Piper Laurie Movies
Signed by Universal in 1950, the perky, redheaded Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs) was a welcome presence in many a musical, situation comedy and costume drama. In later years, she tended to dismiss her ingenue years, noting that she spent most of her time posing for cheesecake layouts. Thanks in great part to her devastating performance as an alcoholic in the 1958 Playhouse 90 TV drama "The Days of Wine and Roses", Laurie completely altered her cuddly image, reinventing herself as a powerful dramatic actress. She earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Paul Newman's neurotic girlfriend in The Hustler (1961), then suddenly retired from acting upon her marriage to movie critic Joseph Morganstern. She made a brilliant return to films with another Oscar-nominated performance, this time as Sissy Spacek's religious fanatic mother in Carrie (1976). Ten years and several topnotch performances later, she was honored with a third Oscar nomination for Children of a Lesser God (1986). Laurie's television work has included a co-starring assignment opposite a very young Mel Gibson in the superb Australian TV movie Tim (1979) and an Emmy-nominated stint on David Lynch's 1990 "cult" series Twin Peaks. Working only when the spirit moves her in recent years, Piper Laurie has been seen in such prestige productions as Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) and White Man's Burden (1995). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1952
Douglas Sirk directed this frothy musical comedy set in the 1920s starring Charles Coburn as Samuel Fulton, an elderly man with a multi-million dollar fortune. With no family of his own to whom he can leave his money, Fulton is pondering what to do with his estate. Years ago, he was in love with a woman named Harriet, whom he asked to marry. She turned him down and married another someone else, but he's still fond of her and considers leaving his millions to her family. However, Fulton decides to first give them a test. Posing as an eccentric and threadbare artist, he rents a room from Harriet (Lynn Bari) and her husband Charles (Larry Gates). He then arranges for an anonymous gift of $100,000 to be presented to them so that he can watch their reactions. Sadly, things don't go well; Harriet browbeats the rest of the family into moving into a mansion and tries to convince her daughter Millicent (Piper Laurie) to break up with her boyfriend, poor but good-hearted soda jerk Dan (Rock Hudson), in favor of a wealthier and more socially prominent man. Songs include "Tiger Rag," "When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along," "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More," and "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?" James Dean has a tiny part as a customer at the soda fountain; it was his first appearance onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Laurie, Rock Hudson, (more)
- 1952
In this swashbuckling adventure-satire, Kashma Baba's famous father Ali, sends the reluctant youth to military school to prepare him for the troubles ahead. Meanwhile, an evil Caliph kidnaps and enslaves an Arabian princess as part of his plan to steal Ali Baba's fabulous treasure. He then sends his new "slave' to Kashma's home. The Caliph tells the Shah, to whom the princess is betrothed, that Kashma has stolen her and that he will get her back. While staying with Kashma, the princess finds herself falling in love. When Kashma learns of the plot he and his buddies pick up their swords and begin trying to save her and retrieve his father's stolen treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1951
Universal's newest "heartthrobs" Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie were first teamed in this lavish adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's The Prince Who Was a Thief. Curtis stars as Julna, the rightful heir to a Middle Eastern throne. Kidnapped in infancy, Julna is raised as a thief by the roguish Yussef (Everett Sloane). Eventually, however, Julna's true identity is revealed, prompting him to lead a revolt against the evil, usurping Mustapha (Donald Randolph). Piper Laurie steals the show as Tina, a carnival contortionist who falls in love with Julna and helps him regain his throne (most of Laurie's trickier stunts were performed in long shot by a much heftier double). Fine escapist entertainment, The Prince Who Was a Thief secured major stardom for both its leading players. And no, this is not the film in which Tony Curtis utters the apocryphal line "Yonduh lies duh castle of my faddah." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1951
In this funny sequel to the popular Francis the Talking Mule the loquacious equine and his plucky pal Peter (Donald O'Connor) get a job working on a horse-breeder's ranch and end up saving it from financial ruin when Francis, who has the inside track with the racehorses, provides Peter with names of the winners before the races are run. Sure enough Peter finds himself with a fistful of cash and uses it to buy a racehorse for the farm. Unfortunately, the mare he chooses is suffering from a debilitating lack of confidence. Fortunately, Francis is around to perk her up. When not dealing with the mare, Peter finds time to court the horse- breeder's lovely niece. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1950
Never mind the top-billed Ronald W. Reagan; the real stars of Louisa are sprightly seniors Charles Coburn, Spring Byington and Edmund Gwenn. Spring plays Reagan's widowed mother, who is outwardly satisfied with her lot but inwardly lonely. Enter Coburn and Gwenn, who vie for Spring's attentions. Uptight Ronnie disapproves of his mother's dalliances, and has additional problems with his spunky daughter (Piper Laurie), who has just begun dating. Spring Byington and Charles Coburn worked so well together in Louisa that plans were made to star them in a weekly TV series. The project never sold, but Spring would star in a similar sitcom, December Bride, from 1954 through 1959. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spring Byington, Ronald Reagan, (more)
- 1950
The Milkman is a low-key variation of a theme explored in such slapstick festivals as The Fuller Brush Man and The Yellow Cab Man. Donald O'Connor plays Roger Bradley, who hopes to become a top-flight milkman to please his father (Henry O'Neill), the owner of the milk company. Jimmy Durante co-stars as Breezy Albright, the older milkman who teaches Roger the ropes. After several comic set pieces, the plot rears its ugly head in the form of John Carter (Jess Barker), the nephew of rival milk-company proprietress Mrs. Carter (Elizabeth Risdon). Carter has gotten mixed up with a nasty bunch of gamblers, led by Mike Morrel (William Conrad). This leads to an exciting, albeit chucklesome finale wherein Roger, Breezy and ingenue Chris Abbott (Piper Laurie) combine forces to rout the bad guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald O'Connor, Jimmy Durante, (more)
