Ann-Margret Movies
Swedish siren Ann-Margret immigrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of seven, settling in a Chicago suburb and later studying Drama at Northwestern University. Despite an innate bashfulness, the girl set out to become a musical entertainer, making her professional debut as a singer at the age of 17. Fortunately, she was spotted by comedian George Burns, who hired her for his Las Vegas show and arranged for several professional doors to be opened for his protégée. Her first film was Pocketful of Miracles (1961), in which she played Bette Davis' daughter; this was followed by a lead in State Fair the following year. Ann-Margret tended to be withdrawn when interviewed, which earned her the media's "Sour Apple" award as least cooperative newcomer. But she was able to overcome this initial bad press via a show-stopping appearance at the 1962 Academy Awards telecast, which turned her into an "overnight" national favorite and encouraged the producers of Bye Bye Birdie (1963) to build up her role. Perhaps the best indication of her total public acceptance was her animated appearance in a 1963 episode of The Flintstones (as Ann Margrock).Ann-Margret's career faltered in the mid-'60s thanks to a string of forgettable pictures like Made in Paris (1966) and Kitten With a Whip (1964). (One of the few highlights of this period, however, was her appearance in Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas in 1964, which led to an offscreen relation with The King.) Her career in doldrums, Ann-Margret marshalled a comeback in the early '70s thanks to the tireless efforts of her husband and manager, former actor Roger Smith. Sold-out Las Vegas and concert performances were part of her career turnabout, although the most crucial aspect was her Oscar nomination for a difficult role in 1971's Carnal Knowledge. But the comeback nearly ended before it began in 1972 when the entertainer was seriously injured in a fall during her Vegas act. With the help of physical rehabilitation and plastic surgery (not to mention the loving ministrations and encouragement of Smith), the actress made a complete recovery and went on to even greater career heights. She received her second Oscar nomination for her bravura performance in the rock-opera film Tommy (1975), where, in one of the high points of '70s cinema bizarre, she sang a number while swimming in baked beans. Ann-Margret was equally impressive (though in a less messy manner) in such powerhouse TV movies as Who Will Love My Children? (1983) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1984).
The low point of Ann-Margret's early-80s career doubtless arrived when she agreed to act in Hal Ashby's lousy 1982 gambling drama Lookin' to Get Out (aside a scream-happy Jon Voight) -- and probably regretted it for years afterward. A few triumphs marked the 1980s as well, however, such as the actress's turn as Steffy Blondell in Neil Simon's enjoyably bittersweet comedy-drama I Ought to Be in Pictures, and her role as a barmaid who strikes up an extramarital affair with - and later weds - Gene Hackman, in Bud Yorkin's finely-wrought domestic drama Twice in a Lifetime (1985).
After Newsies (1992), Disney's glaringly awful attempt to revive the period musical, Ann-Margret took time out of her packed schedule to write her 1993 autobiography Ann-Margret: My Story, a work revelatory about herself and her own personal demons that nonetheless evinces respect toward her show-business mentors and co-workers. She exuded warmth as the bon vivant who falls in-between bickering Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in the 1993 box office hit Grumpy Old Men and its lackluster 1995 sequel, Grumpier Old Men (and played a satisfying straight man throughout). Yet the high profile of the Old Men releases made them exceptions to the actress's output in the mid-late nineties and early 2000s, which - though of varying quality - placed infinitely greater weight on television work than Ann-Margret had at any earlier point in her career. (In fact, for a period of about ten years, she became a veritable telemovie staple on par with Mary Tyler Moore and Meredith Baxter-Birney). These titles include but are not limited to: Nobody's Children (1994), Scarlett (1994), Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story, Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story (1998), Happy Face Murders (1999), Blonde (2001) and A Place Called Home (2004).
One big-screen exception arrived in the late 1999 football drama Any Given Sunday, where Oliver Stone gave Ann-Margret her meatiest role since Carnal Knowledge, as the alcoholic mother of team owner Christina Pagliacci (Cameron Diaz. It entailed only a small part amid a massive ensemble cast (Dennis Quaid, Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, others), but provided an excellent showcase for the actress's craftsmanship. She landed a bit part as Wendy Meyers, the mother of Jennifer Aniston's character, in the Aniston-Vince Vaughn romantic comedy The Break-Up, and joined Tim Allen and Martin Short for that same year's Buena Vista holiday sequel Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Ann-Margret stars as a recently widowed woman who pursues her dream of becoming a country singer by heading to Nashville on a bus tour. ~ Carly Wray, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, George Segal, (more)
- 1994
Ann-Margret stars in the made-for-cable movie Nobody's Children, filmed on-location in Bucharest, Romania, and based on a true story. Ann-Margret and Jay O. Sanders star as the real-life Carol and Joe Stevens, a married couple from Detroit who are unable to conceive a child of their own. They travel to Bucharest in 1990, just following the end of Ceausescu's regime, where a secret police controls the populace and state institutions are filled with abandoned children. The Stevenses bear witness to the deplorable conditions under which the unwanted babies must live as well as the extreme poverty and illness of the other Romanian children. French doctor Stephanie Vaugier (Dominique Sanda) helps Carol wade through the bureaucracy so she is able to adopt two children and return to the States. Originally aired on the USA television network in March of 1994. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
This cheerful holiday comedy, a surprise box office smash, featured a generous dollop of raunchy, crude humor and was greatly elevated by the presence of masterful performers in the lead roles. Jack Lemmon is John Gustafson, an ice-fishing Minnesota native who has been feuding with his neighbor and former best friend Max Goldman (Walter Matthau) for decades. The battle of wills between John and Max is characterized by crude name calling and harmless practical jokes. Max is unaware that John is having serious problems, chiefly that his daughter Melanie (Daryl Hannah) is experiencing marital woes and that his house is about to be confiscated by an officious IRS agent (Buck Henry). When it seems that John and Max may finally put aside their childish rivalry, however, sexy new neighbor Ariel (Ann-Margret) arrives and dates both men, pitting them against each other more fiercely than ever before. Despite their mutual loathing, the death of a friend, John's problems, and a budding romance between Max's son Jacob (Kevin Pollak) and Melanie may force the two old friends to reconcile. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, (more)
In 1977, Alex Haley's groundbreaking mini-series Roots became one of the most watched programs in television history, telling the story of seven generations of the author's mother's family, from their capture in Africa and enslavement in the United States to their eventual emancipation more than a century later. With 1992's Queen, Haley, who passed away before completing the source material, presents the story of his father's family, focusing on his paternal grandmother, a mulato. Halle Berry stars as the title character, the daughter of a slave and a plantation owner. Amidst the Civil War and up through the turn of the century, Queen finds herself struggling to find acceptance from blacks as well as whites. With an all-star cast that also features Martin Sheen, Danny Glover, Dennis Haysbert, Ossie Davis, and Ann-Margret, Queen was directed by John Erman and originally aired in February of 1993. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Tim Daly, (more)
A failed effort to revive the big-budget movie musical, Newsies attempted to create toe-tapping, song-and-dance excitement out of the true story of an 1899 strike by newspaper boys against publishing magnate Joseph Pulitzer. The "newsies" band together to protest a pay cut by Pulitzer (Robert Duvall), organizing a union to protect their rights and ensure fair wages. They are helped along the way by Medda (Ann-Margret), a local dance-hall performer who befriends the boys and provides an opportunity for an additional song or two. Director Kenny Ortega had previously choreographed Dirty Dancing, and composer Alan Menken had provided the acclaimed scores for Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, but their work here failed to capture the spark of their popular successes. Unable to connect with older or younger viewers, Newsies gained a reputation as a major bomb that cut short an attempt to bring back the live-action musical, though in the intervening years it has gained a small but appreciative cult. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, David Moscow, (more)
Julie Andrews and Ann-Margaret combine their not inconsiderable talents for Our Sons. In her TV-movie debut, Ms. Andrews plays a San Diego businesswoman and self-styled liberal whose open-mindedness is put to the test when she discovers that her son (Hugh Grant) is homosexual. This brings Andrews in reluctant contact with Ann-Margaret, a brash Arkansas cocktail waitress whose own son (Zeijko Ivanek) is Andrews' son's lover. The occasion for the meeting between the two mothers is the revelation that Ann-Margaret's son has AIDS. Andrews and Ann-Margaret go through a lengthy period of self-denial and self-blame before coming to grips with the tragedy now facing them. William Hanley's screenplay for Our Sons was supposed to spotlight the mothers, but the strong rapport between the sons throws the emphasis off at times. The director was John Erman, whose previous successful collaborations with Ann-Margaret included Who Will Love My Children and A Streetcar Named Desire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG13
After 20 years of marriage, Steve Giardino (Alan Alda) and his wife Jackie (Ann-Margret) agree to a divorce in this situation comedy. The focus is on both of them as they suffer through matchmaking, blind dates, and their new life as eligible singles. Donna (Mary Kay Place) is Jackie's friend, while Mel Arons (Hal Linden) is the confidante of the vain but likeable Steve. Steven worries that he will never find anyone decent to date until he meets the pretty Dr. Kay Hutton (Veronica Hamel). Jackie is enamored with a sculptor (John Shea) before his glaring faults become too much for her. While Jackie's new relationship is on the outs, Steve prepares for a new life with Kay. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1987
Claudette Colbert made her first screen appearance in 25 years in the 2-part TV movie The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. The story involves social-climbing actress (read: "chorus girl") Ann-Margret, who marries American-aristocrat naval ensign Stephen Collins, the son of Ms. Colbert (the two female stars, you see, are the "two Mrs. Grenvilles"). Try as she might, Ann-Margret can neither assimilate herself to her husband's lifestyle, nor overcome the animosity of her mother-in-law. Collins starts cheating on his new wife....and before long, Ann-Margret is standing trial for the fatal shooting of her husband. Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music for the sumptuously stylish The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, which was based on novelist Dominick Dunne's a clef rehashing of the 1955 murder of Long Island millionaire William Woodward Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Set in a small town in Texas, a young man begins to lose interest in his sex-brained girlfriend and begins falling for her mother instead. This romantic comedy-drama features C. Thomas Howell, Ann-Margret, Kelly Preston and Charles Durning. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
Wealthy metallurgist Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) lives to regret his extramarital affair with pretty young Cini (Kelly Preston). A trio of vicious blackmailers (John Glover, Robert Trebor, Clarence Williams III) show Mitchell a videotape of his most recent roll in the sack with Cini. They demand a huge amount of hush money, but Mitchell calls their bluff, going so far as to tell his politicially ambitious wife Barbara (Ann-Margret) about the affair. But the extortionists haven't even gotten started yet. Tying Mitchell to a chair, they force him to watch a tape of Cini being horribly murdered-with the evidence arranged so that Mitchell will be accused of the crime. But Mitchell remains firm in his refusal to pay up, whereupon he mounts a "fight fire with fire" plan all his own. 52 Pick Up was based on a novel by Elmore Leonard, which was previously filmed in 1984 as The Ambassador. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, (more)
On the occasion of his 50th birthday, blue-collar family man Gene Hackman is possessed by our old friend, The Mid-Life Crisis. Visiting a local tavern, Hackman becomes enchanted by gorgeous barmaid Ann-Margret. In less time than it takes to down his beer, he has resolved to leave his wife Ellen Burstyn, and his daughters Ally Sheedy and Amy Madigan, in favor of a fresh start with his sexy new "conquest." The film deals not so much with Hackman's impulsive decision as with the genuine pain he leaves in his wake. Madigan's vituperative lash-out at her father is one of many heartbreaking moments of truth in this refreshingly cliché-free domestic drama. The perceptive screenplay for Twice in a Lifetime was written by Colin Welland; the film's theme music was composed by Paul McCartney. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1984
Ann Margret looks too healthy to portray Blanche DuBois, the physically and mentally fragile Southern-belle protagonist of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, but we forget this discrepancy five minutes into her marvelous performance. This TV-movie version of Streetcar costars Treat Williams as faded aristocrat Blanche's rude 'n' crude brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski; Williams is persuasive, though he tries so hard not to be Marlon Brando that he comes off as a bit mechanical. The 1984 Streetcar is more realistically staged than the near-impressionistic 1951 Vivien Leigh/Marlon Brando filmization. The storyline, concerning the battle of wills between the earthy, pragmatic Stanley and the delusional Blanche, remains the same in both films, as does the script's tendency to avoid the homosexual elements that were so important to Williams' original play. The newer film's photography is bathed in an ambler tint throughout, conveying both nostalgia for the era in which it is set (the late 1940s) and a visual literalization of Blanche's "yellowed with antiquity" former lifestyle. The 1984 Streetcar Named Desire is less a remake of the 1951 version than a companion piece--a praiseworthy alternate version of the same sturdy material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Treat Williams, (more)
- 1983
Ann-Margret is beyond praise in her TV movie debut as the real-life Lucile Frey. A poor, minimally educated rural Iowa mother, Lucile learns on the occasion of the birth of her tenth child in 1952 that she is dying of cancer. Reasoning that her husband (Frederic Forest) is not responsible enough to take care of her children on his own, Lucile takes upon herself the task of finding suitable foster parents for her soon-to-be motherless brood. Not as depressing as it might have been, Who Will Love My Children? closes with the implication that Lucile's children were able to retain their family ties even after being separated for 29 years. The real-life Frey children were showcased the same evening that Who Will Love My Children premiered (February 15, 1983) on an installment of the ABC TV series That's Incredible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- PG
Neil Simon based his screenplay for I Ought to Be in Pictures on one of his more serious theatrical pieces. Walter Matthau is top-billed as Herbert Tucker, a struggling screenwriter who suddenly finds his 19-year-old daughter, Libby(Dinah Manoff), on his Hollywood doorstep. Having deserted his family years earlier, Herbert isn't keen on having his daughter around to cramp his lifestyle, which at this point consists of drinking his meals and telling lies to his faithful girlfriend, Stephanie (Ann-Margret). Libby takes it upon herself to put Herbert's life in order. There are plenty of angry outbursts and recriminations between father and daughter before the tearful, upbeat conclusion. Incidentally, Dinah Manoff is the daughter of actress Lee Grant, who'd previously co-starred with Walter Matthau in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite -- which, like I Ought to be in Pictures, was directed by Herbert Ross. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, (more)
Jon Voight starred and co-wrote the script for this comedy (directed by Hal Ashby) concerning two gamblers on the run from their debts who try to score big in Las Vegas. When Alex Kovas (Jon Voight) loses $10,000 to local New York City hoods Joey (Allen Keller) and Harry (Jude Farese) in a poker game, he hightails it to Vegas with his pal Jerry Feldman (Burt Young). In Vegas they make friends with Patti Warner (Ann-Margret), a former call girl, and move into the MGM Grand Hotel after winning big in the casino. But word gets out and Joey and Harry take a trip out West to pay the boys a surprise visit. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Ann-Margret, (more)
The returning soldier is amnesia victim Alan Bates, who remembers nothing of his life before suffering shell-shock--not even his long-term marriage to snooty Julie Christie. Spinsterish Ann-Margret, who has long harbored a fondness for Bates, hopes to take advantage of his memory loss. But both Christie and Ann-Margret are challenged by a third woman, Bates' childhood sweetheart Glenda Jackson. Poor Bates deals with all of this by not dealing with it. A fairly faithful rendition of the Rebecca West novel on which it is based, Return of the Soldier ambles along at its own languid pace to a inconclusive conclusion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Christie, Alan Bates, (more)
- 1980
- R
The popular topic of men whose mid-life crises grow with a thickening waistline is handled with snatches of wit and insight in this standard comedy-drama from John Trent. Bobby Lee (Bruce Dern) is beginning to feel hemmed in -- his wife (Ann-Margret) has lost some of her appeal and his friends and family keep viewing him like the forty-year-old he will soon be. After his father dies, he is unable to take it anymore, and he hooks up with a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader (Deborah Wakeham) on a trip to that city. He may have traded in his business suite for denim, jeans, and cowboy boots, but he soon finds that a real transformation is not so easy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Ann-Margret, (more)
The presence of Paul Lynde, in a small role, reveals more about the quality and tone of this film than the three top names. A farce with plenty of slapstick, it offers Kirk Douglas as a road agent dealing with a naive hero (a young Arnold Schwarzenegger) who is seemingly out of western serials in the '40s and a beautiful, sexy saloon girl (Ann-Margret). The silly jokes are the point, not the plot, though Needham includes some impressive stunts. Some of the most notable draw blatantly on Warner Brothers roadrunner and Daffy Duck cartoons; notably, the film came from Columbia, not Warner. The film's attempt at satire is too heavy-handed to have bite. ~ Bill Wu, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, (more)
Spoofing the entire 1940s detective genre, and his own performances as a bumbling private detective, Peter Falk plays Lou Pekinpaugh, a San Francisco private detective accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress, the partner's wife, Georgia Merkle (Marsha Mason). Police Lieutenant DiMaggio (Vic Tayback) has his eye on Lou and blunders around in a way which complicates Lou's efforts to clear his name. Lou gets a new client when Mrs. Montenegro (Madeline Kahn) and her cronies (John Housman, Paul Williams and Dom DeLuise) hire him to search out a dozen diamond eggs. Marlene DuChard (Louise Fletcher) also comes to him for help of a complicated nature. In this madcap comedy written by Neil Simon, obstacles and complications appear every few minutes, and a great many famous actors show up in hilarious cameos. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, (more)
Anthony Hopkins is a ventriloquist psychologically tormented by his dummy in the Richard Attenborough thriller Magic (a film with a story that may seem familiar to those who have seen the Michael Redgrave segment of Dead of Night, or the Cliff Robertson episode "The Dummy" from The Twilight Zone television series). William Goldman based his screenplay on his best-selling novel. Hopkins plays Corky, a seedy magician who is hooted off the stage in the low-rent clubs that will stoop to hire him. But when he comes across a dummy named Fats, his career is energized. Corky sees in Fats everything he lacks himself -- confidence, creativity, and verbal agility. With the help of his agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith), Corky rises to the top of the nightclub circuit. But with Corky's success comes an increased paranoia, and he turns down a TV contract, believing that it would mean taking a medical examination and that rumors of his mental instability might leak out. Corky takes off to a Catskills resort, run by Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret), an old girlfriend now unhappily married to a volatile hick (Ed Lauter). While a frustrated Ben high tails it to the Catskills to find Corky, Corky discovers that he still has feelings for Peggy, but lands in the middle of a love triangle between the woman and her husband, where his schizophrenic personality manifests itself and additional murders occur. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, (more)
- 1977
- PG
Beau Geste, the classic adventure story of a young man's dangerous journeys as part of the French Foreign Legion, becomes the subject of broad parody in this slapstick comedy. The original tale, best known to film lovers from William Wellman's 1939 classic, tells of several brothers who join the Foreign Legion after claiming responsibility for the mysterious disappearance of an invaluable family heirloom. Eventually, brothers Beau and Digby find themselves in conflict with their vicious commander, leading to a potential mutiny. The plot here is similar, with Michael York assuming Gary Cooper's role as Beau, and first-time director Marty Feldman co-starring as Digby. However, following the lead of former collaborator Mel Brooks, Feldman plays strictly for laughs, loading the story with jokes ranging from the satirical to the vulgar. A cast of notables keeps things lively, with Peter Ustinov and Ann-Margret mocking their own images as the sadistic commander and lusty Geste stepmother. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Marty Feldman, (more)
Tony Richardson attempts to re-create the glory days of Tom Jones in this adaptation of the 1742 Henry Fielding novel. Peter Firth stars in this picaresque tale as Joseph Andrews, a young servant switched at birth who undergoes a series of romantic escapades. Joseph even has the fortune of becoming the personal footman to Lady Booby (Ann-Margaret). Joseph's romantic peccadilloes cause consternation among a collection of stuffy noblemen and women in 18th-century England. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Peter Firth, (more)
- 1976
- NR
French New Wave director Claude Chabrol steps away from his usual style of mysteries and psychological dramas for the sex comedy Folies Bourgeoises, based on the novel Le Malheur Fou by Lucie Faure. Bruce Dern is the American writer William Brandels and Stephane Audran is his French socialite wife, Claire Brandels. The story follows the confusion of the infidelities of the wealthy upper class. Also starring Ann-Margret and Maria Schell. This film was also released in an English-language dubbed version titled The Twist. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Stéphane Audran, (more)
Tommy (Roger Daltrey) is a "deaf, dumb and blind kid" who retreats into himself after the death of his father. His mother, Nora (Ann-Margret), and stepfather Frank (Oliver Reed) take him to see a specialist (Jack Nicholson) but Tommy is apparently a hopeless case. That is, until Tommy discovers that "he sure plays a mean pinball." Tommy gains fame when he defeats the Pinball Wizard (Elton John) for the world championship. As a result, Tommy becomes such a celebrity that he even founds his own religious cult. But his fans begin to commercialize his fame, while Tommy wants to stick to the straight and narrow. When Tommy wants to end the commercialization of his message, his supporters accuse him of being hypocritical and turn on him. Ann-Margret, with a slinky red dress slit way up the side, was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, losing out to Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, (more)
