March 8

Happy Birthday to Cyd Charisse and Claire Trevor.

TCM showed films to celebrate Claire Trevor's birthday. At first I wasn't looking forward to the the films. The films being shown didn't really appeal to me. The films shown really encompass her long career.

I watched Allegheny Uprising (1939) co-starring John Wayne. Claire played a daughter of a saloon owner during and after the French and Indian War. It was a good role where she plays a rough and tumble yet feminine colonialist.

I also watched Borderline (1950) co-starring Fred MacMurray and Raymond Burr. Claire plays a police officer who goes to Mexico to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel led by Burr. MacMurray plays a rival cartel member who takes out Burr and abducts Claire. That cartel decides to have Claire and Fred pose as man and wife to bring drugs into the states. The smuggle bags of drugs in a false bottom tray in a parrot cage and music box. The first night they stop Claire dusts the drugs in the music box for fingerprints and takes pictures. Fred does the same to her handbag. They have adventures on the road and fall in love or maybe it is just part of the game. As a married couple they did share a room but Fred slept in a chair. Burr catches up with them by the border and Fred arrests him. At the border they find out they are both police officers and they brought each other to the border to arrest each other. I thought their reactions, both to being used amusing. After that it becomes your typical police drama, they continue their charade meet up with the smugglers and there is a shoot out. Fred and Claire kiss at the end. Claire is really good in this film also. She plays a mature, dignified woman who shows intelligence, becomes a flirty chorus girl to attract Burr, fits into the situation she is forced into and angry at Fred for leading her on. She is a very strong independent woman.

I also watched Two Weeks In Another Town (1963). She played a shrewish wife of director Edward G. Robinson. She yells mostly at Edward, to encourage, defend and argue with him. The film also co-starred Kirk Douglas as another actor/director in love or having an affair with several women (I couldn't keep track really of all the women). It is strange watching Kirk watch himself in the film within a film (Bad & the Beautiful) mouth the words he is saying in the other film. Cyd Charisse is also in the film as the woman that Kirk loved years ago, as a gold-digger. The big scene for Claire is at a party in a restaurant. Edward is standing speaking and his leading lady is touching his side or back and Claire drunk is jealous and verbally and physically attacks the leading lady. That scene is great. There is a lot going on in the film, but it is all enjoyable.