Maggie McNamara Movies
A former teen fashion model, Maggie McNamara first appeared on Broadway in 1951 when she took over Barbara Bel Geddes' role in The Moon Is Blue. She played the same role in the 1953 film version and became a star, earning an Oscar nomination in the process. With such an auspicious start, McNamara's prospects looked bright. She then signed to Fox but only starred in two films during the mid-'50s and then inexplicably disappeared until 1963, when she popped up in a supporting role in The Cardinal. The year before she had appeared in a Broadway play. McNamara was not heard of again until early 1978 when she died of a drug overdose. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1964
There's no love lost between small-town busybody Bessie Carnby (Lillian Gish) and her neighbors Henry and Samantha Wilkins (Peter Lind Hayes, Patricia Cutts) -- nor does Bessie's daughter, Camilla (Maggie McNamara), make a secret of her dislike for the mousy Henry. Eventually, Bessie decides to bury the hatchet and pays a visit to the Wilkinses -- and in the process, comes to the conclusion that Samantha has murdered Henry and disposed of his body. Thanks to Bessie's persistence, Samantha is arrested, convicted, and executed. Only afterward does Bessie learn the whole truth -- and this time, it looks as though justice will not be done. Originally scheduled to air on November 22, 1963, "Body in the Barn" was rescheduled for July 3, 1964, as the final episode of Alfred Hitchcock's ninth season on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Maggie McNamara, (more)
- 1963
Famous for her collection of valuable rings, movie star Bunny Blake (Maggie McNamara) is inexorably drawn back to her home town by an unusual ring which seems to talk to her. Upon her arrival, Bunny continues heeding the messages conveyed by the ring, and in so doing averts a tragedy -- for everyone but herself. If Earl Hamner, Jr.'s script is carefully scrutinized, it could be suggested that Bunny brought about the tragedy herself, but let us not cavil. Vic Perrin, the unseen "Control Voice" on The Outer Limits, shows up briefly as a state trooper. "Ring-A-Ding Girl" made its Twilight Zone debut on December 27, 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie McNamara, Mary Munday, (more)
Tom Tryon plays the title role in this Otto Preminger version of the Henry Morton Robinson novel. In his matriculation from Monsignor to the College of Cardinals, Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon) must undergo several grueling life experiences: standing up to bigots in Georgia, defying Nazis in Austria, and so on. The film boasts cameo appearances by Dorothy Gish, Cecil Kellaway, John Saxon, John Huston, Robert Morse, Burgess Meredith, Raf Vallone, Ossie Davis. Incidentally, Tryon eventually quit acting and became a popular novelist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Tryon, Carol Lynley, (more)
- 1955
Screenwriter Philip Dunne doubled as director on the elaborate filmed biography Prince of Players. Richard Burton stars as the eminent American tragedian Edwin Booth, whose life and career is thrown into turmoil after his younger brother John Wilkes Booth (John Derek) assassinates Abraham Lincoln. The film begins as the younger Edwin assists his alcoholic, ailing father Junius Brutus Booth (Raymond Massey) during a tour of the American hinterlands. When Junius dies just before a performance, Edwin goes on in his stead, thereby launching his own starring career. In danger of becoming as much of a drunk and carouser as his father, Edwin eventually pulls himself together, but his brother's act of violence turns the audience against the name of Booth. Almost booed offstage during a performance of Hamlet, Edwin stands his ground, finally earning the respect of his rowdy audience. Not exactly packed with fast action, Prince of Players will appeal most to lovers of theater in general and Shakespeare in particular. Highlight: Richard Burton and Eva LeGalleine performing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet in the courtyard of a brothel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Maggie McNamara, (more)
Adapted by playwright John Patrick from a novel by famed globetrotter/filmmaker John H. Secondari, Three Coins in the Fountain offers the splendors of Rome in Technicolor, CinemaScope and Stereophonic Sounds. For all its lovely picture-postcard images, the film is at base a reworking of 20th Century-Fox' favorite plotline: three pretty girls on the prowl for husbands. The three lovelies, who toss their coins in the Trevi fountain and wish for romance, include Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters and Maggie McNamara. Before the film is over, secretary McGuire has wooed her boss, Clifton Webb, Peters has won the heart of a co-worker Italian translator Rossano Brazzi (despite being fired, in the process, for having an office romance); and McNamara finds happiness with prince Louis Jourdan. Three Coins in the Fountain won two Academy Awards: "Best Color Cinematography" (Milton Krasner), and "Best Song" (written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, and sung in the pre-credits sequence by an uncredited Frank Sinatra). The film was remade in 1965 as The Pleasure Seekers, and also served as the basis for a never-sold TV pilot starring Yvonne Craig, Cynthia Pepper and Joanna Moore. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
- 1953
This is the story of a chaste young TV-commercial actress (Maggie McNamara) who is romanced by a playboy architect (William Holden). Despite all sorts of temptations, the girl refuses the architect's invitation to become his mistress, holding out for marriage or nothing. Meanwhile, middle-aged rake David Niven tries to move in on the girl himself, with an equal lack of success. So why was this harmless little comedy so controversial? It seems that director Otto Preminger decided to film the play as written, retaining such words as "virgin," "seduce," and "mistress" in the script. The antediluvian Motion Picture Production Code refused to approve the film so long as those naughty words remained in the dialogue; thus, Preminger released the picture minus the Code's seal of approval. Rather than hurt the film's chances at the box office, Preminger's bold move resulted in a major financial success -- not to mention the beginning of the end for the ancient, wheezy Production Code. However, in the meantime, troubles piled up; the Jersey City Municipal Court -- at the hands of Secaucus' Justice George King -- fined Alfred Manfredonia, manager of the Stanley Theatre, 100 dollars for screening the film (declaring him guilty of violating a city ordinance), and a ban was imposed on the picture by the Maryland State Board of Motion Picture Censors. While The New York Times' Bosley Crowther dismissed the accusations of prurience, he blithely observed, "The Moon Is Blue is not outstanding, either as a romance or as a film...at times, it gets awfully tedious...Its charm...will depend on how much one delights in its choice of words." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, David Niven, (more)
