Dorothy Porter Movies
Perhaps the definitive Douglas Sirk production, Written on the Wind is based on the novel by Robert Wilder. The story revolves around the Hadleys, a wealthy but thoroughly debauched family of Texas oil millionaires. Robert Stack is self-destructive alcoholic Kyle Hadley, while Dorothy Malone won an Oscar for her equally vivid potrayal of Kyle's nymphomaniac sister Marylee. Kyle manages to win beautiful, level-headed advertising executive Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall) away from his best friend, virile Hadley Oil geologist Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), but Lucy soon comes to regret her decision to marry into the hell-on-earth Hadley family. When Lucy becomes pregnant, Kyle assumes that Mitch is the father, leading to a maelstrom of fever-pitch emotionalism and stark tragedy. Before he quite knows what is happening, Mitch is on trial for murder; the one person who can clear him is the craven Marylee, who demands Mitch's sexual favors as the price for her testimony. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, (more)
- 1948
In this crime drama a psychiatrist tries to help a psycho patient who loses consciousness after he kills someone. When the doctor provides the patient with a letter that explains his problem, he inadvertently implicates himself in the crimes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Conway, Noreen Nash, (more)
- 1948
Jeanette MacDonald made her first screen appearance in five years in the MGM confection Three Daring Daughters. Looking at least ten years younger than her 48 years, MacDonald is cast as glamorous magazine editor Louise Raton Morgan. Long divorced Louise returns from a Cuban vacation with a handsome new husband in tow: None other than famed pianist Jose Iturbi, engagingly playing "himself". Louise's three daughters Tess (Jane Powell), Alix (Mary Elinor Donahue, the future "Princess" on TV's Father Knows Best) and Ilka (Ann E. Todd) are appalled by their mother's choice of husbands. Refusing to accept Iturbi as their stepdad, the girls contrive to unite Louise with Robert-whether they like it or not. Before the Three Daring Daughters come to their senses, there's opportunity aplenty from musical solos by stars Jeanette MacDonald, Jane Powell and Jose Iturbi, with an additional solo from harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler (just before he was blacklisted from Hollywood and forced to scare up film work in England). Incidentally, the actress playing the flirtatious Mrs. Smith is Moyna McGill, the real-life mother of Angela Lansbury. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeanette MacDonald, José Iturbi, (more)
- 1947
In this aqueous musical comedy, an opera singer brings his son to Michigan's Mackinac Island where the son falls in love with the star of the "aquacaper." It is difficult to woo her as she is constantly surrounded by her piano-playing bodyguard and her ever-present grandmother. It's musical and comedic chaos as the son attempts to overcome these and other obstacles while trying to win her heart. Highlights include Jimmy Durante singing his trademark tune "Inka Dinka Do." Other songs include: "M'Appari" from "Martha," "La Donna E Mobile" from "Rigoletto," Cole Porter's "You Are So Easy to Love," "A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That," "Chiquita Banana," and "When It's Lilac Time on Mackinac Island." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Esther Williams, Lauritz Melchior, (more)
