Myrna Loy goes solo as detective DANNI CHURCH

Myrna as Danni Church

After playing devoted wife to William Powell in three Thin Man movies so far, Myrna Loy tries the detective game by herself. She is perfectly cast as Danni Church, a war widow, whose husband was a private detective before leaving for the war. When he gets killed in combat, Danni decides to continue the business, Church Detective Agency. She recruits former policeman Mike Tracy (played by Brian Aherne) and they handle cases ranging from cheating spouses to missing persons. When Danni's college room-mate Gloria Morgan (Mary Astor) comes calling because she thinks her husband James (Patric Knowles) is having an affair. So Danni starts snooping and does find that James is having an affair with the much younger Stella Moore (a break-out performance by Susan Hayward). But James is also involved with some nefarious types and soon goes missing. Danni believes foul play but everyone else suspects he is just with Stella. So she and Mike begins knocking down doors, looking for answers. They first corner Eddie the Snitch (Elisha Cook Jr) before meeting crime boss Serrano (Joseph Calleia). This is good twisty film noir with ample amount of humor. Myrna Loy rocks as Danni Church, dropping one liners and getting tough when needed. Check out her tense confrontation with Stella in a bar:

Susan Hayward as Stella

Danni: Ms. Moore?
Stella: yes...
Danni: I'm a friend of Gloria Morgan..
Stella: sorry I don't know her
Danni: No I believe you know her husband James...
Stella: ahhhhhhh....so who are you? the loyal friend?
Danni: yes..and a detective. My name is Danni Church.
Stella: so are you lost or something? Or did Mrs. Morgan misplace James again?
Danni: You're a funny girl. Have you seen Mr. Morgan lately?
Stella: define lately...because if lately means last night...then yes. I tell ya what..go back and tell Mrs. Morgan that James will be home when he feels like it. Be a good little errand girl and do that for me..won't you?
Danni: You're a piece of work. But let me give you some advice. You seem smart and beautiful and can have anything in the world if you put your mind to it. Trust me when I say you and James will not last. Hope you have a nice day.

And with that Danni walks out leaving Stella looking mightily upset.

Brian Aherne as Mike

Mary Astor as Gloria

DANNI CHURCH (MGM, 1940)

Written by Jonathan Latimer
Directed by Howard Hawks

Cast:
Myrna Loy...................................Danni Church
Mary Astor..................................Gloria Morgan
Brian Aherne...............................Mike Tracy
Susan Hayward............................Stella Moore
Patric Knowles.............................James Morgan
Anne Shirley................................Debbie Church
Alan Hale....................................Police captain Ed Donnigan
Elisha Cook Jr.............................Eddie
Joseph Calleia.............................Serrano

This was the first in a proposed series of films but alas Myrna Loy could not fit another series into her schedule. She would return eventually in the sequel Danni Church: Family First (1949), with the stakes much higher as her sister Debbie goes missing.

This is another in my fantasy series..hope you guys liked it!

It will be an all musical affair for the final match to decide favorite classic screen couple...

The championship match to decide favorite classic screen couple will feature two great film couples known for their dazzling musical prowess. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers will take on Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald for all the marbles. In the semi-final matches which concluded today, both couples breezed through for easy wins. Astaire and Rogers defeated Cary Grant and Irene Dunne 42-22 while MacEddy took down expected contenders William Powell and Myrna Loy 88-64. Actually that match was still going on as Desiree lives on the west coast and still has the poll open. But it's pretty much over. The final match will make for an all musical affair. And should make for an interesting match! The match will take place on Desiree's blog, Rosalind Russell: Dazzling Star. Desiree will have the match up and running sometime this weekend. Here's the link to her blog: http://www.rozrussell.com/

Two matches..four couples...let's go!

Down to the final four of the favorite classic couple tourney. The match between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers vs Cary Grant and Irene Dunne will take place here on this blog. While the match between William Powell and Myrna Loy vs Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald will take place on Desiree's blog. The fun begins today at 6pm EST and will run through Wednesday evening. Go here to vote on Desiree's match..http://www.rozrussell.com/. And can I add that I think this is an awesome final four with anyone of these couples that can take home the prize as favorite classic screen couple.

MATCH 1

1 FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS

VS

2 CARY GRANT AND IRENE DUNNE

**************

MATCH 2

1 WILLIAM POWELL AND MYRNA LOY

VS

2 NELSON EDDY AND JEANETTE MACDONALD

We have our final four couples....

We have our final four classic couples and two of the four are the top seeds when this tourney began. It was top seed couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers taking care of 2nd seed couple Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland 30-12. The other top seed couple to advance was William Powell and Myrna Loy, who staged a comeback to beat pesky underdogs Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery 38-30. So that means the other two top seed couples did not fare as well. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall lost to 2nd seed couple Cary Grant and Irene Dunne 27-15. while 2nd seed couple Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald defeated the legendary couple, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 38-28. So now the stage is set for the four remaining couples in two matches that will begin on Sunday. Match 1 will pit Fred and Ginger against Cary and Irene while match 2 will feature William and Myrna against Nelson and Jeanette. Then the winners of those matches will battle it out for the crown as favorite classic couple. 

Round 3 is underway...

I have started the two of the four bracket matches for round 3 in the favorite classic couples tourney. In the Elaine Marriott bracket, top seed Fred and Ginger squares off against 2nd seed couple Errol and Olivia. While in the Erenia Russo bracket, top seed couple Bogie and Bacall take on 2nd seed couple Cary and Irene. Desiree will start the other two matches in a few hours due to the time difference as she lives on the west coast. Her matches have top seed couple Powell and Loy taking on underdog 6th seed couple Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery in The Josie Miller Bracket. While over in the Catherine Bellamy bracket, top seed couple Tracy and Hepburn take on 2nd seed couple Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald.The matches will run through Thursday evening and will decide the final four couples. Good luck to all the couples. Here's the link to Desiree's blog to cast your votes when she has the matches up and running...http://www.rozrussell.com/

Eight Couples move on to Round 3

Here are the four matches that will begin on Sunday with the 8 couples that are remaining in the Favorite Classic Couple Tourney. All Good Things will host the Elaine Marriott and Erenia Russo brackets while Desiree will host the Josie Miller and Catherine Bellamy brackets on her blog, Rosalind Russell. The matches will run through Thursday evening. You will notice that three of the four matches feature match ups between the number 1 and 2 seeds. The underdog couple Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery, ranked 6th, are defying the odds and look to continue their upset streak.

THE ELAINE MARRIOTT BRACKET

1 FRED ASTAIRE AND GINGER ROGERS

VS

2 ERROL FLYNN AND OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND

***************

THE ERENIA RUSSO BRACKET

1 HUMPHREY BOGART AND LAUREN BACALL

VS

2 CARY GRANT AND IRENE DUNNE

**************

THE JOSIE MILLER BRACKET

1 WILLIAM POWELL AND MYRNA LOY

VS

6 ROSALIND RUSSELL AND ROBERT MONTGOMERY

**************

THE CATHERINE BELLAMY BRACKET

1 SPENCER TRACY AND KATHARINE HEPBURN

VS

2 NELSON EDDY AND JEANETTE MACDONALD

All the favorites win in round 2 of Favorite Classic Couples Tourney

No surprises in round 2 of the Favorite Classic Couples Tourney as all the top seeds won their respective matches. In the Catherine Bellamy bracket, it was top seed couple Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn beating 5th seed couple Clark Gable and Myrna Loy 19-13. And 2nd seed couple Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald crushing 6th seed couple Rosalind Russell and Brian Aherne 26-14. Over in the Josie Miller bracket, it was top seed couple William Powell and Myrna Loy defeating 4th seed couple James Stewart ad Margaret Sullavan 21-10. And 6th seed couple Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery hanging on to beat 7th seed couple John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara 18-15. In the Erenia Russo bracket it was top seed couple Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall crushing 5th seed couple Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer 31-12. But Irene did move on in another match as she and partner Cary Grant as the 2nd seed couple thrashed 3rd seed Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon 36-5. In the Elaine Marriot Bracket, top seed couple Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers posted the biggest margin of victory with their landslide 39-5 win over 4th seed Clark Gable and Jean Harlow. And it was 2nd seed couple Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland handling 3rd seed Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn quite easily 29-12. So now round three will begin on Sunday with 4 matches that will decide the winner of each individual bracket. Me and Desiree will post those matches on Saturday and then open the polls up on Sunday morning. Getting down to the nitty gritty.

TRACY/HEPBURN win 19-12 over GABLE/LOY
EDDY/MACDONALD win 26-13 over RUSSELL/AHERNE
POWELL/LOY win 20-10 over STEWART/SULLAVAN
RUSSELL/MONTGOMERY win 17-15 over WAYNE/O'HARA
BOGART/BACALL win 31-12 over DUNNE/BOYER
DUNNE/GRANT win 36-5 over GARSON/PIDGEON
ASTAIRE/ROGERS win 36-5 over GABLE/HARLOW
FLYNN/DE HAVILLAND win 29-12 over GRANT/HEPBURN

I Love It When Things Work Out Perfectly....Happy Birthday Grace Kelly!

So today is Grace Kelly's birthday, which I already posted about on my Facebook blog page. But then I realized today happens to be Tuesday, which anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a series called If It's Tuesday, Then It Must Be Grace Kelly. I usually post photos, reviews of her films and just anything I feel like about Grace on those specific days. So the fact that her birthday happens to fall on a Tuesday this year is just wonderful timing that I had to post about it. Here are some lovely photos of Princess Grace on this special day!

Favorite Classic Couples Tourney: Round 2 Update

After DAY ONE, HERE ARE THE LATEST NUMBERS FOR ROUND 2:

THE ERENIA RUSSO BRACKET:  

THE ERENIA RUSSO BRACKET:  

THE ELAINE MARRIOTT BRACKET:   

THE ELAINE MARRIOTT BRACKET:  

Polls

JOSIE MILLER BRACKET 1 -  

• William Powell and Myrna Loy (69%, 11 Votes)
• James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan (31%, 5 Votes)

Total Voters: 16

• Polls Archive

Polls

JOSIE MILLER BRACKET 2 -  

• Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell(59%, 10 Votes)
• John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara (41%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 17

• Polls Archive

Polls

CATHERINE BELLAMY BRACKET 1 -  

• Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn(59%, 10 Votes)
• Clark Gable and Myrna Loy (41%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 17

• Polls Archive

Polls

CATHERINE BELLAMY BRACKET 2 -  

• Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald (64%, 14 Votes)
• Brian Aherne and Rosalind Russell (36%, 8 Votes)

Total Voters: 22

Looks all the favored couples are winning in their matches but it's still early...voting continues thru Thursday night!

Round 2 matches are underway...

I just started half the matches for round 2. Desiree will get the other half started a few hours later because of her time difference in California. The polls are on the right hand side and it's one vote per match. The matches will run through Thursday evening. Here's the link to Desiree's page..http://www.rozrussell.com/