Their costumes had nothing to do with the song but reflected the craze for all things Egyptian after the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. [5], Although many future stars started out as Ziegfeld girls, many others were turned down by Florenz Ziegfeld to appear in his revue. Ziegfeld Girl $2.99 $9.99 Product details Language : English Package Dimensions : 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 6.13 Ounces Director : Robert Z. Leonard Date First Available : February 4, 2007 Actors : James Stewart, Judy Garland,Hedy lamarr and Lana Turner Subtitles: : English, French, Spanish Seriously ill and unable to sustain her luxurious lifestyle, she moves back into her family's modest Flatbush home. - Musical number: "Liza" (music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin), directed by Vincente Minnelli, sung by Avon Long and the MGM Studio Chorus to Lena Horne, audio available on Rhino's soundtrack CD. Tweet Then in 1917 he met showman and producer Florenz Ziegfeld, and secured a contract to do all the images for the 'Ziegfeld Follies' for the next fifteen years . Three beautiful women soon discover this when they join the spectacle on. Powell made My Man Godfrey (1936) for Universal instead. Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies (1907-1931), which were based on the Folies Bergre of Paris. - A duet between Lena Horne and Herb Jeffries. Jimmy Walters: Soon as I saw you, I said to myself, that's a hot lookin' little number. Otto Rahn And The Nazi Crusade For The Holy Grail, 15 Vintage Photos That Show How a Good of a Time Was Had While Sitting Under the Hood of a Hair Dryer. Ive always loved that era of photography. It did,however, go on to earn over $40 million. There is now a Ziegfeld Theater cinema right next to where it stood beside the NYC Hilton (often used for movie premieres). All of the showgirls looked very similar, both in appearance and in stature. Prologue: "That fabulous era--when Florenz Ziegfeld glorified the American Girl, and New York wore her over its heart like an orchid--while she lasted.". Lucille Bremer, who appears in two dance routines with Fred Astaire here ("This Heart of Mine" and "Limehouse Blues") was a favorite of M-G-M studio boss Louis B. Mayer, who cast her in a prominent role in Meet Me in St. Louis (as Judy Garland's older sister) and became convinced she was a future star. - Musical/comedy number: "Start Off Each Day with a Song" (music and lyrics by Jimmy Durante), directed by Charles Walters, performed by Jimmy Durante. Changing the running order of the segments, restoring discarded sequences and/or replacing "There's Beauty Everywhere" with a new finale were considered by the Arthur Freed Unit. He would return to the silver screen five years later in the classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Marion Bell performs a song from the Giuseppe Verdi opera La Traviata. This rather than For Me And My Gal (1942) might be his first film. A huge treasure trove of extremely artistic full-nude and semi-nude full-figure studio photos with all the glass-plate negatives were found stored at a farm near Oxford, Connecticut, where he had lived since the 1940's. Most were showgirls from the Ziegfeld Follies, plus a great storehouse of both aspiring and known actors and actresses. Although Ziegfeld had several affairs, Burke claimed that Lorraine was the only one that made her jealous. This rather than For Me And My Gal (1942) might be his first film. At the time, Nat was the only man to have ever played a strongman from this time period. - An "Album of Familiar Songs" medley with Garland, Marilyn Maxwell, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Lena Horne, and Kathryn Grayson. Judy Garland's number, "A Great Lady Has an Interview" (music and lyrics by Roger Edens and Kay Thompson, choreography by Charles Walters), originally was offered to Greer Garson as spoof of her high-toned Mrs. Miniver/Madame Curie image. . The film was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and featured musical numbers by Busby Berkeley. Louise Brooks portrait by Alfred Cheney Johnston. In "Number, Please", the voice of Jeffrey Kirsten is provided by Peter Lawford in one of his first MGM assignments. Ironically, MGM would buy the rights to "Show Boat" from Universal in 1942 and remake the musical, in Technicolor, in 1951 (Show Boat (1951)). Alfred Cheney Johnston died in a car crash near his home in Connecticut in 1971. She went to great lengths to make sure that writer William Anthony McGuire never besmirched the good name of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., hence the playing down of his infidelities. While he is known for mostly photographing the Follies girls, he did photograph quite of number of actresses of the day, including Nita Naldi and Helen Ware in the 20s all the way to a nude of Julie Newmar (Catwoman in TVs Batman) in the 50s. Among others,known and unknown. Hence, although he had a bit of camera experience using a camera to record his painting subjects, he jumped into photography as his new creative medium. He was married to film star Janet Gaynor for twenty years. Afterwards, teams of workers used large rackets to keep them under control, but the gas from the bubbles remained a constant hazard, and between each take Minnelli would order the soundstage's doors open so the cast and crew could breathe. The beautiful costume sketches shown in the opening scenes are uncredited, but may have been done by the talented Adrian or his staff. Among the ideas planned in the film, but not used, included: - A spoof of the musical "Lady in the Dark" with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner, and Fred Astaire. Answer: Fanny Brice Fanny Brice really existed, and as well as starring in the 'Ziegfeld Follies' on Broadway, made a few movies between 1928 and 1946. On the first day of filming the finale, the gas produced by the bubbles caused Vincente Minnelli's cameraman to faint on top of a forty foot lift. Like her character, Judy came in with her father (Frank Gumm) as her accompanist and was flopping until Roger Edens, like Slayton (Paul Kelly) in the film, took over the audition, coached her to sing more softly and subtly, and got her the MGM contract. Over a thousand people were employed in the production of the film, which required 16 reels of film after the cutting. Judy's two commercial cuts, arranged and conducted by Victor Young, recorded on January 26, 1945 and released on March 22, along with an alternate take of "This Heart of Mine", have been presented on her CD box set from MCA, "The Complete Decca Masters (Plus)". Silent Movie Icon Clara Bow by Alfred Cheney Johnston. Gallagher & Shean was one of the most famous vaudeville and Ziegfeld Follies comedy teams. Judy Garland, Hedy Lamar and Lana Turner--three of the most glamorous leading ladies of the Golden Age of Hollywood--star with Jimmy Stewart as young women, each chosen for a life of fame on stage as a Ziegfeld Girl. The Harlem Opera House was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein. Despite his top billing, James Stewart is on screen for a total of roughly 26 minutes, accounting for only 19.7 percent of the film. The Great Ziegfeld (1936) Trivia Showing all 51 items A.A. Trimble, who portrays Will Rogers in the film, was actually a Cleveland map salesman who frequently impersonated Rogers at Rotarian lunches. - A tap dance number for Eleanor Powell. Ray Bolger never worked for Ziegfeld, although he is presented in the film as a Ziegfeld star. Lana Turner's character was loosely modeled after real-life Ziegfeld Girl Lillian Lorraine, who once suffered a drunken fall into the orchestra pit during an extravagant number. William Powell was loaned by MGM to Universal for the film, but Universal sold the film to MGM when costs mounted. Planned in 1938 to be made with Eleanor Powell, Joan Crawford, Virginia Bruce and Walter Pidgeon. This was substantially more than it cost Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. to produce a whole show according to former Ziegfeld girl Doris Eaton. It was published in 1937, and devoted to his nudes and glamour photography. Fears also lived out a show business myth: the chorus girl going on for the star. The Harlem Opera House was built in 1889 by Oscar Hammerstein. The leaded glass lamp shade that was used as set dressing for the home of Lana Turner's parents is a 15-inch "owl" shade, produced by the Duffner and Kimberly company (likely sometime between 1905-1913). One of two Best Picture Oscar winners with a 'Z' in the title. Ada-May Weeks Adrienne Ames Agnes Franey Alberta Turner Albertina Vitak Alice Wilkie Alma Mamay Ann Pennington Annette Downs Barbara Stanwyck Bea Ackerman Billie Dove Caryl Bergman Catherine Moylan Ed Gallagher died is 1929 and is played here by Charles Winninger, but Al Shean portrays himself. When. The set for "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" took months to build and cost over $200,000. Directors Busby Berkeley (musical numbers directed by) Robert Z. Leonard Writers Marguerite Roberts (screen play by) Sonya Levien (screen play by) William Anthony McGuire (original story by) She also posed for artists like James Montgomery Flagg and Alfred Cheney Johnston. Franz is rejected because his musical skills are too good for the job, and Sandra becomes a showgirl over Franz' objections in order to earn needed income, causing a rift between the couple. Despite its mass publication as one of the featured songs, "It's Been So Long" is never performed in the film. Other Ziegfeld girls included Leone Sousa, Monica Van Munster,[3] Mildred Chris Kennedy,[4] Irene Amelia Melfi and Dorothy Hale. Long Island was filled with duck farms. (1968), 10)Amadeus (1984), 11)Chicago (2002). Adrian is credited with designing the gowns in this film. Ed Gallagher died is 1929 and is played here by Charles Winninger, but Al Shean portrays himself. This was James Stewart's last performance before serving military service in World War II. In the opening scenes with Shiela Regan (Lana Turner) as the elevator operator, she is describing to a friend her meeting Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. on her elevator. She was saved when Maxine Cantway and Sheila Browning helped extinguish the flames. After the songwriters demonstrated this change-of-pace routine at the home of the actress, her mother opined, "Well, I don't think so." Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life, but not necessarily for the better. Unfortunately, most available versions of the latter Jazz Age film are from surviving prints with all offensive material censored. During the 1920s, three New York girls pursue careers performing in the iconic Ziegfeld Follies. O'Shea all attended the Boston opening. "Love" sung by Lena Horne was not a "ghetto". Nat Pendleton was a former champion weightlifter and easily duplicated some of Eugen Sandow's feats in this film. As a result, the audience is never certain of the fate of the character, because the film jumps to the Judy Garland finale. Other Ziegfeld girls went onto societal and business successes such as Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Helen Gallagher, Anastasia Reilly,[2] Sybil Carmen, and Irene Hayes. Excellent article that is entertaining and informative!!! Gene Kelly is allegedly in the Judy Garland "Trinidad" sequence. According to Samuel Marx, an M-G-M executive at the time, this film cost $2.2 million and went on to gross $2.9 million, making it profitable but less so than it might have been with a more constrained budget. In the scene where Lana Turner reports to Ziegfeld's office when she enters and sees how many other girls are auditioning to her left, sitting, are two beautiful hopefuls. Alice M. Wilkie (1902-1987) joined George White's "Scandals" in 1923 where she spent several seasons and became a very popular dancer. James Melton filmed with a wet handkerchief in his mouth to protect his voice. But she was considered too old to cast by the studio. As parents, we share a desire to help our children look and feel their best. The horse ridden by Lucille Ball is The Lone Ranger (1949)'s Silver. Find out about popular radio shows, movies, music, books, foods, sports facts, famous birthdays, and other cool pop culture trends to get the right mix of questions and answers for your 1940s-themed trivia game. Sexual innuendo occurs several times. A third test run was also done at the Loew's New Rochelle Theatre per The New York Times of September 2, 1945. This infuriated Burke who was under contract with MGM at the time and could have played herself. Years later, a considerable number of original Johnston printed and autographed photographic prints and many original negatives were purchased at several auctions by at least four different American collectors. 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