Morleys most famus book, made into a movie starring ginger rogers, who won the oscar for her role as kitty. Ginger rogers plays a young woman torn between two menone a rich. Nov, 2018 then rogers was courted by producer david hempstead to star in an adaptation of a popular novel called kitty foyle, about an independent young woman who becomes pregnant and has an abortion. Jacket is near fine and unclipped, with the following noted. Kitty foyle, subtitled the natural history of a woman, is a 1940 film starring ginger rogers, dennis morgan, and james craig, which is based on christopher morleys 1939 bestseller also titled kitty foyle. Rogers displayed her deft comic touch in stage door, the major and the minor, and monkey business, and won the 1940 oscar for best actress for her dramatic role in kitty foyle. Jun 18, 2011 a thread for kitty foyle, the shortlived daytime soap based on the film ginger rogers won an oscar for. She also won an oscar for playing the title role in kitty foyle 1940 and later starred in roxie hart 1942. Kitty foyle is a lush, expertly done example of the womens films that were popular in the 1940s and are so rare today. In 2001 americans have bridget jones and in 1940 they had sassy singleton kitty foyle ginger rogers, the heroine of author christopher morleys 1939 bestseller subtitled the natural history of. A bestseller in 1939 and 1940, 1 it was adapted as a popular 1940 film. Kitty foyle was created by soap opera mogul irna phillips of guiding light fame and produced by daytime radio monarchs frank and anne hummert of helen trent recognition. The 1940 movie adaptation starring ginger rogers was enormously popular.
Ginger rogers receives the academy award for the best actress during the th aca. The novel that served as the basis for the 1940 film with ginger rogers as kitty foyle, a saleswoman in a new york boutique. Kittys toilginger rogers won the academy award for best actress in kitty foyle as the hardworking, stubborn irish lass who learns more than a few lessons about life, love and the social. With so many fantastic performances in 1940 and if youre curious what ones im talking about heres a shameless plug for robert james book who won which i recommend you buy to learn more. The novel is the story of katherine kitty foyle, a young woman. July 16, 1911 april 25, 1995 was an american actress, dancer, and singer. The book was also turned into a movie starring ginger rogers. It is a delight to see this versatile actress go from joy to real misery, then back again. What rogers was particularly good at was portraying the common, not to say vulgar, shop girl, and that, in christopher morleys oncefashionable novel, is what kitty foyle is. Ginger rogers, who danced with astaire and won an oscar for. She had a baby earlier in their marriage and he allowed the doctor to use forceps and the baby died. The lady was kidding, of course, but there is no denying that everything connected with the spectacular rogers career dates b.
Howard hughes affair with ginger rogers hollywood producer. Ginger rogers 19111995 was singing and dancing in vaudeville while still in her teens. Her mother, known as lelee, went to independence to have ginger away from her husband. The dancer prided herself on never taking a formal dance lesson. The rather simplistic plot focuses on kitty s choice of sharing her life with either a married scion of a mainline family or an impoverished doctor, both of whom love her. It was written in 1939 and became one of the most popular books of that year. Academy award for best actress for kitty foyle, died today at 83. Based on christopher morleys story of an american girl, the film, told in flashback, relates the progress of workinggirl kitty foyle ginger rogers as she pursues her cinderella dreams. Kitty foyle, subtitled the natural history of a woman, is a 1940 film starring ginger rogers.
Kitty foyle is a 1940 romantic drama directed by sam wood and starring ginger rogers in the title role kitty foyle is a whitecollar office worker in new york who is about to get married to her boyfriend, handsome doctor mark elsen. Apr 21, 2020 ginger rogers, american dancer and actress who was best known as the partner of fred astaire in a series of movie musicals, including the gay divorcee 1934 and top hat 1935. She won an academy award for her starring role in kitty foyle 1940, but is best remembered for performing during the 1930s in rkos musical films partnered with fred astaire. Kitty foyle would have to be sanitized for the screen, and with a millionaire fiance promising her the worldor, at least, a house with a view of the world as hollywood knew it ginger could. From kitty foyle, born of modest irishamerican stock in a manufacturing region. Kitty is still growing up one of those books where you annoy people around you by. The film was adapted by dalton trumbo and donald ogden stewart from the 1939 novel kitty foyle by christopher morley.
May 11, 2007 kitty foyle, the film for which ginger rogers won an oscar five years earlier, required something of the same sort from dalton trumbo, who penned the script. Kitty foyle by christopher morley, first edition abebooks. Ginger rogers won the academy award for best actress for her portrayal of kitty foyle, and the dress she wore in the film became a new dress style, known as a kitty foyle dress. Ginger rogers won an academy award for her performance, but id like to.
Unclipped dust jacket is fresh and bright, with tiny chips at corner tips. The set and the dress, everything is perfect in this dance. Kitty foyle is a 1939 american novel by christopher morley. It was my mother who made all those pictures with fred astaire. Ginger rogers passed away on april 25, 1995 at the age of 83 in rancho mirage, california. Ginger sparkles with ginger rogers s wry, sometimes offbeat sense of humor and glows with her warmth and humanity. Ginger rogers, horoscope for birth date 16 july 1911, born in. Ginger rogers as kitty foyle, with dennis morgan, eduardo cianelli, feathers, in kitty foyle 1940 miss kitty foyle has several amusing hats, but i am especially partial to her date night with her patrician boss in new york city on election day 1932 hat. Apparently, the book was a big bestseller in its day. Kitty foyle is an american oldtime radio and television soap opera originally aired during the 1940s and 1950s that was based on the successful 1940 film of the same name starring ginger rogers. Ginger rogers and james craig at an event for kitty foyle 1940 ginger. In her book, ginger dealt with the legends about her relationship with fred.
Kitty foyle rogers is infatuated by welltodo wyn stafford dennis morgan god is my copilot. Ginger rogers once told a reporter, kitty foyle was my first picture. While employed at a department store, kitty is wooed by dennis morgan, scion of a wealthy philadelphia family. Kitty foyle 1939 molly and me had a talk one time about the white collar women, theres millions of them, getting maybe 15 to 30 a week, theyve got to dress themselves right up to the hilt, naturally they have a yen for social pleasure, need to be a complete woman with all a womans satisfactions and they need a chance to be creating and doing. Kitty s toil ginger rogers won the academy award for best actress in kitty foyle as the hardworking, stubborn irish lass who learns more than a few lessons about life, love and the social. Best performance by an actress in a leading role 1941. Book is crisp and clean, with reasonably tight binding and sharp corners. Read the full synopsis of kitty foyle, 1940, directed by sam wood, with ginger rogers, dennis morgan, james craig, at turner classic movies. It was also made into a 1940 oscarwinning movie, starring ginger rogers as kitty.
Ginger rogers title character, in her academy awardwinning role is collected by doctor boyfriend mark james craig who has an important question, early in kitty foyle, 1940, directed by sam wood. This was unheard by the gathered audience because the entire room appeared to have erupted in clapping, cheering, and yelling in jubilation for the young woman who had risen to stardom through hard concentrated work. Ginger rogers, dennis morgan, james craig, eduardo ciannelli, ernest cossart, gladys cooper. Kitty foyle and philadelphia, the grand homey old town christopher morleys 1939 novel kitty foyle is best known from the film of the next year, which gave ginger rogers a chance to shine and to win an academy award in a dramatic role. Filmed in 1940, ginger rogers won an oscar for her role in this film. In 2001 americans have bridget jones and in 1940 they had sassy singleton kitty foyle ginger rogers, the heroine of author christopher morleys 1939 bestseller subtitled the natural history of a woman. Ginger rogers, 83, the glamorous blonde who made dance floor magic with fred astaire in a string of unforgettable musicals and won an academy award as best actress for kitty foyle, died april 25. First uk dvd release of this 1940 drama from rko pictures. Miss rogers proved herself a dramatic actress with an oscar for kitty foyle in 1940, and was the. Jul 28, 2019 films in bold will air on tcm view tcmdb entry.
Kitty foyle, james craig, which is based on christopher morleys 1939 bestseller also titled kitty foyle. Theres a scene midway thru the film where she has just lost her job and her boss has offered to keep her on the payroll until she can find something else. Rogers struggled to establish her own solo acting abilities and triumphed with her oscar award for best actress in the 1940 drama, kitty foyle. Known for light comedies and her partnership with fred astaire, ginger rogers stepped off the dance floor and into s oscar spotlight with her best actress turn as kitty, an indomitable workingclass girl who endures the rejection of philadelphia society, makes her own way as a single woman and ultimately chooses between an unmarried arrangement with main line scion wynnewood strafford vi dennis morgan or marriage to a struggling physician james craig. Then rogers was courted by producer david hempstead to star in an adaptation of a popular novel called kitty foyle, about an independent young. Jimmy and ginger were lovers james stewart and ginger rogers are both popular favorites in the classic actorsactresses department but what a lot of people dont know is that in their private lives there were very close. Kitty foyles claim to fame is securing ginger rogers her first, and only, oscar for best actress. Wholesome but sexy, forthright and vulnerable, honest and energetic, ginger rogers was one of hollywoods biggest stars of the thirties and forties. Kitty foyle, written by christopher morley, is a book about a good old american girl growing up in the 1920s and 30s.
The novel tells of a whitecollar girl who falls in love with a young socialite, despite the objections of his family. So, the family and i are watching kitty foyle on tcm the other night. Superstar ginger rogers top hat, stage door won her only oscar as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks who falls in love for a dashing young socialite. Kitty foyle novel project gutenberg selfpublishing. According to chris schemerings book, for publicity the producers went on a lengthy talent hunt, involving over 200 actresses, before casting kathleen murray. Kitty foyle was the only oscar win for ginger rogers, why, ill never know as she was a fine actress and starred in a good few worth the same accolade.
Ginger rogerswhich i am sure ended with, in kitty foyle. Donald ogden stewart sparked the dialogue with some polish and wit. Rogers gives her all to a role that still has a lot of meat to it, justifying her oscar win 1, i just wish it was for a film that dared shoot a little higher. Ginger rogers was born virginia katherine mcmath in independence, missouri on july 16, 1911. My story in 1991 and accepted a kennedy center honor in december 1992. Kitty foyle and philadelphia, the grand homey old town. Ginger rogers won the academy award for best actress for her portrayal of kitty foyle, and the dress she wore in the film became a new dress. Ginger rogers, the vivacious actress whose supple grace in the arms of fred astaire lifted the spirits of depressionera moviegoers in some of the most elegantly romantic musical films ever made, died yesterday at her home in rancho mirage, calif.
Bush over tax policy and then produced a book critical of the. Known for light comedies and her partnership with fred astaire, ginger rogers stepped off the dance floor and into 1940s oscar spotlight with her best actress turn as kitty, an indomitable workingclass girl who endures the rejection of philadelphia society, makes her own way as a single woman and ultimately chooses between an unmarried arrangement with main line scion wynnewood strafford vi dennis morgan or marriage to a struggling physician james craig. Based on christopher morleys novel, the film is sentimental and verbose, though it makes no apologies for being a tearjerker. Christopher morley a novel by, dalton trumbo screen play 1 more credit.
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