Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) and Margaret O'Brien at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival

I had the pleasure of attending a very special screening of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). It took place in the TCL Chinese Theatre (Grauman's Chinese) and actress Margaret O'Brien was in attendance. Seeing O'Brien at the TCM Classic Film Festival was an experience I'll never forget. In fact, I saw her on three separate occasions, once at this screening and twice at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. She was probably the most approachable of all the special guests because she was very comfortable taking photos with fans, giving them autographs or even chatting with them. I get so star struck whenever I see any of the special guests. I clam up and have no clue what to do or say and I usually forget crucial information like my name and where I am. I saw O'Brien twice before I had the courage of saying something to her. I complimented her on her outfit, she has a very funky and hip style, and that was the first time I had ever spoken to a classic film star. After that experience I hope I'll be more brave and a lot more calm on my next encounter with someone famous.

Richard Corliss, author of Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate), interviewed Margaret O'Brien at this festival screening.

Corliss introduced Margaret O'Brien calling her "the greatest child actress the screen has ever seen." He  pointed out that Deanna Durbin, Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney were child performers but O'Brien is different because she was a child actress. He went on to note her ability to live inside her characters.

Press Photo 

O'Brien was so sweet. The first thing she did when she sat down for the interview was ask the audience how they were doing and if they were having a good time at the festival. O'Brien had nothing but nice things to say about Mickey Rooney and Meet Me in St. Louis star Judy Garland.

Margaret O'Brien's first ever screen appearance was at the age of two in Babes on Broadway (1941) with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. It was the first time she worked with Mickey Rooney. Many years later they would work together again for one last time on the movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2014) . In fact, they had just wrapped up filming three weeks before the festival and shortly before Rooney passed away. O'Brien says that Rooney loved being on the set and was very happy to be working again. She was impressed that he knew all his lines at the age of 93. 

Journey for Margaret (1942) was O'Brien's first credited screen role. O'Brien says that she loved the character in that movie so much she willingly had her stage name changed to Margaret. She had a dog named Maggie who appeared with her in some of her early roles and even credits her dog for helping her get her start in Hollywood.

O'Brien's mother was a famous flamenco dancer and part of Rita Hayworth's father's company. Her mother was having some photos taken and because she didn't have a sitter she brought along Margaret (Angela at the time) and her dog Maggie. When they all walked into the shoot, the photographer exclaimed "what a beautiful face!". O'Brien's mother thought he meant her but the photographer was referring to the dog. Because of O'Brien's name change she could have easily been referred to as "Maggie" but refused to let anyone call her that with the notable exception of Mickey Rooney.

O'Brien's next story revealed a lot about studio era machinations and manipulation. Her mother had asked Louis B. Mayer to raise her salary to $5k a week unless they could guarantee that little Margaret would be protected. Otherwise she wanted to be on the set with her daughter. $5k was a lot during that time and Mayer refused. O'Brien's mother told him they would be moving to New York to find work elsewhere. In those days studios had look-a-likes on hand to fill in for roles that were intended for other actors or actresses. For example James Craig was Clark Gable's look-a-like.

James Craig

Without naming names, O'Brien told us that MGM had a look-a-like for her under contract. The studio gave that young actress the role of Tootie in Meet Me in St. Louis much to the excitement of the actress and her family. But as we all know that didn't happen. The salary negotiations for O'Brien finally went in her favor and she got her $5k a week plus the role in the movie. The rejected actress' father worked on lighting for the film and O'Brien remembers that he had a nervous breakdown on the set and almost dropped a light on her. O'Brien was very sympathetic and doesn't speak negatively of the other actress' father. If you look at sources elsewhere it says that he intentionally tried to drop the light on her and was admitted to a mental institution shortly afterwards. O'Brien felt terrible about what happened to that family and believes that studio bait-and-switch practice was stopped after that incident. 

Press Photo

Here is what O'Brien had to say about Judy Garland, crying on screen and the song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

This was my favorite interview of the festival. O'Brien was so generous with her stories and her praise for those she worked with. I always get irked when interviews consist of more questions about who the person has worked with than about the actual person being interviewed. I understand that we all want to hear stories about the people who have passed on from the people who remember them but I think we should appreciate who we have left too! Corliss's interview with O'Brien had a great balance of stories about O'Brien as well as details about other stars including Judy Garland.

After the interview we were all treated to a screening of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). I sat very close to the screen, which in Grauman's Chinese theatre is enormous. I felt enveloped in the film and transported to another time and era. I have seen the film several times before but this viewing was so special. My hands hurt from all the clapping. And there was a lot of clapping before, during and after the interview and with every screen credit, first appearance of a star and every musical number. The audience was really appreciative of the film and it showed in how much we all applauded. You don't get this kind of positive response anywhere other than at the TCM Classic Film Festival.

Here is a photo of O'Brien posing for pictures at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. To be only a few feet away from her was a true delight!

Maureen O'Hara: The Biography by Aubrey Malone

Maureen O'Hara: The Biography
by Aubrey Malone
Hardcover - ISBN: 9780813142388
October 2013
304 pages
University Press of Kentucky

Barnes and Noble
Powells
IndieBound

I had received a copy of Aubrey Malone's biography of Maureen O'Hara from the publisher a while ago. In preparation for the TCM Classic Film Festival and seeing the actress in person, I picked it up to read because I didn't know very much about O'Hara's life and I was excited to learn more.

Malone's book is a practical biography of the legendary Irish actress. It's a no frills kind of book that doesn't seek out to reveal anything extraordinary but serves to tell the story of O'Hara's life with a firm focus on her career and her relationships with her husbands and with important figures in her life such as director John Ford and actors Charles Laughton, John Wayne and Brian Keith. If you are looking for juicy gossip, look elsewhere. If you want a basic primer on O'Hara, then this is a basic and readily available choice.

Besides a few attempts at being creative with language, the book is written in a very approachable style. O'Hara's life is fascinating and that coupled with very clear language made this book quite readable. The first few chapters felt a little awkward but the author gets into a good rhythm and the book progresses quite well. It follows O'Hara's life and career from her early days in Ireland up to 2013.

Reading the book you learn about the influence of several male figures in O'Hara's life. For example, actor Charles Laughton helped her get her start in Hollywood, she had a troubled relationship with director John Ford and she developed a close friendship with John Wayne and became a big support for him when he was dying. Her third husband Charles Blair was one of the most important person in O'Hara's life and his tragic death was a major loss for her.

I really enjoyed reading O'Hara's reflections on old age. There were several quotes in the book and they were from when she was younger and looking ahead to the future.

"Me? All I want is to live to be a hundred."
"I can't wait to grow old. I'm going to be the nastiest old lady you ever saw."

In fact, there were lots of great quotes from O'Hara but most of them are from her autobiography.

This book was a good starting point for someone like me who wanted to learn more about O'Hara and was pressed for time. But when I finished reading it I didn't feel satisfied. The backmatter reveals that much of the information in the book comes from archives, libraries, O'Hara's autobiography and various printed sources. O'Hara was not interviewed for the book and neither were her relatives or friends. A lot of research went into this biography but I felt like it could have been a lot richer if it were made longer with the addition of some interviews. What results from all of this is an informative yet mediocre book. After reading this, I immediately put O'Hara's autobiography Tis Herself, published in 2004, on my wishlist because I still felt there was still much more to learn about O'Hara as a person and an actress.

Maureen O'Hara: The Biography is part of the University Press of Kentucky's Screen Classics series. The publisher has a fantastic Newsletter and Blog both of which have regular classic film related articles.

How Green Was My Valley (1941) screening and Maureen O'Hara at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival

The screening of How Green Was My Valley (1941) at the TCM Classic Film Festival was such a spectacular event.  It was worth waiting in line for almost two hours to make sure that I not only got in but that I got a good seat as well. I waited in line with K.C. of A Classic Movie Blog, Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood and Dan of Celebrity Cafe. We had a blast chatting that the 2 hours flew by. I got sick during the festival and was at my worst point right before the screening. However, there was absolutely nothing that was going to get in my way. I was going to see Maureen O'Hara!

Once we settled into our seats at the historic El Capitan theatre, we were treated to some music before the event commenced. Robert Osborne came out onto the stage to introduce the film and Maureen O'Hara. How Green Was My Valley won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Donald Crisp), Best Director (John Ford), Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Some people harbor resentment towards this film because they feel that Citizen Kane (1941) deserved to win the Oscar that year. Osborne reminded us that Citizen Kane wasn't as well understood or appreciated as it is today and How Green Was My Valley was a great film in its own right.

Then it was the moment we were all waiting for! Maureen O'Hara, escorted by her grandson Conor Beau, made her grand entrance.

There was a roar of applause and O'Hara received a standing ovation. She seemed overcome with emotion and was seen wiping away tears. O'Hara motioned to us to sit down which I thought was very sweet. She seemed to be very humble but also very sassy too.

The audience listened with rapt attention. O'Hara was a bit hindered by her advanced age and at one point got very religious and philosophical. It might have been awkward if she wasn't the MAUREEN O'HARA! I'm sure I speak for all of us in attendance that it was such a blessing to have her there. O'Hara could have just wielded insults at us for an hour and we'd all be grateful for every word. And believe you me, we hung on to every word she said.

I loved the moment when O'Hara told the audience not to think that she does magical things. Osborne replied that she does do magical things on the screen. With the help of directors who are magicians themselves, actors and actress do incredible, magical things on screen that make us feel a gamut of emotions. We are all captivated by the magic of the movies.

Before the film started we were treated to a video tribute to Maureen O'Hara's career. I believe this came before the interview. It was a wonderful tribute and I really wish the video lived somewhere online so I could share it. It was so well done and I also really loved the one shown in tribute of Charlton Heston at another event. Whoever writes the copy for those tributes is absolutely brilliant.

I had never seen How Green Was My Valley (1941) so this screening was a very special way to be introduced to a film. Of all the movies screened at the festival, I think this one fit the theme Family in the Movies: The Ties That Bind the best. I was already very emotional from seeing Maureen O'Hara in person that the film's ending just destroyed my already fragile emotional state. Theaters should extend the courtesy to patrons by leaving the lights off a little longer when a film has a particularly sad ending. That way we'd all have a few moments to wipe away our tears and compose ourselves.

Press Photo

It wasn't enough for me to see Maureen O'Hara once at the TCM Classic Film Festival. When Robert Osborne announced that he would be interviewing O'Hara at ClubTCM the following day it became imperative that I go to that too. Several folks camped out in front of the screening area in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel early so they could get up close to Maureen O'Hara. I was too sick to do that so I had to wait until around the time it started. I didn't get the best view but it was still glorious to catch little glimpses of O'Hara and to listen to a more in-depth interview with her. The interview will be airing on TCM some time in the future so watch for it!

Press Photo

At the end of the interview, Osborne and O'Hara posed for pictures. She also took a few questions from the audience. Her grandson Conor Beau was escorting her out when he was stopped by O'Hara so she could say one last thing to the audience. She recited a rhyme and was then whisked away. I think the rhyme was "Love is like a lizard; it winds itself around your heart and penetrates your gizzard."

I thought it was really interesting that Maureen O'Hara was not scheduled to appear at the screening of The Quiet Man (1952). O'Hara has said in the past that it's her favorite of her films. Perhaps she was added too late to the festival's roster that their original plans for that screening could not be changed.

Seeing O'Hara and watching How Green Was My Valley on the big screen are experiences I'll never forget and I'm infinitely grateful to TCM for making this all happen at the festival.

Here's a little video I shot of Maureen O'Hara's exit from the How Green Was My Valley screening. Enjoy!