This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This week's theme is "actors playing themselves". This isn't too difficult, as a lot of movies have cameos. However, I wanted to see if I could come up with some movies that have the actors playing themselves getting somewhat more substantial roles. I think I came up with three good ones:
Night and Day (1946). Cary Grant plays songwriter Cole Porter in this Technicolor biopic full of Porter tunes. In real life Porter had been a college classmate of one Monty Woolley, who would go on to become an actor in such films is The Bishop's Wife. Here, Woolley plays himself.
Four Jills in a Jeep (1944). Carole Landis did a bunch of tours with the USO during World War II, and wrote a book about it. That book inspired this movie, with Landis and three others playing themselves (Kay Francis, Martha Raye, and Mitzi Mayfair) signing up to do a tour for the boys not quite knowing what they're getting themselves into. What they get into is modestly unnerving for them, and nothing like what the soldiers were really facing, but enough for them to gain a greater appreciation of what the GIs were up against in World War II.
Starlift (1951). Somebody during the Korean war thought about all those morale-boosters done during World War II and thought that what the Korean War vets needed was a similar movie. Ron Hagerthy plays an Air Force corporal from the same home town as an up-and-coming actress. The corporal's sergeant friend (Dick Wesson) convinces the suits at the studio that they'd make a good couple, and get the stars to do a series of shows at Travis AFB near San Francisco. These include Doris Day, who's technically the star here; Ruth Roman and James Cagney are among the Warner Bros. stars who have cameos.
2 comments:
I have seen only parts of the Car6 Grant film but Monty Woolley is one of my favourite character actors, I have not seen the other 2 but want to really see 4 Girls and a Jeep. I always like Carole Landis and always sad when she died so young due to Sexy Rexy. You picked some great ones.
Night and Day isn't a bad film per se if you look at it musically, it's actually glorious. But if you are looking for anything close to a reflection of Cole Porter's real story it's pure hogwash outside of him knowing Monty Woolley. Monty's his typical blustering delightful self. Jane Wyman, at the tail end of her blonde phase, is delightful as the somewhat brassy Gracie and both Ginny Simms and Alexis Smith add class to the picture but it's a puff piece.
Four Jills in a Jeep is a bit of an odd beast, the girl buddy movie taken to the battlefield. I've read that the relationships between the four women was a bit more fraught than what's depicted but that's hardly surprising. I enjoyed the film, it was a better showcase for Martha Raye and Mitzi Mayfair than Kay and Carole but it's not one I felt any great draw to watch again real soon.
All I remember from Starlift is the guest appearances by Doris Day, Gordon MacRae and Ruth Roman (LOVE her) and that the story made the one in Hollywood Canteen look like high art. It's been many years though since I've watched it though.
I wish I had been able to come up with some more vintage picks but I blanked on this initially outside of my first and had to poke around to come up with my other two which are more current.
Airplane! -Kareem Abdul Jabar (1980)-Wacky spoof of disaster movies and in particular the 1957 Dana Andrews/Linda Darnell film Zero Hour! Kareem plays himself though for some reason he’s pretending to be co-pilot Roger Murdock leading to many puns.
Wings of Desire-Peter Falk (1987)-Dreamy and cerebral fantasy from Wim Wenders about two angels, Damiel & Cassiel who float above Berlin offering rays of hope for the downtrodden without their knowledge. When Damiel falls for trapeze artist Marion and longs for a non-spectral existence he is given some unexpected advice from Peter Falk (as himself) who harbors a secret unknown to all.
Zoolander-David Bowie (2001)-In this loony satire of the male modeling industry the legendary Bowie appears as the judge of a fashion runway “walk-off” between Ben Stiller’s Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson’s rival male model Hansel McDonald.
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