The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Debbie Reynolds scored one of the triumphs of her career in 1964 as
The
Unsinkable Molly Brown, a frontierswoman who rises to wealth and power
when her husband strikes it rich in Colorado and goes on to become a
heroine when she survives the sinking of the
Titanic. But though
the part would bring Reynolds her only Oscar® nomination, she was not
the first choice for the role. In fact, she had to fight just to get the
director to direct her.
Meredith Willson adapted Molly Brown's biography to the Broadway stage as a
follow-up to his first major hit,
The Music Man. Though
The
Unsinkable Molly Brown was not an unqualified smash, it made stars out
of leading players Tammy Grimes and Harve Presnell. With the success of
The Music Man on film, MGM was eager to pick up the rights to a
similar musical. It would become the studio's last great musical
film.
The young, handsome Presnell was a natural for films and would be the only
member of the original cast invited to reprise his role. As successful as
Grimes had been on Broadway, however, Hollywood already had an ideal choice
for Molly Brown, Shirley MacLaine, and she was eager to play the role. No
sooner had she signed, however, than independent producer Hal Wallis, who
had brought her to Hollywood in the '50s, claimed that she was still under
contract to him. The legal complications forced MacLaine to withdraw from
the role, which producer Lawrence Weingarten then offered to Reynolds. She
jumped at the opportunity to star in a big musical of her own, even though
she had to accept a lower fee than had been offered to MacLaine.
Then the trouble started. First, Reynolds had to deal with MacLaine, who
accused her of undercutting MacLaine's price to steal the role from her.
Reynolds did her best to mollify her, arguing that MGM couldn't make the
film with Wallis threatening a lawsuit and pleading that it was her last
chance for a great film role. On the whole, she got off easier than
Hollywood Reporter columnist Mike Connolly. When he reported that
MacLaine had lost the part before any decision had even been made, she
decked him.
Reynolds' next hurdle was director Charles Walters. Although he had scored
a hit directing her opposite Frank Sinatra in
The Tender Trap (1955), he
had his heart set on casting MacLaine as Molly Brown. He even tried to
convince Reynolds to turn the part down. When she asked why he thought she
was wrong for it, he told her, "You're much too short for the role."
Reynolds quipped, "How short is the part?" then told him he was just plain
wrong. His doubts continued through the location shooting in Colorado. In
fact, he gave her so little direction that Reynolds turned to Lillian
Burns, an accomplished acting coach with whom she had worked in her early
days at MGM, to help her with the part. Finally, when the rushes started
coming in, Walters conceded that she was right for the role. His doubts
came back, however, when it came time to shoot Reynolds' biggest dance
number, "He's My Friend." He even suggesting cutting it, claiming it was
too tough for her to learn, but Reynolds insisted. MGM had slashed the
film's budget because of cost overruns on
Doctor Zhivago (1965), so Walters
had to try to get the number in as few takes as possible. As insurance, he had
TWO cameras simultaneously film a long take of the seven-minute number, a
television technique rarely used on film. Reynolds pulled the number off
without a hitch, though one of her male dancing partners fainted after it
was over.
The Unsinkable Molly Brown turned out to be a huge hit for MGM,
becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1964. The picture garnered six
Oscar® nominations, including Reynolds' Best Actress nod. She would
prove wrong in her prediction that this would be her last great role. She
would go on to turn in an Oscar®-worthy performance in Albert Brooks'
1996 comedy
Mother. She and MacLaine would survive their
differences, eventually teaming up for the television movie
These Old
Broads in 2001. Before that, MacLaine would play a role loosely based
on Reynolds -- and with her blessing -- as the movie star mom in
Postcards From the Edge (1990), written by Reynolds' daughter,
Carrie Fisher.
Producer: Lawrence Weingarten
Director: Charles Walters
Screenplay: Helen Deutsch
Based on the Stage Musical by Meredith Willson & Richard Morris
Cinematography: Daniel L. Fapp
Art Direction: George W. Davis & E. Preston Ames
Music: Meredith Willson
Principal Cast: Debbie Reynolds (Molly Brown), Harve Presnell (Johnny
Brown), Ed Begley (Shamus Tobin), Jack Kruschen (Christmas Morgan),
Hermione Baddeley (Mrs. Grogan), Vassili Lambrinos (Prince Louis de
Laniere), Harvey Lembeck (Polak), Hayden Rorke (Broderick), Martita Hunt
(Grand Duchess Elise Lupovinova), Audrey Christie (Mrs. McGraw), Grover
Dale (Jam), Maria Karnilova (Daphne), Gus Trikonis (Joe).
C-129m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.
by Frank Miller