This week’s mystery movie was the 1952 MGM film Lovely to Look At, with Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Marge and Gower Champion, Ann Miller, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kaszmar and Marcel Dalio.
Screenplay by George Wells and Harry Ruby.
Additional dialogue by Andrew Solt.
Based on the musical comedy Roberta, from the novel by Alice Duer Miller.
Book and lyrics by Otto A. Harbach.
Music by Jerome Kern.
Additional and revised lyrics by Dorothy Fields.
Musical direction by Carmen Dragon and Saul Chaplin.
Choreography by Hermes Pan.
Orchestrations by Leo Arnaud.
Vocal arrangements by Robert Tucker.
Color by Technicolor.
Photography by George J. Golsey.
Technicolor consultants Henri Jaffa and James Gooch.
Gowns by Adrian.
Art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Gabriel Scognamillo.
Edited by John McSweeney Jr.
Recorded by Douglas Shearer.
Set decorations by Edwin B. Willis and Jack D. Moore.
Fashion show by Tony Duquette.
Special effects by A. Arnold Gillespie.
Hairstyles by Sydney Guilaroff.
Makeup by William Tuttle.
Produced by Jack Cummings.
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
Further information about Lovely to Look At is available from the AFI Catalog.
Lovely to Look At is available on DVD from Critics’ Choice Video.
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As usual, I picked Lovely to Look At by going through the trades and, as usual, it was my third choice. I eliminated my first choice because some super fan uploaded dozens of screen caps to IMDB, and the second was also problematic.
I’m going to guess that Bosley Crowther quibbled with the film, reminiscing about how he saw Roberta at the New Amsterdam in 1933 with Sydney Greenstreet, Bob Hope and Fred MacMurray.
I’m half-right (The New York Times, May 30, 1952). It’s one of the alphabet critics, A.W. (Abe Weiler):
A generation has grown up since Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach first showed the many charms of Roberta to the paying public. And it was some seventeen years ago that Fred Astaire and company made viewing the movie reproduction a pleasure. So it is also pleasing to report this morning that the vehicle is a durable one and that the touch of Jerome Kern’s hand is still magical. Of course, neither the title nor the story has withstood the test of time, and while the yarn was not a sparking gem in the first place, the plot lines of Lovely to Look At, the current facsimile at the Music Hall, are, if anything a shade duller than the original.
For Monday, we have a mystery guest who seems to be enjoying life!
Update: This is Kathryn Grayson.
For “Tricky Tuesday,” we have some mysterious masked dancers. Their companion has been blocked due to insufficient mysteriousness and will appear later in the week.
Update: Adding mystery dancer previous blocked due to insufficient mysteriousness.
Update: This is Ann Miller and a chorus of wolves in I’ll Be Hard to Handle.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (mystery movie and Monday’s mysterious woman).
For “Hm Wednesday,” we have several mysterious persons.
Update: This is Gower Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor, center, and Marge Champion.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (Tuesday’s mysterious dance number and mystery woman blocked due to lack of mysteriousness), Mary Mallory (mystery movie, Monday’s mystery woman and Tuesday’s mysterious dance number and mystery woman blocked for lack of mysteriousness), L.C. (mystery movie and mysterious cast), Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie, Monday’s mystery woman and Tuesday’s mystery dance number with mystery dancer blocked for insufficient mysteriousness) and Benito (mystery movie and Monday’s mystery woman).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have this mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Marcel Dalio.
And this enigmatic gentleman.
Update: This is Red Skelton.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Edmond Lynch Casey (Wednesday’s mysterious woman), Lorenzo (Wednesday’s mystery woman), Charles Kjelland (Wednesday’s mystery woman), Mike Hawks (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Anne Papineau (Wednesday’s mystery guests), Roget-L.A. (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mystery guests) and Megan and Thom (Wednesday’s mystery woman).
For Friday, we have a slightly better view of Monday’s mystery woman.
Update: This is a better shot of Kathryn Grayson.
And a final mysterious couple.
Update: This is Ann Miller and Howard Keel.
Brain Trust roll call: Anne Papineau (Thursday’s mysterious guests), Mary Mallory (Thursday’s mystery guests), Sylvia E. (mystery movie and all mysterious guests, peering into the future to see Friday’s mystery guests), Howard Mandelbaum (Wednesday’s and Thursday’s mystery guests), Mike Hawks (Thursday’s mystery guests), Charles Kjelland (Thursday’s mysterious fellow No. 2), Roget-L.A. (mystery movie and Thursday’s mysterious guests) and Bruce (Thursday’s enigmatic guest No. 2).
ladailymirror.com 
Just because…
Monday – Auntie Mame (1958)
Rosalind Russell
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Three votes for Rosalind Russell — alas, not this time….
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Joan Collins in the 1956 “The Opposite Sex”?
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An excellent guess…. but that was a mystery movie awhile back…
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Hair color and style screams Ruth Roman, but I could be and probably am
wrong.
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An excellent guess. But, alas….
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Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (1958)
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Rosalind Russell?
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Kathryn Grayson?
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Maybe “Lovely to Look At”
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Jane Russell.
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On Tuesday, Ann “I’ll Be Hard to Handle” Miller
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LOVELY TO LOOK AT. Kathryn Grayson Monday and Ann Miller cut out today performing Too Hot To Handle.
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Lovely to Look At (1952) w/Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Marge & Gower Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kasznar, Marcel Dalio…
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Monday: Kathryn Grayson in LOVELY TO LOOK AT.
Tuesday: Ann Miller with wolves
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Monday: Kathryn Grayson in LOVELY TO LOOK AT.
Tuesday: Ann Miller with wolves
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Kathryn Grayson in ANCHORS AWEIGH 1945?
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same girl, in LOVELY TO LOOK AT
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The Monolith from 2001:, A Space Odyssey.
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It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)? If so, then Cyd Charisse on Monday. For Tricky Tuesday, possibly Dolores Gray.
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Gower Champion and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
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Wednesday is Zaa zaa Gabor the man is Jack Nicleson
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Today’s guest reminds me of Zsa Zsa Gabor in Moulin Rouge.
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Zsa Zsa Gabor today?
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Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, Marge and Gower Champion and Zsa Zsa Gabor in LOVELY TO LOOK AT.
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On Wednesday, Gower and Marge Champion with Zsa Zsa Gabor
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For “Hm Wednesday”, Gower Champion and Zsa Zsa Gabor in Lovely to Look At (1952).
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Well, it’s Eva or ZsaZsa Gabor, but I still can’t tell the difference after all this time.
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On Thursday, Marcel Daly and Red Skelton.
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Marcel Dalio and Red Skelton.
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Lovely to Look At (1952)
Monday – Kathryn Grayson
Tuesday – ‘hard to handle’ Anne Miller. Per the “Blonde at the Film” site, one of the “wolves” might be a dancer named Tommy Rall (just based on a flip that he does) but no credits for any of the guys.
Wednesday – Gower Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marge Champion. OS, maybe Red Skeleton
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Thursday – Marcel Dalio and Red Skeleton
I’ve really enjoyed reading about this version (kind of) of “Roberta” on the “The Blonde At the Film” site. A favorite “…to recap, this film is a remake of a movie that was an adaptation of a stage musical that was a musical version of a novel…”. Quite a history really.
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Wednesday: Marge and Gower Champion, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Thursday: Marcel Dalio, Red Skelton
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Marcel Dalio and Red Skelton.
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Certainly Red Skeleton today.
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Marcel Dalio and Red Skelton in Lovely to Look At (1952)
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Thursday’s fellow isn’t enigmatic to people my age who watched TV fifty years ago: Red Skelton, but I can’t identify anyone else, so I don’t know which MGM musical it is.
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Marcel Dalio and Red Skeleton – Thursday
Which means Howard Keel and a full shot of Kathryn Grayson and Ann Miller on Friday
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Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller, and Howard Keel.
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Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller and Howard Keel.
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Kathryn Grayson, Ann Miller and Howard Keel in Lovely to Look At (1952)
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For Thursday, we’re looking at Red Skelton, which means our movie is 1952’s Lovely to Look At.
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Benito got it late Monday night actually (?) and I was so bloody proud. “Monday? You didn’t need Tuesday’s clue?” Too bad we can’t earn a living with all this useless knowledge … it’s ever so important but the pay grade is sorta dismal
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Sometimes esoteric knowledge is its own reward. At least that’s what I tell myself!
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