Dennis Morgan, 1908-1994

Today marks the birth anniversary of singing actor Dennis Morgan, who was born on this day in 1908. Morgan was never quite a big leading star, although he was successful enough for about a dozen years that he get to play the sort of male lead who was clearly in support of a powerful female lead. Good examples of this phenomenon included:

Playing opposite Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle;
Getting shafted by Bette Davis in In This Our Life;
Having to deal with Ida Lupino in The Hard Way;
Being the man who softens Joan Crawford in This Woman Is Dangerous; and
The soldier hand-picked for Barbara Stanwyck in Christmas in Connecticut, from which the above photo is taken.

When he did get a lead all to himself, he was in dire crap like Tear Gas Squad where he plays a singing Irish-American cop. Awful, awful, awful.

Christmas in Connecticut, as you might be able to guess from the title, is a perennial Christmas favorite, and will be getting another airing on TCM on Christmas Eve at 2:15 PM.