a whirlwind courtship, an Army officer and his wacky wife try to make their marriage work.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Eva Gabor
C-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
The car that Glenn Ford wins is a 1955 Lincoln Futura, the one-off concept car that ultimately became the Batmobile on Batman (1966).
7:45 AM -- BUNDLE OF JOY (1956)
A shop girl is mistaken for the mother of a foundling.
Dir: Norman Taurog
Cast: Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Adolphe Menjou
C-98 mins, CC,
In her autobiography, Carrie Fisher says that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, was pregnant with her whilst making this film. This accounts for several shots where Reynolds is hidden behind a shop display or wearing a cloak-style coat.
9:30 AM -- HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1962)
Three generations of pioneers take part in the forging of the American West.
Dir: John Ford
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb
C-165 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Won Oscars for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen -- James R. Webb, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (M-G-M SSD), and Best Film Editing -- Harold F. Kress
Nominated for Oscars for Best Cinematography, Color -- William H. Daniels, Milton R. Krasner, Charles Lang and Joseph LaShelle, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- George W. Davis, William Ferrari, Addison Hehr, Henry Grace, Don Greenwood Jr. and Jack Mills, Best Costume Design, Color -- Walter Plunkett, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -- Alfred Newman and Ken Darby, and Best Picture
Debbie Reynolds and George Peppard are the only cast members who appear in three of the five sequences in the film. According to Ms. Reynolds, in an interview for the documentary Cinerama Adventure (2002), her character of Lilith was originally supposed to have drowned in the river. However, it was decided that Lilith would best tie the generations of Prescotts together, so, she remained in the story to become an elderly lady in the film's conclusion.
12:30 PM -- THE TENDER TRAP (1955)
A swinging bachelor finds love when he meets a girl immune to his line.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne
C-111 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song -- Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) for the song "
Love Is) The Tender Trap"
The original Broadway production of "The Tender Trap" by Max Shulman and Robert Paul Smith opened at the Longacre Theater on October 13, 1954 and ran for 102 performances. The original cast included Robert Preston and Kim Hunter.
2:30 PM -- HIT THE DECK (1955)
Sailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business.
Dir: Roy Rowland
Cast: Jane Powell, Tony Martin, Debbie Reynolds
C-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
The "Funhouse" segment starring Debbie Reynolds and Russ Tamblyn, which lasts four and one half minutes on screen, took three days to film.
4:30 PM -- I LOVE MELVIN (1953)
A photographer's assistant promises to turn a chorus girl into a cover girl.
Dir: Don Weis
Cast: Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel
C-77 mins, CC,
Howard Keel was to have originally been the star in Judy (Debbie Reynolds)'s dream, but Keel and his song "And There You Are" were cut after previews and replaced with a brief scene between Reynolds and Robert Taylor.
6:00 PM -- SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
A silent-screen swashbuckler finds love while trying to adjust to the coming of sound.
Dir: Gene Kelly
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds
C-103 mins, CC,
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Supporting Role -- Jean Hagen, and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Lennie Hayton
In the "Would You" number, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) is dubbing the voice of Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) because Lina's voice is shrill and screechy. However, it's not Reynolds who is really speaking, it's Jean Hagen herself, who actually had a beautiful deep, rich voice. So you have Jean Hagen dubbing Debbie Reynolds dubbing Jean Hagen. And when Debbie is supposedly dubbing Jean's singing of "Would You", the voice you hear singing actually belongs to Betty Noyes, who had a much richer singing voice than Debbie.
TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TCM MEMORIAL TRIBUTE: DEBBIE REYNOLDS
8:00 PM -- THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (1964)
Musical biography of the backwoods girl who struck it rich in Colorado and survived the Titanic.
Dir: Charles Walters
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley
C-129 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Debbie Reynolds, Best Cinematography, Color -- Daniel L. Fapp, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color -- George W. Davis, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace and Hugh Hunt, Best Costume Design, Color -- Morton Haack, Best Sound -- Franklin Milton (M-G-M SSD), and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Robert Armbruster, Leo Arnaud, Jack Elliott, Jack Hayes, Calvin Jackson and Leo Shuken
MGM's original choice for the role of Molly Brown was Shirley MacLaine. MacLaine was locked in contract at the time. The film's director even asked Reynolds to decline the role. When Reynolds asked "Why?", he commented that she was too short. Reynolds replied "Well just how short is the part?" That was the end of his objections.
10:30 PM -- THE MATING GAME (1959)
A tax agent falls for a farm girl whose father he's investigating.
Dir: George Marshall
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas
C-97 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Debbie Reynolds was 27 when this film was made, and Tony Randall was 39 - but his character states that he's 29 in one scene.
12:30 AM -- THE CATERED AFFAIR (1956)
A working-class mother fights to give her daughter a big wedding whether the girl wants it or not.
Dir: Richard Brooks
Cast: Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds
BW-94 mins, CC,
Craggy-faced Ernest Borgnine was 39 when this film came out, only 15 years older than his film daughter Debbie Reynolds, who was 24. His wife in the film, Bette Davis, was 48.
2:15 AM -- THE SINGING NUN (1966)
Fanciful biography of the Belgian nun who briefly made the hit parade.
Dir: Henry Koster
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Ricardo Montalban, Greer Garson
C-96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment -- Harry Sukman
Loosely based on the true story of Belgian nun Soeur Sourire, who had a #1 pop hit in America with "Dominique". Unfortunately, the lovable nun was a one-hit wonder whose life did not continue happily after her brief blush of chart success. After leaving the church for a full-time music career, she ran into heavy financial problems and eventually took her own life.
4:00 AM -- HOW SWEET IT IS (1968)
A married couple's working vacation in Paris turns into a battle to stay faithful.
Dir: Jerry Paris
Cast: James Garner, Debbie Reynolds, Maurice Ronet
C-98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
Baseball reference. Gary Marshall, a major baseball fan, likes to reference baseball in his work. In this instance, it's when Jerry Paris, as a brothel patron, wearing a baseball hat, glove, and holding a baseball while the working girl is wearing a catcher's mask, glove, and chest protector, yells out, "What inning is it?"
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