Marcia Mae Jones Movies

"Gorgeous goyish guy" meets Jewish radical girl in Sydney Pollack's glossy romance. In 1937, frizzy-haired Red co-ed Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand) briefly captures the attention of preppy jock Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford) with her passionate pacifism, while the writing talent beneath his privileged exterior entrances her. Almost eight years later, the two are reunited in New York, when well-coiffed leftist radio worker Katie spies military officer Hubbell snoozing in a nightclub. Through her force of will, and in spite of his smug rich friends, the two opposites fall in love, sparring over Katie's activist zeal and Hubbell's writerly ambivalence after a failed first novel. They head to Hollywood so that Hubbell can write a screenplay for his buddy-turned-producer J.J. (Bradford Dillman). But the House Committee on Un-American Activities' Communist witch hunt in 1947 tears the pair apart, as a pregnant Katie refuses to keep silent about the jailing of the Hollywood Ten, while a faithless Hubbell decides to save his career. When the two meet again at the dawn of the '60s, TV hack Hubbell and A-bomb protestor Katie feel the old pull, but they have to decide if it's worth the grief. Although blacklisted writers had returned to Hollywood -- and won Oscars -- by the early 1970s, the HUAC sections of Arthur Laurents's screenplay were still considered dicey, resulting in substantial cuts; Laurents reportedly blamed star Redford for not fighting them hard enough. Regardless of the edits, and critics' complaints about the film's schlockiness, 1973 audiences went for the well-executed and still politically tinged weepie, turning The Way We Were into one of the most popular films of 1973 and Redford into a major heartthrob. Streisand won an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and the Streisand-sung title tune won for Best Song. Despite the eviscerated politics, The Way We Were poignantly captures the insoluble dilemma of reconciling private desires with public awareness. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

With only the slightest basis in fact, this horror film purports to chronicle an incident from the life of Edgar Allen Poe. It has to do with his mad 13-year-old cousin Lenore, whom Poe deeply loved. She is insane and lives in an asylum. Poe visits there and discovers that the hospital is but a facade for a terrifying chamber of horrors. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Former "Henry Aldrich" Jimmy Lydon had matured into a capable leading man by the time Tucson went before the cameras. Lydon plays Andy Bryant, a University of Arizona student whose grades suffer because of his preoccupation with an upcoming intercollegiate rodeo. Andy's father (Joe Sawyer) is more interested in embarrassing a rival at the rodeo than he is with his son's academic progress. When his lack of focus nearly causes a tragic accident in the university chemistry lab, Andy decides to hunker down and study. Western leading lady Penny Edwards has a thankless role as Lydon's campus sweetheart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This earnest drama warns teenagers of the dangers of having premarital sex by telling the story of a teenage girl who goes "all the way" after her graduation celebration and ends up pregnant. She is terrified to tell her mother. Her boyfriend wants to do the right thing and marry her, but he is unfortunately killed in an auto accident. The poor girl feels she has no choice but to get a back alley abortion and this leads to a terrible tragedy. The story is told by her physician. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Nine Girls stars several of Columbia's loveliest contract actresses as sorority sisters at an exclusive California college. None of the girls is fond of nasty student Anita Louise--in fact, sometime dislikes her enough to kill her. Police detectives William Demarest and Willard Robertson are called in to solve the mystery, and as in most films of this type, there are plenty of suspects to choose from. The solution of the crime will be obvious to hardened movie buffs, simply by checking out the name of the film's top-billed actress. For the record, the Nine Girls of the title are Anita Louise, Evelyn Keyes, Jinx Falkenberg, Leslie Brooks, Lynn Merrick, Miss Jeff Donnell (as she was usually billed), Nina Foch, Marcia Mae Jones, and Shirley Mills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this musical, the teenage daughter of a popular movie star tires of being ignored by her separated parents and decides to make it as a star on her own. She does. Songs include: "It Had to Be You," "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this WW II musical, a young man suddenly finds himself in charge of his family when his father is called to war. To help the flagging spirits of local factory workers, the plucky lad, his siblings and his schoolmates put on a lively little show. With a little work, he even convinces Count Basie to come with his band. Songs include: "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" (Ted Koehler, Harry Barris, Billy Moll), "Basie Boogie" (Count Basie), "Dream Lover" (Clifford Grey, Victor Schertzinger), "Dark Eyes," "Jurame," "The Road Song," and "Romany Life" (adapted by Inez James, Buddy Pepper). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Nice Girl? answers its own question by casting the relentlessy nice Deanna Durbin in the title role. In her first truly adult role, Durbin plays Jane Dana, the blossoming daughter of high school principal Oliver Dana (Robert Benchley). Jane is being ardently courted by longtime boyfriend Don Webb (Robert Stack) and by the more worldly Richard Calvert (Franchot Tone). A series of misunderstandings leads to the demure Jane earning an unsavory (and wholly unjustified) "reputation", but it all turns out okay by fadeout time. It is not only unfair to reveal the ending, but also quite difficult, since the current video version of Nice Girl includes the film's "alternate" ending, which is rather different than the denoument in the officially released version. Ms. Durbin's songs on this occasion range from such standards as "Old Folks at Home" to four newly-minted tunes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this collegiate drama, a team of college oarsmen promise their gals that they will win the big race. Unfortunately, it looks as if their victory will go to another team after their strongest rower is drafted. The sly, enterprising lads end up replacing him with a truck driver on the sly. Songs include "Look What You've Done to Me", "Sweet 16", and "Let's Do a Little Dreaming". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the late 1930s-early 1940s, Monogram Pictures hoped to create a popular screen team in the form of teenaged thespians Jackie Moran (he was Huck Finn in Selznick's 1938 version of Tom Sawyer) and Marcia Mae Jones (a former child star who'd been in pictures since the silent days). In The Haunted House, Jackie plays a newsboy, while Marcia is cast as the niece of the paper's publisher. There's a killer loose in town, and both police and reporters are baffled. Jackie and Marcia join forces to catch the killer themselves so as to clear their mutual friend of a murder charge. The climax takes place in the haunted house of the title, with thrills and chills abounding. The high slapstick content in The Haunted House can be attributed to screenwriter Monty Collins, a veteran of the Columbia Pictures comedy short subjects unit. The director is Robert McGowan, formerly the guiding hand behind Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies of the 1920s and 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This fourth entry in MGM's "Dr. Kildare" series once again stars Lew Ayres as Kildare, Laraine Day as his sweetheart Mary Lamont, and Lionel Barrymore as crusty Dr. Gillespie. In this outing, surgeon Gregory Lane (Sheppard Strudwick) begins pitching woo at Mary himself, much to Kildare's dismay. But when Lane is accused of incompetence in the wake of an unsuccessful surgery, it is Kildare who proves that his rival is blameless. One of the film's subplots involves an emotionally disturbed patient who is cured via shock therapy-a dubious procedure that held more water in 1940 than it does today. The usual comedy relief is provided by the usual Nat Pendleton and Marie Blake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shirley Temple's first Technicolor feature, The Little Princess was inspired by the oft-filmed novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Set in turn-of-the-century England, the film finds Temple being enrolled in a boarding school by her wealthy widowed father (Ian Hunter), who must head off to fight in the Boer War. At first, Temple is treated like royalty; her behavior couldn't be more down to earth, but this preferential treatment foments resentment. When her father is reported killed in the war, circumstances are severely altered. The spiteful headmistress (Mary Nash) relegates Temple to servant status and forces the girl to sleep in a drafty attic. She keeps her spirits up by hoping against hope that her father will return, and to that end she haunts the corridors of a nearby military hospital. Queen Victoria doesn't have to make a guest appearance in the tearfully joyous closing sequence, but it does serve as icing on the cake to this, one of Temple's most enjoyable feature films. Reliable Shirley Temple flick supporting actors Cesar Romero and Arthur Treacher are back in harness in The Little Princess, while adult leading lady Anita Louise figures prominently in a sugary dream sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide