Gloria Stuart Movies
Blonde, serene-looking film actress Gloria Stuart forsook her stage career when she was signed to two separate movie contracts in 1932. It took a court arbitrator to determine which studio would be permitted to make use of Stuart's services, Paramount or Universal. Universal won, and soon the actress was starring in such memorable films as James Whale's The Old Dark House (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933).From 1936 on, Stuart, who was born in Santa Monica, CA, on July 4, 1910, was contracted to 20th Century Fox, where among many other films she appeared in John Ford's Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), the Shirley Temple vehicle Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), and the Ritz Brothers version of The Three Musketeers (1939). Gradually retiring from films in the early '40s to return to her stage origins, Stuart subsequently decided to devote her time to her second husband, screenwriter/wit Arthur Sheekman, whom she had married in 1934. She became an accomplished painter, staging several one-woman exhibits in New York, Austria, and Italy during the 1960s.
In 1982, Stuart made a long-overdue return to the screen in the cameo role of Peter O'Toole's matronly dancing partner in My Favorite Year. Sixteen years later, she became known to a whole new generation of fans when she starred as 100-year-old Rose DeWitt, the heroine of James Cameron's Titanic. The only member of Titanic's cast and crew to have been alive at the time of the actual catastrophe, Stuart, who was 88 when the film was released, made history with her performance in the record-breaking movie. Nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category, she became the oldest person in history to be nominated for an Academy Award; in addition to various other award nominations, she won a Best Supporting Actress prize from the Screen Actors Guild, an organization she had helped to found in 1933. Thanks to Titanic, Stuart enjoyed a late-life career renaissance, and was soon appearing in magazines (People dubbed her one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World"), Hanson videos, and, most importantly, in new films that ranged from the romantic comedy The Love Letter (1999) to Wim Wenders' The Million Dollar Hotel (2000). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Spiro N. Taraviras' Buzz documents the life of celebrated screenwriter A.I. Bezzerides. The film charts his life from his parents fleeing from Turkey in order to avoid prejudice against Armenians, though his meeting and friendship with William Saroyan, and his memories of working on such memorable projects as They Live By Night and Kiss Me Deadly, and Thieves' Highway. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Patrick Karr, Maria P. Koufopoulou, (more)
Wim Wenders drama Land of Plenty stars John Diehl and Michelle Williams as two very different people who are brought together for an unconventional road trip. The film takes place after September 11, 2001, and the main characters are dealing with their grief in very different ways. Paul (Diehl) keeps his paranoid eye on the lookout for terrorists wherever he goes. His niece Lana, Williams) does charity work for the indigent. After a young Muslim is shot dead, the uncle and niece travel together - her to bring the body back to the family, he to wipe out the terrorists he is convinced the young man worked with. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Williams, John Diehl, (more)
- 2001
Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) goes on a ride-along with Angel of Death Andrew (John Dye), whose current assignment is to "collect" the peppery grandmother (Gloria Stuart) of timid postman Chuck Parker (Kirk Cameron). Meanwhile, Parker has been encouraged by Monica (Roma Downey)--here cast as his grandmother's nurse--to protect two youngsters (Michael Welch, Skye Cole Bartusiak) from being brutalized by their drunken father (James McDonald). Grief-stricken by his grandmother's death, Chuck is galvanized into plotting the murder of the kids' no-good dad--but in a startling turn of events, the "wrong" person dies, making even the Angels wonder what good can possibly come of this situation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
While vacationing in the Azores, attractive young book editor Alison Shaeffer (Jayne Brook) discovers to her dismay that her "absentee" mother Gloria (Dyan Cannon) is a longtime CIA agent. Alison doesn't quite swallow this revelation until both she and Gloria are kidnapped by the villainous Vasquez (David Palffy). The abduction has something to do with a vial of deadly anthrax hidden in an ancient statue. Rescued (repeatedly) by a rabbi who isn't a rabbi (Kevin Kilner), and aided and abetted by Alison's peppery Grandma (Gloria Struart), the Shaeffer ladies do their best to stay one step ahead of the bad guys and strike a blow for democracy -- and in the process, mother and daughter get to know each other a whole lot better than ever before. Made for cable My Mother the Spy debuted May 8, 2000, over the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Brook, Dyan Cannon, (more)
- 1998
Assembled by film historian Kevin Brownlow and narrated by actor Kenneth Branagh, this 90-minute special celebrates the classic horror films that emanated from Hollywood's Universal Studios. Beginning with such silent classics as The Phantom of the Opera and The Cat and the Canary, Universal went into full gear in the early '30s, launching such valuable properties as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Mummy, and (in the 1940s) The Wolf Man, and making stars of the "twin titans of terror," Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. The studio maintained its horror quota well into the 1950s with its Creature From the Black Lagoon series, but the emphasis in this special is on the pre-1948 scare fests. Highlights include interviews with surviving Universal actors and technicians (Gloria Stuart is particularly amusing), and rare clips from Dracula [Spanish-language version]. Universal Horror made its American TV debut on the Turner Classic Movies cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Forrest J. Ackerman, (more)
- 1987
This classic episode adroitly utilizes footage from the 1949 theatrical film Strange Bargain--with three of that film's stars, Jeffrey Lynn, Martha Scott and Harry Morgan, reprising their roles in the "new" scenes. Released from prison after serving 30 years for the murder of his boss, Sam Wilson (Lynn) returns to his wife Georgia (Scott) and his son Rod (Art Hindle), who is now a police officer. Georgia and Rod prevail upon Jessica (Angela Lansbury) to help clear Sam's name, and to prove that someone else committed the murder. With the assistance of the original investigating detective, a man named Webb (Morgan), Jessica reconstructs the events leading up to Sam's arrest, with black-and-white "flashbacks" lifted from Strange Bargain illustrating how, three decades earlier, Sam had been offered $10,000 to make his boss' suicide look like murder for insurance purposes. One of the supporting roles is played by Debbie Zipp, who would later become a Murder, She Wrote semi-regular as Donna Mayberry, the fiancee of Jessica's nephew Grady Fletcher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In Fun and Games, a professional career woman is harassed by her boss, who then rejects her for promotion. The woman then sues her boss for sexual harassment ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
When a woman moves into a Victorian home, she finds a dress that, when worn, delivers her back in time in this made-for-television adventure adapted from David William's novel, Second Sight. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Marc Singer, (more)
- 1976
Having already exhausted the dramatic possibilities of fire with The Towering Inferno, producer Irwin Allen turns to water in the made-for-TV Flood! The film is set in a small community, conveniently (for the purposes of the plot) located near a huge earthen dam. As the flood waters rise and the dam threatens to collapse, we are made privy to the individual reactions of such all-star victims-to-be as Robert Culp, Martin Milner, Richard Basehart, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Hershey, Teresa Wright and Carol Lynley. As in Inferno, helicopter pilots come to the rescue. Most of the film was shot in Eugene, Oregon. Flood! first aired on November 24, 1976. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
The Queen is a luxury cruise ship, "played" by the Queen Mary in this made-for-TV thriller. The villain has it in for one of the ship's millionaire passengers. Accordingly, he (or she-we're not telling) plans to destroy the vessel and everyone on board. The producer of this all-star disasterfest was-drum roll, please-Irwin Allen. TV movie "regulars" John Gay and David Lowell Rich served as scripter and director, respectively, for Adventures of the Queen, which first sailed into American homes on February 14, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
"Lizzie Borden took an axe/And gave her mother forty whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father forty-one". New England spinster Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the charge of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892, but this made-for-TV movie, like most recreations of the murders and subsequent trial, adheres to the popular consensus that Borden was guilty. Elizabeth Montgomery takes a break from playing victims to portray the enigmatic Borden. The trial scenes are lifted directly from the original court records; scripter William Bast's speculation as to what really happened the night the elder Bordens were hacked to death is pure (but credible) conjecture. Accompanied by a "parental guidance suggested" tag, The Legend of Lizzie Borden was first broadcast February 10, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Assigned to escort visiting poet Madeline Bennett (Laura Campbell) during her visit to Boatwright University, John-Boy (Richard Thomas) ends up falling in love with her--and despite the fact that she is several years older, he seriously considers dropping out of college in order to marry her. And in another matter of the heart, John (Ralph Waite) and Olivia (Michael Learned) plan to celebrate their 20th anniversary by holding the "real wedding" they feel they never had. 1930s film favorite and future Titanic costar Gloria Stuart appears as a saleswoman; and keep an eye out for Kathy Cronkite, daughter of CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1946
In this comedy, a puritanical math teacher at a midwestern university is forced by the dean's wife to go to New York to collect the royalties for a naughty romance the latter wrote under a penname. Unfortunately, while there, the professor suffers a blow to the noodle and wakes up believing that she wrote the torrid little tome. Now she finds herself being manipulated by a clever publisher who has the phony writer become passionately involved with a bogus Russian nobleman. Later the woman's memory returns and she goes back to her dull, well-ordered life on campus. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Davis, Jack Oakie, (more)
- 1944
The Whistler was the first of eight Columbia "B" thrillers based on the popular radio series of the same name. The Whistler, a shadowy (and unbilled) figure, introduced each film as he'd done on radio: "I am the Whistler...and I know many things, for I walk by night." This time the Whistler tells the strange story of despondent Richard Dix, who, believing his wife dead, hires professional killer J. Carroll Naish to put him out of his misery. Then the wife suddenly shows up...and Dix can't locate his would-be assassin. An old story with plenty of fresh new twists (for example, Naish talks of his profession as though it were a fine art like painting and sculpture), The Whistler bode well for the seven films that followed. Richard Dix starred in all but one film in the series, alternating between hero and heavy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, J. Carrol Naish, (more)
Though the filmmakers claimed they were writing a biography of Nazi minister Dr. Joseph Goebbels, this film is actually highly fictionalized and filled with patriotic propaganda. The story attempts to explain Goebbels' madness, blaming it on a love affair gone awry when he was a young aspiring playwright. The love in question was a young actress who spurns him. Goebbels cannot bear the rejection and swears that he will spend his life getting revenge upon her and those around her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Drake, Paul Andor, (more)
- 1943
This musical comedy stars radio star Al Pearce has a double role playing himself and Elmer Blurt, the leader of a small-town band that struggles toward stardom in the big city. Their journey begins when Elmer decides to eject their female singer because she isn't really right. Unfortunately, her angry father is their sponsor and when he finds out, he withdraws all support. Fortunately, an aspiring singer learns of the band's plight and decides to pay for them to hit the Big Apple, but only on the condition that she become the new singer. Thanks to a successful radio performance, the band gets a lucrative gig at a major nightclub. Songs include "Straighten Up and Fly Right," "Don't Be Afraid to Tell Your Mother," "Hitch Old Dobbin to the Shag Again" and "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pearce, Dale Evans, (more)
- 1939
Allan Dwan's comedic musical adaptation of the classic Dumas story sticks close to the original tale, yet it augments it with healthy doses of humor and songs. Don Ameche stars as D'Artagnan and the Ritz Brothers play his two other musketeers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Ameche, The Ritz Brothers [Al, Jimmy, Harry], (more)
- 1939
In this comedy/mystery a milquetoast ad man finds his good ideas constantly copped by ambitious coworkers. His boss doesn't even seem to see him. The ad man's wife pushes her husband into confronting his boss during a party. Unfortunately, the timid fellow finds himself accused of murder after a corpse is found in the trunk of his car. He is quickly incarcerated for the crime. Meanwhile his wife begins investigating in an attempt to prove his innocence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stuart Erwin, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1939
In this lively boxing comedy, Steve Bishop is a cowboy who works a waiter in an Italian restaurant. He agrees to participate in a prizefight for charity. He has a lucky punch and knocks out his famous opponent. This leads him to become a famous and wealthy prizefighter. What he doesn't know is that gamblers have fixed all of his fights. Thinking he is indeed a champion, the fighter soon acquires an ego to match his reputation. This inspires the ire of female sportswriter Julie Harrison. She really likes him, but decides to teach him a humbling lesson before things get too out of hand. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Martin, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1938
Gloria Stuart plays Carol Murdock, a champion golfer whose businessman husband Anthony (Michael Whalen) cares nothing for the game. Only when Carol teams up with handsome golf pro Philip Reeves (Lyle Talbot) does Anthony experience the "change of heart" of the title. As Carol and Philip win tournament after tournament, Anthony, partly out of jealous and partly out of self-preservation, takes to the golf links himself. Soon he's as adept at the game as Carol, who has her own change of heart and returns to her husband. A typical 20th Century-Fox programmer, Change of Heart has the advantages of slickness and professionalism, not to mention the amusing performance of 12-year-old Delmar Watson as a wise-cracking caddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
- 1938
In this drama, a former college football hero and his college sweetheart get married. Marital turmoil ensues as her criminal law practice soars while he cannot get his career as an architect off the ground. They separate, and the man begins making extra money by singing in a nightclub. When he is unjustly accused of murder, it is his estranged wife who saves him. A tearful reconciliation ensues, but can the marriage be saved? Songs include the Oscar nominated "A Mist Over the Moon", "That Week in Paris", "Home in Your Arms", "When You're in the Room", "Sky High", "Naughty, Naughty", and "Victory Song". ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1938
In this comedy a young girl dreams of becoming a Hollywood movie star. The plucky gal decides to grab the bull's horns one day and goes there to see if her uncle, a movie director will help her launch her career. Unfortunately she discovers that her "famous' relative has fallen onto hard-times and consoles himself with copious amounts of booze. Without hesitation the vivacious girl decides to kill two birds with a single stone and haver her uncle make his comeback in a movie staring herself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Withers, Gloria Stuart, (more)
- 1938
In this witty comedy mystery, a dim-bulbed news photographer and an equally dull-witted reporter try their hand at sleuthing when they begin investigating a murder to prove that the prime suspect is innocent. Things get really sticky when the accused's bill-collector gets involved. The real killer is in plain view, but the sleuths don't figure this out 'til the end. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
- 1938
In this drama, a woman is betrothed to a district attorney. When a man is falsely convicted of murder and condemned to death, the woman postpones her wedding to prove him innocent. She enlists the help of a former gangster and eventually succeeds in saving the innocent man's life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Michael Whalen, (more)
- 1937
The Girl Overboard is Mary Chesebrooke (Gloria Stuart) but she doesn't take her dunk into the deep until the film's final minutes. A department-store model, Mary takes a break from her work and embarks upon an ocean voyage. Any hopes for a peaceful vacation are dashed when one of Mary's fellow passengers is murdered. The victim is Mary's lecherous boss Alex LeMaire (Sidney Blackmer), so guess who the police suspect? With the help of district attorney Paul Stacey (Walter Pigeon), who also happens to be on board ship, Mary clears herself, but not before nearly perishing in a fire at sea. The title of this little actioner is amusingly ironic, considering that, six decades later, leading lady Gloria Stuart would be Oscar-nominated for her performance as a shipwreck survivor in Titanic (1998). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gloria Stuart, Walter Pidgeon, (more)
