“MARJORIE REYNOLDS: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” (056)

EPISODE 56 - “MARJORIE REYNOLDS: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” - 10/07/2024

Most film fanatics agree that after the Paramount Picture’s holiday classic “Holiday Inn” (1942), actress MARJORIE REYNOLDS, who gave a star-turn as struggling actress Linda Mason who gets a break singing and dancing in the seasonal nightclub run by BING CROSBY, should have been a big star. However, for reasons not quite clear, she didn’t rise into the stratosphere. While she had a very respectable and long career, she just didn’t soar to the top, as expected. As our Star of the Month, we will take a look into Marjorie Reynolds’ life and career and explore our theories on why “Holiday Inn” did not make her a major star. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

Christmas In the Movies (2023), by Jeremy Arnold;

Whatever Became of…10th Series (1986), by Richard Lamparski;

My Heart Belongs (1976), by Mary Martin;

Scarlet Fever (1977), by William Pratt (including the collection of Herb Bridges);

The Film Lovers Companion (1997), by David Quinlan;

Biography of Marjorie Reynolds, July 25, 1942, Paramount Pictures; 

“Super Cinderella,” November 1942, by William Lynch value, Silver Screen magazine;

“Marjorie’s Horse Comes In,” November 7, 1942, by Kyle Crichton, Collier’s Magazine;

Versatility Pays Off for Marjorie Reynolds,” March 10, 1944, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times;

“Divorce Plans Discussed by Miss Reynolds,” July 23, 1951, by Hedda Hopper, Los Angeles, Times;

“Marjorie Reynolds to Be Wed to Film Editor,” May 16, 1952, Los Angeles, Times;

“Marjorie Reynolds Weds Film Editor,” May 18, 1953, The Sedalia Democrat (Missouri);

“Marjorie Reynolds: Sixty Years in the Film Business,” April 1984, by Colin Briggs, Hollywood Studio Magazine;

“Marjorie Reynolds, 79, Actress, In Classic Films and on Television,” February 16, 1997, The New York Times;

TCM.com;

IMDBPro.com;

IBDB.com;

Wikipedia.com;

Movies Mentioned: 

Holiday Inn (1942), starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, & Virginia Dale;

Wine, Women, and Song (1933), starring Lilyan Tashman;

Murder In Greenwich Village (1937), starring Richard Arlen & Fay Wray;

Tex Rides With The Boy Scouts (1937), starring Tex Ritter;

The Overland Express (1938), starring Buck Jones;

Western Trails (1938), starring Bob Baker;

Six Shootin’ Sheriff (1938), starring Ken Maynard;

Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Veronica Lake, & Alan Ladd;

Dixie (1943), starring Bing Crosby & Dorothy Lamour;

Up In Mabel's Room (1944), starring Dennis O’Keefe & Gail Patrick;

Ministry of Fear (1944), starring Ray Milland;

Three Is A Family (1944), starring Charles Ruggles & Fay Bainter;

Bring On The Girls (1945), starring Veronica Lake & Eddie Bracken;

Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), starring Bob Hope & Joan Caulfield;

The Time Of Their Lives (1946), starring Bud Abbott & Lou Costello;

Meet Me On Broadway (1946), starring Fred Brady & Spring Byington;

Heaven Only Knows (1947), Bob Cummings & Brian Donlevy;

Badmen of Tombstone (1949), starring Barry Sullivan & Broderick Crawford;

That Midnight Kiss