Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) is an American who came to London to perform in a show but now is working as a taxi dancer.
She is upset to find out that a friend, a dancer named Lucy Barnard
(Tanis Chandler), is missing and believed to be the latest victim of the
notorious "Poet Killer," who lures victims with ads in the newspaper's
personal columns and sends poems to taunt the police. Scotland YardInspector
Harley Temple (Charles Coburn) asks if Sandra would be willing to work
undercover to help find her missing friend and the killer. He sees
first-hand how observant she is and gives her a temporary police
identification card and a gun. Sandra is asked to answer personal ads,
with a Yard officer named H.R. Barrett (George Zucco) always nearby,
just in case.
By coincidence she meets the dashing man-about-town nightclub owner
Robert Fleming (George Sanders), who at first wished to hire her for his
stage revue but now wants to pursue a romance. In the meantime, Sandra
answers an ad placed by Charles van Druten (Boris Karloff), a former
fashion designer who is now mentally imbalanced. Her bodyguard Barrett
has to come to her rescue.
She also needs to be saved, this time by Fleming, from a mysterious
figure named Mr. Moryani (Joseph Calleia). He apparently recruits young
women and whisks them off to South America by offering them a promising
opportunity in a new land while, in reality, having something more
sinister in mind.
Fleming shares a stately home with Julian Wilde (Sir Cedric
Hardwicke), his business partner and best friend. Fleming ultimately
does win Sandra's heart, even becoming engaged to her. Inspector Temple
thanks her for her efforts and even agrees to come to their engagement
party.
During the party at the beautiful home where she will soon live,
however, Sandra accidentally discovers evidence that links Fleming to
the Poet Killer's crimes, including a distinctive bracelet worn by her
friend Lucy.
Fleming is placed under arrest. Circumstantial evidence mounts up,
although he adamantly denies any involvement in the crime. Sandra
believes him, but the Yard does not.
Lucy's body is found in the river. Wilde assures his incarcerated
friend that he will hire the best possible attorney and do everything
possible to clear him. It occurs to Inspector Temple that it is actually
Wilde who fancies poetry and is in a position to have been the killer.
Just before he can flee, Wilde is visited by Sandra at home. He is
secretly obsessed with her, just as he possibly was with the other women
he abducted. Wilde at first expresses his desire for Sandra, then
removes his scarf and prepares to strangle her. Scotland Yard's men
break through the windows to rescue her just in time.
Fleming is set free, and he and Sandra toast with champagne to better days ahead.
On August 6, 1911, Lucille Désirée Ball was born, and so was a star.
She would get into modeling at first and then eventually show
business in 1933, and she would do plenty of uncredited work before
moving into more substantial roles. But it wasn’t until 1951 when she
and then husband of 11 years, Desi Arnaz, came into homes everywhere on I Love Lucy. The show would span six years and 181 episodes, and remains popular to this very day.
Lucy would eventually move on to other ventures—The Lucy Show (156 episodes); Here’s Lucy (143 episodes)—but none would have the lasting effect that I Love Lucy
had and will continue to have on generations to come. Even in black and
white, you could almost see that iconic fiery red hair bursting through
your television screen.
Lucille Ball sadly passed away too soon in 1989 at the age of 77, but
nevertheless, we celebrate what would have been her 100th birthday
today.
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an
American actress whose career spanned three decades from 1943 to 1975.
She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in the 1949 film Pinky in which she played the leading role. She was also noted for her ability in ice skating.
Early life
Crain was born in Barstow, California,
to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of
Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French
descent on her father's.She moved to Los Angeles, California, as a young child.
An excellent ice skater, Crain first attracted attention when she was crowned Miss Pan Pacific at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles. Later, while still in high school, she was asked to make a screen test opposite Orson Welles. She did not get the part, but in 1943, at age 18, she appeared in a bit part in the film The Gang's All Here.
At the top of her stardom, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Crain
was nicknamed 'Hollywood's Number One party girl', and she was quoted
saying that she was invited to at least 200 parties a year.
Against her mother's wishes, on December 31, 1946, Crain married Paul Brinkman, a former RKO Picturescontract player credited as Paul Brooks. The first of their seven children was born the following April.
During the early 1950s, Crain was earning approximately $3,500 per week. Crain and her husband bought a large home for their growing family on Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The home can be seen and is described by Bette Davis in candid footage of a driving sequence in the film The Star (1952).
The marriage was rocky for some years. In the mid-1950s, Crain obtained an interlocutory
divorce decree, each spouse claiming the other had been unfaithful (she
also claimed Brinkman had been abusive), but the couple reconciled on
the eve of their 11th wedding anniversary.
In the early 1960s she was one of many conservative actors who spent their time fervently fighting for the Republican cause. Others included James Stewart, Walter Pidgeon, Donna Reed, Jerry Lewis, Wendell Corey, and Troy Donahue.
Crain and her husband remained married, although they lived separately in Santa Barbara, California, until Brinkman's death in October 2003.
Crain died a few months later and it was later confirmed that the cause was a heart attack.Crain's funeral Mass was held at the Old Santa Barbara Mission.
Crain is buried in the Brinkman family plot at Santa Barbara Cemetery.
The Brinkmans were survived by five adult children, including Paul
Brinkman Jr., a television executive, most known for his work on the
television series JAG.
Legacy
Crain's career is fully documented by a collection of memorabilia about her assembled by Charles J. Finlay, a longtime publicist at 20th Century Fox. The Jeanne Crain Collection resides at the Cinema Archives at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. These archives also hold the papers of Ingrid Bergman, Frank Capra, Clint Eastwood and others.
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
1943 The Gang's All Here Chorus Girl/Pool Party Guest uncredited
1944 Home in Indiana 'Char' Bruce
In the Meantime, Darling Margaret 'Maggie' Preston
Winged Victory Helen
1945 State Fair Margy Frake a.k.a. Rodgers and Hammerstein's State Fair
also Soundtrack
Leave Her to Heaven Ruth Berent
1946 Centennial Summer Julia Rogers also Soundtrack
Margie Marjorie 'Margie' MacDuff also Soundtrack
1948 You Were Meant for Me Peggy Mayhew
Apartment for Peggy Peggy Taylor also Soundtrack
1949 A Letter to Three Wives Deborah Bishop
The Fan Lady Margaret 'Meg' Windermere a.k.a. Lady Windermere's Fan
Pinky Patricia 'Pinky' Johnson Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
1950 Cheaper by the Dozen Ann Gilbreth
I'll Get By Jeanne Crain uncredited
Cameo appearance
1951 Take Care of My Little Girl Elizabeth 'Liz' Erickson
People Will Talk Deborah Higgins
The Model and the Marriage Broker Kitty Bennett
1952 Belles on Their Toes Ann Gilbreth a.k.a. Belles on Their Toes: The Further Adventures of the Gilbreth Family
O. Henry's Full House Della Young Segment The Gift of the Magi
1953 Dangerous Crossing Ruth Stanton Bowman
Vicki Jill Lynn
City of Bad Men Linda Culligan
1954 Duel in the Jungle Marian Taylor
1955 Man Without a Star Reed Bowman
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes Connie Jones/Mitzi Jones also Soundtrack
The Second Greatest Sex Liza McClure also Soundtrack
1956 The Fastest Gun Alive Dora Temple
1957 The Tattered Dress Diane Blane
The Joker Is Wild Letty Page a.k.a. All the Way
1960 Guns of the Timberland Laura Riley
1961 Twenty Plus Two Linda Foster a.k.a. It Started in Tokyo
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile Tenet/Nefertiti Original title: Nefertiti, regina del Nilo
1962 Madison Avenue Peggy Shannon
Pontius Pilate Claudia Procula Original title: Ponzio Pilato
1963 Invasion 1700 Helen Original title: Col ferro e col fuoco
a.k.a. Daggers of Blood
a.k.a. With Fire and Sword
1967 Hot Rods to Hell Peg Phillips a.k.a. 52 Miles to Terror
1971 The Night God Screamed Fanny Pierce a.k.a. Scream
1972 Skyjacked Mrs. Clara Shaw a.k.a. Sky Terror
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1955 Star Stage Nancy 1 episode
1956 The Ford Television Theatre Joyce Randall 1 episode
1958 Playhouse 90 Daisy Buchanan 1 episode
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Ruth Elliot 1 episode
1959 Meet Me in St. Louis Rose Smith TV movie
Goodyear Theatre Lila Babrek Barnes 1 episode
Riverboat Laura Sutton 1 episode
1960-62 G.E. True Theater Hope/Marion Miller 3 episodes
1963 The Dick Powell Theatre Elsie 1 episode
1964-65 Burke's Law Amy Booth / Lorraine Turner / Polly Martin 3 episodes
1968 The Danny Thomas Hour Frances Merrill 1 episode
The Name of the Game Mrs. McKendricks 1 episode
1972 Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law Lily MacMurdy 1 episode
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (also known in short as just "And I Am Telling You") is a torch song from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, with lyrics by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is sung by the character Effie White, a singer with the girl group The Dreams, to her manager, Curtis Taylor Jr., whose romantic and professional relationship with Effie is quickly ending. The lyrics to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", often considered the show's signature tune, describe Effie's love for Curtis, both strongly devoted and defiant. She refuses to let Curtis leave her behind, and boldly proclaims to him, "I'm staying and you ... you're gonna love me."
In addition to its presence in the musical, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" is also notable as the debut single of two women who portrayed Effie. Jennifer Holliday originated the role on Broadway in 1981 and won a Tony Award for her performance. In 1982, Holliday recorded a number-one R&B hit version of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Jennifer Hudson portrayed Effie in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, winning an Oscar for the role. Hudson's version became a Top 20 R&B single, and a number-one dance hit.
Jennifer Holliday version
In 1982, Jennifer Holliday, the actress who portrayed Effie in the original Broadway production, released the song as a single. It was her first single release and it met with great success, topping the Billboard R&B charts and attaining top forty positions on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. In 1983, Holliday won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for the single.
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was designed as the closing number of Dreamgirls' first act. Holliday's performance of the song, in a style owing much to gospel music singing traditions, was regularly staged to thunderous applause; it was hailed as the highlight of the show in several printed reviews of the musical.[1] In his review of Dreamgirls' opening night performance, New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich referred to Holliday's "And I Am Telling You" as "one of the most powerful theatrical coups to be found in a Broadway musical since Ethel Merman sang "Everything's Coming Up Roses" at the end of Act I of Gypsy"[2] "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" remains Holliday's signature song.
Following his graduation from university, aspiring filmmaker Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) travels to London to get a job on Laurence Olivier's (Kenneth Branagh) next production. Hugh Perceval (Michael Kitchen)
tells Colin there are no jobs available, but he decides to wait for
Olivier, whom he once met at a party. Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh (Julia Ormond), eventually show up and Vivien encourages Olivier to give Colin a job on his upcoming film The Prince and the Showgirl, starring Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams). Colin's first task is to find a suitable place for Marilyn and her husband, Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott),
to stay at while they are in England. The press find out about the
house, but Colin reveals he hired another just in case, impressing
Olivier and Marilyn's publicist, Arthur Jacobs (Toby Jones).
The paparazzi find out about Marilyn's arrival at Heathrow and
they gather around the plane when it lands. Marilyn brings her husband,
her business partner, Milton H. Greene (Dominic Cooper), and her acting coach Paula Strasberg (Zoë Wanamaker)
with her. She initially appears to be uncomfortable around the many
photographers, but relaxes at the press conference. Olivier becomes
frustrated when Marilyn is late to the read-through.
She insists Paula sits with her and when she has trouble with her
lines, Paula reads them for her. The crew and the others actors,
including Sybil Thorndike (Judi Dench), are in awe of Marilyn. Colin meets Lucy (Emma Watson),
a wardrobe assistant whom he is attracted to, and they go on a date.
Marilyn starts arriving later to the set and often forgets her lines,
angering Olivier. However, Sybil praises Marilyn and defends her when
Olivier tries to get her to apologise for holding the shoot up.
Marilyn struggles to understand her character and leaves the set
when Olivier insults her. Colin asks the director to be more sympathetic
towards Marilyn, before he goes to Parkside House to check on her. He
hears an argument and finds a tearful Marilyn sitting on the stairs with
Arthur's notebook, which contains the plot of a new play that appears to poke fun at her.
Arthur later returns to the United States. Vivien comes to the set and
watches some of Marilyn's scenes. She breaks down, saying Marilyn lights
up the screen and if only Olivier could see himself when he watches
her. Oliver tries unsuccessfully to reassure his wife. Marilyn does not
show up to the set following Arthur's departure and she asks Colin to
come to Parkside and they talk. The crew becomes captivated by Marilyn
when she dances for a scene and Milton pulls Colin aside to tell him
Marilyn breaks hearts and that she will break his too. Lucy also notices
Colin's growing infatuation with Marilyn.
Colin and Marilyn spend the day together and are given a tour of Windsor Castle by Owen Morshead (Derek Jacobi).
Colin also shows Marilyn around Eton College, and they go skinny
dipping in the River Thames. Marilyn kisses Colin and they are found by
Roger Smith (Philip Jackson),
Marilyn's bodyguard. Colin is called to Parkside one night as Marilyn
has locked herself in her room. Colin enters her room and Marilyn
invites him to lie next to her on the bed. The following night, Marilyn
wakes up in pain and claims she is having a miscarriage. A doctor tends
to her and Marilyn tells Colin that she wants to forget everything. She
later returns to the set to complete the film. Olivier praises Marilyn,
but reveals she has killed his desire to direct again. Lucy asks Colin
if Marilyn broke his heart and he replies that she did, a little.
Marilyn comes to Colin's B&B and thanks him for helping her. She
kisses him goodbye and Roger drives her to the airport.
Some Like It Hot is an American romantic screwball comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft.
The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien, Joan Shawlee and Nehemiah Persoff.
The film is a remake by Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond of a 1935 French movie, Fanfare d'Amour, from the story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan, which was also remade in 1951 by German director Kurt Hoffmann as Fanfaren der Liebe. However, both the French and German films were without the gangsters that are an integral part of the plot of Some Like It Hot. Wilder's working title for his film was Fanfares of Love, then Not Tonight, Josephine before he decided on Some Like It Hot as its release title.
During 1981, after the worldwide success of the French comedy La Cage aux Folles, United Artists re-released Some Like It Hot to theatres. In 2000, the American Film Institute listed Some Like It Hot as the greatest American comedy film of all time.
Plot
Two struggling musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), witness the Saint Valentine's Day massacre of 1929. When the Chicago gangsters, led by "Spats" Colombo (George Raft),
see them, the two flee for their lives. They escape and decide to leave
town, taking a job that requires them to disguise themselves as women,
playing in an all-girl musical band headed to Florida.
Calling themselves Josephine and Daphne, they join the band and board a
train. Joe and Jerry both become enamored of "Sugar Kane" (Marilyn Monroe), the band's vocalist and ukulele
player, and struggle for her affection while maintaining their
disguises. In Florida, Joe woos Sugar by assuming a second disguise as a
millionaire named "Junior", the heir to Shell Oil, while mimicking Cary Grant's voice. An actual millionaire, Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown),
becomes enamored of Jerry in his Daphne guise. One night Osgood asks
Daphne out to his yacht. Joe convinces Daphne to keep Osgood ashore
while he goes on the yacht with Sugar. That night Osgood proposes to
Daphne who, in a state of excitement, accepts, believing he can receive a
large settlement from Osgood immediately following their wedding
ceremony.
When the mobsters arrive at the same hotel for a conference honoring
"Friends of Italian Opera", Spats and his gang see Joe and Jerry. After
several humorous chases (and witnessing yet another mob murder, this
time of Spats himself and his crew), Jerry, Joe, Sugar, and Osgood
escape to the millionaire's yacht. En route, Joe reveals to Sugar his
true identity and Sugar tells Joe that she's in love with him
regardless. Joe tells her that he is not good enough for her, that she
would be getting the "fuzzy end of the lollipop" yet again, but Sugar
loves him anyway. Jerry, for his part, tries to explain to Osgood that
he cannot marry him, launching into a range of objections from insisting
that he can't get married in his mother's dress ("We are not built the
same way") to the tearful confession that he can "never have children."
Osgood dismisses them all and remains determined to go through with the
marriage. Finally, exasperated, Jerry removes his wig and shouts, "I'm a
man!", only for Osgood to override this final revelation by uttering
the film's memorable last line: "Well, nobody's perfect."