Lynn Fontanne Movies
Lynn Fontane and her husband Alfred Lunt still rank as one of the most respected acting teams in U.S. theater. They attempted to cross over to films in the '30s and '40s, but were unsuccessful. Fontane was born in Woodford, England. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1960
- G
Mary Martin originally starred in the Jules Styne/Carolyn Leigh/Comden & Green musical version of James M. Barrie's Peter Pan on Broadway in 1953. On March 7, 1955, Peter Pan was restaged for television, live and in color, on NBC's Producer's Showcase. The telecast was so popular that it was repeated, again live, the following year. Blessedly, Mary Martin returned to commit Peter Pan to videotape in 1960; this version was first telecast on December 8 of that year. Forty-seven years old at the time, Martin is utterly enchanting as Peter Pan, the little boy who won't grow up and who whisks Wendy Darling (Maureen Bailey) and her brothers Michael (Kent Fletcher) and John (Joey Trent) out of their London nursery and off to Never Never Land: "First star to the left, then straight on till morning." Song highlights include "I've Gotta Crow," "I'm Flying," "I Won't Grow Up," "Neverland," "Ugg-a-Wugg" and "Hook's Waltz." As with the Broadway version, the staging and choreography was in the more than capable hands of Jerome Robbins. Cyril Ritchard shamelessly hams it up as the wicked Captain Hook, and also doubles as the more benign Mr. Darling. Both Martin and Ritchard re-created their Broadway roles, as did Sondra Lee as the incongruously blonde Indian princess Tiger Lily. Martin's daughter Heller Halliday also appears in the minor role of Liza the maid, while the whole wonderful package is narrated by Lynn Fontanne. Repeated several times into the 1970s, this full-color version of Peter Pan was put into mothballs for several years, then retelecast (complete with the old NBC Peacock logo) in 1989. For this return engagement, the play was edited to accommodate extra commercials; happily, the complete version of the 1960 Peter Pan is now available on videocassette. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1931
The legendary theatrical team of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne made their only starring screen appearance in this 1931 adaptation of Ferenc Molnar's The Guardsman. The Lunts are appropriately cast as a famous husband-and-wife acting duo, the husband of which suspects the wife of infidelity. To find out for certain, he disguises himself as an amorous Russian guardsman, complete with handlebar mustache. After an evening of paradise, Lunt confesses his subterfuge to Fontanne. She says she knew all the time, but that gleam in her eye opens up quite a few doubts which are never truly resolved. The fabled "naturalism" of the Lunts appears slightly strained under the probing eye of the camera lens, but their seemingly ad-libbed repartee sequences are a joy to behold. The Guardsman served as the basis for the Oscar Straus operetta The Chocolate Soldier, which itself was filmed in 1943 with Nelson Eddy and Rise Stevens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, (more)
- 1925
Tom Macaulay (Thomas Meighan) and his brother Edwin (Russell Griffin) both hold positions at the bank belonging to their father (Charles Stevenson). Edwin takes forty thousand dollars from the bank to play the stock market, but he loses it all. Lon Morris, a rival banker (Frank Morgan), tips off the state banking commission. To save his brother, Tom takes the blame and is sent to prison. While he is locked up, his sweetheart, Nora Brooks (Virginia Valli) agrees to marry Morris. On her wedding night, Tom breaks out of prison long enough to beat up Morris, and tell Nora that she has married a scoundrel. After he is released permanently, Tom robs Morris' bank in an effort to frame him. Morris has already been misusing funds, and when he sneaks into his own bank to steal more money, he is shot by the night watchman. Tom and the now-widowed Nora are finally united. This drama of finance, prison, and revenge was not one of Booth Tarkington's best stories, and the film was not one of Thomas Meighan's best pictures. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Virginia Valli, (more)
