Marie McDonald Movies

Jayne Mansfield bares almost all (and became the first Hollywood actress to do so) in this nearly universally panned sex comedy from the early 1960s. In the story, poor Sandy is desperate to get pregnant. Unfortunately, her husband, a television script writer, is too wound up over his high stress job to make love to her at night even though he too, wants a child. To help him loosen up, they go on a relaxing cruise and meet another couple. The foursome hit it off and begin drinking heavily. They soon exchange partners and retire to their rooms. Later both wives show up pregnant, but now the question remains: which baby belongs to which father? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This latest in Republic's semi-annual "Hit Parade" series stars John Carroll, Marie McDonald and Estelita Rodriguez. Carroll plays a dual role, as a high-rolling gambler named Joe Blake and a radio crooner named Eddie Paul. Faced with mounting debts, Joe persuades Eddie to take his place, with the expected results. As the erstwhile girlfriend of both John Carrolls, Marie McDonald amply demonstrates why she was nicknamed "The Body," while Estelita Rodriguez, as the gambler's moll, renders a couple of mildly satirical Latin-American tunes. Appearing as a dimwitted gambler is Frankie Fontaine, doing a virtual dry run of his "Crazy Guggenham" character. Unlike previous "Hit Parade" musicals, Hit Parade of 1951 was not given a new title for its TV release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

W. Lee Wilder, the younger brother of Billy Wilder, was producer/director/co-writer of Once a Thief. June Havoc stars as Margie, a shoplifter who falls in love with smooth-talking Mitch (Cesar Romero). Margie's new beau reveals his true colors by stealing every penny she has, then turning her into the authorities. Upon her release from prison, Margie swears revenge. Though Mitch gets his just desserts, no one comes out a winner in this one. Though Once a Thief offers few surprises, the film does boast an impressive supporting cast (by "B"-picture standards, at least), including Marie McDonald, Lon Chaney Jr., Iris Adrian and Kathleen Freeman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Despite MGM's insistence that star Gene Kelly, just returning from military service in 1947, appear exclusively in big-budget Technicolor musicals, maverick director Gregory La Cava showcased Kelly in the modest black and white tunefest Living in a Big Way. Kelly is cast as an ex-GI who discovers that his wealthy war bride (Marie McDonald) is an insufferable snob. Flying in the face of his in-laws, Kelly insists upon using his wife's money to open a charity home for the families of those soldiers who didn't come back. Kelly's major musical number, which takes place during the building of his dream home, is a bizarre ballet utilizing such props as ladders and two-by-fours. Living In a Big Way turned out to be the flop that MGM had predicted, but the film was impressive enough to win La Cava the coveted directorial post for Mary Pickford Productions' One Touch of Venus. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Getting Gertie's Garter is an updated adaptation of the venerable stage farce by Wilson Collison and Avery Hopwood. Dennis O'Keefe, newly married to lovely Sheila Ryan, is in a jam. O'Keefe's former girl friend, exotic dancer Marie McDonald, has in her possession an expensive, jeweled garter given to her by O'Keefe in his bachelor days. McDonald intends to show the garter to O'Keefe's suspicious wife, so Our Hero must retrieve the embarrassing accouterment without tipping off the missus. Previously filmed in 1927, Getting Gertie's Garter was one several enjoyable films produced by Edward Small and directed by Allan Dwan, all based on popular stage comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Paulette Goddard and Sonny Tufts, two of the stars of director Mark Sandrich's wartime morale-booster So Proudly We Hail, were reunited in Sandrich's I Love a Soldiers. Looking gorgeous in bib overalls, Goddard plays defense-plant welder Eva Morgan, who avoids romance but gives generously of her time at the local GI canteen. One evening, soldier Dan Kilgore (Sonny Tufts) saunters into the canteen; Eva takes one look at the handsome hunk, and it's love at first sight, despite her vow to steer clear of romantic entanglements. Upon learning that Dan is already married, however, Eva bitterly breaks off the relationship. She is drawn back to him when he insists he's about to get a divorce, but renounces him again-not because she doesn't believe his divorce story, but because she feels that he'd be more valuable on the battlefield if he could only get his mind off women. Boy, is this a period piece! Outside of its stars, I Love a Soldier affords excellent acting opportunities for a number of character actresses, especially Mary Treen in a role specifically written for her. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay was based on the lighthearted joint autobiography of actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and humorist Emily Kimbrough. Gail Russell and Diana Lynn star respectively as Cornelia and Emily, two innocent but fun-loving young girls at loose in the Roaring 20s. The story concerns the girls' first trip abroad to London and Paris, and the various misadventures encountered therein. The more amusing moments involve a pair of rabbit-skin capes that begin shedding at the most inopportune moments, and a lengthy episode in which the girls are stranded atop Notre Dame Cathedral at midnight. And of course there's romance, in the form of handsome young doctor Tom Newhall (Bill Edwards) and college "Lothario" Avery Moore (James Brown). Also appearing are Charlie Ruggles as Cornelia's actor-father Otis Skinner and Dorothy Gish (whose talkie film appearances were sadly infrequent) as Mrs. Skinner. So well-received was Our Hearts Were Young and Gay that Paramount commissioned a 1946 sequel, Our Hearts Were Growing Up . ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Paramount's Pine-Thomas unit continued humming profitably along with 1943's Tornado. Chester Morris (who eventually appeared in eight Pine-Thomas efforts) stars as coal miner Pete Ramsey, who falls in love with, and secretly marries, scheming showgirl Victory Kane (Nancy Kelly). Anxious to escape her poverty-stricken surroundings, Victory urges Pete to lobby for the position of mine superintendent. Climbing ever upward on the social and economic ladder, Victory has an affair with wealthy mine operator Gary Linden (Morgan Conway). She finally receives her comeuppance during the tornado of the title-an impressive piece of special effects, though obviously not in the league of Twister. Tornado was scripted by Maxwell Shane and directed by William Berke, two stalwarts of the Pine-Thomas operation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a slightly addled young advertising executive works for his father's radio-advertising agency. His first job is to hire a famous big-game hunter for an upcoming show. Unfortunately, the man he chooses proves to be a fake and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One of the most often revived of Abbott & Costello's early-1940s films, Pardon My Sarong casts Bud and Lou as Chicago bus drivers Algy Shaw and Wellington Pflug. At the behest of millionaire playboy Tommy Layton (Robert Paige), Algy and Wellington hijack their own bus and speed off to California so that Tommy won't be late for an important yachting race. Our heroes are hotly pursued by bus-company troubleshooter Kendall (William Demarest), while Tommy's trail is dogged by rival yacht-owner Joan Marshall (Virginia Bruce). Eluding Kendall when they inadvertently drive their bus into the ocean, Algy and Wellington are rescued by Tommy and Joan, who through a plot wrinkle have been forced to share the same yacht. After several days of drifting aimlessly across the Pacific, the yacht ends up on a remote South Sea Island, where Algy and Wellington flirt capriciously with the local native girls. Through a fluke, Wellington is served up as a sacrifice victim and ordered to enter a sacred volcanic mountain-which happens to be the hideout for jewel thief Varnoff (Lionel Atwill) and his gang. The story wraps up with a zany Sennett-like chase, with Wellington attempting to rescue the kidnapped Joan from Varnoff's speedboat. Filled to overflowing with hilarious sight gags, cross-talk routines and throwaway lines, Pardon My Sarong scores on two levels: as a devastating send-up of Dorothy Lamour jungle epics and as a first-rate vehicle for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. One one quibble: the film certainly could have done without the scene in which Bud invites Lou to commit suicide! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi