Janis Paige Movies
American singer/actress Janis Paige was singing in public from age 5 in local amateur shows. Journeying from her native Washington to Los Angeles after high school, Paige secured a job as vocalist at the Hollywood Canteen, a studio-sponsored gathering spot for servicemen. It was only logical, then, that her first feature film upon being signed by Warner Bros. would be Hollywood Canteen (1944). A few musicals aside, Paige didn't get to sing much in her subsequent films, appearing mostly as ingenues and second leads. She left for Broadway in 1950, where she scored a hit in the popular comedy-mystery Remains to Be Seen, in which she costarred with then-husband Jackie Cooper. A few seasons later, Paige enjoyed her biggest hit in the Tony-Winning musical comedy The Pajama Game. Back in Hollywood, Paige watched as her stage roles went to bigger actresses (the star of the filmization of Pajama Game was her old rival at Warners, Doris Day), but she managed to secure one memorable movie role as an Esther Williams-like aquatic movie star in 1957's Silk Stockings. Janis was permitted one strong number, "Stereophonic Sound," with costar Fred Astaire, and copped most of the film's laughs as she slapped herself in the head to get the water out of her ears during interviews. The actress was a fixture of television from the early '50s onward, starring in the sitcom It's Always Jan and featured in recurring roles on such series as Eight is Enough, Trapper John MD, and Lanigan's Rabbi. Perhaps her most conspicuous prime-time TV role was as the waitress who conducted a brief affair with Archie Bunker on All in the Family. Daytime TV fans have been treated to Paige's talents on such serials as General Hospital, Capitol, and Santa Barbara, while devotees of summer stock theatre will remember the actress as star of straw-hat productions of Gypsy and Pajama Game in the '60s. As busy off-camera as on, Janis Paige was the founder of the Sunset Plaza Civic Association; and after the death of her composer husband Ray Gilbert (who penned "Zip-i-dee-Doo-Dah"), Paige was placed in charge of Gilbert's Ipanema Music Company. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1951
Two Gals and a Guy was a low-budget attempt to cash in on the "guests" of the Indians. These three bitter enemies must join forces to escape their captors and warn General Custer (James Millican) of the upcoming ambush at the Little Big Horn. Nominal leading lady Polly Bergen was "discovered" in Warpath, though in fact she had previously appeared in two other films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Alda, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1951
Yes, that's Vincent Edwards under that lavish blonde hairpiece in Eagle-Lion's Mr. Universe. An unsubtle lampoon of professional wrestling, the film top-bills Jack Carson as manager Jeff Clayton, who convinces bodybuilding contest winner Tommy Tomkins (Edwards) that "you gotta have a gimmick." Tommy rises to fame in the wrestling ring as a Gorgeous George clone, while Clayton tries to pay equal attention to his faithful girlfriend Lorraine (Janis Paige) and to extortion-prone gangster Fingers Maroni (Robert Alda). After several fixed bouts, Tommy shows he's really got what it takes in an honest grappling match. Just in case anyone might take this thing seriously, Bert Lahr shows up as wrestling promoter Joe Pulaski. Also on hand are famed ringside announcer Dennis James ("Okay, mother!"), former boxing champ Maxie Rosenbloom, and radio tenor Donald Novis. Something for everybody! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Carson, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1950
Janis Paige stars as Fugitive Lady Barbara Clementi in this internationally produced melodrama. When Italian millionaire Ralph Clementi (Eduardo Cianelli) dies mysteriously, suspicion falls upon Clementi's admittedly mercenary American wife Barbara. Insurance investigator Jeff (Tony Centa) is hesitant to jump to the obvious conclusion, determining that Clementi's stepsister Esther (Binnie Barnes) and Barbara's lover Gene (Massimo Serato) also had motive and opportunity. The story concludes with a neat "Postman Always Rings Twice" twist. Released in the U.S. by Republic, Fugitive Lady was produced by future Columbia studio chief Mike Frankovich, the husband of co-star Binnie Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janis Paige, Binnie Barnes, (more)
- 1950
This Side of the Law stars Kent Smith as David Cummins, a man caught up in an epic subterfuge. At the behest of attorney Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas), Cummins poses as a man who has been missing for seven years and is presumed dead. Cagle insists that this deception is necessary to protect a huge estate from avaricious relatives. Cummins finds himself heir to a far-from-loving wife, a resentful brother and a seductive sister-in-law. That's right: there's much more to this than meets the eye. Top-billed Viveca Lindfors brings a bit of texture to the otherwise two-dimensional character of Cummins' "wife." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Viveca Lindfors, Kent Smith, (more)
- 1949
House Across the Street was the second remake of the 1933 Paul Muni starrer Hi, Nellie. The original's satirical jibes against columnist Walter Winchell are downplayed in favor of undistilled concentration on the plot. Crusading newspaperman Dave Joslin (Wayne Morris) is kicked downstairs to the "Advice to the Lovelorn" column when he manages to offend a politically powerful racketeer. While pretending to stick to his job, Joslin conducts his own investigation to bring the villain to justice. Bruce Bennett, Warner Bros' busiest general-purpose actor (next to John Ridgely, that is!) brings subtlety and shading to the two-dimensional role of the racketeer. Likewise, Janis Paige avoids cliches as an intrepid girl reporter. One of the shortest top-of-the-bill Warners releases of 1949, House Across the Street clocks in at 69 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1949
The story of the outlaw Younger Brothers is duly Hollywoodized in this Technicolor western. Wayne Morris, Bruce Bennett, Robert Hutton and James Brown star as Cole, Jim, Johnny and Bob Younger, who as the film begins have just been released from jail. They try hard to follow the straight and narrow path, but when ex-Pinkerton man Ryckman (Fred Clark) launches a campaign of vengeance against the boys, out come the six-guns. One of Ryckman's schemes is to use female bandit Kate (Janis Paige) to lure the Youngers back into a life of crime. The villain very nearly succeeds, but the boys are saved by the beneficence of the screenwriters. Prominent in the cast of The Younger Brothers is Alan Hale, who showed up in practically every Warner Bros. western made between 1939 and 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wayne Morris, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1948
In this comedy, two stepsisters fight for the love of the same man. One of the sisters is good-looking and vivacious. She is also an utter fluffhead. Her sister is pragmatic and plain, but in the end, she gets the man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Joyce Reynolds, (more)
This cute film is Doris Day's film debut and in it she plays Georgia Garrett, a substitute traveller on an ocean cruise. Her friend Elvira Kent (Janis Paige) had scheduled the cruise but at the last minute cancels when she suspects that her husband is cheating on her and she decides to stay at home to check up on him. So she gets her friend Georgia to go on the cruise in her stead. Meanwhile the husband hires a detective to watch Elvira while on the cruise, because, he too, suspects cheating. Of course, the detective falls for the substitute Elvira (Doris Day), making a somewhat complicated scenario with many possibilities. This is a fun-filled spoof with lots of good tunes by Doris Day. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doris Day, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1948
The most memorable aspect of Winter Meeting, and the one that stirred up the most publicity, was its teaming of two Davises: Bette Davis and Jim Davis (whose only "A"-picture starring role this was). Bette D. plays disenchanted poetess Susan Grieve, while Jim D. is cast as disillusioned war hero Slick Novak. Inexorably drawn to one another, these two lost souls fall in love while discussing their inner demons. Ultimately, both Susan and Slick decide to go their separate ways, though both have grown and matured during their brief affair. Adapted from a novel by Ethel Vance, Winter Meeting falls short of being the "important" picture Warner Bros. hoped it would be: even so, Bette and Jim Davis work quite well together, making one wonder why Jim D. didn't go farther in films (though he did become a star of sorts late in life as Jock Ewing on TV's Dallas). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Jim Davis, (more)
- 1948
This third film version of James Hagan's stage play One Sunday Afternoon was directed by Raoul Walsh, who helmed the second adaptation (1941's Strawberry Blonde). This time around, songs have been added to accommodate the talents of Dennis Morgan and Janis Paige. Morgan stars as turn-of-the-century dentist Biff Grimes, who has spent the last ten years regretting that he hadn't married Amy Lind (Dorothy Malone), the girl of his dreams. Biff also harbors a grudge against Amy's husband Hugo Barnstead (Don DeFore), who was instrumental in getting Biff sent to prison on a fraud charge. Unbeknownst to his ever-loving wife Virginia (Janis Paige), who has stood by him through thick and thin, Biff schemes to exact an awful revenge on the two-faced Barnstead-only to discover in the nick of time that he's been better off all along because he didn't wed the avaricious Amy. Though consistently pretty to look at, One Sunday Afternoon pales in comparision to the earlier movie adaptations of the Hagan play, especially Strawberry Blonde, which had the added benefit of Jimmy Cagney in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1947
A mysterious crook by the name of "The Poet" is robbing Wells Fargo stages and creating havoc in the Old West. The sheriff is having no luck discovering the desperado's identity; when he comes across James Wylie (Dennis Morgan), a gambler who is running from the law in Carson City, he blackmails him into going undercover and tracking the outlaw down. Wylie takes the next coach out, joined by two tantalizing women, Ann (Jane Wyman) and Emily (Janis Paige). Emily is just a saloon singer (which affords her the chance to croon "I'm So in Love" and "Going Back to Old Cheyenne"), but it turns out that Ann is more unusual -- she's the wife of The Poet. The two team up to track him down (encountering The Sundance Kid and his gang along the way) -- and discover that they make a pretty good team. A popular TV series of the same name was loosely based upon the movie; starring Clint Walker, it ran for 7 years starting in 1955. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Alvin, Bruce Bennett, (more)
- 1947
In this frothy, star-studded Warner Brothers outing, tightwad tycoon Jonathan Turner, believing himself at death's door, gives star-struck movie buff Jane Barker a million bucks. Problems begin when Jane's hubby, an aspiring writer, finds out about her new fortune. Marital turmoil ensues causing Jane to launch divorce proceedings. He in turn begins demanding alimony. The situation seems at a permanent impasse until the Turner miraculously recovers and decides he wants the money back. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Joyce Reynolds, (more)
- 1947
Jack Carson and Robert Hutton make a curious but copacetic comedy duo in the Warner Bros. musical Love and Learn. The stars are cast as Jingles and Bob, a pair of would-be songwriters hoping to get a break on Broadway. Along comes Barbara Wyngate (Martha Vickers), a wealthy young woman who hopes to make it on her own in the Big Apple. Hiding her true identity, Barbara helps the boys behind the scenes without their knowing it. Inevitably, Jingles and Bob clash over Barbara's affections, a problem that isn't resolved until the last possible moment. Craig Stevens, TV's future Peter Gunn, is featured in another of those "stuffed shirt" characterizations in which he was then specializing at Warners. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, (more)
- 1946
Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson, the Bing Crosby and Bob Hope of Burbank, star in the Warner Bros. musical The Time, the Place and the Girl. The story involves a pair of nightclub owners and the problems inherent in their mounting The Big Show. Victoria Cassel Martha Vickers agrees to help out. The 1929 Warners film titled The Time, the Place and the Girl bears no relation to this 1946 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1946
If Paramount could rake in the bucks by teaming singer Bing Crosby and comedian Bob Hope in a series of Road pictures, then Warner Bros. could do the same. Lacking a Crosby or Hope, Warners paired Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson (who like Crosby and Hope were good buddies off-screen) and came up with the Two Guys series--which lasted two pictures. Two Guys From Milwaukee cast Carson as a wisecracking cabdriver and Morgan as a likable Balkan prince. Anxious to learn the "American way," Morgan joins Carson for a night on the town. Along the way, the boys fall in love with Joan Leslie and Janis Paige (Warners wasn't satisfied with just one Dorothy Lamour counterpart); and if you keep your eyes open, you'll see Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in a closing-scene cameo. Two Guys From Milwaukee had its premiere showing in the "beer city" of the title--which happened to be the childhood home of both Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, (more)
- 1946
This second film version of Somerset Maugham's classic novel stars Paul Henreid as a clubfooted, introverted medical student--an Englishman in the novel, but not in the hands of the mittel-European Mr. Henried. Eleanor Parker is featured as Mildred, the vulgar, brassy cockney waitress in whom Henreid is foolishly enamored. The role of Mildred had made Bette Davis a star in the 1934 version of Bondage; the magic didn't happen for poor Ms. Parker, who'd spend several years in variable parts before achieving full stardom. The subject matter of the original Maugham novel, which explored how sexual obsession can ruin an otherwise rational man, was missing in the 1946 version thanks to timorous studio censors. To quote Alexis Smith, who played the second female lead, "The remake of Of Human Bondage shouldn't have been made." This 1946 version would disappear completely from view upon the occasion of the third filmization of Of Human Bondage in 1964, wherein Kim Novak was pathetically miscast as Mildred. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor Parker, Paul Henreid, (more)
- 1946
This Warner Bros. programmer stars Dane Clark as Prohibition-era columnist Don Corwin and Janis Paige as speakeasy singer Georgia King. Corwin is in love with Georgia, but she has promised herself to disreputable gambler/gangster Steve Maddux (Zachary Scott). With the repeal of Prohibition, Maddux's high-rolling days come to an abrupt end, leaving poor Georgia high and dry. But through it all, Corwin has remained faithful and true-blue. The film scores on a nostalgic level, with its colorful recreation of the Roaring 20s and its denizens. Otherwise, Her Kind of Man is rather tame stuff, with the stars looking somewhat ill at ease with their roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Clark, Janis Paige, (more)
- 1944
If you've never seen a '40s singing, swimming musical this may be the one to catch. Featuring a mammoth cast, including such notables as Xavier Cugat, Basil Rathbone, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams, this is a swimming spectacular. The plot's quite thin: Skelton plays a lovesick songwriter who enrolls in a girls' school to stay near his new wife who ditched him shortly after the wedding bells rang and was hired on as the college's swim teacher. Of course Esther Williams is the beautiful swimming instructor who spends most of her time in the pool performing in a score of choreographed pieces. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Red Skelton, Esther Williams, (more)
- 1944
The West Coast's answer to Broadway's Stage Door Canteen, the Hollywood Canteen was created as a GI morale-booster by film stars Bette Davis and John Garfield. The Canteen was established so that Our Boys on leave in Tinseltown could have a good time with good food and good dancing -- and, as a bonus, rub shoulders with their favorite movie personalities, who functioned as waiters, chefs, busboys and dancing partners. Since the 1944 all-star flick Hollywood Canteen was produced by Warner Bros., it was only to be expected that the celebrities seen herein would consist mostly of Warner Bros. contract players. The frail plot concerns a soldier on medical leave (played by Robert Hutton) who falls in love with lovely leading lady Joan Leslie (played by Joan Leslie) while visiting the Canteen. Bette Davis and John Garfield are on hand to emcee the Canteen's variety acts, and to act as cupids for the Hutton/Leslie romance. The "supporting cast" includes the likes of The Andrews Sisters, Jack Benny, Joe E. Brown, Eddie Cantor, Sidney Greenstreet, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Roy Rogers, S.Z. Sakall, Barbara Stanwyck, and the Jimmy Dorsey and Carmen Cavallaro musical aggregations. Virtually everyone involved donated their salaries to the Canteen fund--even Jack Benny. As with most of these patriotic wartime star rallies, the results are a mixed bag: the best sequences include Benny's violin "duel" with Joseph Szigeti and Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers introducing Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In. Hollywood Canteen won three Oscar nominations, more for its good intentions than its inherent excellence. Still, don't pass up the opportunity when this "movie star salad" shows up on cable TV. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Hutton, Jack Benny, (more)
