Mary Emery Movies
Actress Mary Emery may best be remembered for playing Ricky Ricardo' mother on I Love Lucy. Born in Mexico but reared in Texas, Emery started out playing bit parts and then became a frequent participant in LA theater. She was also a Spanish dancer. In the mid-1950s, she started appearing regularly on television. During her long career, Emery also billed herself as Amora Emery and Mary Harrison. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1956
In 1956, it was still possible for Americans to take a working vacation in Cuba, and the Ricardos and the Mertzes are no exception. Upon setting foot on his native soil, Ricky (Desi Arnaz) makes a beeline to the home of his mother (Mary Emery), hoping to introduce Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Little Ricky (Richard Keith) to his Cuban relatives -- especially the highly regarded head of the Ricardo clan, Uncle Alberto (George Trevino). Naturally, Lucy makes a shambles of the reunion, but all ends happily in a lavish nightclub performance at Havana's Casino Parisien, where Desi Arnaz sings "I'm a Lucky Guy" and duets with Richard Keith in a con brio presentation of his signature number "Baba Lu." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Emery, George Trevino, (more)
- 1954
Mary Emery makes the first of two I Love Lucy appearances as the Cuban-born mother of bandleader Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz). Hoping to make Mama Ricardo feel at home, Lucy (Lucille Ball) manages to do everything wrong, albeit in her own unique and hilarious fashion. The high point comes when Lucy, anxious to make a good impression on Mama Ricardo by conversing with her in her native tongue, arranges to have a professional mind reader (Fortunio Bonanova) feed her some Spanish phrases via a network of tiny microphones -- only to be left literally speechless when the mind reader is forced to desert his post ahead of schedule. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fortunio Bonanova, Mary Emery, (more)
- 1950
1950's Emergency Wedding is a remake of 1940's You Belong to Me. The later film stars Larry Parks, who'd had a bit role in the original. Parks plays wealthy Peter Kirk, a playboy, while Barbara Hale co-stars as female doctor Helen Hunt. When Peter marries Helen, it is a "given" that he'll stay home while she works. Unfortunately, Peter becomes jealous of the amount of time Helen spends at the hospital with her patients. Out of pique, Peter makes the supreme sacrifice and offers to get a job himself. All sorts of misunderstandings and remonstrations ensue before the title Emergency Wedding is explained at the very end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Parks, Barbara Hale, (more)
- 1949
Though Humphrey Bogart is the official star of Knock on Any Door, the film is essentially a showcase for Columbia's newest young male discovery John Derek. The first production of Bogart's Santana company, the film casts Bogart as attorney Andrew Morton. A product of the slums, Morton is persuaded to take the case of underprivileged teenager Nick Romano (Derek), who has been arrested on a murder charge. Through flashbacks, Morton demonstrates that Romano is more a victim of society than a natural-born killer. Though this defense strategy does not have the desired result on the jury thanks to the badgering of DA Kernan (George Macready), Morton does manage to arouse sympathy for the plight of those trapped by birth and circumstance in a dead-end existence. As Nick Romano, John Derek would never be better, nor would ever again play a character who struck so responsive a chord with the audience. Nick's oft-repeated credo--"Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse"--became the clarion call for a generation of disenfranchised youth. Director Nicholas Ray would later expand on themes touched upon in Knock on a Any Door in his juvenile delinquent "chef d'oeuvre" Rebel without a Cause. Viewers are advised to watch for future TV personalities Cara Williams and Si Melton in uncredited minor roles. Knock on Any Door spawned a belated sequel in 1960, Let No Man Write My Epitaph. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humphrey Bogart, John Derek, (more)
- 1947
Blondie opens a bakery in her home to help fill the family cookie jar in this entry in the long-running domestic comedy series based on the popular comic strip. Her tasty cookies become so popular that a cookie magnate makes her an offer that is difficult to refuse. Unfortunately, this creates all kinds of problems for the Bumsteads. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1946
Director Frank Borzage and star Ginger Rogers both came acropper in the lavish but dull historical biopic Magnificent Doll. The usually ebullient Rogers seems encased in wax as Dolly Madison, first lady of the United States in the early 19th century. The story begins as young Washington socialite Dolly Payne, previously and unhappily wed to one John Todd (Horace McNally), can't make up her mind romantically between idealistic politician James Madison (Burgess Meredith) and firebrand Aaron Burr (David Niven). Burr solves that problem when he flees the country after killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, leaving the field clear for Madison. What should have been the film's highlight, Dolly's rescue of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution during the 1812 burning of Washington, is treated as a throwaway. Told in flashback, the film ends just before Madison's ascendancy to the White House, with Dolly chastely charming the current chief executive Thomas Jefferson (Grandon Rhodes). Magnificent Doll is anything but . ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ginger Rogers, Erville Alderson, (more)
- 1946
One of two con-artists ends up arrested and given five days of freedom before he must go to jail. This comedy chronicles those five days. The man loves to eat; knowing that prison food is lousy, he decides to spend his days stuffing himself with the finest foods available. He is accompanied to numerous 4-star restaurants by his partner and the arresting officer. Each of these two are interested in learning where he stashed a half-million dollars in loot. Eventually the man begins looking at his lovely partner and thinking of things other than his stomach. This leads to marriage. After serving his time, he and his bride go on to lead honest lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, (more)
- 1937
Opera diva Grace Moore plays (what a stretch!) an opera diva in I'll Take Romance. Moore reneges on an agreement to open the opera season in Buenos Aires, opting instead for a better-paying job in Paris. Melvyn Douglas, acting on behalf of the Buenos Aires company, pretends to fall in love with Moore in order to win her back--but soon discovers to his surprise that he's not pretending at all. Ms. Moore sings selections from Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly and La Traviata. and also warbles the title song, which became a hit and subsequently popped up as background music in many a future Columbia production. I'll Take Romance barely has a plot at all, though fans of Grace Moore weren't complaining. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grace Moore, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
