71% (1) My Sister Eileen 96 min, APPROVED, [Comedy] [Alexander Hall] [24 Sep 1942]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 71%, External Reviews
Actors: Brian Aherne, George Tobias, Janet Blair, Rosalind Russell
Writer: Joseph Fields (screenplay), Jerome Chodorov (screenplay), Joseph Fields (play), Jerome Chodorov (play), Ruth McKenney (stories)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Sisters Ruth and Eileen Sherwood move from Ohio to New York in the hopes of building their careers. Ruth wants to get a job as a writer, while Eileen hopes to succeed on the stage. The two ...
Rotten Tomatoes: Rosalind Russell plays aspiring Ohio journalist Ruth Sherwood, who heads for New York to seek her fortune, accompanied by her sister, Eileen (Janet Blair), an aspiring actress. The girls take a basement apartment in Greenwich Village, which becomes a gathering place for several oddball characters, including a football jock (Gordon Jones), his silly wife (Miss Jeff Donnell) and an eternally drunken fortuneteller (June Havoc). Ruth tries to sell her writing, but is advised by a friendly magazine editor (Brian Aherne) that she'll never succeed unless she writes from her own experiences. Meanwhile, Eileen is continually getting in trouble due to her ingenuous attractiveness. Ruth secures an assignment to interview several visiting Portuguese sailors, who follow her to her apartment, are immediately entranced by Eileen, and break up the joint with an impromptu conga line. Everyone ends up in jail, and it looks as though Ruth is going to have to leave New York without achieving success. But when Ruth begins writing about her life with her sister Eileen, she becomes a success -- and wins the love of the magazine editor in the bargain. My Sister Eileen was based on a series of autobiographical articles by real-life writer Ruth McKenney, who with Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodhorov adapted these stories into a Broadway play. The play was later musicalized for the stage as +Wonderful Town (again with Rosalind Russell), while the film version was itself adapted into a separate movie musical in 1955. There was also a brief 1960 TV series, starring Elaine Stritch and Shirley Bonne. As an added fillip, the 1942 My Sister Eileen includes a fleeting guest appearance by the Three Stooges!
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65% (1) Gallant Journey 85 min, APPROVED, [Drama, History] [William A. Wellman] [24 Sep 1946]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 65%, External Reviews
Awards: 1 nomination.
Actors: Charles Ruggles, Glenn Ford, Henry Travers, Janet Blair
Writer: Byron Morgan, William A. Wellman
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Director William A. Wellman adds another to his long line of salutes-to-aviation films in this bio of an aviation pioneer, John Montgomery (Glenn Ford.) In 1883 he built a practical glider despite the opposition of his friends, who thought he was crazy, and of his family, who were afraid that his dreams of flying would hurt his father's political ambitions. He pursues his education at Santa Clara University where the Jesuits lend a helping and understanding hand. An earthquake destroys what appears to be a working model for an airplane, but a gold-sorting machine Montgomery invented, and then neglected, promises to provide for his financial needs to keep working on his aircraft until he gets involved in costly lawsuits defending his invention.
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64% (1) Tonight and Every Night 92 min, APPROVED, [Drama, Musical] [Victor Saville] [09 Jan 1945]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 64%, External Reviews
Actors: Janet Blair, Lee Bowman, Marc Platt, Rita Hayworth
Writer: Lesser Samuels (screenplay), Abem Finkel (screenplay), Lesley Storm (play)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: A photographer for Life magazine comes to London to do a story on a local theater troupe which never missed a performance during World War II. Flashbacks also reveal the backstage love affair between star Rosalind Bruce and a British flyer.
Rotten Tomatoes: Based on a play by Leslie Storm, Tonight and Every Night is a musical wartime morale booster in which star Rita Hayworth is but one of a lively ensemble. Set in battle-scarred Britain, the action takes place in a seedy old music hall, which never misses a performance even at the height of the "blitz". Five times a day like clockwork, American-born entertainer Rosalind Bruce (Rita Hayworth) and her British cohorts put on a show for their ever-appreciative audiences. Along the way, a romance develops between Rosalind and RAF pilot Paul Lundy (Lee Bowman). Providing excellent support are Janet Blair as the troupe's plucky ingenue and Broadway alumnus Marc Platt as the entourage's resident eccentric dancer. The individual numbers are inventively staged, with one scene creatively harnessing the Technicolor process in an eye-popping manner seldom seen in 1940s films. All that Tonight and Every Night lacks is a memorable score, though Rita's solo number "Anywhere" enjoyed brief hit-parade popularity. Incidentally, one of the chorus girls is a slim-and-trim Shelley Winters!
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61% (1) Once Upon a Time 89 min, APPROVED, [Comedy, Fantasy] [Alexander Hall] [29 Jun 1944]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 61%, External Reviews
Actors: Cary Grant, James Gleason, Janet Blair, Ted Donaldson
Writer: Lewis Meltzer (screenplay), Oscar Saul (screenplay), Irving Fineman (adaptation), Norman Corwin (story), Lucille Fletcher (story)
External Links: Wikipedia Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: Smalltime crookster and showman Jerry Flynn is desperately searching for a new act to promote in order to save him from ruin. He meets a boy on the street who claims to have a dancing caterpillar called Curly. Flynn seizes the opportunity for fame and fortune at Curly's expense.
Rotten Tomatoes: Based on Norman Corwin's satirical radio play My Client Curley, Once Upon a Time is an engaging bit of whimsy, completely dominated by the personality of star Cary Grant. It all begins when fly-by-night Broadway producer Jerry Flynn (Grant) learns of a trained caterpillar (!) that dances to the tune of "Yes, Sir, That's My Baby." In short order, Jerry has promoted Curly the Caterpillar to international stardom-and in the process he alienates both Pinky Thompson (Ted Donaldson), the impressionable 9-year-old who owns Curley, and Pinky's attractive older sister Jeanne (Janet Blair). Eventually, Flynn comes to his senses and regains his essential decency-though it's too late to continue capitalizing on Curley, who has turned into a non-dancing butterfly! Full of delightful contemporary references and "cameo appearances" by such celebrities as producer Walt Disney and radio commentator Gabriel Heatter (both played by uncredited impressionists), Once Upon a Time proved an agreeable diversion for wartime audiences.
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56% (1) The Fabulous Dorseys 88 min, APPROVED, [Biography, Music, Romance] [Alfred E. Green] [21 Feb 1947]Ratings & Reviews: IMDb Reviews: 56%, External Reviews
Actors: Janet Blair, Jimmy Dorsey, Paul Whiteman, Tommy Dorsey
Writer: Richard English (story and screenplay), Art Arthur (story and screenplay), Curtis Kenyon (story and screenplay)
External Links: Rotten Tomatoes IMDb Language: English Country: USA
Plot: The rise and rise of the Fabulous Dorsey brothers is charted in this whimsical step down memory lane, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey play themselves in this vehicle for their excellent music. From being raised by their father who insists on them learning music, to the split that just saw their careers rise even further.
Rotten Tomatoes: The rise to fame of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, brothers who achieved stardom as big-band leaders during the swing era, is depicted in this biographical drama. Despite early encouragement from their father, the Dorsey brothers must learn to overcome their sibling rivalry in order to achieve real success.
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