TCM Schedule for Thursday, August 23, 2018 -- Summer Under The Stars -- Virginia Mayo

[Staph]

Welcome to Day Twenty-three of Summer Under The Stars. Today's star is Virginia Mayo, born Virginia Clara Jones, on November 30, 1920, in St. Louis. The bio from TCM:

Wholesome blonde actor who played decorative romantic leads opposite comedians Bob Hope and Danny Kaye in several Sam Goldwyn Technicolor romps of the 1940s including "The Princess and the Pirate" (1944) and "Wonder Man" (1945). Goldwyn also tried her in his acclaimed, Oscar-winning study of the difficulties of veterans' postwar readjustment, "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), in which she showed a likeable toughness and ordinariness rather than the usual peaches and cream appeal. Mayo was later in a few creditable "straight" roles including, most memorably, a pair of fine, rough-edged films for director Raoul Walsh, "White Heat" and "Colorado Territory" (both 1949), which suggested a greater acting potential than had been seen to that point.

Through the 1950s, though, Mayo toplined a series of harmless but middling films from every conceivable genre, lending her Technicolor prettiness and doing her professional best until her stardom petered out rather abruptly at the end of the decade. Her better films of the 1950s included "The Flame and the Arrow" (1950), "Great Day in the Morning" (1956) and "Westbound" (1959). She later appeared in slightly over half a dozen features from the 60s through the 90s. Some roles were "guest star" spots but she also played some leads and prominent supporting roles; unfortunately, films such as "Castle of Evil" (1966), "French Quarter" (1978) and "Evils Spirits" (1991) were routine low-budget fare at best and sometimes considerably worse. Mayo was married to actor Michael O'Shea from 1947 to 1973.

Enjoy!



6:00 AM -- KING RICHARD AND THE CRUSADERS (1954)
King Richard's attempts to win back the Holy Lands are complicated by his love of a tempestuous Englishwoman.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Now forever infamous for the line "*War, war, war, that's all you ever think about, Dick Plantagenet!"


8:15 AM -- PAINTING THE CLOUDS WITH SUNSHINE (1951)
Three chorus girls hit Las Vegas in search of rich husbands.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson
C-87 mins, CC,

Doris Day turned down the role that eventually went to Virginia Mayo; she thought the part was too similar to her other musicals.


10:00 AM -- THE WEST POINT STORY (1950)
A Broadway producer tries to put on a show at the legendary military academy.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth
Cast: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Doris Day
BW-107 mins, CC,

Nominee for an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture -- Ray Heindorf

From a story by Irving Wallace.


12:00 PM -- SHE'S WORKING HER WAY THROUGH COLLEGE (1952)
A professor helps a burlesque queen get a college education.
Dir: Bruce Humberstone
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, Gene Nelson
C-101 mins, CC,

Virginia Mayo's favorite of her own movies.


2:00 PM -- THE BIG LAND (1957)
A cattleman tries to convince a group of farmers to build a small town as a railroad link.
Dir: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien
C-92 mins, CC,

Although shot in academy 1.37:1 aspect ratio (for later television airing) the theatrical -- or *intended* (by the studio, producer, director and/or cinematographer) -- aspect ratio of this film is 1.85:1 widescreen. Most modern 16x9 (1.77:1) televisions have a "zoom to width" picture option, essentially allowing the viewer to see the film as the director and cinematographer originally planned. It is easy to spot films shot this way since all the titles and credits will still fit when properly cropped (they stay in the "middle" of the frame vertically), and there is an unusual amount of "headroom" above the actors in medium and close-up shots when viewed uncropped. Quite often "mistakes" -- like seeing equipment in the top or bottom of the uncropped frame -- would never have been seen by a theater audience.


4:00 PM -- GREAT DAY IN THE MORNING (1956)
The Civil War triggers unrest in Colorado.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Robert Stack, Ruth Roman
C-92 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

Based on the novel by Robert Hardy Andrews.


6:00 PM -- COLORADO TERRITORY (1949)
An outlaw just released from prison is sucked back into a life of crime in this remake of High Sierra.
Dir: Raoul Walsh
Cast: Joel McCrea, Virginia Mayo, Dorothy Malone
BW-94 mins, CC,

The first American movie to be banned in West Germany, due to being 'an example of gangster films which glorify anti-social elements'.



TCM PRIMETIME - WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS: VIRGINIA MAYO



8:00 PM -- FLAXY MARTIN (1949)
Messing with a mobster's girlfriend gets a lawyer framed for murder.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone
BW-86 mins, CC,

Roper (Elisha Cook Jr.) and Caesar (Jack Overman) continually address Colby (a lawyer, played by Zachary Scoot) as "Shamus." A shamus is a private eye; the word they meant to use is "shyster."


9:45 PM -- BACKFIRE (1950)
A veteran tries to clear an old friend of a murder charge.
Dir: Vincent Sherman
Cast: Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Virginia Mayo
BW-91 mins, CC,

Gambler Solly Blayne (Richard Rober) is shot from outside the living room window as he relaxes in his Los Angeles home, which is exactly the same way that gangster Bugsy Siegel was killed in Beverly Hills in 1947.


11:30 PM -- SMART GIRLS DON'T TALK (1948)
A society woman gets involved with a gangster only to find he has hidden plans.
Dir: Richard Bare
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Bruce Bennett, Robert Hutton
BW-81 mins,

The opening shot is of Broadway in New York City, where most notably visible is the sign for the old Rivoli Theater at 1620 Broadway and W. 49th Street.


1:00 AM -- THE GIRL FROM JONES BEACH (1949)
An artist discovers a real-life version of the perfect woman he's been drawing for years.
Dir: Peter Godfrey
Cast: Ronald Reagan, Virginia Mayo, Eddie Bracken
BW-78 mins, CC,

Lauren Bacall turned down the role as Ruth Wilson because it called for her to appear in a bathing suit. She said: "I'm not a bathing beauty... I'll be embarrassed."


2:30 AM -- THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE (1944)
A cowardly knight rescues a disguised princess from pirates.
Dir: David Butler
Cast: Bob Hope, Virginia Mayo, Walter Brennan
C-94 mins, CC,

Nominee for Oscars for Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Color -- Ernst Fegté and Howard Bristol, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture -- David Rose

Samuel Goldwyn paid Paramount $133,500 to borrow Bob Hope for twelve weeks. During that time, Hope made this film and They Got Me Covered (1943). As part of the deal, Paramount also got the services of Goldwyn contractee Gary Cooper for the lead in "For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943)."


4:15 AM -- SOUTH SEA WOMAN (1953)
A Marine sergeant battles Nazi agents to help a showgirl escape war torn China.
Dir: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Chuck Connors
BW-98 mins, CC,

Odd for any Hollywood movie, the colonel who is the head of the court martial wears a USMC Distinguished Marksman rifle badge. This is somewhat interesting in that the distinguished badges are rare and rather difficult to earn. In fact there have been little more than a couple thousand actual rifle distinguished badges awarded to Marines since the first ones around 1903.