#dore schary

The Killing (1956, Stanley Kubrick)

Noirvember hits the Scream Scene team with THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946), a film noir combining Gothic horror & slasher tropes.

Starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent & Ethel Barrymore, this old dark house flick comes from RKO and director Robert Siodmak.

“MGM’s 30th Anniversary Tribute” (S7;E23) ~ February 14, 1954

Directed by Robert Bleyer and John Moffitt

Ed Sullivan (Host) was a preeminent television variety show host who is best remembered for hosting his own show, at first titled “Toast of the Town” but later simply known as “The Ed Sullivan Show,” which became a staple of Sunday night viewing for millions of Americans from 1948 to 1971. As such, his name was often mentioned on “I Love Lucy” and Lucille Ball’s subsequent sitcoms. He introduced America to such entertainers as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Supremes. Sullivan entered icon status when he and his television show were worked into the plot of the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie in 1960. The musical includes the song “Hymn for a Sunday Evening” which has a chorus that repeats Sullivan’s name in a choir-like harmony. Hope made an appearance in the 1964 film version. The theatre on Broadway in New York City where Sullivan did his weekly show was named after him in 1967. He died in 1974.

Dore Schary (Himself) was born Isadore Schary in Newark, New Jersey, in 1905. After working on Broadway he went to Hollywood were he eventually became head of MGM in 1948, ousting its founder Louis B. Mayer. He would helm the studio until 1956 and was in charge during Lucy and Desi’s filming of The Long, Long Trailer and Forever, Darling. In 1955 he was supposed to play himself on “I Love Lucy,” but backed out at the last moment and he was played by Phil Ober (Vivian Vance's husband) instead.  

The MGM Stars

Lucille Ball (Herself / Tacy Collini from The Long, Long Trailer) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled after just 13 episodes.

Desi Arnaz (Himself / Nick Collini from The Long, Long Trailer) was born in Cuba in 1917 and immigrated to America as a youngster. He was a musician who married Lucille Ball in 1940 after meeting her on the set of 1939’s Too Many Girls, which he had done on stage in New York. In order to keep him ‘off the road’ Ball convinced producers to cast him as her husband in a new television project based on her radio show “My Favorite Husband.” The network was convinced. In 1951, Arnaz and Ball began playing Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, roles they would be identified with for the rest of their lives. The couple had two children together, Lucie and Desi Jr. In 1960, Ball and Arnaz divorced. Desi became a producer, responsible for such hits as “The Mothers-in-Law” (1967-69). He re-married in 1963. Desi Aranz died in 1986, just a few years before Ball.

Lucy and Desi enter to the tune of “The I Love Lucy Theme”.

Fred Astaire (Himself / Tom Bowen from Royal Wedding / Don Hewes from Easter Parade) was one of the most famous performers in Hollywood, known for his dancing, singing, and directing. He did four films with Lucille Ball between 1935 and 1945, three with his dance partner, Ginger Rogers. Astaire received an honorary Oscar in 1950.  He died in 1987 at age 88.

Ann Blyth (Herself / Kathie Ruder from The Student Prince) was nominated for an Oscar for her appearance in 1945's Mildred Pierce. Blyth was equally at home in musicals, a specialty of MGM.  

Cy Charisse (Herself) was born Tula Ellice Finklea in Amarillo, Texas. She was best known as a dancer in the MGM movie musicals of the 1950s. She did two films with Lucille Ball in the mid-1940s. She died in 2008 at age 86.

Van Johnson (Himself) co-starred in Too Many Girls (1940), the film that introduced Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz. He was also seen with Lucy in the films Easy to Wed (1946) and the recently released Yours, Mine and Ours in 1968. He played himself on one of the most popular episodes of “I Love Lucy,” “The Dancing Star” (ILL S4;E27) as well as an episode of “The Lucy Show.” He starred in The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947) and the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny. He died in 2008 at age 92.

Howard Keel (Himself / Adam from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers / Frank Butler from Annie Get Your Gun) was discovered by Oscar Hammerstein II during auditions for John Raitt’s replacement in Broadway’s Carousel in 1946. After that, he also went on to play Curly in Oklahoma! He is probably best remembered for his role in MGM’s Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), a film that was mentioned on “I Love Lucy.” On TV he played Clayton Farlow on “Dallas” (1981-91). His only acting appearance with Lucille Ball was on a 1969 episode of “Here's Lucy.” Keel died in 2004.

Gene Kelly (Himself / Don Lockwood from Singin' in the Rain) was an Oscar-winning performer who did four films with Lucille Ball between 1943 and 1967. In 1978 Lucille Ball was seen on the TV tribute special “Gene Kelly: An American in Pasadena.” In 1980, Kelly turned up on “Lucy Moves To NBC.”  A Hollywood legend for his effortless dancing, Kelly died in 1996 at age 83.

Ann Miller (Herself) was a performer best known for her singing and tap dancing in movie musicals, as well as her shapely legs.  It is said that she was discovered by Lucille Ball while doing a show at a nightclub in San Francisco. She subsequently did four films with Lucille Ball, including Too Many Girls (1940), the film that introduced Lucy to Desi Arnaz. Miller died in 2004 at age 80.

Walter Pidgeon (Himself / Frederick Alderson from Executive Suite) was a Canadian-born actor who was nominated for two Oscars in 1942 and 1943. He died in 1984 at age 87.

Jane Powell (Herself / Ellen Bowen from Royal Wedding) was best known for her role as Milly in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). After 1957, her film roles disappeared and Powell began performing on stage.  

Debbie Reynolds (Herself) was nominated for an Oscar for playing The Unsinkable Molly Brown in 1964. Her first big hit was playing Kathy Selden in MGM's Singin' in the Rain in 1952. She died in 2016 at age 86.

Lana Turner (Herself) was one of Hollywood's most popular actresses and also a favorite of Fred Mertz. She was best known for her femme fatale roles. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1957 for Peyton Place. Turner was seen with Lucille Ball in Du Barry Was A Lady (1943). She died in 1995 at age 74.

Esther Williams (Herself / Eve Barrett from Neptune's Daughter) was an actress best known for her aquatic roles. Lucille Ball starred with Williams in Easy to Wed (1946) and Ziegfeld Follies (1945). Williams was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in 1955.  

Also Appearing

Lionel Barrymore (Himself) was the patriarch of the Barrymore acting family of stage and screen. His most famous role was that of the nefarious banker Mr. Potter in It's A Wonderful Life (1946). Barrymore had difficulty walking later in life, which accounts for the fact that he does not enter with the other MGM stars in the opening number, and why he is discovered sitting in the screening room after the first clips segment.

Edmund Purdom (Prince Karl from The Student Prince) was an English-born actor who also appeared in MGM's Julius Caesar. Purdom holds the distinction of being the only personality to have their hand/footprints removed from the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater because industry insiders felt the honor was too soon, having only done three credited films.  He spent his later life in Italy and died there in 2009.

Johnny Green (Himself, Conductor) was a composer and MGM's General Musical Director. He conducts the orchestra for the program.  

Julia Meade (Herself, Mercury Spokeswoman) became a household name showing off dream cars of the '50s like Lincoln and Mercury bedecked in evening dresses and strings of pearls, while describing the cars with perfectly manicured hands running up and down the upholstery. She died in 2016 at age 90.

ANNIVERSARY TRIVIA

To mark their 30th anniversary, MGM also had a ten-minute orchestral overture produced for symphony orchestra comprised of themes from eleven of their great musicals. Johnny Green conducted the overture, which was filmed in Cinemascope and in color to run along with their motion pictures in cinemas. 

MGM also issued a record album consisting of excerpts from the soundtracks of many of their musicals.  

MGM also hosted a press event with a small number of their stars which turned up on newsreels nationwide. Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary shook hands in front of a large cake. 

TOAST OF THE TOWN 

After Ed Sullivan makes some welcoming remarks, the opening number introduces the celebrities, who get out of a white limousine and walk the red carpet, greeted by fans who shout their name and the cameras of the press. These celebrities included Lucy and Desi, who are the only couple introduced and the only ones only introduced by just their first names.  

Sullivan introduces MGM studio executive Dore Schary, who invites him to his private screening room. This is actually just an adjacent set on the soundstage. 

One year later, Schary was to play himself on an episode of “I Love Lucy,” but withdrew at the last moment. The role was taken by Vivian Vance's husband, Phil Ober. Some said that Schary was reluctant to do television as it was supplanting MGM's film attendance, but Schary's official reason was illness. Because Ricky Ricardo (like the Arnazes) would work for MGM, it made sense to mention Schary's name early in the Hollywood episodes. Lucy's forgetful mother, Mrs. McGillicuddy (Kathryn Card), often said “Who's Dore Schary?”  

In the screening room, Sullivan and Schary engage in some friendly banter (obviously read off teleprompters) in which Schary gets in a plug for MGM's upcoming film Julius Caesar directed by Joseph Mankewicz. Sullivan introduces a retrospect of MGM's first three decades, which includes a title card, and a film clip for the following movies:

THE BIG PARADE (1924) starring John Gilbert and Rene Adoree

BEN HUR (1925) starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman

MIN AND BILL (1930) starring Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler

DINNER AT EIGHT (1933) starring Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable

SAN FRANCISCO (1936) starring Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald

BOYS TOWN (1938) starring Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy

GRAND HOTEL (1932) starring Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) starring Groucho Marx and Margaret Dumont

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant

GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) staring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh

Sullivan adds that Gone With The Wind will be re-released in 1954. He mentions a few films that were not included in the clips: Mrs. Miniver, The Yearling, Battleground, Ivanhoe, Mogambo, Quo Vadis and Knights of the Roundtable.

Noticeable by its absence is The Wizard of Oz (1939) which (a lot like Lucille Ball herself) was only considered a classic after being seen repeatedly on television. The musical fantasy film was not aired on TV until 1956, two years after this program.  

When the tribute is over, Sullivan and Schary are joined in the screening room by Lionel Barrymore, the patriarch of the fabled Drew / Barrymore acting dynasty. Barrymore introduces a young singer named Debbie Reynolds, who, dressed in overalls in a backstage setting, performs a number called “Applause, Applause” which she sang in the 1953 MGM musical Give A Girl A Break.

Blooper Alert! After the number, when Sullivan and Schary are seen in front of the curtain, the audio cuts out and only slowly returns during their conversation.

Sullivan and Schary do a live promo for their sponsor, Mercury automobiles. Schary says that Mercury cars were prominently featured in their new film The Long, Long Trailer and screens a montage of clips from the Vincente Minnelli film. Although most of the clips are of the car (which towed the title trailer), there is one classic clip of Lucy trying to make dinner in the moving trailer and one of Desi singing – both stars doing what they did best. The film premiered four days after this program aired.

After the clips, Sullivan is standing in front of a brand new 1954 Mercury which contains Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the front seat. (The car in the film was a 1953 model.)  Sullivan reminds the audience that he gave Lucy and Desi the Emmy Award for “I Love Lucy” sponsored by Philip Morris. Desi has a couple of lines; Lucille merely laughs.  

Blooper Alert: During the Mercury spot, Sullivan is looking into the wrong camera.  

Hearing orchestral music, Sullivan approaches Dore Schary who introduces Edmund Purdom and Ann Blyth doing a live scene from their upcoming film The Student Prince, which will be released in June 1954. Because Purdom's singing voice was dubbed by Mario Lanza in the finished film, he does not sing, although Blyth performs “Deep in My Heart, Dear.”  

Back in the screening room, Sullivan and Schary promote Ann Blyth's appearance in the upcoming MGM film Rosemarie. Schary presents a promo for the new film Executive Suite, which features William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Frederic March, Walter Pidgeon, Shelley Winters, Paul Douglas, Dean Jagger, and Nina Foch.  Douglas, Winters, and Douglas would all guest star in “Lucy” sitcoms.  

Schary introduces Howard Keel from the upcoming MGM musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Stepping into a barn setting, Keel becomes Adam, his character in the film, and along with his six 'brothers' sings “Sobbin' Women.” The film opened in July 1954. In March 1956 it was mentioned on “I Love Lucy.” 

Sullivan introduces the evening's conductor Johnny Green, and Jane Powell, who sings “The Jewel Song” from the opera Faust by Charles Gounod.

Back in the screening room, Schary introduces another round of clips, this time from famous MGM musicals:

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950) starring Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Keenan Wynn and Louis Calhern singing “There's No Business Like Show Business” by Irving Berlin

NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER (1949) starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban singing “Baby, It's Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) starring Gene Kelly singing “Singin' in the Rain” by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed

ROYAL WEDDING (1951) starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell singing “How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life” by Burton Lane and Alan J. Lerner

BECAUSE YOU'RE MINE (1952) starring Mario Lanza and Doretta Morrow singing “Because You're Mine” by Nicholas Brodzsky and Sammy Cahn

EASTER PARADE (1948) starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire singing “Easter Parade” by Irving Berlin

Back in the screening room, Ed Sullivan informs the audience that the show is coming from the brand new CBS Television City in Hollywood.  Julia Meade shows the model of Television City.  This is the same model shown by Jack Benny on “Stars in the Eye” the show that celebrated the new studio in 1952.  It also featured Lucy and Desi.  Meade turns this segment into a live commercial for Mercury.  

Dore Schary introduces Lana Turner (backed up by Nick Anderson, John Erickson, Steve Forest, Edmond Purdom) who perform “A Great Lady Has an Interview,” by Roger Edens and Kay Thompson, a song sequence originally performed by Judy Garland in Ziegfeld Follies, a 1946 film that also starred Lucille Ball.  

Surrounded by the MGM stars, Sullivan and Schary say goodnight.

On This Date in Lucy History ~ February 14

"Don Juan and the Starlets" (ILL S4;E18) ~ February 14, 1955