Friday, June 21, 2013

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...

2 comments:

  1. We generally refer to Ida Lupino as Queen of the Bs, do we not?
    Though to compare Lucille Ball with the great Ida Lupino, even for
    one minute, is just out of the question!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Surely the amputation of Garson's right arm must have hastened her decline!

    ReplyDelete