Last night I saw Molly Brown on the big screen at a two-day film festival in Woodridge, IL, a suburb of Chicago. Ms. Reynolds was also in attendance, and I got a chance to meet her and even asked her to sign my DVD of Singin in the Rain (See pics below). It was a real thrill because I have always liked her from that movie. When she first walked into the theater lobby to greet fans, I could not believe it was her. There was an aura present, an she looked very lovely. She stood and greeted everyone in line. A woman standing in front of me in line brought her a big bouquet of flowers.Then at 9 PM, everyone entered the theater. Ms. Reynolds came in to do a Q and A, and reminisced about Molly Brown: She said that Shirley MacClaine was originally supposed to play the lead, but MGM got Debbie instead due to some contract disputes. Then she talked about all the physical dance numbers and stunts she had to perform - truly impressive - and recalled how back-breaking they were. She said this was her favorite film of all, this one and "Mother" she liked best. Someone asked, "You like this even better than 'Singing in the Rain?'" and she said "Absolutely..."Humbly speaking I deserved to win (the Oscar that year)", but she didn't mention Julie Andrews, who did win -- I think they are good friends. She really is good in this rags-to-riches role, and deserved her Oscar nomination. You could feel along with her the pain and the joy she goes through. I must add that Harve Presnell deserves alot of credit as well, he's wonderful in this movie, a performance he reprised from the Broadway show. Howard Keel would be perfect for this part, but Debbie in the Q & A yesterday said that MGM had to scale back on the budget because they were making "Doctor Zhivago" the same year. She said the studio originally wanted the sinking of the Titanic scene to be longer, but it was trimmed to only a few minutes...a few powerful minutes - this is one of the best scenes in the movie. The Colorado scenery is breathtaking. Also worth nothing is a supporting performance by Ed Begley, who plays Molly's father. A few days ago I wrote that I didn't think he ever played a nice character, but I was wrong; he's heartwarming in this one. A film to experience at least once.
