Lena vs. Ava in the Role of Show Boat's "Julie"

Lena Horne

One of my favorite movies from the Hollywood heyday of musicals is Show Boat, made in 1951, starring Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson.

The sultry Ava Gardner also starred as "Julie," the mixed race (mulatto) character.  However, before she was cast, the beautiful (African American) Lena Horne was considered.

While Lena Horne was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM), her appearances in movies were shot so that they could be cut easily from the films she appeared in. This was because MGM feared audiences of that time, especially those in the South, would not accept a beautiful black woman in romantic, non-menial roles.

This was probably the main reason she lost out on playing "Julie."  I remember seeing her on a talk show back in the '80s explaining how MGM's makeup department had come up with a foundation for her to wear as "Julie," called light Egyptian.  Shortly afterwards, however, Ava Gardner was the one being slathered with it and not her!

Ava Gardner

Ironically, Ava Gardner was one of Lena's closest off-screen friends.  She practiced for the role by singing to Horne's recordings of the songs, since Lena had already appeared in the "Show Boat" segment of Till the Clouds Roll By (1946).  In that, she had appeared as "Julie" singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" (which was, as all her MGM appearances, shot in such a way that it could be easily edited out of the film).

Another irony for Lena is that she had been invited by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II themselves to play "Julie" in the 1946 Broadway revival of Show Boat, but had had to refuse because MGM would not release her from her contract.

Shortly after her death in 2010, Time Magazine provided a biography on what Lena Horne's film career could have looked like:

Gorgeous, gifted and preternaturally poised, the 24-year-old actress-singer came to Hollywood in 1941 and quickly became the first African-American movie star. She was a sensation in her first leading role, as the Congo goddess Tondelayo in MGM's White Cargo. She earned an Academy Award nomination as the light-skinned black girl passing for white in Elia Kazan's Pinky, then capped her first decade of stardom playing Julie and singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" in the 1951 film Show Boat.

Those roles were eventually played by Hedy Lamarr, Jeanne Crain, and Ava Gardner, respectively.  It's a shame we'll never know what Lena Horne could have done with them!

Have you ever seen Show Boat? Thanks for visiting!

Twist Endings: Can You Figure Them Out Before the End?

"Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That and surprise." Julia Cameron

I'm hopeless when it comes to figuring out the twist ending of a movie. In a book, I'm usually fed enough clues to correctly guess the conclusion before it's completely revealed--but of course by then, I'm almost finished reading!

My husband, however, less than half way through a movie, will tell me the twist. "He's in on the scheme." "He faked his death." "She's got a split personality." Sometimes he's wrong, but most of the time, my husband's either on the right track, or he's nailed it completely.

I suppose our brains work differently.  I enjoy seeing the story unfold. I love being surprised, shocked and scared. I'm too busy being entertained to think about unraveling the plot. Also, I'm vulnerable and take things at face value.

In Derailed, Jennifer Anniston pays for Clive Owens' train fare near the beginning of the movie. My husband started suspecting something right then. Not me! If I'd had an extra $9.00 and someone (a stranger who didn't look suspicious) had forgotten his wallet, I would've been a good Samaritan and helped him out--just like Jennifer!

When the twist is finally disclosed, I'll rethink my way through the movie to make sure the screenplay was consistent, and the conclusion realistic. And sometimes, once armed with the knowledge of the ending, I'll watch the DVD all over again.  Then I'll see stuff I missed the first time around, and understand little things I paid no attention to before.  Shutter Island, The Sixth Sense and The Others all have to be watched more than once!

Despite my inability to figure out the twist, these types of movies are my favorites! Nothing like the element of surprise.

If you a good love twist ending, be sure to rent these if you haven't already seen them: Shutter Island, Derailed, The Secret Window, The Illusionist, The Sixth Sense and The Others.

Can you figure out the twist before a movie ends? What are some of your favorites (books or movies) that have twist endings?

Tweet me @: maria_mckenzie. Thanks for stopping by!

My Three Rs

These are my three Rs: reading, writing and romance. I was never good at arithmetic, so I kicked it off the list. I daydreamed through math class. Actually, I daydreamed through lots of classes. But I've read that the kids who sit around daydreaming, are the ones most likely to become writers--go figure!

The world of fantasy and imagination is much more exciting than reality. I watched the movie Finding Neverland with my kids last weekend. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. The Scottish dramatist J. M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan (and portrayed on film by an outstanding Johnny Depp) says that with a wee bit of imagination, anyting is possible. This statement really rings true for the paranormal genre!

I love reading romances and find it even more fun to write my own. For the paranormal fans out there, let's time travel back to 1936. That's when one of my favorite books was published, Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. I love the movie just as much as the book! Since I cried at the end when I first read it in seventh grade, I daydreamed my own ending. After about two weeks, Rhett realized he couldn't live without Scarlett, so he came running back. Then they lived happily ever after. I know, not too exciting, but to a twelve year old, a perfect ending.

Let's move forward to 1991. That's when Alexandra Ripley wrote Scarlett, the sequel to GWTW. Can you imagine wanting to write the followup to one of the world's most beloved books? In my wildest dreams, I can't even imagine that! I never read the late Ms. Ripley's novel. Are you a GWTW fan? Did you read Scarlett? If so, tell me what you thought.

Now it's time to move into the 21st century. In 2007, Rhett Butler's People was published. In this novel, Donald McCaig gives readers a sequal and a prequel to GWTW. What a brave soul! But the writing must've been an exciting challenge for Mr. McCaig, who spent several years researching it. I haven't read Rhett Butler's People yet, but it's on my reading list! Have you read it? Share your thoughts!