Sister Showdown

Julie Andrews and Peggy Wood in The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965)

Greer Garson, Debbie Reynolds and Agnes Moorehead in The Singing Nun (MGM, 1966)

Anna Lee, Peggy Wood and Portia Nelson in The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965)



Greer Garson, Ed Sullivan, Agnes Moorehead and Debbie Reynolds in The Singing Nun (MGM, 1966)

Julie Andrews, Peggy Wood, Portia Nelson, Anna Lee, Marni Nixon, Evadne Baker and Doreen Tryden in The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965)

Debbie Reynolds and Juanita Moore in The Singing Nun (MGM, 1966)

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965)

Debbie Reynolds in The Singing Nun (MGM, 1966)

Julie Andrews at the New York City premiere of The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965)

Agnes Moorehead and Debbie Reynolds at the Milwaukee premiere of The Singing Nun (MGM, 1966)

Ladies and gentlemen, pick your nuns.

Reversal Of Fortunes

c. 1943:

c. 1953:

In 1943, Lucille Ball was the "Queen of the B's," freshly arrived at MGM after years of toiling in potboilers like Panama Lady (1939). The reigning Queen of the Lot was Greer Garson, hailed as the epitome of refined womanhood, and reveling in her Oscar-winning success as Mrs. Miniver (1942). A decade and several mediocre pictures later, Garson was on an irreversible career downturn, while Lucille, never having quite achieved top stardom as a movie star, was on her way to becoming a legend thanks to that new-fangled small box and a little something called I Love Lucy...

Stolen Moments

 

Marlene Dietrich in No Highway in the Sky (20th Century Fox, 1951)
Designer: Christian Dior

Greer Garson in Her Twelve Men (MGM, 1954)
Designer: Helen Rose

Sophia Loren in furs by Révillon Frères, 1959

Rita Hayworth in Pal Joey (Columbia, 1957)
Designer: Jean Louis

 

Marilyn Monroe by Bert Stern, 1962

Mamie Van Doren in Ceil Chapman, 1954

Ava Gardner in The Barefoot Contessa (United Artists, 1954)
Designer: Fontana

Joan Fontaine in Serenade (Warner Bros., 1956)
Designer: Howard Shoup

Joan Crawford by Eve Arnold, 1959

Elizabeth Taylor, c. 1957

If you've got 'em, sling 'em.

Grand Greer

"If you're going to be typed, there are worse molds in which you can be cast." - Greer Garson

But, Darling...

...they're your Auntie Mame!

Miss Arden appears courtesy of Stephen Marshal Jones

Three's a Crowd...

...Talu's a party!

It's Monday!

We hope your week gets off to a flying start, darlings!

Puff Piece

From Mrs. Miniver to Auntie Mame

Oh, how we wish there was preserved video of this performance!!! As much as we adore Roz Russell, and revere the film, one can only imagine the superbly silky heights that Miss Greer Garson achieved when she took over the role from Russell on Broadway. Imagine that deliciously plummy voice reeling off those one liners! Garson's appearance on What's My Line? during her run as Mame Dennis is as close as we'll get to having been there. Listen to the wild crowd reaction as Garson enters, in costume!

Garson won rave reviews for her performance; and, from the looks of this photograph taken a few years later, she and Russell maintained a mutual admiration society of Mames (who mingle with Merle).