Bridget Carr Movies
Forget what you've been led to believe: Bedtime for Bonzo is a most enjoyable film, and Ronald Reagan is not outacted by the chimpanzee. Reagan is cast as psychology professor whose reputation is sullied by the fact that his father was a convict. To prove that environment rather than heredity dictates a man's personality, Reagan uses Bonzo the chimp to test out his theories. The hairy little guy seems to be responding to the kindnesses lavished upon him--and then he is accused of robbery. Reagan nearly goes to jail in Bonzo's stead, but everything turns out all right in the end (we're not giving anything away; after all, everybody knows that there was a Bonzo Goes to College in 1952). While it's an uphill climb, Ronald Reagan and his able costars Diana Lynn and Walter Slezak manage to keep Bonzo from running away with the picture. And yes, director Fred DeCordova is the same guy who produced Johnny Carson's late-night show in the 1980s and 1990s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Lynn, Walter Slezak, (more)
- 1951
MGM's Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse were loaned to Universal for the Technicolor period piece Mark of the Renegade. Set in 19th-century California, the film stars Montalban as Marcos, in league with a band of pirates. Marcos falls into the hands of Don Pedro Garcia (Gilbert Roland), a despot who hopes to become dictator of California. Planning to force the cooperation of benevolent politico Jose De Vasquez (Antonio Moreno), Garcia orders Marcos to court De Vasquez' comely daughter Anita (Cyd Charisse). It soon develops that Marcos is not the criminal he appears to be, and that he is dedicated to the vanquishing of the evil Garcia. Somehow, Mark of the Renegade finds an excuse for Cyd Charisse to perform a bewitching dance number. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, (more)
- 1950
Producer Val Lewton abandoned the "psychological horror" efforts of his RKO days when he moved to MGM in 1950. Lewton's Please Believe Me is a simple, sometimes simplistic romantic comedy, designed principally as a showcase for Deborah Kerr. The star plays Alison Kirbe, an English girl who inherits a Texas ranch. Once word gets out that Alison is in town, she is pursued by three bachelors. Terence Keath (Robert Walker) hopes to marry Alison so that he can square his gambling debts. Jeremy Taylor (Peter Lawford) is too wealthy to consider marriage, but he hopes to have a no-strings-attached good time with Alison. And Matthew Kinston (Mark Stevens) is Alison's all-business attorney, ever on the alert for any fortune hunters who might prey on his client. Guess who she winds up with in the end. As it turned out, Please Believe Me was Val Lewton's cinematic swan song; he died not long after the film's release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Deborah Kerr, Robert Walker, (more)
- 1950
Lana Turner stars as an ambitious model who seeks her fortune in New York City. She is befriended by over-the-hill cover-girl Ann Dvorak, whose performance carries the story until she commits suicide twenty minutes into the film. Turner promises herself that she won't end up burned out like Dvorak, but as her fame grows, she is inexorably drawn into the hectic social whirl that sealed Dvorak's doom. Enjoying the favors of wealthy Ray Milland, Turner seeks out Milland's wife (Margaret Phillips), hoping to convince the woman to give up her husband. When she meets the crippled Mrs. Milland, Turner is made painfully aware of the length and breadth of the woman's love for her husband. Turner pulls out of the relationship, and we are encouraged to believe that hers will be a much happier and more fulfilling life than that of the unfortunate Ann Dvorak (ironically, in real life Ann Dvorak's final days were relatively contented ones, while Lana Turner spent her twilight years wondering where the looks, the men and the money had gone). Though not so noted in the credits, A Life of Her Own was inspired by The Abiding Vision, a novel by Rebecca West. Bronislau Kaper's musical score was later recycled for the 1951 MGM romantic drama Invitation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lana Turner, Ray Milland, (more)
Summer Stock represented Judy Garland's swan song at MGM. Garland plays the owner of a New England farm which entrepreneur Gene Kelly hopes to convert into a summer theatre. Gloria DeHaven, a member of Kelly's troupe, also happens to be Garland's sister. Aware that the farm is having financial difficulties, DeHaven talks the recalcitrant Garland into allowing the troupe to set up shop in the barn. All sorts of romances wind their way through the summer air as Kelly mounts his production. In the long-anticipated finale, Garland herself steps into the leading-lady slot vacated by her petulant sister DeHaven, and of course the show is a smasheroo. To watch Garland joyfully perform such numbers as "Friendly Star," "If You Feel Like Singing, Sing," and her legendary "drag" specialty "Get Happy," you'd never suspect that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown (the film opened while Garland was recovering from a suicide attempt). Adding to the overall exuberance of Summer Stock are such dependable supporting players as Eddie Bracken, Phil Silvers, Marjorie Main and Hans Conried (cast as the troupe's resident romantic baritone!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, (more)
- 1950
- NR
Cary Grant's utter credibility in the role of a brilliant, world-famous brain surgeon Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson is the single element that keeps Crisis afloat. While vacationing in a politically unstable Latin American country, Ferguson and his wife, Helen (Paula Raymond), find themselves the unwilling house guests of dictator Raoul Farrago (José Ferrer). Suffering from a brain tumor, Farrago insists that Ferguson operate at once. The "crisis" of the title arises when revolutionary leader Gonzales (Gilbert Roland) demands that Farrago be killed on the operating table -- and kidnaps Dr. Ferguson's wife to bind the bargain. Unaware of his wife's plight, Ferguson proceeds with the operation, setting into motion a series of events leading to a grimly ironic denouement. Director Richard Brooks adapted the screenplay of Crisis from a story by George Tabori. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1949
That Midnight Kiss served to introduce the film-going public to MGM's newest singing sensation, Mario Lanza. Just as he did with Deanna Durbin at Universal, producer Joe Pasternak removes the "stuffy" onus attached to classical music by presenting Lanza as a down-to-earth truck driver named Johnny Donetti. When it turns out that Johnny has a splendid singing voice, he gets a minor job at the Philadelphia opera company sponsored by aristocratic Abigail Trent Budell (Ethel Barrymore). Abigail's granddaughter Prudence (Kathryn Grayson) is instrumental in bringing Johnny to public attention by insisting that he replace the opera troupe's defecting star tenor. Featured in the cast are Keenan Wynn as Lanza's best pal, J. Carroll Naish as his "Whatsa matta you?" Italian father, and MGM's resident musical genius Jose Iturbi as himself. That Midnight Kiss served its purpose by transforming the relatively unknown Mario Lanza into a box-office champion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathryn Grayson, Mario Lanza, (more)
