The Reformer and the Redhead (1950).

The Reformer and the Redhead(1950), Directed by Melvin Frank. Cast: June Allyson, Dick Powell and David Wayne. In early 1949, Lana Turner was set to star, in this film instead of June.


The corrupt Commodore John Balwind Parker and his ruff and tumble niece, Lily, have just returned from Africa, where they have been on a hunting safari. They proudly display their trophies at the zoo, in front of the lion cage much to the dismay of cute little Dr. Kevin G. Maguire, the zoo superintendent.

Kevin is fired from his job, which angers his hot headed daughter Kathleen, who works as a bus tour guide at the zoo. Kathy, knows that her father was fired because he did not want to display the mounted trophies on the walls. She interrupts their trophy presentation with fist fight between Lily and Kathy. When Kathy is charged with assault and battery, disturbing the peace and suspicion of inciting a riot, she asks, reporter Tim Harveigh, for help. Tim suggests that take her case to attorney Andrew Rockton Hale, who is running for mayor of Oakport. Tim and Kathy are unaware, that he is making plans to join forces with Parker.

After meeting with Parker and realizing that Parker intends only to use him, he decides to blackmail Parker . Kathy, unaware of his plans, gives Andrew information he needs. To prove her accusations, Kathy takes Andrew to her ranch to meet her father, who knows more about Parker's actions in the community.

At the ranch, Andrew has his first encounter with their pet lion, Caeser. After, getting accustomed to the lion, Andrew turns his attentions to Kathy.

When Andrew, returns from Sacramento with prove of Parker's corruption, he makes a deal with him to keep quiet in exchange for his support. Kathy, breaks off their engagement when Tim tells her about Andrew's deal with Parker. He is  unaware that Herman, a dangerous lion, has escaped from the zoo and believing that it is Caesar, coxes him into his car. Will he find out that he has befriended a killer lion, before it is too late for him to make it up to Kathy?

I wanted to see this film because of the actors. June Allyson and Dick Powell, who bring their usual charm to a movie. The high points for me, was the performance of Kathleen Freeman a wonderful character actor, playing the hunter's daughter and a couple of cute animal performances. I'm glad that I watched the classic, The Reformer and the Redhead, but.. I probably will not watch it again.

Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1919 – August 23, 2001) Career spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, with wonderful comic effect. She began her career as a child, dancing in her parents' vaudeville act. After studying music at UCLA, she went into acting full time, working on the stage, and finally entering films in 1948. She was a founding member, in 1946, of the Circle Players at The Circle Theatre, now known as El Centro Theatre. Freeman's most notable early role was an uncredited part in the 1952 musical Singin' in the Rain, as Jean Hagen's articulate diction coach Phoebe Dinsmore. In 1954, Freeman played receptionist Miss Seely for lawyer Adam Calhorn Shaw in, Athena. Beginning with the 1955 film Artists and Models, Freeman became a favorite foil of Jerry Lewis, playing opposite him in 11 films.

  Still other film roles included appearances in The Missouri Traveler (1958), The Fly (1958), the Westerns, Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), and appearances in a spate of comedies in the 1980s and 1990s.

Freeman played Sister Mary Stigmata (referred to as The Penguin) in John Landis' The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000, had cameos in Joe Dante's Innerspace and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (as tipsy cooking host Microwave Marge in 2), and a Ma Barker type gangster mother in Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult.

In addition to teaching acting classes in Los Angeles, Freeman was also a familiar presence on television. She appeared from the 1950s until her death in regular or recurring roles on many sitcoms, including Topper (as Katie the maid), The Donna Reed Show (as Mrs. Wilgus, the Stone's busybody next door neighbor), Hogan's Heroes (as Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer, General Burkhalter's sister, who longed to wed Colonel Klink), Mrs. Kate Harwell, Sandy Duncan's landlady and friend in Funny Face; I Dream of Jeannie (as a grouchy supervisor in a false preview of Maj. Nelson's future), the short-lived prehistoric sitcom It's About Time (as Mrs. Boss), and as the voice of Peg Bundy's mom, an unseen character on Married... with Children.

She played guest roles on shows: The Lucy Show, The Beverly Hillbillies and The Dick Van Dyke Show and Home Improvement. She also played Sister Agnes in an episode of The Golden Girls. Freeman was considered for the part of Alice the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch, the role that ultimately went to Ann B. Davis. In 1969, Freeman made a guest appearance on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., playing Sergeant Carter's mother in the episode "I'm Always Chasing Gomers." She costarred in the 1973-74 sitcom Lotsa Luck, playing Dom DeLuise's mother. In later years, Freeman also worked extensively as a voice actress, playing Ma Crackshell on DuckTales, a Theban woman in Disney's Hercules, and fortune teller Madame Xima in the video game Curse of Monkey Island. Freeman remained active in her last two years, with a regular voice role on As Told By Ginger, a voice bit in the animated feature film Shrek, a guest appearance on the sitcom Becker and, most notably, scoring a Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for her role of accompanist Jeannette Burmeister in the Broadway musical version of The Full Monty.

In her final episode of As Told By Ginger, Season 2's "No Hope For Courtney", Freeman's character, Mrs. Gordon, retires from her teaching job though two of her students try convincing her to return to work. The script was originally written to have Mrs. Gordon come back to work, but Freeman died before the episode was finished. The script was then re-written to make her character die as well. The episode was dedicated in her memory.

Beep Beep'm Beep Beep Yeah.

June Allyson

The XM-800 was featured in the 1954 movie "Womans World" starring Fred MacMurray, Lauren Bacall, Van Hefflin, June Allyson, Clifton Webb, Arlene Dahl and Cornell Wilde.

Her Highness and the Bellboy(1945).

Her Highness and the Bellboy(1945). Cast: Hedy Lamarr, June Allyson, Agnus Morehead and Robert Walker.

The story begins, when a beautiful princess falls in love with a handsome American reporter. She travels to New York, just to be with him. While staying at one of the city's best hotels she meets a bellhop who thinks she is her a maid. She invites him to be her escort, not realizing he has fallen in love with her. It is not long before he thinks that she feels the same way he does.

Later, the bellhop goes to visit a young woman who is a invalid. He doesn't realize that the girl is in love with him. After the princess finds her reporter, he turns her way, because he thinks they are from two different worlds. She is broken hearted and the bellhop asks if he can help. She asks him to take her to a bar called Jake's Joint to look for her reporter.

In a tuxedo, the bellhop stops by to visit his invalid friend before his date. He gives her the corsage he had bought for the princess and after he leaves, she cries. At the club, the princess looks for the reporter, but he is no where to be found. The bellhop's friend is there with some thugs and a fight breaks out. The police raid Jake's Joint and the princess is hauled off in the paddy wagon. The reporter gets there in time to see her carried off.

When the bellhop gets back to the hotel, he learns the princess's father has died and she is now queen. The reporter bails her out and they return to her hotel. When the queen learns her father has died she makes plans to go home and offers the bellhop a job. But instead, the bellhop thinks she wants him to be her consort. When he visits his invalid friend to say goodbye, she takes a step and he promises that she will get well. Both the new queen and the bellhop have some big decisions to make.

Fun Facts:

M-G-M saved money by utilizing the same main set as the one from "Weekend at the Waldorf" (1945). When that company finished, "Her Highness and the Bellboy" moved in.

Mickey Rooney was supposed to star in this movie but Rooney ended up being drafted into the war, so Robert Walker was cast instead.

This was Hedy Lamarr's last film she did for MGM under her contract. After this she went on to free lance.

What I was expecting was a fluffy chick flick film, turned out to be a really a beautiful movie, which makes you think about who your friends really are.

Keep Your Powder Dry(1945).

Keep Your Powder Dry(1945). Drama starring Lana Turner, Susan Peters, and Laraine Day. The film was directed by Edward Buzzell and written by George Bruce and Mary C. McCall, Jr.

One sunny morning Valerie Parks, is told by the family attorney, that she will not receive her trust fund until she proves that she deserves it, so she decides to join the WACS. Next.. on the list to join, Ann Darrison, who decides to enlist after her serviceman husband John is sent overseas. Last, but not least is Leigh Rand, the daughter of a military family, who also decides enlists.

The three new recruits, meet on the way to the Ft. Des Moines training camp and Leigh and Val, instantly develop a dislike for each other and Darrison becomes the mediator, when all three are assigned as mechanics, in the same unit. Leigh challenges Val, saying she never will complete basic training. Val, proves her wrong and does very well in class. Val and Leigh, eventually become friends and all three girls are accepted into Officers' Candidate School.

One day, Capt. Bill Barclay, a friend of Ann's husband, arrives at their base to visit Ann. Later, Bill meets Val and asks her on a date, Leigh, who is attracted to Bill herself, reminds them that enlisted WACS are forbidden to date officers. Leigh arranges for Val, to be assigned to duty that night to prevent them from meeting. Which angers Val and so ends their friendship.

Later Val, receives a telegram from her attorney, telling her that he is in town, she goes to meet him. Instead, she is met by her old friends Harriet and a drunken Junior Vanderheusen. Val tells her friends, that she plans to stay in the military and gives them a piece of her mind. Insulted, Junior spills his drink on Val's uniform.

Knowing that she cannot return to the barracks smelling of alcohol, Val goes to see Leigh, who is on leave and staying in the next room. Val, begs her to bring her a clean uniform in the morning. Leigh agrees, but when she returns to the hotel the next morning with the clean uniform, she runs into Junior in the elevator.

After learning from Junior, that Val only joined the military to receive her inheritance. Leigh, launches into a campaign to get rid of Val. Two days before graduation, Val, unable to stand her abuse, slaps Leigh in the face and marches off the field.

Later when Val, refuses to stick up for herself to their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Spottiswoode. The officer calls Leigh, before the board and informs her that her platoon has rated her unfit to be an officer. Leigh, takes the blame for Val's outburst.

Col. Spottiswoode goes to see Anne and informs her that her husband has been killed in combat. When Leigh and Val, hear about Ann's loss, her courage shames them into staying the corps.



I recently saw this classic movie on TCM for the first time. I would call it a female version of a WWII buddy movie. Agnes Moorehead, Natalie Schafer and June Lockhart have supporting roles.

Susan Peters (July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952). Her first job was to read with potential actors in their screen tests. Before long she had impressed studio executives with her own talent, and they began casting her in films.

For the first two years she used her given name and played small, uncredited parts in the film, Meet John Doe (1941). Her first substantial role was in the film, Random Harvest (1942), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. MGM, cast her in the starring role in the film, Song of Russia (1943).

Peters was married to the actor Richard Quine on November 7, 1943. A couple of months after performing in the film, Keep Your Powder Dry, Peters and her husband were duck hunting when a rifle accidentally discharged, causing a bullet to be lodged in her spine. The accident left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Peters attempted to continue her acting career.

MGM continued to pay her salary, unable to find suitable projects, Peters left the studio. She returned for the lead role in, The Sign of the Ram (1948). Unfortunately, her disability made her a difficult actress to cast.