JUNE 21, 2024
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Hi guys 'n' dolls, that girl's here again, back with week two of my CINEMA COFFEE: SUMMER SEVEN CINEMA brew edition! As I mentioned last week when kicking off this lineup with my first summertime recommend, BALL OF FIRE (1941), each Friday for seven weeks I will be dropping seven summer cinema recommendations, and this week is a fave ... THE MATING OF MILLIE (1948).
Directed by Henry Levin, cinematography by Joseph Walker, and costumes by designer Jean Louis, starring Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes in their fifth of six films together, beginning in 1940 as brother and sister in THE LADY IN QUESTION, THE ADVENTURES OF MARTIN EDEN (1942), FLIGHT LIEUTENANT (1942), THE DESPERADOES (1943) and MR. SOFT TOUCH (1949), the film co-stars Willard Parker, Jimmy Hunt, and Ron Randell.
It's a film I used to campaign a lot and talk-up to any film fan who would listen, and yet, even I had not revisited this romantic-comedy for more than five years ... until recently.
As I have said back then, I don't care if Glenn Ford did not seem as though he wanted to make this film (according to co-star Evelyn Keyes), I love it. It is such a joy to watch. For me, it is the definition of an all smiles, pick-me-up, feel good film. Nevermind that it could be described as "an agreeable, if routine, comedy" (Femme Noir Bad Girls of Film by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry), it's a recommendation from me.
Like most of the films I have chosen to recommend in my SUMMER SEVEN CINEMA, revisiting THE MATING OF MILLIE was like reconnecting with a friend, catching up, where have you been, what have you been doing with yourself?! It was charming as it was delightful, light as it was heartfelt. The perfect film to end or begin your night with. Paired with coffee or ice cream.
But it was really my next film, “The Mating of Millie” [1948], that I couldn’t turn down. A lively, bright, and funny comedy, I played Millie, a businesswoman who wanted to adopt an orphan child, but to do so, I had to get a husband first. And for that, Glenn Ford had to help me out. Later on, we reprised our roles in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast in 1949. |
Given the words of Evelyn Keyes herself, I won't give you a breakdown of the story, but also because if you are new to this film, I think it best if you just follow where the story takes you—even if you predict from the very beginning where/how this film is going to end up—it's the journey on how it gets there that keeps you smiling.
I can say that there is a transformation of sorts that the main character "Millie" goes through where her wardrobe is updated and we get to see the more luxurious designs by head designer for Columbia Pictures (from 1944 — 1958), Jean Louis.
At Columbia, he was the only costume designer at the time to be given full film credit. The films on which he worked carried the credit ''Gowns by Jean Louis.'' |
—Enid Nemy
NYT, 1997
NYT, 1997
Born in Paris, in 1907, and known for his strapless black satin gown design worn by Rita Hayworth as she performed the ''Put the Blame on Mame'' number in GILDA (1946), Jean became a sketch artist at Drecoll (House of Drecoll, a Parisian couture house, founded 1902), before working as one of the lead designers at/with fashion entrepreneur Hattie Carnegie—born Henrietta Kanengeiser, who went from being a "Macy's messenger girl" to "a ten-million-dollar empire"—in New York with Claire McCardell and Norman Norell, eventually, as the years past, leading him to Columbia in his first assignment for the studio through TOGETHER AGAIN (1944) starring actress and friend Irene Dunne.
It's also an opportunity to see Evelyn Keyes shine. An actress at times I have felt is sort of pushed underrated in comparison to some of her other contemporaries, be it in general or at Columbia Studios specifically.
After revisiting THE MATING OF MILLIE several weeks ago, I found myself smiling the next day into the next few days afterward thinking of the comical, cute scenes brought to life, and those by Evelyn Keyes in particular, and her overall interaction with each actor/character she shared scenes with. The chemistry in this film amongst everyone is evident. That's the impression, the charm this film leaves on you.
And, without giving anything away, Jimmy Hunt (still with us at 84) as "Tommy" nearly, if not, steals the film away. Only making this gem that much more delightful.
If you're in the mood for a light, romantic comedy, this is one to add to your matinee line-up. Until next week ... Save your "slidy".
COMMENTS:
For my other CINEMA COFFEE blog pieces:
#ForMyMom Cinema Coffee ... | COFFEE CINEMA: Talking Streetcar | CINEMA COFFEE: "Et tu, Brute?" | CINEMA COFFEE: "La Chocolaterie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Milk? I loathe milk!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Elderberry Wine ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The choice I never had ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The smell of Mimosa" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Mighty like a Rose" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Don't cry on the rolls" | CINEMA COFFEE: "You're the first Kansas I ever met" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Everybody calls me Gracie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "What the devil are Belinskis?!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Hello friends and enemies." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Stop remindin' me of heaven." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Even Gatsby could happen" | CINEMA COFFEE: "I made a wish" | CINEMA COFFEE: Audie Murphy | CINEMA COFFEE: Put The Blame on Mame | CINEMA COFFEE: "Just Singleton." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Where I Come From, Nobody Knows" | Film Therapy: Coping through Cinema | CINEMA COFFEE: Socks fall down | CINEMA COFFEE: "The moon's reaching for me" | CINEMA COFFEE: The Horne: Luso World Cinema Blogathon | CINEMA COFFEE: Aunt Bettye Lightsy | CINEMA COFFEE: I never lose | CINEMA COFFEE: "I have a mother!" | CINEMA COFFEE: THE SIGN OF GEMINI | CINEMA COFFEE: Venus Rising | CINEMA COFFEE: Stan vs Geek | CINEMA COFFEE: "Positively the same dame"| CINEMA COFFEE: I would rather lose ma whip than lose ma Daisy! | CINEMA COFFEE: "D'ENTRE LES MORTS goes VERTIGO"
#ForMyMom Cinema Coffee ... | COFFEE CINEMA: Talking Streetcar | CINEMA COFFEE: "Et tu, Brute?" | CINEMA COFFEE: "La Chocolaterie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Milk? I loathe milk!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Elderberry Wine ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The choice I never had ..." | CINEMA COFFEE: "The smell of Mimosa" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Mighty like a Rose" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Don't cry on the rolls" | CINEMA COFFEE: "You're the first Kansas I ever met" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Everybody calls me Gracie" | CINEMA COFFEE: "What the devil are Belinskis?!" | CINEMA COFFEE: "Hello friends and enemies." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Stop remindin' me of heaven." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Even Gatsby could happen" | CINEMA COFFEE: "I made a wish" | CINEMA COFFEE: Audie Murphy | CINEMA COFFEE: Put The Blame on Mame | CINEMA COFFEE: "Just Singleton." | CINEMA COFFEE: "Where I Come From, Nobody Knows" | Film Therapy: Coping through Cinema | CINEMA COFFEE: Socks fall down | CINEMA COFFEE: "The moon's reaching for me" | CINEMA COFFEE: The Horne: Luso World Cinema Blogathon | CINEMA COFFEE: Aunt Bettye Lightsy | CINEMA COFFEE: I never lose | CINEMA COFFEE: "I have a mother!" | CINEMA COFFEE: THE SIGN OF GEMINI | CINEMA COFFEE: Venus Rising | CINEMA COFFEE: Stan vs Geek | CINEMA COFFEE: "Positively the same dame"| CINEMA COFFEE: I would rather lose ma whip than lose ma Daisy! | CINEMA COFFEE: "D'ENTRE LES MORTS goes VERTIGO"