jeanne crain Archives - i luv cinema

Apartment for Peggy is a 1948 film directed by George Seaton (“Miracle on 34th Street”) and starring Edmund Gwenn (also of “Miracle”), William Holden and Jeanne Crain. It was based on the novelette An Apartment for Jenny written by Faith Baldwin.

william-holden-jeanne-crain-edmund-gwenn-apartment-for-peggy

Gwenn plays Professor Henry Barnes, whose spirits are lifted when he rents part of his home to a couple. The husband Jason Taylor (Holden) is a returning soldier, studying at the university, courtesy of the G.I. Bill. His wife, Peggy (Crain) is youthful and vibrant and ultimately the catalyst for pulling Professor Barnes from the path of depression, renewing his lease on the joys of life.

What I like most about this film is the cast. While Gwenn is largely known for being St. Nick, he was quite the accomplished and varied actor. Jeanne Crain is always a screen presence that for me at least projected a kind of warmth and feeling of comfort. And then there is William Holden – dreamy William Holden. While this film does not fall into category of his “breakthrough” years (all started in 1950 with his performance in Sunset Boulevard on through to performances in Stalag 17 and Bridge On the River Kwai), here his performance is solid enough turn as a G.I. (which he was in real life) returning to the home front and adjusting to life.

Granted this film is sorta lightweight (in spite of the fact that the subject of suicide DOES come up), I think that it is worth a look-see at the very least. Check out other forgotten/overlooked films at Todd Mason’s blog – Sweet Freedom.

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This week’s selection as part of Todd Mason’s ongoing blog series is one that I have wanted to discuss for a while. I am referring to Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s People Will Talk from 1951. The film stars Cary Grant (Dr. Noah Praetorius) a doctor dedicated to a holistic, humanist approach to patient care and Jeanne Crain (as Deborah Higgins) a troubled young woman who finds herself in his care.

Among the supporting players we have Walter Slezak, Dr. Praetorius’ confidant and Hume Cronyn, a fellow physician who finds Praetorius’ methods and popularity among the students very distressing. And finally there is Shunderson (Finlay Currie), the doctor’s right hand man who has a very mysterious past.

What I always found strange about this film is that by all appearances, it posits itself as a romantic comedy (see poster below). However, you do not have to go that deep (just sit down and watch it actually) to see that the film is quite dark; in fact, it deals with a few ideas that I would imagine were taboo at the time – namely suicide and an unplanned pregnancy. Heavy stuff indeed.