Celeste Holm Movies

American actress Celeste Holm made her first stage appearance in 1936 with a Pennsylvania stock company. Sophisticated and poised beyond her years, Holm was cast shortly afterward in a touring company of the ultra-chic Clare Boothe Luce comedy The Women, then played New York in such high-profile productions as The Time of Your Life. Rodgers and Hammerstein cast her as soubrette Ado Annie in Oklahoma! in 1943; both the production itself and Annie's show-stopping song "I Cain't Say No" affirmed Holm's future stardom. Following her film debut in Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), she was cast by her studio, 20th Century-Fox, in the role of the love-starved fashion editor in the prestige feature Gentlemen's Agreement (1947), for which she won an Academy Award. The important role of Bette Davis' understanding friend in another Oscar-winner, All About Eve (1950), has immortalized Holm amongst the film cultists. Stage, nightclub and television assignments followed (she starred in the short-lived 1950s sitcom Honestly, Celeste), and from the late 1950s onward, Holm was more at home on stage than in films. Her performance in the touring company of Mame won Holm the Sara Siddons Award -- coincidentally the same award presented to the title character at the beginning of All About Eve. Always choosy about her roles, Holm remained active in the 1980s and 1990s whenever a good part struck her fancy; one of her most frequently rebroadcast assignments was as a custody court judge in an early-1980s episode of Archie Bunker's Place. When giving on-camera interviews on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Oklahoma, Holm appeared much too youthful to have participated in the landmark musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
1949  
 
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Three wives, played by Jeanne Crain, Ann Sothern and Linda Darnell, are about to embark on a boat trip when each receives a letter, written by a mutual friend named Addie, informing her that Addie is about to run off with one of their husbands. In flashback, each wife wonders if it is her marriage that is in jeopardy. Deborah (Crain) recounts her fish-out-of-water relationship with her up-and-coming hubby (Jeffrey Lynn); businesswoman Rita (Sothern) asks herself if she's been too rough on her professorial spouse (Kirk Douglas); and Lora May (Darnell), a girl from (literally) the wrong side of the tracks, questions the security of her marriage to a brash business executive (Paul Douglas). The voice of Addie, who is never seen, is provided by Celeste Holm. Thelma Ritter shows up in a hilarious unbilled bit as a slatternly domestic, while an equally uncredited Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer makes a quick entrance and exit as a bellhop. Written with perception and not a little witty condescension by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives won two Oscars ,both for Mankiewicz. Based on a novel by John Klempner, the property was remade for television in 1985, with Ann Sothern back again in a supporting part. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jeanne CrainLinda Darnell, (more)
2005  
PG13  
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A struggling actress in search of companionship finds her heart torn between an expert in the art of seduction and a computer with the social skills of the most seasoned ladies' man in director Evan Oppenheimer's technologically flavored tale of love in the 21st Century. Professor Mal Downhey (Tam Cavanagh) has just made one of the most important technological breakthroughs in modern computing; he has created a computer named "Jerry" that can interact with people on an intellectual level even greater than that of some made from flesh and bone. When his unimpressed bosses give the flustered professor two weeks to publish his data or pack his bags, Mal convinces his good friend Jane to assist in proving his machine's worth by running a contest aimed at proving a woman can fall in love with a computer even faster than she would a real man. Now, as "Jerry" and Professor Troy Rollins - aka Dr. Love - compete for the love of a lonely actress named Samantha (Sara Chalke), the very man who masterminded the man-versus-machine scheme finds himself falling for the one woman who could make or break his entire future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Tom CavanaghSarah Chalke, (more)
1950  
 
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Based on the story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is an elegantly bitchy backstage story revolving around aspiring actress Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter). Tattered and forlorn, Eve shows up in the dressing room of Broadway mega-star Margo Channing (Bette Davis), weaving a melancholy life story to Margo and her friends. Taking pity on the girl, Margo takes Eve as her personal assistant. Before long, it becomes apparent that naïve Eve is a Machiavellian conniver who cold-bloodedly uses Margo, her director Bill Sampson (Gary Merill), Lloyd's wife Karen (Celeste Holm), and waspish critic Addison De Witt (George Sanders) to rise to the top of the theatrical heap. Also appearing in All About Eve is Marilyn Monroe, introduced by Addison De Witt as "a graduate of the Copacabana school of dramatic art." This is but one of the hundreds of unforgettable lines penned by writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the most famous of which is Margo Channing's lip-sneering admonition, "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve received 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Bette DavisAnne Baxter, (more)
1962  
 
Another in a series of American comedies of manners, this film was written and directed by Frank Tashlin with his usual grace and elegance. Terry-Thomas plays a meek archeology professor named Bruce Patterson who is attracted to bones. His salivating female college students are attracted to him. And his neighbor's Dachshund is attracted to Patterson's big and ancient dinosaur bone. With his fiancee, Helen (Celeste Holm), away in Paris, Bruce stays at her empty apartment, where love-sick women attempt to make their way through every orifice in the flat to get to the sky professor. Helen, fearful of revealing her true age to Bruce, never told him that she had married before and that she has a college-age daughter to boot. So, when her daughter, Libby (Tuesday Weld), arrives at her mother's home, Bruce thinks she is just another sex-crazed college girl and sends her away. But Libby appeals to the professor's sociological side by pretending to be a juvenile delinquent, and Bruce permits her to stay at the flat with him. Once there, Libby becomes attracted to Bruce's handsome law-student neighbor Mike (Richard Beymer). When Bruce complains to Mike about all the gals who want to lock lips with him, Mike offers a solution to his dilemma -- instead of allowing himself to be chased by the college girls, he should be the one to do the chasing. Bruce agrees and becomes a satyr with a Ph.D. At that point, Helen returns home from Paris. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Tuesday WeldRichard Beymer, (more)
1979  
 
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Based on the best-selling memoirs of Lillian Rogers Parks, the NBC miniseries Backstairs at the White House traces over five decades of American political history as witnessed from the vantage point of the servants' quarters. Played by Tania Johnson as a teenager and by Leslie Uggams as an adult, Lillian Rogers Parks served for 52 years as a maidservant at the White House. Though crippled early on with polio, Lillian diligently and loyally stuck to her duties -- and her own rock-solid set of principles and ideals -- through eight highly different Presidential administrations, often (and occasionally reluctantly) acting as friend and confidante to the First Lady of the moment. The large and stellar cast included a number of top-rank film and TV actors, obviously having the time of their lives impersonating such presidents as William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and their respective wives. Also in the cast were several African-American veterans from the landmark TV miniseries Roots. Earning 11 Emmy Award nominations, the nine-hour Backstairs at the White House was seen in five installments from January 29 to February 19, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Leslie UggamsOlivia Cole, (more)
1976  
 
Michael and Patricia meet in an unusual way – while he is on a date and is trying to retrieve his date’s car keys from a fountain. When Michael’s date abandons him, he hangs out with Patricia and these two nice young people soon find themselves falling in love. They decide to wed and hold the ceremony in Canada, where Michael’s family lives. Patricia’s parents, who have been on a lengthy cruise and have never met Michael, cannot attend, but they meet their new daughter-in-law soon afterward. While reviewing pictures from the wedding, Michael’s mother is shocked to discover that she knows Patricia’s father. Even more shocking is the revelation that Patricia’s father is also Michael’s father, the result of a one-night stand many years before, and that the happily married couple are therefore half-siblings. To make matters worse, it turns out that Patricia is pregnant. The rest of Bittersweet Love is taken up with Michael and Patricia deciding what they should do about this situation, as well as with reactions and advice from their family members. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lana TurnerRobert Lansing, (more)
1969  
 
Boxer Lazaro Perez is suspended when he punches out an obstreperous reporter. Feeling partly responsible, Crime magazine editor Dan Farrell (Robert Stack) tries to help the young fighter. Farrell soon learns that the boy's manager (Van Johnson) may be arranging a fixed bout. Brass Ring served as the TV debut for actor Lazaro Perez, who'd received critical adulation for his performance in the 1969 off-Broadway play Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? This drama originated as the January 9, 1970 episode of the TV series Name of the Game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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2003  
 
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Directed by Rick McKay, who traveled across five continents during the documentary's production, Broadway: The Golden Age is both a celebration of current Broadway stars and a tribute to Broadway legends past. Through a plethora of interviews and vast amounts of archival footage, McKay presents a variety of factoids, anecdotes, and memories from over 100 Broadway actors, writers, and directors. The careers of Laurette Taylor, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy, and Marlon Brando are all animatedly retold, as is some of the Broadway "lore of olde," such as Angela Lansbury's struggle to land a role in Mame and the shocked reaction to West Side Story on its opening night. In addition to footage and discussion regarding highly successful Broadway stars, a variety of actors recount their experiences and struggles in finding even a small amount of critical recognition. The cast includes Shirley MacLaine, Bea Arthur, Edie Adams, Alec Baldwin, and Kaye Ballard, and many others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Edie AdamsBea Arthur, (more)
1976  
 
One of four dramatic miniseries carried by NBC under the blanket title Best Sellers, Captains and the Kings was adapted from a novel by Taylor Caldwell. Covering a time span from 1857 to 1912, this was the saga of the Irish-immigrant Armagh clan, with emphasis on the rags-to-riches career of Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan). Achieving fame and prominence (if not full-fledged social acceptance) through a Byzantine series of investments in the oil industry, the elder Armagh was obsessed with the notion of having one of his sons become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States (does this story sound vaguely familiar?). Along the way, Joseph and his offspring indulged in innumerable romantic liaisons, extramarital and otherwise. Featured in the all-star cast is Patty Duke Astin, who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Bernadette Hennessey Armagh. Captains and the Kings was broadcast from September 30 to November 18, 1976 in seven installments, two of which ran 120 minutes, and the other six lasting 60 minutes -- a total of nine hours' air time in all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1947  
 
This musical romance is set in the beautiful South American country and chronicles the love affair between a betrothed couple who secretly have fallen in love with other people. The young man loves a nightclub chanteuse, while the woman wants a handsome coffee-buyer. Now they must somehow let their constantly bickering parents know. Songs include: "Qui Pi Pia," "I'll Know It's Love," "Another Night Like This," "Mi Vida, Costa Rica," and "Rhumba Bomba." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Dick HaymesVera-Ellen, (more)
1950  
 
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This comedy stars Ronald Colman as Beauregard Bottomley, a self-styled genius in need of a job. He applies for a position with a large soap company, but Burnbridge Walters (Vincent Price), the firm's willfully eccentric president, falls into a "trance" while interviewing Beauregard and decides not to give him the job. When Beauregard overhears his sister Gwenn (Barbara Britton) listening to a game show sponsored by Walters' soap company, he discovers the perfect means to get revenge -- each time a contestant answers a question correctly, they double their prize money. Beauregard gets a spot on the show and starts winning -- and doesn't stop. Before long, the company owes him $40 million and Beauregard hasn't even broken a sweat. Beauregard is poised to bankrupt Walters and destroy his company, so the soap tycoon persuades Flame O'Neal (Celeste Holm) to pose as a nurse who will (a) find out if there's anything Beauregard doesn't know, and (b) distract him romantically. While a critical success and something of a cult item, Champagne for Caesar was a box office disappointment on its initial release; Ronald Colman appeared in only two more films before his death eight years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Ronald ColmanCeleste Holm, (more)
1992  
 
Anxious to afford an engagement ring for Kelly (Jackie Swanson), Woody (Woody Harrelson) takes a part-time job as a gravedigger. Unfortunately, the extra work load -- combined with the spookiness of his new surroundings -- causes him to begin hallucinating, not a pretty sight to behold for Kelly's hypersensitive grandmother (Celeste Holm). Elsewhere at Cheers, it is Rebecca's (Kirstie Alley) turn to take a fantastic voyage into the furnace duct. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1948  
 
George Seaton's 1948 comedy Chicken Every Sunday was based on the play by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein as well as the original memoirs of Rosemary Taylor. Set during the turn of the century on the American frontier, Emily Heffernan (eleste Holm) is the practical wife of foolish would-be businessman Jim Heffernan (Dan Dailey). While Emily struggles to keep the household together by renting out rooms to boarders, Jim wastes the family's earnings on get-rich-quick schemes. Told in flashback, Emily recalls her 20-year marriage before filing for divorce. Emily has had enough and wants to leave, but their friends try to get them back together. Also starring Colleen Townsend, Alan Young, and a ten-year-old Natalie Wood. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Dan DaileyCeleste Holm, (more)
1989  
 
In this drama, legal eagle Cromwell must protect her client who has been wrongly accused of killing a grifter. She is up against a crafty, and earnest police officer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1990  
 
In this episode of the series, Cromwell proves that the owner of a California winery did not murder his brother who also owned the company and with whom he was always feuding. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1990  
 
In this episode of the series, defense attorney Cromwell thinks that the bizarrely murdered members of an investment club were killed for money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1989  
 
In this episode, defense attorney Cromwell investigates the case of a woman accused of killing her rich husband. She discovers an underlayer of greed and adultery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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1964  
G  
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Lesley Ann Warren plays the title role in this television production of the classic Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III musical. Cinderella (Warren) is a sweet and pretty young woman who has been given a poor hand by fate; her stepmother (Jo Van Fleet) treats her cruelly, and while her graceless sisters are invited to a royal ball, Cinderella is not allowed to attend. But her Fairy Godmother (Celeste Holm) has other plans, and Cinderella attends the ball, where she makes a tremendous impression upon the Prince (Stuart Damon). But her Godmother's magic only works until midnight, and Cinderella is forced to leave the festivities at their height; will she ever see the Prince again? And how will he ever find her? This was the second television production of this musical version of the classic fairy tale; the original 1957 version featured a young Julie Andrews in the lead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lesley Ann Warren
1949  
 
A Christmastime TV perennial, Come to the Stable is the gentle saga of two French nuns (Celeste Holm with accent, Loretta Young without) who come to America in hopes of raising funds for a children's hospital. Travelling to a small New England town presciently named Bethlehem, the nuns befriend eccentric painter Elsa Lanchester, who allows them to use her studio (actually a stable) for their base of operations. Utterly ingenuous when it comes to American mores and customs (they tear up a parking ticket, assuming it to be an advertisement), the sisters raise money in a variety of amusing fashions. One of their "agents" is outwardly tough gambler Mike Mazurki, who gets his equally raffish pals to invest in the hospital. And towards the end, the nuns even play a little professional tennis to raise money. Careful not to overwhelm the viewer with sentiment and religiosity, Come to the Stable (based on a story by Clare Booth Luce) is ideal holiday film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Loretta YoungCeleste Holm, (more)
1966  
 
Released theatrically in Europe, Cosa Nostra, Arch Enemy of the FBI originated as "The Executioner", a two-part episode of the weekly TV series The FBI. The series' usual stars Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Philip Abbott and Stephen Brooks are joined on this occasion by guest artists Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm, Telly Savalas and Susan Strasberg-and, way down on the cast list, Robert Duvall. The story concerns double-crosses within the inner circles of La Cosa Nostra. The story concludes as mob boss Pidgeon orders the death of witness Holm-with the victim's nephew Savalas as the hit man! "The Executioner" first aired on two consecutive Sundays: March 12 and 19, 1967. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1974  
 
In this made-for-TV movie, six persons have won a cruise-ship vacation, but they find that the awards were just a trick to begin a killing game. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

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1967  
 
In this comedy, an aspiring singer finds herself single and pregnant. The story begins when she is rushed to the hospital to give birth. She is joined by three men; all of them want to marry her. The story of her pregnancy and her rise to stardom are told in flashback. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Sandra DeeGeorge Hamilton, (more)
1949  
 
A remake of Wife, Husband and Friend (1938), Everybody Does It is a frantic satire of the opera world. Businessman Paul Douglas is forced to suffer in silence when his wife (Celeste Holm) decides to become an opera star. Compelled to bankroll a concert for his missus, Douglas meets genuine opera diva Linda Darnell at the concert. While passing the time, Darnell discovers that Douglas in fact has a magnificent singing voice. Partly because he is flattered by Darnell's attentions, and partly to show up his wife, Douglas embarks on his own operatic career. But on the night of his debut, Douglas suffers a severe attack of stage fright, gets "doped up" on medicine in order to survive the performance, and hilariously humiliates himself in front of everyone. Darnell l angrily stalks out of the scene, and the sadder-but-wiser Douglas and Celeste Holm return to each other's arms. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Paul DouglasLinda Darnell, (more)
1947  
 
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Adapted by Moss Hart from the novel by Laura Z. Hobson, this film stars Gregory Peck as recently widowed journalist Phil Green. With a growing son (Dean Stockwell) to support, Green is receptive to the invitation of magazine publisher John Minify (Albert Dekker) to write a series of hard-hitting articles on the scourge of anti-Semitism. In order to glean his information first hand, Green decides to pose as a Jew. As the weeks go by, Green experiences all manner of prejudice, the most insidious being the subtle, "gentleman's agreement" form of bigotry wherein anti-Jewish sentiments are merely taken for granted. Green's pose takes a toll on his budding romance with Minify's niece Kathy (Dorothy McGuire), who comes to realize by her own example that even those who insist that they harbor no anti-Semitic feelings are also capable of prejudice. Watching from the sidelines is Green's lifelong Jewish friend Dave (John Garfield, in what may be his best performance), who despite his inherent rage over the iniquities of racism has learned to be philosophical about the failings of his fellow man-but not to the extent that he's willing to give up the fight against blind hatred. Though warned by several Jewish film moguls that to produce the film would merely "make trouble," 20th Century-Fox chieftan Daryl F. Zanuck (who was not himself Jewish) saw the project through to its conclusion. The wisdom of Zanuck's decision was proven when Gentleman's Agreement not only made a fortune for Fox, but also won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Elia Kazan) and Best Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Gregory PeckDorothy McGuire, (more)
1956  
 
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High Society is a glossy Technicolor-and-VistaVision musical remake of Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story (1940), decked out with million-watt star power and a Cole Porter score. Set amongst the rich and famous in Newport, RI, the story revolves around the wedding plans of socialite Tracy Lord (Grace Kelly). Tracy is all set to marry stuffy George Kittridge (John Lund), while magazine writer Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) intend to cover the ceremony. Meanwhile, Tracy's ex-husband C.K. Dexter-Haven (Bing Crosby) also comes calling, ostensibly to the attend the annual Newport Jazz Festival, but actually for the purpose of winning Tracy back. In the course of events, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she with him. The Jazz Festival subplot allows scriptwriter John Patrick to bring Louis Armstrong into the proceedings, much to the delight of anyone who cares anything about music. The Cole Porter tunes include the Crosby-Sinatra duet "Well, Did You Evah?," the Crosby-Armstrong teaming "Now You Has Jazz," the Kelly-Crosby romantic ballad "True Love," and the Sinatra solo "You're Sensational." Though it lacks the satiric edge of the Philip Barry original (Barry, incidentally, is not given any screen credit), High Society succeeds on its own lighthearted terms. The film represents Grace Kelly's final acting assignment before her real-life wedding to Prince Rainier of Monaco. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Bing CrosbyGrace Kelly, (more)

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