Ann Blyth and Donald O'Connor - a couple of Irish-American kids

 Ann Blyth and Donald O'Connor are a couple of swell Irish-American kids playing a couple of swell Irish-American kid entertainers in The Merry Monahans (1944).  Another top of me hat to you with the approach of St. Patrick's Day.  From my book, Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.:

She and Donald are mulling over their problems on a park bench where the stereotyped Irish cop played by Robert Homans on the lookout for the reported runaway, has discovered them. 

Ann, innocent as you please, launches into her Irish accent (possibly borrowed from her Irish-born mother), and berates “my fine policeman” for thinking she was anything but the proud daughter of another Irish cop.

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Ann and pal Donald O'Connor

Fifteen-year-old Ann Blyth and lifelong pal Donald O'Connor in a publicity shot for The Merry Monahans (1944), Ann's second movie.  Unfortunately, her first four films, all musicals made at Universal, are currently unavailable on DVD and are not shown on TCM.

From my book Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.: 

"The first four movies, all musicals, that Ann made for Universal were Chip off the Old Block, The Merry Monahans, Babes on Swing Street, and Bowery to Broadway, and were all released in 1944.  Donald O’Connor was in most of them and the studio was in a race to crank out as many films with him as possible before he entered the Army Air Corps late in 1944.

Donald O’Connor is quoted in Dick Moore’s book Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star—But Don’t Have Sex or Take the Car:

They tried to finish all those pictures before I went into the service.  We worked three pictures at one time: the one coming up, the one we were doing, and we dubbed the one we’d just finished.  That’s all we did: work.  It’s amazing we had as much fun as we did, grinding them out like that.

Ann recalled the studio regimen for television talk show host Vicki Lawrence in 1993, noting that when involved in a picture they worked six days a week, which included Saturday:

“Sunday was the day to do the laundry, and sleep hopefully for a few extra hours.”

Despite MGM’s glossier and more famous “Andy Hardy” series, according to author Bernard F. Dick in City of Dreams-The Making and Remaking ofUniversal Pictures:

Universal movies featured more teenagers and young adults than any other studio—Deanna Durbin, Donald O’Connor, Peggy Ryan, Susanna Foster, Grace MacDonald, Ann Blyth…Gloria Jean…

Universal already had its youth unit, The Jivin’ Jacks and Jills, and the young dramatic stage actress, who it was discovered could also sing, was plunked into this energetic world of home front teens just shy of draft age.  Ann would recall these films as “good learning experiences.”

Chip off the Old Block, released February 1944, in her very first film, gives her third billing after Donald O’Connor and Peggy Ryan—above the title.  At some point in the frenetic assembly line, the studio decided she was worth the notice..."

The Merry Monahans - lobby cards

Ann Blyth's second movie was The Merry Monahans (1944), one of a string of four musicals released by Universal-International in 1944.  These lobby cards, which were issued in a series for advertisement in theater lobbies, show different scenes from the film.  The scene above shows Ann in a backstage dressing room in an awkward dramatic moment with Rosemary DeCamp, who plays her mother, and John Miljan, who plays their conniving and controlling vaudeville partner and manager intending to complete his control by marrying her mother.  Ann doesn't like him, and is caught between a rock and a hard place.

We are given a glimpse into Ann's ability to convey a range of emotions in a dramatic setting, and such scenes inevitably stand out in what were really stories of light fluff.

Donald O'Connor, Jack Oakie, Peggy Ryan

These other lobby cards shown here serve to really promote the film to an audience who were already familiar with Jack Oakie, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan.  They were the heavy hitters of the movie on whose shoulders the publicity department placed the weight of promoting the film.  

Donald O'Connor,  Peggy Ryan, and Jack Oakie

This Ann Blyth newcomer, whose image was starting to crop up on lobby cards and movie posters, she would be a talent whose ability to carry the promotion of a film would soon grab the attention of the Universal publicity department in a big way, and would become one of the lead stars of the studio.  In her case, I'm not sure it was the result of being groomed by the studio, as was the case with many contract players, or if it simply happened. Kismet, you might say.

From my book, Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.:

Here, Ann is not the breezy and self-confident sophisticate she was in Chip off the Old Block.  She’s playing closer to her own age, looks younger with the World War I-era long ringlets and old-fashioned clothing, and she immediately draws our sympathy for her anxiety over performing, of not being good enough and not pleasing her mother and Mr. Miljan, who coaches her.  She has to make good because they have to eat; otherwise, she’s not sure she belongs in this world of theatre—just a sad, sweet girl, doing her best to keep up, though she is overwhelmed.

We see at once that Ann Blyth has, in her second film, already established her ability to appear completely different to her previous movie role.  Her versatility, the most striking and notable feature of her acting career, is a quality she came in with from day one.  As we will see, this very talent of simply being versatile could be useful in exploiting new opportunities; but it could also hold one back in an industry that seemed always to hire based on type.

Peggy Ryan

For more on The Merry Monahans, have a look at this post on my Another Old Movie Blog.

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Chip Off the Old Block Poster

Here's a "full sheet" poster for Chip Off the Old Block (1944), which was Ann Blyth's first film.

We discussed the movie in this post at my Another Old Movie Blog.  Ann's first four movies were a string of musicals for Universal, which signed her to a seven-year contract when she was 14 years old.  She had been on tour with the play Watch on the Rhine, when she was spotted by Universal execs when the drama played in Los Angeles.

Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan were a most dynamic duo, when Ann's arrival turned them into a trio.  Universal showcased the talent of many teens in that period during the late 1930s and early 1940s, even more than the other studios, Deanna Durbin undoubtedly foremost among them.

The "full sheet" posters are huge, of course, about 41 inches tall by 27 inches wide, spectacular for display if you have the room.  It's not always easy to come by them in pristine condition these days, but now and again you hear of someone discovering a stash of classic film posters discovered in some theater storage space, or possibly in the home of a collector who had a connection with one of the great old downtown movie houses. 

Most of the posters were an attempt to summarize the story and yet not give anything away, but in their way, I think they were more creative and entertaining, and storytelling, than today's slicker posters, which are less about plot tags and more about "branding" an image for merchandising.

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The audio book for Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is now for sale on Audible.com, and on Amazon and iTunes.

Also in paperback and eBook from Amazon.

The Merry Monahans - Lobby Card with Cast

A charming "parade of years" musical, The Merry Monahans (1944) was Ann Blyth's second film.

Pictured in this lobby card are costars Rosemary DeCamp, Jack Oakie, Peggy Ryan, and Donald O'Connor.

They lead us into the world of vaudeville, with its highs and lows, and hijinks and shenanigans. We discussed it a bit in this post on my Another Old Movie Blog.

It is one of Ann's Universal pictures that has not been released in DVD or, I believe, VHS, and is not shown on Turner Classic Movies, so it's a bit tough to find. 

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The audio book for Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is now for sale on Audible.com, and on Amazon and iTunes.

Also in paperback and eBook from Amazon.