Ginger Rogers (1911–1995)

I learned many interesting things about Ginger Rogers when I read her autobiography in the summer of 2023. Here are some highlights:

* Networking constantly kept her in the film business.

* So did dating inside Hollywood's social set.

* An aggressive mother as manager helped her become a success.

* Her mother made up most of her contracts with the studios.

* Ginger liked to retreat to nature when she needed to recuperate from her busy schedules in Hollywood.

* This is why she bought and kept a remote house in Oregon for more than 50 years, in addition to her Hollywood house.

* She was an amateur artist and a self-made actress.

* She learned on the job to apply her natural talent.

* She was a gifted writer, as her mother was before her.

* She had a gift for storytelling and descriptive language.

* Instead of performing in Dolly and Mame, perhaps she should have written several books.

* She had poor taste in men, so she married many times.

* She dated fellow actors.

* She was introduced to intercontinental travel when she was in her 50s.

* She was a believer in angels and in faith healing through Christian science.

At 500 pages, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining read.

The book made me nostalgic for her films.

Over a couple of Saturdays after reading the book, I binged on Ginger Rogers - Fred Astaire movies from my collection.

She was a great actress, dancer, and writer.

Buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ginger-My-Story-Rogers/dp/0061564702… (meer)

When MGM decided to remake its own “Grand Hotel” it pulled out all the stops. Vicky Baum’s story of several people crossing paths is set at the lavish Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. MGM provided a glossy sheen and top stars like Ginger Rogers, Van Johnson and Lana Turner. The result is a more accessible movie than the original Garbo and Barrymore film, and Robert Z. Leonard takes the great cast through their paces quite nicely.

Ginger Rogers is the busy but lonely movie star Irene Malvern who, through a chain of circumstances believes war correspondent Chip Collier (Walter Pigeon) is her secretary’s boyfriend and has come to steal her jewels. When Collier can’t convince her otherwise, he plays along to have some fun. This creates an amusing circumstance in which they end up pretending to be married! There is charm and a lot of fun to their play-romance which slowly blossoms into a very real one. Both Rogers and Pigeon look like they're having great fun and work well together.

The second story involves a young and lovely Lana Turner as Bunny, the hotel stenographer who wants a penthouse kind of life. By chance she takes dictation from a doctor about an operation planned after the weekend on Captain James Hollis to remove shrapnel fragments from around his heart. Van Johnson had one of his best roles as the young Hollis, who may not survive without a reason to live. When he comes to Bunny to dictate his will, Johnson nearly breaks your heart, and Bunny's too. It causes her to suddenly falter in her determination to have Park Avenue.

The third connecting is story involves a big businessman named Edly (Edward Arnold) attempting a shady oil deal with Sheiks that may not be good for the country. Colliers' bumbling protege Oliver (Keenan Wynn) seeks his help to get the story. Edly, of course, has his eye on Bunny, and wants her to be his confidential secretary. All these stories crisscross and at the beautiful Waldorf Astoria.

This is a very enjoyable film that will have you smiling a lot and laughing quite a bit. The rest of the time it tugs at your heart. Xavier Cugat has a nice turn as the Waldorf’s bandleader, and becomes involved in Hollis’s story in a way I won't spoil for you. This MGM film has a luster that extends beyond what the eyes see and is a great film to add to your classic film viewing.… (meer)