TV Tuesday: What's My Line? - Season 4; Episode 18 (1953)

 

What's My Line? - 1953

After a long holiday weekend, I thought it would be fun for this TV Tuesday if we revisited an old favorite of mine.  "What's My Line" never fails to entertain.  A panel must determine the lines of work of a couple of guests and also be blindfolded in order to ascertain the identity of a mystery guest.  Let's begin!

Our panelists for this episode are columnist Dorothy Kilgallen, publisher Bennett Cerf, actress Arlene Francis, and comedian Steve Allen.  All very good at what they do, and all very much bedrocks of the show.

Naturally, our host is Mr. John Daly, without whom the show could not exist.  In this episode, he's just received an award for his hosting duties on the show.  Well deserved, Mr. Daly!

Our first guest is a very well-put together lady.  Dorothy Kilgallen gushes over her diamonds.  The panel gets to make guesses as to what she does.  They are that she sews pearls and rhinestones on stockings, owns real estate, has an advice to the lovelorn column, and that she is a head telephone operator.

In reality, this snazzy dresser is a grease monkey on locomotives.  Can you see this woman wearing coveralls with a wrench in her tool kit as she works on a train?

Needless to say, the panel is not successful in guessing her line, and she wins the full $50 prize.

Mr. Sylvan M. Edison is next.  Dorothy likes to take a look at all the guests' hands, thinking this might give her an idea as to what their line is.  The panel makes their guesses as to what Mr. Edison does.  They suggest he is a chemist, runs the Tavern Club in Chicago, salts nuts, or is an electrician.

In reality, Mr. Edison is a monocle manufacturer.  The panel has some very humorous back and forth as they try to work out what Mr. Edison does for a living.

Alas, they cannot guess his occupation, and Mr. Edison wins the game by default because of time constraints.

However, Mr. Edison has brought the panel a little gift.  Each of them receives a monocle he has manufactured himself.

Our celebrity mystery guest is up next.  Each panelist is required to be blindfolded before the celebrity reveals themselves.  In this case, it is none other than Miss Rosalind Russell.

What follows is some of the most riotous question and answering that you have ever seen!  Miss Russell provides us with an outrageously disguised voice and a bunch of hilarious facial expressions.

The panel is able to guess her identity, though she has won $25 in prize money.  After her segment, Miss Russell goes to greet each member of the panel warmly.

You can watch Miss Russell's entire segment here.  It's absolutely hysterical!

The show ends with John Daly signing off.  "Panel, I’ve got to thank you, too.  That’s as much fun as I’ve had in many, many a moon," he says with a grin plastered all over his face.

If you've a mind to, you can watch the show in its hilarious entirety here.

Cast rundown:

   John Daly..................................Himself

   Dorothy Kilgallen........................Herself

   Steve Allen................................Himself

   Arlene Francis............................Herself

   Bennett Cerf..............................Himself

   Rosalind Russell..........................Herself

And that's it for What's My Line?.  Rosalind Russell absolutely makes this episode completely worthwhile to watch, proving that she's one of Hollywood's brightest stars.

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5th Ave. Girl (1939)

 

5th Ave. Girl - 1939

Coming up next is 1939's "5th Ave. Girl", the story of a working class girl that makes a big impact on an upper crust New York family.

The film's cast includes Ginger Rogers, Walter Connolly, Verree Teasdale, James Ellison, Tim Holt, Kathryn Adams, Franklin Pangborn, Ferike Boros, Louis Calhern, Theodore von Eltz, Jack Carson, Charles Lane, and Bess Flowers.

Millionaire Timothy Borden arrives home on his birthday and finds his house completely empty.  It seems his whole family has forgotten about his special day.

He takes a walk over to Central Park and visits the seal pond.  There he makes the acquaintance of a struggling out-of-work young woman named Mary Grey.  Noticing that she doesn't have much to eat, Timothy asks the young woman to help him celebrate his birthday by accompanying him to a nearby nightclub.  She agrees.

Timothy delights Mary by spending more money than she's ever seen.  "If you're fool enough to spend it, I'm smart enough to help you," she says happily.  They have an enjoyable time together.

Timothy's wife, Martha, also happens to be there.  However, she is in the company of someone who is not her husband.

Timothy acknowledges his wife with a smile as he sweeps Mary around the dance floor.  Martha can't quite believe it.

Timothy moves Mary into the mansion.  He keeps her on as his assistant, but he lets his family think that he and she are an item.

She has some run-ins with Timothy's children, particularly son Tim.  "I'm amazed to discover that horses have better breeding than the people who ride them," Mary tells a perplexed Tim after he insults her.

Mary and Timothy spend a lot of time together.  She even indulges his hobby for pigeons and helps him take care of his flock on the roof of the mansion.

Martha is concerned enough to call in a psychiatrist to analyze her husband.  Dr. Kessler arrives and spends some time with Timothy.

After his consultation, Dr. Kessler says that Timothy is behaving perfectly normally and that maybe it's Martha who needs to see someone professionally.

Martha and her children decide to close ranks around Mary and drive her somehow from the house and their father/husband's life.

First up is Tim.  He insults Mary every chance he can get.  But the more he spends time with her, the more he realizes that he likes her, and even loves her.

Katherine Borden uses her time with Mary to confide in her about her love for the family chauffeur, Michael.  Mary is able to give the young girl some advice.

And she causes a ruckus downstairs when she uses some unconventional methods to get Michael to notice Katherine.

Martha also makes the most of her time with Mary.  Mary helps the older woman see her husband in a new light and appreciate him more.

Martha decides to rekindle the romance between Timothy and herself.  She cooks him a meal for the first time in ages, and then takes a trip down memory lane by looking at an old photo album with him.  They are well on the road to recapturing the happiness that they once knew as a young married couple.

It seems that everybody gets a happy ending.  Michael and Katherine get married and receive her parent's blessing.  And Tim falls in love with Mary.

Cast rundown:

   Ginger Rogers............................................Mary Grey

   Walter Connolly..........................................Timothy Borden

   Verree Teasdale..........................................Martha Borden

   James Ellison.............................................Michael Fairnsbother

   Tim Holt.....................................................Tim Borden

   Kathryn Adams...........................................Katherine Borden

   Franklin Pangborn.......................................Higgins

   Ferike Boros...............................................Olga

   Louis Calhern.............................................Dr. Hugo Kessler

   Theodore von Eltz.......................................Terwilliger

   Jack Carson................................................Minnesota

   Charles Lane..............................................Union Representative

   Bess Flowers..............................................Woman With Mr. Pape

And that's it for 5th Ave. Girl.  After filming wrapped, Ginger Rogers went on vacation to Honolulu, Hawaii.  The film was shown to test audiences.  Originally, the film had an unhappy ending, which featured Ms. Rogers walking out of the house and down 5th Ave.  Due to the audience unhappiness, a happier ending was filmed when the actress returned from her vacation.

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