OUR VERY OWN lobby card

This lobby card from OUR VERY OWN (1950) takes a pivotal moment from the film when father, played by Donald Cook, and his daughter, played by Ann Blyth, have a sudden, serious fight about her resentment for not being told she was adopted, and that she found out in a very cold and heartless way.

From my book on Ann's career:  

Our Very Own (1950) is like opening up a time capsule and seeing the world as it was in a year that began a new decade, that oddly seems at once to look ahead bearing unconscious predictions—and, also, to take a brief glance over the shoulder at a world that was about to be relegated to memory and family snapshots.  This film is about a teenager who discovers she was adopted, but it is not about adoption.  It is about belonging, about losing one’s identity and finding one’s place in the new thing called the nuclear family, which would play such an important part of our national identity in the 1950s and ‘60s. 

For more on the movie, and her career, have a look at my book on Ann's career -- Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.

eBook edition (Amazon)

print edition available at Amazon and also my Etsy shop.

audiobook edition

Also available in eBook at:

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Apple iBooks

...and a variety of other online shops!

For more on my other books and plays, please see my website: JacquelineTLynch.com  

"Lynch’s book is organized and well-written – and has plenty of amusing observations – but when it comes to describing Blyth’s movies, Lynch’s writing sparkles." - Ruth Kerr, Silver Screenings

"Jacqueline T. Lynch creates a poignant and thoroughly-researched mosaic of memories of a fine, upstanding human being who also happens to be a legendary entertainer." - Deborah Thomas, Java's Journey

"One of the great strengths of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is that Lynch not only gives an excellent overview of Blyth's career -- she offers detailed analyses of each of Blyth's roles -- but she puts them in the context of the larger issues of the day."- Amanda Garrett, Old Hollywood Films

"Jacqueline's book will hopefully cause many more people to take a look at this multitalented woman whose career encompassed just about every possible aspect of 20th Century entertainment." - Laura Grieve, Laura's Miscellaneous Musings''

"Jacqueline T. Lynch’s Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is an extremely well researched undertaking that is a must for all Blyth fans." - Annette Bochenek, Hometowns to Hollywood

Our Very Own - 1950

Ann Blyth stars with Farley Granger and Jane Wyatt in an absorbing family drama, Our Very Own (1950).  It's up next on TCM today, but you can read a detailed analysis of the film here at my Another Old Movie Blog, and also in my book on Ann's career -- Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.

eBook edition (Amazon)

print edition available at Amazon and also my Etsy shop.

audiobook edition

Also available in eBook at:

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Apple iBooks

For more on my other books and plays, please see my website: JacquelineTLynch.com  

 

Ann and Farley Granger on the beach - OUR VERY OWN

Ann Blyth and Farley Granger share a quiet moment at the beach in OUR VERY OWN (1950).  The pleasant scene is a hopeful reminder to those of us looking forward to summer.  We currently find ourselves in the midst of graduation season, and this film also evokes the momentous occasion of high school graduation, not only for the senior class on the threshold of adulthood, but for their families experiencing ever-changing dynamics.

The heartwarming comedy quickly shifts to a tense drama as a rift in the family occurs and Ann's character is told by a vengeful sister that she was adopted.  Ann's search for her "real" parents and her re-discovery of only family she's ever known is a thoughtful and reflective slice of life.  From my book, Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star.:

Our Very Own (1950) is like opening up a time capsule and seeing the world as it was in a year that began a new decade, that oddly seems at once to look ahead bearing unconscious predictions—and, also, to take a brief glance over the shoulder at a world that was about to be relegated to memory and family snapshots.  This film is about a teenager who discovers she was adopted, but it is not about adoption.  It is about belonging, about losing one’s identity and finding one’s place in the new thing called the nuclear family, which would play such an important part of our national identity in the 1950s and ‘60s.  

Our Very Own - 1950 - production still

Ann Blyth gives the evil eye to sister Joan Evans in the above production still of Our Very Own (1950).  Farley Granger plays her boyfriend, and young Martin Milner is a hoot as he pursues Joan (more interested in the food on the buffet table here).  That's Donald Cook in the background as the girls' concerned dad.

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

Ann Blyth, with top billing here, stars as the teen who discovers she was adopted, and that her adoption has been treated like a family secret.  Unlike some of the other troubled young women she had played up to this time in such films as Mildred Pierce (1945), Swell Guy (1946), and A Woman’s Vengeance (1948), she’s a good girl here, a model daughter, poised, mature, far less mercurial than those other girls, and her strong sense of self is almost a metaphor for her confident and comfortable post-war world—that will be shaken to the core by something so small as a birth certificate.   

For more on Our Very Own, have a look here at this post on my Another Old Movie Blog.
http://anotheroldmovieblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/our-very-own-1950.html

Our Very Own - sheet music

Pictured here is the sheet music for the title tune of the movie Our Very Own (1950).  Where soundtracks of blockbuster movies may come to us today in mp3 form or CDs, there was a time when a popular film could generate brisk sales of sheet music.  The 1950s may have heralded the end of the timeline for this bit of movie merchandise.

Ann Blyth starred as a high school senior about to graduate, who discovers through the angry taunt of her sister that she was adopted. This rocks her world, and she must unravel not only the truth but how she feels about it. It's a gentle, intelligent movie, with strong support by Farley Granger, Jane Wyatt, Donald Cook, Joan Evans, Ann Dvorak, and a very young Natalie Wood.  We discussed the movie in depth here at my Another Old Movie Blog.

The tune, "Our Very Own" is heard in the film's opening credits, but only as an instrumental.  Below we have some wonderful singers treating us to the lyrics.  Have a listen to Jo Stafford, Vaughn Monroe, and Sarah Vaughan. 

Jo Stafford


Vaughn Monroe


Sarah Vaughan



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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.

Square Dance at Toluca Lake

 

Ann was voted the honorary “mayor” of her Toluca Lake neighborhood of North Hollywood in September 1949, succeeding Bob Hope in the office.  The ceremony was attended by Fletcher Bowron, the real mayor of Los Angeles, and several other actor honorary mayors from San Fernando Valley communities, including Andy Devine. 

 

 

These photos—newspaper clippings from the album of a fan—show the fun at a Toluca Lake costume square dance with a pioneer settlers theme.  Here she is with Gordon MacRae, and below with Hollywood gossip columnist and radio and TV personality Jimmie Fidler, and some other guy named Bob Hope.  Ann had just finished making Free for All (1949) and had launched into work on Our Very Own (1950). 

 

 

All work and no play…