Belita Movies
Born in England, Gladys Lyne Jepson-Turner, aka Belita was a professional skater from childhood. A star at 14, Belita toured the U.S. at 15, then settled into a long run as the main attraction of the Ice Capades--which was also the title of her first film. While at Monogram in the mid-1940s, Belita was given plenty of opportunities to skate, but also spent an inordinate amount of time in glum film noir efforts like Suspense (1946) and The Gangster (1947). Belita pursued her film career on a limited basis throughout the 1950s, appearing in such musicals as Invitation to the Dance (1956) and Silk Stockings (1957). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1963
This provocative social drama centers on a rambunctious band of teen-age thugs who have taken over the swimming pool atop a Buenos Aires Apartment building. There the punks engage in boozing, sex and general mayhem; the residents try to stop them but cannot as the thugs have taken the young granddaughter of the super hostage. In the evenings, the tenants rally together and raid the party. A major scuffle ensues and the hapless child is tossed from the building. Fortunately, though seriously injured, she is not killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Graciela Borges, Leonardo Favio, (more)
Silk Stockings, a musical version of the 1939 Greta Garbo film Ninotchka, was adapted for the stage by George S. Kaufman, Leueen McGrath (the then-Mrs. Kaufman) and Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The Broadway production, starring Hildegarde Neff and Don Ameche, ran 478 performances. The 1957 film version cast Fred Astaire as a movie producer and Cyd Charisse as dedicated communist functionary Ninotchka. In the original 1939 film, Ninotchka was sent from Mother Russia to Paris to check up on three commissars, who in turn had been ordered to retrieve a fortune in Czarist jewels. This time the commissar trio, played by Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin and Joseph Buloff, have been dispatched to Paris to reclaim defecting Soviet composer Wim Sonneveld. Since Astaire wants the composer to write the songs for his newest musical, he plies the commissars with wine, women and song, dissuading them from their mission. When Ninotchka shows up to retrieve the errant Russians, Astaire turns on the old charm with her as well. She gradually succumbs to the combined lures of romance and capitalism, but returns to Russia when she believes that Astaire has thrown her over for film-star Janis Paige (delivering a hilarious take-off of swimming star Esther Williams). But Astaire convinces her that he truly loves her, and all is well. Most of the Cold-War comedy in the Broadway production of Silk Stockings remains intact in the movie version (Soviet official George Tobias, seeking information on his predecessor, looks up the man's record in "Who's Still Who"). Also surviving virtually untouched is the Cole Porter score, including "All Of You," "A Chemical Reaction," "Without Love," "Satin and Silk," "The Red Blues," "Stereophonic Sound," and the rollicking "Siberia" (which offers the spectacle of a singing, dancing Peter Lorre!) Watch for Fred Astaire's future TV-special partner Barrie Chase as one of the dancers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, (more)
- 1956
MGM's Invitation to the Dance was the fruition of Gene Kelly's long-standing dream to create a plotless "concert" feature. Eschewing dialogue, Kelly tells three stories entirely through the medium of dance. The first sequence is a mime-like Pagliacci story, with Kelly as the Clown and Igor Youskevitch and Claire Sombert as the Lovers. The second vignette, "Ring Around the Rosy," tells the story of a bracelet as it is passed from owner to owner. The best is saved till last: "Sinbad the Sailor," wherein Kelly shares screen time with a plethora of animated cartoon characters, courtesy of MGM house cartoonists William Hanna and Joe Barbera. Carol Haney appears briefly as Scheherezade, and also posed for the writhing cartoon serpent. Considered totally unsellable by the MGM higher-ups, Invitation to the Dance was shelved upon its completion in 1952, and didn't see the light of day for nearly four years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Kelly, Igor Youskevitch, (more)
- 1953
Clark Gable's next-to-last MGM film was the Cold War melodrama Never Let Me Go. Filmed in England, the story finds American journalist Philip Sutherland (Gable) desperately trying to retrieve his Russian-ballerina bride Marva Lamarkins (Gene Tierney) from behind the Iron Curtain. Stymied by bureaucracy on both sides, Sutherland attempts to plead his case directly to Soviet bigwig Molotov, in London for a peace conference. When this too fails, Sutherland aligns himself with an Englishman (Richard Haydn) in a similar predicament. Together, the two men formulate a daring escape plan, which could spell instant doom for both their wives and themselves. The Englishman's bride is played by Belita, who unlike Gene Tierney did her own dancing in the ballet scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clark Gable, Gene Tierney, (more)
Though hampered by a small budget that shrank with each shooting day, director Burgess Meredith fashioned a serviceable film version of Georges Simenon's A Battle of Nerves. Retitled The Man on the Eiffel Tower, the film pits Simenon's analytical Inspector Maigret (Charles Laughton) against a wily murderer. We know virtually from the outset that the guilty party is Radek (Franchot Tone), a psychotic with delusions of grandeur who has been seduced into killing the wealthy aunt of slatternly Edna Wallace (Jean Wallace). Maigret suspects Radek , but without solid proof he must suffer the taunting and baiting of the beyond-the-law killer. Eventually Maigret wins the psychological battle, forcing Radek to seek refuge on the titular tower. And if you're waiting for that final fatal fall, this isn't that kind of movie. Burgess Meredith also appears in the film as the sort of obvious suspect that is automatically disregarded by any true detective-story buff, despite the most damning evidence. Originally released in eye-pleasing Anscocolor, Man on the Eiffel Tower is generally available nowadays in washed-out public-domain prints. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Laughton, Franchot Tone, (more)
- 1948
In this detective story, a private eye must send his fiancee to prison as he truly believes that she was involved in a bank robbery. Unfortunately, she is innocent. Still she serves her time. Upon her release someone frames her for murder. The detective is in quite a quandary until the real criminal is found. The woman finally returns to her beloved private eye. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Preston S. Foster, Belita, (more)
- 1947
Having struck gold with the previous season's Dillinger, the King Brothers returned to Monogram as producers of The Gangster. Adapted by Daniel Fuchs from his own novel Low Company, the film stars Barry Sullivan as flint-faced racketeer Shubunka. Shown to be a product of the slums, Shubunka spends his adulthood in pursuit of power and riches, with no time for friendship or romance. Wounded in a gangland shootout, Shubunka ruminates on his past, present and (unlikely) future, wondering if it's all been worth it. Promoted as a "psychological" drama, The Gangster has plenty of gunplay and bloodshed to satiate action fans, and a surfeit of sex appeal in the form of gangster's moll Nancy (played by Monogram's resident skating star Belita). Prominent in the supporting cast is the ineluctable Sheldon Leonard as Shubunka's chief rival, delivering a subtler variation on his patented tough-guy screen persona. The Gangster was directed by Oscar-winning art director Gordon Wiles, later a mainstay of such TV series as Land of the Lost and Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Sullivan, Belita, (more)
- 1946
If Republic's skating star Vera Hruba Ralston could go "dramatic", so too could Monogram's skating star Belita. Produced by the enterprising King Brothers, Suspense takes place in an ice-skating emporium owned by Frank Leonard (Albert Dekker). No-good heel Joe Morgan (Barry Sullivan) not only strongarms Leonard into sharing the establishment's profits, but also tries to move in on Leonard's wife Roberta (Belita). The plot thickens when Leonard is apparently killed by Morgan, only to return from the dead! But what really does Morgan in is his own checkered past, as personified by his vengeful ex-sweetheart Ronnie (Bonita Granville, in a truly offbeat characterization). Belita's ice-skating solos (staged by Nick Castle) and Philip Yordan's overly complicated script tend to weigh down the proceedings; still, Suspense deserves to be seen, if for no other reason than its dazzling opening sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belita, Barry Sullivan, (more)
- 1944
Singing, dancing, and ice skating are featured in this musical that focuses on ice-skating sensation Belita. The story begins as she travels to a California resort where she has been hired as a replacement for a dance team. The resort is run by a handsome fellow. As a result of the gig, the skater becomes a national star while the resort manager gets fired and becomes a drifter until he ends up in the Army. The Oscar nominated score includes the following songs: "Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams", "Dream of Dreams", "Rio", "In the Days of Beau Brummel", "Lady, Let's Dance", "Happy Hearts", "Ten Million Men and a Girl", and the rhumba standard "Esperanza". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Belita, James Ellison, (more)
- 1943
Silver Skates was designed to showcase Monogram's latest discovery, ice-skating star Belita. The minimalist plot concerns the romance between Danny (Kenny Baker), featured vocalist for Belita's skating revue, and Claire (Patricia Morrison), the debt-ridden owner of the show. Comedy relief is provided by Joyce Compton and Frank Faylen as Lucille and Eddie, whose foredoomed moneymaking schemes punctuate the action from time to time. Among the skating stars featured throughout the film are little Irene Dare and the legendary Frick & Frack. Silver Skates proved profitable for Monogram, though Belita was no threat to the predominance of 20th Century-Fox's Sonja Henie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Baker, Patricia Morison, (more)
