Rosalind Russell

[ken123]

Fantastic in George Cukor's " The Women ". She was also exceptionally good in " Mourning Becomes Electra ". Her " Auntie Mame " was a tour deforce ( if one is permitted to use that term in regard to comedy ) Any thoughts, pro or con ?

[jdb1]

I've always liked Rosalind Russell, and I've always thought that she was a bit different - not like the other classic stars. She was beautiful and elegant, but there was always something about her. You had the impression that she could cut loose without embarrassment. I think that's why she was the ideal choice to play Auntie Mame.

What was that other film I saw her in -- it was based on a popular book of the 40s = she was a widow with children who provided for her family, always maintaining her good humor. I can't think of the name now, but it was really good.

Did anyone see "Mourning Becomes Electra" - shown a few weeks ago during the day? Russell was too old for the part, but I thought she was very good. This was very heavy drama (Eugene O'Neill, after all). She dug very deep and did well against Katina Paxinou, a classically trained Greek actress.

[JulieMarch4th]

Judith, are you referring to Roughly Speaking which teams Roz with Jack Carson? Also a kind of a 'life is a banquet' character.

I also like Roz in the first Angel movie - the one with Hayley Mills.

Julie

[mongoII]

Rosalind Russell is a versatile actress who really didn't get the kudos she deserved.
Although she was nominated 4 times for the Oscar, she never won. Her turn should have came with "Auntie Mame".
I enjoyed her roles in "Roughly Speaking" (lousy title for such a film), "Sister Kenny", "Gypsy" and "Picnic".
If she didn't refuse an Oscar nomination for a supporting role in "Picnic", she would have won. She didn't want to part with her lead actress status.

[jdb1]

Judith, are you referring to Roughly Speaking which teams Roz with Jack Carson? Also a kind of a 'life is a banquet' character.

I also like Roz in the first Angel movie - the one with Hayley Mills.

Julie

Yes, that's the one - "Roughly Speaking." Thanks. It's an interesting film, based on the memoirs of a woman who was determined to be more than 'just a housewife.'

Here's what IMDb says:

"In the 1920s, enterprising Louise Randall is determined to succeed in a man's world. She enrolls at business college but her plans for a career change when she falls in love with handsome Rodney Crane. Although the two have little in common and Rodney disagrees with Louise's views on the woman's role in society, they marry and have four children. Their personality differences eventually lead to a divorce. Louise eventually finds happiness with her second husband, eccentric Harold Pierson."

Jack Carson was the second husband. I think Russell was just right for the part. I hope they are showing it in women's studies curricula.

[srowley75]

Any thoughts, pro or con ?

Roz will be July's star of the month on TCM. I'm looking forward to seeing Bob Osborne's take on her films. Several rarities will be shown, including 1950's A Woman of Distinction and Craig's Wife from 1936.

I consider Russell one of my favorite actresses. Like Kate Hepburn, she often played intelligent, strong-willed, professional ladies in an era when women were supposed to shut up and mind their husbands (I still cringe when I hear Lucille Ball call her husband "sir" on old I Love Lucy episodes).

-Stephen

[charliechaplinfan]

What about her as Hildy in His Girl Friday she was superb, she should have been starred with Grant again, they were good together.

[knitwit45]

Absolutely love Roz. Her catfight with Paulette Goddard in "The Women" was the best part of that movie. Mel Walton started a thread about the little mannerisms you come to expect from certain actors, and I was reminded of her little hand-flutters as she walked. When you saw that, you knew she was about to do something incredibly stupid (read funny). I've never seen Angela Lansbury as "Mame", and I've heard she was terrific, but Roz will always be my favorite "Auntie".

Her turn as Mother Superior in The Trouble With Angels was wonderfully understated, both funny and touching. There was another movie she made late in life, about a Jewish woman meeting a Japanese man, and the obstacles they had to overcome, which I thought was another "star in her crown".

[stuart.uk]

Two of Rosalind Russell's movies spring to mind, Gypsy and Sister Kenny.

perhaps Ethel Merman would have been to volcanic for the sreen version of her stage hit Gypsy, whereas Rosalind might have been more understated and suitable

Sister Kenny is one of the screens great underrated movies, where Rosalind plays a nurse who discovers by accident how to treat polio victims and sacrifices her love life inorder to to fight the Doctors, who dispute her treatment, over a period of several yrs

[moira finnie]

One of the TCM premieres among the Rosalind Russell movies being shown in July is the one that's described below. I've heard and read quite a bit about it (both good and bad)--but think it sounds interesting. Has anyone seen it? Btw, it appears to have been posted on YouTube here, but that's rarely the ideal way to see a movie, at least for me.

I love those Psychology-On-Parade movies from the forties. They are so magical. The shrink is the wise shaman, (presented without too many pesky human foibles) who gives the troubled character a wizardly formula: "Face the problem, Talk about the problem, presto, chango, problem disappears!" Hope you'll post if you've seen this one.

The Guilt of Janet Ames (1947) 7/2 at 1045am EDT

A hard-drinking reporter tries to help the embittered widow of the soldier who had saved his life during the war. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Melvyn Douglas, Sid Caesar. Dir: Henry Levin. BW-83 mins,

[stuart.uk]

Another Rosalind Russell film worth mentioning is Flight For Freedom where she plays aviator Toni Carter, who sacrifices herslf for the war effort. it's also a fitional tribute to real life record breaking pilot Emelia Earhart. the love interest is supplied by Fred MacMurray

Flight For Freedom also reminds me of British movie They Flew Alone with Anna Neagle as Earhart's real life British counterpart Amy Johnson, who herself died, as has been suggested about Emelia in service of her Country. Robert Newton played Amy's estranged husband Jim Mollison