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Review of Leonard Wibberley’s McGillicuddy Gotham and the unfinished Little Mac collaboration with Rosalind Russell

If you didn’t believe in leprechauns before this, you will after reading Leonard Wibberley’s McGillicuddy McGotham. The 60th anniversary edition is due to be released on March 10, 2016 (today!) Although this charming tale about a little Irish man hardly bigger than a dime who makes quite a rumble in Washington, D.C. was written in 1956, I found it to be timeless. This is a story that would be perfect for middle school-aged children and young adults, so if anything, it is something for children to read just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. As a child with no real Irish background, the only memories of hearing about leprechauns occurred at school. As we all know the tradition goes, if you don’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day (every March 17), you get pinched. I imagine this is related to leprechauns in some way, since legend has it that leprechauns are mischievous and little troublemakers. I have a clear memory of entering my classroom when I was fairly young, only to discover my desk had a sparkling green streak straight across it. The teacher told us, “Oh, no, I think it was the leprechaun!” and so we were made to believe that a little green man had secretly been sneaking in our classroom when we weren’t there and what he left behind were his green marks. We live in a time where children are exposed to the truth about a lot of things that we were not exposed to as children. This magical story brings back the innocence of childhood—the wonder, the curiosity, the “what if?” questions.

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McGillicuddy McGotham is full of comedy, mischief and inspirational changes. The title character—the leprechaun in question—is a tiny man with enormous pride and a delusional interpretation of economic value. In other words, a piece of the most dazzling silver paper is worth a lot more to Mr. McGillicuddy than all the real pots of gold in the world. I was wrong to think that leprechauns had the most precious gold and jewels in their tiny pot of treasure that they keep hidden from the world. This book reveals the truth—every one of us has a distinctive perception of which people and things are worth the most. Are the most valuable things in our lives worth so much of that green paper that accumulates in your bank account? Or are they things that expect no monetary compensation from us and yet produce an even more satisfying outcome? It varies for everyone, but I believe it’s a message to keep in the back of all our minds.

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Timothy Patrick Fergus Kevin Sean Desmond McGillicuddy (cutting out most of his names to save on time) can only be seen by Irish people, and even then, only one at a time. I suppose this explains why leprechauns do all their funny tricks when nobody is looking. The whimsical actions of the miniscule McGillicuddy obviously caught the eye of our favorite star, Rosalind Russell. In 1956 when this book was published, she was making her famous comeback as the wonderful Auntie Mame on Broadway. As there would be no part for Roz in a play version, she must have been itching to collaborate on a writing project. She and Mr. Wibberley had exchanges back and forth, mulling over ideas for a musical comedy version retitled Little Mac. This collaboration might have been a stroke of genius, or it might have been a total flop. Unfortunately, we will never know as there is little evidence of it going past the preliminary brainstorming stage. It is possible that Rosalind became caught up in the fame, publicity and work that her indomitable Auntie Mame brought her.

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Leonard Wibberley, Rosalind Russell and Jack Hawkins on the set of Five Finger Exercise (1961), which depicts a friendship that lasted beyond the Little Mac collaboration.

 

I think Rosalind and Leonard had a good thing going for them, as it is hinted in the letters that they had a charming and fun relationship. They made the man who is head of construction of the airport being built on Irish soil a principal part of the play. Being in construction, he thinks the police as the enemy, so it was coming to fruition that maybe they would make Little Mac a policeman, hinting that leprechauns were a bit like “The Irish Mafia.” They were just pounding out an outline and I think it had promise, which is why it’s unfortunate it was never finished. There are not very many new facts for Rosalind Russell fans in this 60th anniversary edition besides the letters. But the leprechaun story itself is worth a read.

In Wibberley’s book, McGillicuddy often tells Brian, his chosen Irish-American human, about the pride that should swell in all who are Irish. For a man of such diminutive stature, he spouts as much wisdom as possible in impressionable 10-year-old Brian’s ear. One philosophy spoken by the leprechaun that is the true heart of the story is the loss of childlike innocence as we become adults. Using a man’s spectacles as a metaphor, he explains that all people are born without glasses and we see others are human beings, which is indeed what they are. We as children do not see others for the color of their skin, their beliefs, their religion, their flaws, their eccentricities, and above all, the things that make them different from us. As McGillicuddy relates, when we get older, we acquire glasses, which makes us gradually see others as different from ourselves. We see the intricacies of other humans, the negative standing out more than anything. “He finds that they are wrong and that he alone is right,” McGillicuddy adds to his eye-opening philosophy.

Even the tiny well-dressed man in green sees others differently, but he also thinks he needs to stand up to these others who think they can walk all over those who are smaller. He eventually winds up in Washington, D.C. to protest (Brian talking for him) an airplane runway being constructed on leprechaun land. He has made believers of skeptics and has tenaciously made it to the President’s oval office. At the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Mac informs Brian that on this day of marvelous green and Irish pride, “Everybody’s an Irishman…today.”

And may we all feel the pride and mischief of the Irish leprechaun every once in a while—to lift us up when we are down on ourselves and to let go of inhibitions when we are feeling our most vulnerable. If a man only an inch high can accomplish all he did, so can we.

I invite you to purchase the eBook here of McGillicuddy McGotham: 60th Anniversary Edition. Link below:

Live, Love and Learn (1937)

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Rosalind Russell and Helen Vinson in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

 

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

After Night Must Fall finished production, Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell were put right into another film together—a film with a completely opposite atmosphere. Unlike Night Must Fall, which is an intense, dark drama, Live, Love and Learn is a rather silly comedy, although it has its sad moments. The way Rosalind makes her first appearance in the film lets the viewer know this will be a funny movie. Montgomery plays Bob Graham and he is a struggling painter. One day, he is sitting in a beautiful countryside, contemplating how to finish his painting. All of a sudden, horses start bounding over the hill behind him and he has to duck to avoid them. There is a fox hunt going on right in the middle of the meadow and he is irate! Finally, the last horse comes jumping over the hill behind the rest, but it throws its rider. The young woman crashes right through Bob’s canvas and she is appalled when Bob seems more interested in how his painting is faring than her, who took a nasty fall.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

Her name is Julie and she and Bob are from completely different walks of life. He’s poor, she’s rich; he doesn’t always know where his next meal is coming from, she never has to worry about that; he lives in a tiny apartment, she lives in a big house. He insults her skills as a fox hunt participant and shoos her away. A few seconds later, he finds her unconscious on the grass and wonders what to do with her. Before they know it, differences aside, they are getting married. And even so, Bob is trying to talk her out of it because he knows she’s in for a bit of culture shock living with him.

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Rosalind Russell is doing a radio stint here in 1937, but appears to be wearing the same outfit from a scene in Live, Love and Learn!

However, all doubts are forgotten when the justice of the peace tells him to “kiss the bride” and he stares at her, dumbstruck by love. It is in this comedy that besides the sexual tension you see in Night Must Fall, Montgomery and Russell have great romantic chemistry when they get a chance to have romantic scenes. You want them to be together; they are just that cute. They start walking with all of their things to a bus to take them to Bob’s apartment.

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Rosalind Russell retouching her makeup while her hair gets done while filming Live, Love and Learn (1937)

Julie is actually quite fascinated with Bob’s lifestyle and is excited to live like this. She feels his lifestyle is more real and not full of fake people like in her more high-class community. To show her loyalty to Bob, she throws her wallet out the window and smiles at him. They soon start walking up to his apartment building and she is wearing this hat and the fabric on the top looks like bunny ears. It’s a hat I always remember from her film wardrobe because it is both so funny and cute. “Look, bunny ears!” Bob carries his new bride over the threshold and she takes a look around the tiny apartment, which isn’t even big enough for a full kitchen or bathroom.

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Robert Montgomery, Maude Eburne, and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

She is really taken with it and is ready to start living hand-to-mouth, as long as she is by Bob’s side. Bob’s best friend, Oscar (Robert Benchley) suddenly stumbles into the room, drunk (as Benchley often was in films) and tries to kiss Julie’s hand, but falls right on his face instead. In disbelief, Julie questions Bob and he tells her that he’ll be living here with him.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

After putting Oscar out in the hall, Jerry Crump (played by a young Mickey Rooney) comes yoo-hooing into the room, silly and hyper, and takes a good look at Bob’s new bride. Jerry is the landlady’s son and Bob tries to show him a certain technique in throwing a baseball, but ends up breaking a window. Bob wants so much to be a successful painter for Julie’s sake, and hopes to keep his word on that. The next morning, they all—Bob, Julie, and Oscar—go to the market to buy some groceries because they don’t have food. They have not paid their bill at the market and Felipe (Charles Judels), the owner, refuses to let them purchase anything.

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Rosalind Russell, Helen Vinson, and Robert Benchley in Live, Love and Learn (1937) – pardon the watermarks from here on out!

However, trouble abounds when Julie figures out that Felipe has been overcharging Bob and Oscar for some time because they were too naïve to know any better. They immediately start protesting in front of his store, even telling passersby to tar and feather Felipe. Soon, they are bringing loads of groceries home for free. Julie’s uncle has sent her a letter and a substantial check because he doesn’t want his niece living in squalor.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in the middle of the riot in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

Although Oscar eagerly wants to spend the money, Bob takes the check and glues it to the wall, never intending to cash it. Absolutely thrilled with her husband’s decision, Julie embraces him giddily. One day, an old pal from Julie’s old crowd comes calling on her. Her name is Lily (Helen Vinson) and she wants to get a good look at Julie’s new husband—a man so special that he got her to leave her comfortable life when she “could have married anyone.”

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Rosalind Russell, Robert Benchley, and Helen Vinson in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

After mistaking Oscar for her new husband, Bob comes home with a monkey named Misery in tow—only one of the several odd things to happen in this movie. He is having a bad day because his work was put down by some art dealers. He goes to the park with his wife to paint. This peaceful scene gets out of hand when a few Marines (Leathernecks) and then a few Navy sailors (Tars) start gathering around Bob’s canvas, giving differing opinions on what they think of it.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

The Leathernecks stick together and the Tars stick to their opposing opinion until they start fighting. All of a sudden, Bob and Julie are in the middle of a riot in the park and are blamed for starting it! They spend a night in jail and when they come home, they notice a large crowd of reporters on the stairs and sneak into their apartment.

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Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

Refusing to talk to reporters, one reporter decides to pose as an art dealer in order to get a story on them. Naturally, Bob is excited about this, but Julie notices the man’s press pass in his hat. The man is immediately thrown out (literally). Soon, the three of them have developed a new hobby. Since the reporters keep coming in droves posing as art dealers to talk to the poor, struggling painter, they devise new and unique ways of depositing them into the hall.

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Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, Robert Benchley, and Charles Judels in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

An important art dealer named Bawltitude (Monty Woolley in his usual grumpy, cantankerous, but hilarious role) becomes interested in Bob and visits his apartment to take a look at his work. Of course, Bob, Julie, and Oscar assume he is another reporter, so they proceed to anger him. They have stacked a large pile of books and put a pitcher of water on top of them and tell him to take a few steps backwards until the pitcher of water has poured all over his head.

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Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

They then do the silliest thing—they cut his buttons, suspenders, and tie in half. As Oscar and Bob try to pull on his beard, which they assume is fake, Julie finds out that he is the real Bawltitude. Bob stares at Bawltitude in disbelief and Bawltitude yells at him, “Get your hands off me, you homicidal maniac!” Hard feelings are obviously put aside when before they know it, Bob’s work is being presented in a gallery by Bawltitude.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

It is at this time that Bob starts acting differently. He starts becoming more well-known and respected by the rich art buying community and Julie feels she is losing the old Bob that she fell in love with. When he buys a big, beautiful place for them to live in, Julie thinks it’s a joke and after bewildering him by yodeling in the place, then swinging her arm wondering if she could swing a cat in the place, she starts “skating” across the polished floors. (Let’s just say this is a very strange group of people!) She is saddened when she finds Bob is serious about it and is very unhappy when her old pal Lily starts attaching herself to Bob in order to build him up. Now again living the lifestyle she voluntarily left, Julie is very unhappy and only talks to Oscar, who has not changed a bit. They play games and Julie explains that when someone comes to the door, the third butler answers the door, who tells the second butler, who tells the first butler, who then informs her about it later.

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Robert Montgomery, Rosalind Russell, and Robert Benchley in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

They start pretending to be high-class snobs, Julie describing herself as “so, so alive, so eccentric—I mean electric!” Meanwhile, Bob has had many jobs painting boring, stuffy dowagers. Lily brings over a new client named Mr. Palmiston. He is played by E. E. Clive, who played a large part in getting Rosalind Russell’s acting career started when she pretended to be English in order to get into his acting troupe. It was acting in this troupe that got her discovered by a Hollywood scout. He also plays small parts in two other Montgomery-Russell films, Trouble for Two (1936) and Night Must Fall (1937). He is most memorable in this film, however, because of the way he says everything in threes. When he meets people, he says, “How do you do? How do you do? How do you do?” and thanks people like this: Thank you very much, thank you very much, thank you very much. Julie doesn’t like this atmosphere very much and goes off riding: “I feel like digging my spurs into something.” She comes back with a very kind old gentleman who is an art teacher and a very promising young pupil of his.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Live, Love and Learn (1937)

They want to give a “Robert Graham Day” soon and have him speak. However, he decides that painting for Mr. Palmiston is more important and Julie is gravely disappointed in him and where his priorities lie. After Bob snubs the two people, Julie gets very angry with him and tells him he’s become a big fake and she can’t stand it anymore. Lily tries to get her opinion in, but Julie walks very slowly up to her and says, “Lily, darling, has anyone before told you, in an awfully ladylike manner, to keep your pretty little schnozzola out of other peoples family fights?” She paints a mustache on Bob’s portrait of one of the old matrons he is working on. Bob yells at her and ends with calling Oscar a drunken clown and orders him out of the house. Having lost the man she remembered, Julie asks for a divorce and leaves with Oscar. It is this part of the film I don’t enjoy very much. It’s all fun and games until Bob becomes someone he’s not and causes terrible marital discord.

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the poster for Live, Love and Learn

However, when Bob tires of this dull lifestyle, he goes to speak for the art teacher’s class like Julie wanted him to. She is there to listen to him and happy to have him back. She reunites with him and they decide to have some fun for the road. She and her two partners in crime go to Bawltitude’s place and bring in a portrait Bob did of Palmiston’s horse. Palmiston comes running in, his pants falling down (because they had cut his suspenders like they always do), and pleading with Bawltitude. Julie pulls her cape up over her head and growls at him like a tiger.

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell on the set of Live, Love and Learn (1937)

They proceed to tell him to back up, back up… until they yell “Ah, boo!” and he falls backwards right through his own painting. The three of them bellow, “And may we say we love you very much, Mr. Palmiston?” to which he replies from the ground, “Not at all, not at all, not at all!”

IMDB page for Live, Love and Learn

TCM overview of the film

A clip from the film for you all to enjoy:

Craig’s Wife (1936)

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John Boles and Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Although Rosalind Russell did not say much about her last film of 1936—her few words added up to “I was playing a meanie in Craig’s Wife”—it is a powerhouse performance that finally cemented her place as a serious actress in Hollywood. Rosalind fought hard so she wouldn’t have to do this role. She was sure everyone would hate her if she played “Craig’s wife,” but in the end, she did it and she was very close to being nominated for her acting skills. She may not have wanted to do it, but she gave it her all and I personally am glad we get to watch her in such a different role.

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Jane Darwell, John Boles, and Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

It shows how much range she was capable of and how well she could do it.

Craig’s Wife was the first film in which Rosalind received top billing. In the past, she was either relegated to the supporting cast or she was the female co-star behind the male star.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

But in Craig’s Wife, lo and behold, she was the star. And she deserved it! She needed to put those snobbish English lady and “other woman” parts behind her, put her acting shoes on, and go show the world how many emotions she could instill in them. No, she wasn’t a superstar, but she was getting there; she was getting more and more well-known and—I’m sure of it—loving it.

Directed by the famed woman director Dorothy Arzner, Craig’s Wife is about a woman who has complete control over her husband, the people who work for her, and her house, but who, in reality, just wants to be alone.

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Jane Darwell, Rosalind Russell, and Nydia Westman in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Or does she? The film opens with an air of fear and stress as one of the maids, Mazie (Nydia Westman), moves one of the vases on the mantle just an inch. The older maid, Mrs. Harold (who is well-respected and more aware) immediately shouts out to her to leave it alone.

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Rosalind Russell and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

If she moves even one thing in this house or leaves one speck of dust, there will be a lot of trouble in store for both of them. She calls the room in which they are standing the “holiest of holies.” Later that night, Walter Craig (John Boles) is having dinner with his Aunt Ellen (Alma Kruger), who also lives at the house. He is going over to a friend’s house to play some poker, which he hasn’t done in a long time.

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Rosalind Russell and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Ellen mentions that he hasn’t gone out to have fun by himself in a long time because of his controlling wife, Harriet (Rosalind Russell). Walter doesn’t think much about it. He just hopes that Harriet will come home soon. She is in Albany visiting her sick sister in the hospital.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

When he leaves for his friend Fergus Passmore’s place, he exchanges a short conversation with their next door neighbor, Mrs. Frazier (played by Billie Burke). She often stands outside, watering her beloved roses, which she treats like her own children.

Walter visits his friend, a jealous man with a faithless wife, who tells him that his wife will be going out again and that nobody wants to play poker with him.

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John Boles and Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Walter is the only one who has come by. Fergus seems very distraught and angry, which worries Walter a bit. Meanwhile, in Albany, Rosalind Russell makes her first appearance as the icy Harriet Craig. She sits in her sister’s hospital room, contemplating what is going on. Her sister’s daughter, Ethel, is by her mother’s bedside, sobbing over her sickness. Harriet immediately fetches a nurse and tells her she will leave right away with her niece because she thinks Ethel will set her back.

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Rosalind Russell and John Hamilton in Craig’s Wife (1936)

It is on the train home that the viewer gets a first glimpse at the type of woman Harriet is. Ethel informs her aunt of her intention to marry a man who teaches at the college she attends, and that she would never marry someone unless she was in love.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Harriet doesn’t seem to agree with her views, saying that “love is a liability in marriage.” Ethel discovers that her aunt has never been in love with her husband, Walter, and that the main reason why she married him was to have a place in society and to have a lovely house, which we find out later is her “true love.”

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Rosalind Russell and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

“I married to be independent… independent of everybody,” says Harriet, something that shocks Ethel. Harriet then sends a telegram to Ethel’s boyfriend in Ethel’s name, which immediately rouses suspicions in him.

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Rosalind Russell and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

The next morning, Fergus and his wife have been found dead in their home and Mrs. Harold, one of the Craigs’ maids (Jane Darwell) suspects Mr. Passmore right away. Harriet arrives home ahead of schedule and exhibits some very obsessive compulsive behavior the minute she walks in the door. The first thing she notices is that the door was ajar when she came in and she will have none of that. While she tells Mazie to get Ethel’s bag up to her room, she looks around the room for even the tiniest thing out of place.

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Rosalind Russell and Jane Darwell on the set of Craig’s Wife (1936)

She touches every surface to make sure no dust is visible and examines every object in the room to see that they have not been moved from their original position. It is clear—although it is subtle beneath her icy exterior—that she is unhappy when she finds some mysterious flowers in the room and a stray piece of paper on a table.

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Rosalind Russell on the set of Craig’s Wife (1936)

Her anger rises when she finds out each object is directly connected to something she didn’t control. The flowers came from Mrs. Frazier, who is visiting with Aunt Ellen upstairs and the paper has a phone number on it—a number where Walter could be reached since he went out last night. Despising the fact that he went out without her permission, she hurries upstairs and calls the number, trying to find out who it belongs to.

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Rosalind Russell and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Because the Passmores were found dead that morning, any calls to the number are being monitored, immediately putting the Craigs into some hot water. Harriet simply doesn’t trust anyone, even her own husband, who clearly adores her. She doesn’t trust others to be in her house, especially her neighbor, Mrs. Frazier.

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Alma Kruger, Rosalind Russell, and John Boles in Craig’s Wife (1936)

When Walter comes home and finds out his wife is back, he runs up the stairs, excited as a little boy, and greets her with glee. It is awful to imagine the fake love Harriet has for her husband, a man whose love is genuine. One of the first things she tells him when he comes into her room is to not sit on the bed because he will muss it.

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Billie Burke and Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

He doesn’t see why it matters, but he listens to her anyway (as he always does). He kisses her, so happy to see her, and she tells him that Ethel is here and that she doesn’t want Mrs. Frazier in the house. She doesn’t want her near the house or near him and Walter thinks it’s ridiculous. And it is indeed ridiculous to think a woman 23 years older (the actress anyway) than Harriet could steal her husband away.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

Later that evening, Ellen tells Harriet that “people who live to themselves are generally left to themselves,” a statement that would resonate with Harriet later on. She tries to explain to Walter what kind of woman Harriet really is, but Harriet immediately and nervously laughs very loud in reaction.

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Rosalind Russell’s withering glare in Craig’s Wife (1936)

She doesn’t want to hear it because she knows it’s true. Her husband has been fooled by Harriet’s motives in the two years they’ve been married and she wants it to stay that way. But once Harriet has left the room, Ellen tells Walter the truth.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

She explains that to Harriet, her life is all about her reputation and her lovely home, not the people in it. If she thought she could have this house without Walter, she would do so. After the enlightening conversation with his aunt, Walter takes a ceramic object off the mantle and smashes it on the floor in anger.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

He doesn’t care anymore that Harriet doesn’t want a thing out of place, for the room to be spic and span. He has been fooled for far too long and he will smoke in the house if he wants to.

The next day, Ethel finds out that Harriet had answered the phone when her boyfriend had called and told him she was not to be disturbed.

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Rosalind Russell and Dorothy Wilson in Craig’s Wife (1936)

She is angry about what she did because she wanted to talk to him. While she is explaining her reasons for leaving, Harriet is suddenly distracted by a noise outside. She gets down on her hands and knees in despair and rage, inspecting the damage the mover has caused.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

He was carrying a trunk across the hall and accidentally dropped it, causing it to slide across the floor, scratching it. To scratch Harriet’s beautiful floor is a terrible crime. She screams at him and doesn’t even notice that Ethel has already gone.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

It is at this point that everyone starts leaving her house, which is something she thought she wanted anyway. After Ethel, Aunt Ellen and Mrs. Harold hand Harriet their keys to the house. They leave together, leaving Harriet with Walter. However, the same day, after Harriet has discovered the broken pieces and cigarette butts all over her “holy” room, Walter also gives her his keys, saying she can keep the house.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

It’s all she wanted anyway and “you neither loved me nor honored me.” She is left alone in the house and she looks around, trying to take in what just happened.

She receives a telegram, informing her that her sister has died. Without any family or anyone in the house to keep her company, she is finally completely alone. She breaks down, crying about her plight, and realizes this isn’t what she wanted after all. When Mrs. Frazier comes by and hears of the news, offering condolences, Harriet decides she wants company after all. But by the time she calls out to her, Mrs. Frazier has already gone. Harriet looks around the big, empty house discerningly with glistening, beautiful tears in her eyes.

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Rosalind Russell in Craig’s Wife (1936)

She now knows what it’s like to be “independent of everybody” and it’s too late to go back.

This role was a far cry from anything Roz did before or after, but I have to say, it’s fascinating to see her transformed into an ice queen with a domineering personality. I also have to admit her character frightened me at first. It was a bit of a shock to me, but what a performance!

IMDb page for Craig’s Wife

TCM overview of the film

Trouble for Two (1936)

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Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Adapted from the Robert Louis Stevenson short story “Suicide Club,” Trouble for Two is the first time MGM paired Rosalind Russell with Robert Montgomery. Although she had a very small role in Montgomery’s film Forsaking All Others two years earlier, it can hardly count as a co-starring venture. This 1936 film is rather bizarre and it certainly is neither Rosalind’s nor Robert’s best film. That said, it is still an entertaining little gem (and I mean little because it is very short, only 74 minutes long).

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Rosalind Russell once said in a 1943 Photoplay interview that this film was her worst (so far), but I am sure she was completely disregarding the fact that she had already made The Casino Murder Case. After all, she wrote in her book that she liked to pretend Casino didn’t even exist (Life is a Banquet, 65). As with several movies before this, one of the advantages was the wardrobe. The film takes place in the 19th century, so she wore many lovely period costumes with some beautiful jewelry.

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

A simple star necklace is my favorite piece in the movie. Robert Montgomery had curly hair in this film, a far cry from his usually straight brown hair. He also sported a mustache, which I found took some getting used to. Roz wore her hair in cute little ringlets, which gave her a unique look.

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Montgomery plays a crowned prince of the fictional Corovia. His name is Florizel and his father is the king, played by E. E. Clive. Colonel Geraldine (Frank Morgan at his usual comic best) is called upon to always keep an eye on Florizel because he sometimes thinks he can do whatever he pleases and needs to stay out of trouble.

rosalind russell frank morgan trouble for two
Rosalind Russell and Frank Morgan in Trouble for Two (1936)

When Florizel first makes his appearance, he is causing a ruckus in the palace with a group of friends while he stands on stilts in the middle of the room. Geraldine fetches him and brings him to his father, where they have a meeting about Florizel’s upcoming arranged nuptials to Princess Brenda of Irania.

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Florizel is not keen on the idea and is amused when he discovers Princess Brenda feels the same way. She says of Florizel, “I will never buy a pig in the poke,” and has no intention of marrying him.

After the embarrassment this has caused for the royal family, the king sends his son off to London for a while (incognito, of course) with his chaperon, Geraldine. Florizel and Geraldine endure a dull boat ride to London under assumed names (Mr. Godall and Major Hammersmith, respectively).

frank morgan robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Frank Morgan, Robert Montgomery, and Rosalind Russell on the set of Trouble for Two (1936)

It is there that he meets a mysterious woman with dark eyes (Rosalind Russell) who would like him to help her (“a damsel in distress”) by taking possession of some papers that she says someone wants badly from her. He keeps them and when they dock in London, he intends to return them to her but cannot find a sign of her, and what’s more—the papers are completely blank. But she has captured his attention.

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

The next evening, the mysterious woman finds out where Florizel is dining and follows him there. Florizel meets a man at the café who is offering an enormous amount of cream tarts to everyone he meets. Florizel asks him what it is all about and he finds out that the man intends to end his life and he is having a last bit of fun before that happens. The man’s name is Mr. Barnley and he speaks of a secret “suicide club” in town, where you “choose to die, but not at your own hands.” In this morbid “game” of sorts, once you pay an admission to the club, each member draws a card from a deck. The person who draws the ace of spades is the one who is to die, and the person who draws the ace of clubs is the executioner.

rosalind russell trouble for two
Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

The three of them decide to go to this suicide club out of curiosity. Mystery Woman follows them there and it is revealed her name is Miss Vandeleur. She is the only woman in the club and becomes the “executioner” her first time there. She does not appear frightened about it and in fact always stares emotionless, which makes her even more of a mystery.

rosalind russell robert montgomery trouble for two
Rosalind Russell and Robert Montgomery in Trouble for Two (1936)

Mr. Barnley is the one to die and they disappear. The next morning, they find the death notice of Mr. Barnley in the paper and Florizel cannot believe she could do something like this.

Still curious, Florizel goes to the suicide club again and finds Miss Vandeleur there. This time, Florizel draws the ace of spades and once again, Miss Vandeleur draws the ace of clubs. They take a carriage ride into the woods and Florizel keeps asking her questions about herself and about what will take place.

rosalind russell trouble for two
Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

She simply stares ahead, not allowing him to see any trace of emotion. In fact, when she informs him that he will be “torn to pieces” by lions, she says it with so much conviction and so apathetically that I find it difficult not to laugh. I’m just trying to imagine someone actually saying something so gruesome without even a line of worry in their face.

robert montgomery rosalind russell trouble for two
Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

She is about to unlock the lion enclosure at the Malden Zoo when we suddenly see that she has feelings after all. She can’t do it and runs off crying. They suddenly find they are being followed by the president of the suicide club and flee to a local inn.

rosalind russell trouble for two
Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

Florizel soon finds out Miss Vandeleur is in fact Princess Brenda when she says to him, “I refuse to buy a pig in a poke!” They laugh, but they know they are in trouble because they didn’t carry out the suicide club’s task. Florizel discovers he has been accused of treason by another Corovian, Dr. Noel.

rosalind russell trouble for two
Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

It turns out that Dr. Noel is the president of the suicide club (Reginald Owen) and has been plotting to assassinate Florizel. Princess Brenda, who has now completed her mission of finding out if Florizel is a brave man, helps Florizel and Geraldine carry out a plan to trap Dr. Noel into a duel.

rosalind russell trouble for two
Rosalind Russell in Trouble for Two (1936)

There is a magnificent fencing duel between the two, which ends in Dr. Noel falling backwards, defeated.

Florizel and Brenda get married as planned, but it is not quite the traditional arranged marriage. They have indeed fallen in love with each other and wink at each other, keeping the secret to themselves.

IMDb page for Trouble for Two

TCM overview for the film

Trailer of the film:

Under Two Flags (1936)

rosalind russell ronald colman under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

Rosalind Russell recounts a funny, although surely embarrassing story about movie kisses when working on Under Two Flags with Ronald Colman:

Then I kept on at Fox to do Under Two Flags with Ronald Colman. (It was another of my Lady Mary jobs; I never even got to meet Claudette, who played Cigarette.)

Colman sent white lilacs to my dressing room and invited me to tea in his bungalow.

rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

It was exciting; he had a butler, and the tea was served by candlelight and Colman was very handsome and I was very nervous.

For our big scene together, two stages had been opened up to make one huge desert set, and I rode out into it on a horse. I had a fantastic outfit—a velvet cape in a glorious shade of blue, and orchid veiling, studded in little tiny rhinestones, across my face.

That getup was so flattering it would have turned Louise Fazenda into Hedy Lamarr, and if I say so myself, I didn’t look like anybody’s old radiator cap.

victor mclaglen rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Victor McLaglen in Under Two Flags

Ronnie and I were to meet by an oasis, a pool of water beside some old ruins. It was a beautiful set.

On I came riding sidesaddle, and when I pulled up, the director, Frank Lloyd, told Ronnie to take me off the horse.

Ronnie helped me to dismount.

“No, no, no, no,” the director said. “Slide her down your body.” Colman was a shy man, and he didn’t know me from a hot rock, but I climbed back on the horse and went out and came in again, diddyump, diddyump, ump, ump, charging toward the oasis, hoping to hit the marks with the damn horse.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Ronald Colman and Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

I dropped the reins, we had some more of that slide-her-down-your-body business, and finally I was off the animal, and Colman and I walked over to the pool in which our reflection was supposed to be caught, kissing.

He wouldn’t kiss me on the mouth. I kept trying to push my face around, but he just wouldn’t kiss me. Between takes I’d go in and swallow half a bottle of Listerine and spray myself with perfume. The scene went on and on. It started to get late; some of the crew were restless and beginning to giggle.

rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

Finally the director said, “Maybe we’ll just have to put this off until tomorrow morning.”

Oh my God, I thought, I won’t sleep. By now I’m reeking of Arpege and mouthwash, and I’m desperate. I finally just grabbed Ronnie, clung to him, would not let him go, and kissed him until he was purple in the face and the director was yelling, “Cut! Cut! Cut!”

What I didn’t know was a) that a kiss full on the mouth doesn’t photograph as pleasingly as an off-center buss, and b) that they’d been doing a glass shot, a form of dissolve.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

The camera wasn’t even on us most of the time, it was on the camels, the desert, the sun going down, the sun coming up again to indicate that we’ve spent the night together. Colman, of course, was aware of the camera (he knew cameras likes Wernher von Braun knows rockets), but all the time we were supposed to be standing apart making small talk—“How are you? How have you been?”—while they’re shooting the camels and the sunrise, he’s had this maniacal female clutching him to her fevered lips.

claudette colbert rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Claudette Colbert in Under Two Flags

He was very nice about it.

Under Two Flags is an adventure/romance starring Ronald Colman and Claudette Colbert. Although Rosalind Russell had done a couple leading roles, she was relegated back to support staff in this one. Most of the attention is on Colman and Colbert, of course. As written above, Russell was in another of her English “Lady Mary” roles, which I am sure she was growing tired of. Needless to say, this was the last time she would play such a role. Yes, she did play a few more rich American girls, but her days of snootily putting her nose in the air while speaking with an English accent were over.

ronald colman nigel bruce rosalind russell under two flags
Ronald Colman, Nigel Bruce, and Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

Although Under Two Flags is not the type of film that peaks my interest, for a film of its genre, it is a very good one.  Another disclaimer I’d like to put out there is that I have never been a big fan of Claudette Colbert’s, so if any part of this review sounds disparaging concerning her, I do not mean to make it sound that way. I try my best to be as impartial a viewer as I can. Claudette Colbert plays a French girl living in Algeria named Cigarette. The name is laughable, but at the same time, it is somehow cute. My favorite part of her character is her feisty attitude, not to mention her French accent.

claudette colbert ronald colman under two flags
Claudette Colbert and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

She speaks English with a French accent in this film, and at times, actually speaks French and even sings in French in one scene. This was not difficult for her because Claudette was French, born in Paris.

Ronald Colman is an English soldier, staying there in Cigarette’s town. His name is Sergeant Victor and they first meet when he visits Cigarette’s café one night with some buddies. Their first meeting is off to a rough start when she spots him in the café and offers him a bottle of wine like she does with any other first-time patron.

rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

When he refuses the wine and demands she bring him cognac, she is very insulted. Eventually, that feisty spirit of hers gets out and she wants him gone.

Also in the French Foreign Legion is Major Doyle (played by Victor McLaglen), who is in love with Cigarette. He often tells her of his feelings and she usually pretends she feels the same, even though she feels no love for him at all. Another character on hand is Captain Menzies, played by the always delightful Nigel Bruce. He is in only a few scenes, but he is memorable as always, especially with his funny British accent. We first meet him when Cigarette is trying to get him to bid on a horse for more than it’s worth. This culminates in a racing scene between Victor and Cigarette. Sgt. Victor wins the race and angry as all get out, without paying him her debt, she takes off on her horse in another direction.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

Victor goes after her and they eventually fall off their horses somewhere in the middle of the desert. That day turns into night as they sit alone in the desert, and Cigarette’s hatred for Victor has miraculously turned to passionate love. Although Victor isn’t exactly making goo-goo eyes back at her, she assumes he feels the same way.

The next day, many in the French Foreign Legion, including Major Doyle and Sgt. Victor, meet the lovely and gracious Lady Venetia Cunningham (Rosalind Russell). It is not common for the men to see a pretty young lady, so it is a treat for them.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

Major Doyle starts introducing her to the men in his legion, and she is taken aback by a little wooden horse figurine, which was created by Victor. She meets him, their eyes lock, and they both seem quite taken with each other. Victor has been homesick for his native England for some time and when he sees Venetia, he is intrigued. On the other hand, Major Doyle does not make an impression on her. She is a very proper English woman and one can tell she finds Doyle quite obnoxious, although she is always very polite.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Ronald Colman and Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

Later that night, Lady Venetia is dancing with Major Doyle at an event, he stiff and emotionless; she poised and bored. When she spies Victor outside the building looking at her, she can’t take her eyes off him as she turns and turns in dance. Victor devises a plan to steal Venetia away from the party. He offers to show her  the “real Africa” and she can’t resist. She is fascinated by the adventure they go on, particularly in watching the snake charmer. But what she is utterly fascinated by is Victor. She is infatuated with him. Meanwhile, Cigarette is sitting in her little room, crying, because Victor stood her up for a dinner in order to go off with Venetia.

rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell in Under Two Flags

After Venetia goes home later that evening, she changes her mind and suddenly appears in the desert, wanting to spend the rest of the night with Victor. She comes riding up to him on a camel, wearing a breathtakingly gorgeous jeweled veil over her face. If there’s one good thing about being Rosalind Russell’s character in this film, it’s the fact that they always managed to make her look very good. And yes, when I watch this scene of the sunset in the desert, I think of the “kiss gone wrong” story.

ronald colman rosalind russell under two flags
Rosalind Russell and Ronald Colman in Under Two Flags

Cigarette finds out about their relationship and is very upset, even confronting Venetia that she will “never love him the way I do.” She knows that Major Doyle has sent Victor out into the desert to fight to the death and there is no way he will come back alive. It has become Doyle’s mission to do this to Victor once he discovered Cigarette’s feelings for him. However, Cigarette becomes the true hero when she goes out to fight in order to save Victor’s life. She does save him from death, but in a poignant scene, she dies in Victor’s arms. The film closes with a funeral scene as everyone salutes Cigarette’s brave efforts, including Victor, who is standing sadly, hand in hand with Venetia.

 

IMDB page for Under Two Flags

TCM overview of Under Two Flags

A fun clip from the film: