Shirley Johns Movies
- 1948
MGM whipped up another musical salad with Luxury Liner, featuring a glittering lineup of contractees including Jane Powell, Lauritz Melchior and Xavier Cugat. George Brent plays the skipper of a "love boat"-type cruise ship, while Ms. Powell plays his daughter. She entertains the passengers at every opportunity with a string of forgettable songs, and finds love herself in the form of Thomas E. Breen(you remember him). The highlight of the film features Jane Powell in male drag, singing "Spring Came to Vienna" to an uncomfortable-looking ingenue (Shirley Johns). Luxury Liner is the sort of lavish trifle that could only have come out of the Hollywood Studio System. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Brent, Jane Powell, (more)
- 1948
Summer Holiday is a musical remake of the 1935 MGM comedy-drama Ah, Wilderness!, which in turn was adapted from the play by Eugene O'Neill. Mickey Rooney (who played a supporting role in the 1935 film) stars as O'Neill's alter ego Richard Miller, a young man coming of age in early 20th century New England. Anxious to live life to the fullest, Richard ignores the cautionary admonitions of his father Nat (Walter Huston), preferring instead to follow the example of Uncle Sid (Frank Morgan), the family's "black sheep". In his ongoing quest for wine, women and song (he gets precious little of the first two commodities, but plenty of the third!) Richard ignores the fact that the true love of his life, sweet young Muriel (Gloria De Haven), has been under his nose all along. Director Rouben Mamoulien's obsession with cinematic innovations is largely absent here; what emerges is a staid, conventional MGM musical, albeit gorgeously photographed in Technicolor by Charles Schoenbaum. Filmed in 1946 but not released until 1948, Summer Holiday would not be the last musicalized version of Ah, Wilderness!; that honor went to the 1959 Broadway musical Take Me Along, which starred Jackie Gleason as Uncle Sid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mickey Rooney, John Alexander, (more)
- 1947
Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor receives her first screen kiss in the innocuous MGM confection Cynthia. Taylor plays the title character, a sickly, sheltered young lady who is never permitted the companionship of other teenagers. Frustrated though Cynthia may be, she has nothing on her parents, Larry and Louise Bishop (George Murphy and Mary Astor), who feel they could have gotten a lot further in life had they remained childless Only by discovering that she has a gorgeous (albeit dubbed) singing voice is Cynthia able to break out of her shell and join the high school choir, under the benevolent leadership of cuddly Professor Rosencrantz (S. Z. Sakall). Along the way, the girl's parents overcome their resentment and learn to appreciate their daughter for the prize that she is. As a bonus, Cynthia also falls in love with Ricky Latham (James Lydon), who bestows that historic first kiss on her blushing cheek (Elizabeth Taylor and James Lydon would later be reteamed in Warner Bros.' Life with Father). Based on a play by Vina Delmar, Cynthia is a "programmer" by MGM standards, but an "A"-picture by any other studio's standards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Morris Ankrum, (more)
