This week’s mystery movie was the 1958 film Anna Lucasta, with Eartha Kitt, Frederick O’Neal, Henry Scott, Rex Ingram, James Edwards, Isabelle Cooley, Rosetta Le Noire, Georgia Burke, Claire Leyba, Alvin Childress, John Proctor, Charles Swain, Isaac Jones, Eileen Harley and Sammy Davis Jr.
Screenplay by Philip Yordan.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.
That’s Anna, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, music by Elmer Bernstein.
Photographed by Lucien Ballard.
Associate to the director Irving Lerner.
Graphic art, Charles White.
Production supervisor Leon Chooluck.
Art direction by John S. Poplin Jr.
Assistant director Eugene Anderson Jr.
Set dressing by Lyle B. Reifsnider.
Property master Richard Rubin.
Makeup by Ted Coodley.
Hairstyles by Helene Parrish.
Edited by Richard C. Meyer and Robert Lawrence.
Music editor, Lee Osborne.
Montage conceived by Irving Lerner.
Wardrobe stylist Virginia Dey.
Men’s wardrobe by Norman Martien.
Women’s wardrobe by Sophia Stutz.
Script supervisor James Yarbrough.
Sound by Jack Solomon.
Photographic effects by Jack Rabin and Louis DeWitt.
Produced by Sidney Harmon.
Directed by Arnold Laven.
Further information on Anna Lucasta is available from the AFI Catalog.
Anna Lucasta is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.
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I picked Anna Lucasta by going through the trades. It’s a fine ensemble piece with an excellent cast, a bit “stagey,” reflecting its origins in the theater, but well worth watching. According to the somewhat outdated and unfortunately abandoned database of movies airing on TCM, it’s only appeared about seven times.
I expect Bosley Crowther to praise the film because of its theatrical origins, though one never knows. Many Broadway cast members appeared in the film, though the role of Danny played by Sammy Davis Jr. was originally performed by Canada Lee, who died in 1952 before the film was produced.
Uh-oh. He hated it. I mean he hated it. This is one of the worst pans I’ve ever seen from ol’ Bosley. (The New York Times, January 15, 1959):
If somebody dug down into the play-bin and brought up Bertha the Sewing Machine Girl they could probably turn it into a better movie than has been made by Philip Yordan of Anna Lucasta.
Not only is the basic fustian in this 15-year-old Broadway play about the shame and salvation of a gold-hearted prostitute exposed with embarrassing naivete in this incredibly artless film, which was finally given a new York opening at the Victoria yesterday. but also it is directed by Arnold Laven as if he were looking out of the window most of the time, and it is played with surprising amateurishness by a big-name Negro cast.
For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Ike Jones.
For Tuesday, we have a mysterious woman.
Update: This is Georgia Burke.
For Wednesday, we have an enigmatic couple.
Update: This is Frederick O’Neal and Rosetta LeNoire.
Brain Trust roll call: Howard Mandelbaum (mystery movie and both mystery guests).
For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Rex Ingram (yes, again).
Brain Trust roll call: Howard Mandelbaum (Wednesday’s mysterious guests), B.J. Merholz (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mysterious fellow), Suznchaz (mystery movie and mysterious leading lady) and Sylvia (mystery movie and all mysterious guests).
For Friday, we have a mysterious couple.
Update: This is Isabel Cooley and John Proctor.
And this mysterious fellow.
Update: This is Henry Scott.
Finally, another mysterious couple.
Update: This is Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt.
Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Anne Papineau (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Sylvia (Thursday’s mystery guest), B.J. Merholz (Thursday’s mystery guest), Stacia (mystery movie and all mystery guests), Mike Hawks (mystery movie and Thursday’s mystery guest), L.C. (mystery movie and enigmatic cast) and Megan and Thom (Thursday’s mystery guest).
ladailymirror.com 
Ike Jones; Georgia Burke.
ANNA LUCASTA (1958).
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Frederick O’Neal and Rosetta LeNoire.
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Frederick O’Neal in Anna Lucasta.
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ANNA LUCASTA from 1958….starring Eartha Kitt. I do not know the names of the actors so far,….I saw most of this film on TCM years ago….
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Anna Lucasta 1958
Mon – Ike Jones
Tues — Georgia Burke
Wed – Frederick O’Neal and Rosetta Le Noire (my gateways into the title).
Just like last week – last year I backed into learning more about “Anna Lucasta” by checking into other work by an actor who appeared in the mystery movie. I think the mystery film was “Bright Victory”, I know that the actor was James Edwards.
Learning about Georgia Burke was a hoot. Turns out that she was a teacher for several years (elementary, like me), took a year’s sabbatical to try out the performing arts (theater for her, animation production for me), landed a gig (like me) and never went back to teaching (like me). Made me grin. One never knows.
Here’s a snippet from an article on her in The New York Age, 1949, “Character-Tures”, interviewed by Bobby Dorsey:
Georgia Burke, BORN: “Dangerously near Atlanta, Ga, in a town called La Grange, over 21 years ago and that’s as much as you’re going to learn on that subject.” I wasn’t sure if the impishness in the article came from Ms Burke or from Mr Dorsey, but what a fun read it was.
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ANNA LUCASTA. Henry Scott Monday, Georgia Burke Tuesday, Frederick O’Neal and Pearl Bailey today. With our star of Last week, Rex Ingram. Our director, Arnold Kaven, also directed DOWN THREE DARK STREETS, the first to prominently feature the Hollywood Sign.
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Rex Ingram. You just beat me in getting this up as my answer came in.
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Anna Lucasta 1958
Just in case my Wednesday comment didn’t go through, here’s a shorter version….
Mon – Ike Jones
Tues – Georgia Burke
Weds – Frederick O’Neal and Rosetta Le Noire
Thur – Rex Ingram
Enjoyed researching Georgia Burke. Found that I have some things in common with her. She too was a former teacher who took a year’s sabbatical to tryout entertainment (theater for her, animation production for me), got hired for a gig and never went back to teaching.
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Ike Jones, Georgia Burke, Frederick O’Neal, Rosetta LeNoire and Rex Ingram in “Anna Lucasta.”
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Hope tomorrow has both James Edwards and Henry Scott as well as Sammy Davis Jr and Eartha Kitt.
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Two weeks in a row? You messing with us. Next week he comes out of a bottle.
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ANNA LUCASTA (1958)! I recognized Rosetta LeNoire in the Wednesday photo first, then Rex Ingraham in the Thursday photo. The Monday photo must be James Edwards, the Tuesday photo is Georgia Burke, and Frederick O’Neal is with Rosetta in the third.
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Rex Ingram in ANNA LUCASTA.
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Anna Lucasta (1958) w/Eartha Kitt, Rex Ingram, Frederick O’Neal, James Edwards, Rosetta LeNoire, Isabel Cooley, Sammy Davis, Jr, Henry Scott…
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Our guest today is Rex Ingram.
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Isabel Cooley and John Proctor, Harry Scott, and Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt.
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Isabel was truly the hippest gal I’ve ever known.
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Henry Scott, Isabel Cooley, Sammy. Davis and Eartha Kitt.
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Friday’s mystery couple is Sammy Davis Jr. and Eartha Kitt in 1958’s Anna Lucasta.
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Fri – Isabel Cooley and John Procter
Henry Scott
Sammy Davis Jr and Eartha Kitt
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