Betty Grable, the girl with the million dollar legs..
Showing posts with label betty grable. Show all posts
Showing posts with label betty grable. Show all posts
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Personal Quotes by Betty Grable
Here are some personal quotes by Ms. Grable:
The woman's vision is deep-reaching, the man's far-reaching. With the man the world is his heart, with the woman the heart is her world.
You're better off betting on a horse than betting on a man. A horse may not be able to hold you tight, but he doesn't wanna wander from the stable at night.
There are two reasons why I am successful in show business and I am standing on both of them.
It's loud, it's cheap, it's gaudy. It's like everything I've ever done - I LOVE IT!
I'm strictly an enlisted man's girl.
I'm a song-and-dance girl. I can act enough to get by. But that's the limit of my talents.
The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.
[on Alice Faye] Alice is a darling. Everybody loves her.
There's nothing mysterious about me.
My legs made me.
[On Marilyn Monroe] It may sound peculiar to say so, because she is no longer with us, but we were very close. Once when we were doing that picture How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) together, I got a call on the set: my younger daughter had had a fall. I ran home and the one person to call was Marilyn. She did an awful lot to boost things up for movies when everything was at a low state; there'll never be anyone like her for looks, for attitude, for all of it.
The woman's vision is deep-reaching, the man's far-reaching. With the man the world is his heart, with the woman the heart is her world.
You're better off betting on a horse than betting on a man. A horse may not be able to hold you tight, but he doesn't wanna wander from the stable at night.
There are two reasons why I am successful in show business and I am standing on both of them.
It's loud, it's cheap, it's gaudy. It's like everything I've ever done - I LOVE IT!
I'm strictly an enlisted man's girl.
I'm a song-and-dance girl. I can act enough to get by. But that's the limit of my talents.
The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.
[on Alice Faye] Alice is a darling. Everybody loves her.
There's nothing mysterious about me.
My legs made me.
[On Marilyn Monroe] It may sound peculiar to say so, because she is no longer with us, but we were very close. Once when we were doing that picture How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) together, I got a call on the set: my younger daughter had had a fall. I ran home and the one person to call was Marilyn. She did an awful lot to boost things up for movies when everything was at a low state; there'll never be anyone like her for looks, for attitude, for all of it.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Classic Movie Goddess Of The Month - Betty Grable (video tribute)
Here's a video tribute posted on You Tube by CaliforniaDreamin1 in tribute to Betty Grable, my classic movie goddess of the month...
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Fun and Music with Betty Grable in Springtime In The Rockies (1942)
One of my favorite Betty Grable films is the wonderful 1942 musical comedy Springtime in the Rockies, which casts her as Broadway star Vicky Lane. Well Vicky gets fed up with her partner Dan Christy (the always engaging John Payne) womanizing ways and hooks up with her ex-partner and former lover Victor Price (Cesar Romero). After this happens, Dan's career takes a turn for the worse and he decides to get Vicky back as a partner and girlfriend. Dan follows her to a ritzy resort in the Canadian Rockies, where she and Victor are about to open their new act. But things get complicated when Dan wakes after a bender to find that he's hired an outlandish Latin secretary, Rosita Murphy (Carmen Miranda), which makes Vicky think he's just up to his old tricks again. This is an enjoyable musical comedy that 20th Century Fox churned out on a regular basis. Betty is top notch as usual and gets great support from this solid cast which also included Charlotte Greenwood and Edward Everett Horton.
B
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Saturday, April 2, 2011
Betty Grable - April's Classic Movie Goddess
This lovely post was written by our resident Betty, Doris Day, and Esther Williams expert and my good friend Dawn.
One of my favorite actresses is Betty Grable, I always loved the glamour of her musicals and a fun way to spend your quiet afternoons.... Betty Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973). Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era.
For her first role, as a chorus girl in the film, Happy Days (1929), she was only 12 years old, but, because the chorus line performed in black face, you could not really tell how old she was. For her next film, her mother got her a contract by lying. When the studio found out, Grable was fired. Grable, did land another role as a 'Goldwyn Girl' in, Whoopee! (1930). Though Grable received no billing, she led the opening number, "Cowboys." Grable then worked in small roles at different studios, including the Academy Award-winning, The Gay Divorcee (1934), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, where she performed in the number, "Let's K-nock K-nees".
In the late 1930s, Grable starred in several B movies. In 1939, Grable performed with her then husband, Jackie Coogan (married in 1937)in the film, Million Dollar Legs. A story about a small country on the verge of bankruptcy, is persuaded to enter the Olympics based in Los Angeles. Grable and Coogan, divorced later that same year (October 1939). After small parts in over 50 Hollywood movies through the 1930s, Grable finally gained national attention for her stage role in, Du Barry Was a Lady (1939). When her contract was up at Paramount, Grable decided to quit acting, bored with performing in college films.
In a 1940 she received an offer to go on a personal appearance tour, which she accepted and which led to Darryl F. Zanuck offering her a bigger contract, which she accepted. Grable, soon became 20th Century Fox's top star during the decade. She performed in, Down Argentine Way (1940), and if I had to pick only one favorite Betty Grable film it would be, Moon Over Miami (1941).
A Musical, with Betty Grable, Don Ameche, Robert Cummings, Carole Landis, Jack Haley, and Charlotte Greenwood. It was one of Haley's last performance in a major, film after 1943 he began making mostly B-pictures. Haley, is best known for his performance as the, Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
The story begins when, Kay and Barbara Latimer, both holding down jobs, singing at the Texas drive-in restaurant as car hops, with their aunt Susan, who is flipping burgers. Waiting for the mailman to bring their inheritance check of $55,000. Only to read the disappointing news they will only receive only $4,000. They talk Susan, into spending the money on a trip to Miami, to find rich husbands. Barbara, comes up with a plan to pretend to be Kay's secretary, and Susan her maid. They fly off to the Flamingo Hotel and make quick friends with Jack, a bartender who tells them he will protect them from the "Gold Diggers".
Kay tricks Jeff into an invitation, to his party. Where she also meet meets Phil, heir to the McNeil Mines. Close friends Jeff and Phil, begin a playful competition for Kay's hand. Kay, finds herself not able to choose whom she would like to marry. Her sister Barbara has secretly fallen in love with Jeff.
The women find themselves in financial trouble, after a couple weeks of living it up at the fancy hotel. They need $150 to pay their hotel bill. Kay, has plans to go dancing with her two friends later that evening. Kay invites Barbara, to come along so she can dance with Jeff, while she talks with Phil.
Phil admits to her that he is broke. Kay, also admits, that she came to Miami, to find a rich husband. They decide that they are not right for each other. Phil searches out Jeff to tell him that Kay loves him, after which they becomes engaged. As the women are packing to leave for Jeff's families island, Jack overhears them talking about their "Gold Digging" plans, and threatens to tell Jeff. Jack finds himself locked in the bathroom, while the women quickly leave for the island.
Phil, decides he can not live without Kay, and comes up with a plan to stop the wedding. The woman are surprised to see Jack, who came to inform Jeff that Kay, is a "Gold Digger". Will Phil get there in time to stop the wedding, or ...Will Jack ruin the girls plans?
I really enjoyed watching Betty Grable sing and dance in this fun/colorful movie. I also really enjoyed the location scenes of Cypress Gardens and Silver Springs.
She then went on to perform in the films: Springtime in The Rockies (1942), Coney Island (1943) with George Montgomery, Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) with Robert Young, Pin Up Girl (1944), Diamond Horseshoe (1945) with Dick Haymes, The Dolly Sisters (1945) with John Payne and June Haver. Mother Wore Tights (1947), her most popular film, was with her favorite costar, Dan Dailey.
It was during 1943 that Grable posed for her famous pinup photo. The image was taken by studio photographer Frank Powolny. It was rumored that the particular pose and angle were chosen to hide the fact that Grable was pregnant at the time of the photo.
Her postwar musicals included: That Lady in Ermine (1948) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., When My Baby Smiles at Me (1948) again with Dailey, Wabash Avenue (1950) (a remake of Grable's own Coney Island) with Victor Mature, My Blue Heaven (1950), and Meet Me After the Show (1951). Studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck lavished his star with expensive Technicolor films, but also kept her busy. Grable made nearly 25 musicals and comedies in 13 years. Her last big hit for Fox was, How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. Grable next starred in, Three for the Show (1955) with Jack Lemmon, this film was one of her last musicals.
Grable, returned to the studio for one last film, How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955). Following this, Grable wanted the role of Miss Adelaide in the film version of the musical ,Guys and Dolls. When producer Samuel Goldwyn learned that Grable skipped a meeting with him because one of her dogs was ill, he decided to give the part to Vivian Blaine, who had played the part on Broadway.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Two Goddesses in APRIL
Next month marks a first for All Good Things. I will have two actresses sharing blog time as my classic movie goddess. Originally I had Betty Grable as the sole CMG as I had already made the schedule out months ago. Well I recently came into contact with actress Sharon Farrell on Facebook and we talked a little. At first I was just going to do a spotlight psot on her until I realized she has had a career that has spanned some 40 years and she needed more attention. So for the first time ever on my blog, I will have two classic movie actresses in the same month. April 1-15 will be dedicated to Betty Grable while April 16-30 will be about Sharon. Please stop by to check out things on these two wonderful actresses. Plus my friend Dawn will have a speciall post about Betty just for All Good Things. It will all be good here in April.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Good Morning from Betty Grable...
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