WEIRDLAND: Lana Del Rey, Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, John Garfield, Rita Hayworth, etc.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Lana Del Rey, Lana Turner, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, John Garfield, Rita Hayworth, etc.

CFA (the Committee for the First Amendment) had been formed in September 1947 by screenwriter Philip Dunne and directors John Huston and William Wyler, who felt that the right to freedom of speech was being threatened by HUAC. They were joined by Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Sterling Hayden, Katharine Hepburn, William Holden, Danny Kaye, Burt Lancaster, Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Audie Murphy, Vincent Price, Edward G. Robinson, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, John Garfield, etc.

John Garfield and Gene Kelly shared two co-stars on-screen: Phyllis Thaxter and Lana Turner

Phyllis Thaxter and Gene Kelly in "Living in a Big Way" (1947) directed by Gregory La Cava

Phillys Thaxter and John Garfield in "The Breaking Point" (1950) directed by Michael Curtiz

John Garfield and Lana Turner in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1947) directed by Tay Garnett

Lana Turner and Gene Kelly in "The Three Musketeers" (1948) directed by George Sidney

"I worked with her [Lana Turner] in 'Three Musketeers'. I had a fight with her in a scene. She said to throw her down harder. I said ‘Lana if I throw you harder I’m gonna bounce you.’ She said ‘throw me down as hard as you can’. Like a fool I broke her elbow. She fell off the bed. She was trying to do the scene better… the idea was that if I didn’t throw her hard enough it wouldn’t uncover the brand on her shoulder… We shot around her for six days then she came back with a little cast on. Did she cry? Yes, but I cried worse. I worried a lot". -Gene Kelly on the Merv Griffin Show (1977)

Gene Kelly with a red umbrella in "Singin' in the rain" (1952) with his co-star Debbie Reynolds

Lana Turner with a white umbrella

Lana Del Rey with a black umbrella in Complex magazine


Lana Del Ray makes her Vogue cover debut on the March issue. Join the singer - one of 2012's names to know and watch - on her Mario Testino shoot in New York. Buy the new issue, out now, to see the whole shoot.

Lana Del Rey (an amalgam name crossing of Lana Turner and Ford Del Rey car) was born as Elizabeth Grant.

Her debut album, "Born to Die" hit No. 1 on iTunes in 14 countries including the U.S., U.K., Mexico and Italy. She has been described as a "self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra".

Nancy Sinatra (born June 8, 1940), an American singer and actress, is the daughter of legendary Frank Sinatra ("The Voice").

Frank Sinatra debuted also as a dancer in "Anchors Aweigh" (1945) with Gene Kelly. “One of the reasons I became a star is because of Gene Kelly”, Frank Sinatra remarked in tribute to his co-star in MGM musicals of the 1940s ("On the Town" and "Take me out to the ball game"), “He taught me everything I know. I couldn’t walk, no less dance. He is one of the reasons I became a star”. Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly shared screen with four great ladies of the cinema: Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Rita Hayworth and Mitzy Gaynor.

Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland in "Till the Clouds Roll By" (1946) directed by Richard Whorf, Vincente Minnelli and George Sidney

Gene Kelly and Judy Garland in "For me and my gal" (1942) directed by Busby Berkeley

Natalie Wood and Frank Sinatra in "Kings Go Forth" (1958) directed by Delmer Daves

Natalie Wood and Gene Kelly in "Marjorie Morningstar" (1958) directed by Irving Rapper

Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra in "Pal Joey" (1957) directed by George Sidney

Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth in "Cover Girl" (1944) directed by Charles Vidor

Frank Sinatra and Mitzy Gaynor in "The Joker Is Wild" (1957) directed by Charles Vidor

Mitzy Gaynor and Gene Kelly in "Les Girls" (1957) directed by George Cukor

4 comments :

Sweet Sue said...

I always thought that Gene Kelly and John Garfield had similar speaking voices.
That's part of what makes Kelly so fascinating; he's the all singing, all dancing, Anti-hero.

Elena said...

that's an interesting take, no doubt, Sweet Sue!

Sweet Sue said...

Don't forget Kathryn Grayson who starred with Sinatra in "The Kissing Bandit," and, more memorably, with Gene Kelly in "Thousands Cheer," and the Academy Award nominated "Anchors Aweigh."

Elena said...

yes, Kathryn Grayson was a remarkable opera singer and had a sweet girl next door image on screen. I like her very much. MGM re-paired her with Frank Sinatra for two movies in 1947 and 1948, It Happened in Brooklyn and The Kissing Bandit.