Les reines du music-hall

I don't know about you, but I'm a big MM fan. Not a overly huge or fanatical one mind you, but I have seen all her major pictures several times and have seen most of her smaller ones. For a long time Ladies of the Chorus was off of my radar screen. It's not seen often, video stores in my area don't have it. I missed the airings on cable or where ever. For years, I heard that this was a B picture, and one of her first pictures and not a special MM movie. So I figured this was another one of those small chances to see Marilyn similar to her early Fox appearances like "We're not Married" I was wrong, the critics were wrong, and people talking about the movie were wrong. MM is a featured player here in this B picture, it was great fun to see, she does some musical numbers (even if it wasn't her singing I didn't really notice) it was fun to see and I'm glad I made the effort to track down this movie and buy a copy.

Like most folks I tuned in to catch Monroe in her first featured role. Being a Columbia quickie (filmed in 10-days), I wasn't expecting much outside of the luscious blonde. So I was rather happily surprised that the 60-minutes turned out better than I expected. The first part features nicely staged burlesque bits, along with good snappy backstage dialog. The second part has Monroe and fiancé (Brooks) having to confront his family's apparent uptown snobbery. After all, Monroe does play a burly-que queen, not exactly the Manhattan Social Register. I like the way the ending's surprisingly finessed.

It's a fine cast with scrappy Jergens doing well considering she has to play Monroe's mother, of all things. Kudos too to Bryant as Brooks's uptown mom, though actor Brooks seems pretty colorless which maybe he was supposed to be. Anyway, the famously skittish Monroe appears utterly relaxed and glowing in her role. Musical numbers, I think, always brought out the best in her. Also, this is before super- stardom began to weigh her down. Should also note that director Karlson shows his versatility here since his specialty otherwise was tough, tight crime dramas.

All in all, the little flick can be enjoyed on its own merits or as an early peek at perhaps Hollywood's most legendary actress.

LADIES OF THE CHORUS (Columbia, 1948), directed by Phil Karlson, stars Adele Jergens, resident performer for Columbia, and Marilyn Monroe, newcomer to motion pictures in her first major movie role. Basically a dress rehearsal for young Monroe, stardom and legendary status did not come to her immediately with this 61 minute program musical, yet it was a start to what's to soon come in the 1950s over at 20th Century- Fox.

The ladies of the chorus happen to be May Martin (Adele Jergens), a former burlesque queen now dancing in the chorus with other much younger girls, one of them being her beautiful blonde daughter named Peggy (Marilyn Monroe). Peggy resents her mother's over protectiveness when wanting to go with Bubbles LaRue (Marjorie Hoshelle) for a night on the town after the show, but May lives only for her daughter's happiness, knowing full well that Bubbles is not the sort of person Peggy should befriend. After Bubbles quits the show on opening night, Joe (Frank Scannell), the stage manager, hires May to take her place. May has other plans. She has Peggy go on in her place. Peggy becomes a sensation as the new "burlesque queen." Her rise to fame at the Rome Theater soon attracts the attention of Randy Carroll (Rand Brooks), a wealthy young man, who anonymously sends her orchids on a daily basis. After Peggy gets to meet her new admirer at the flower shop, she becomes fascinated by him, enough to have dates and dinner before accepting his marriage proposal. Upon meeting with Peggy's mother, she results her feelings about her daughter's engagement by telling Randy via flashback her similar situation after marrying Al Wakefield (Bill Edwards), Peggy's father, much to the dismay of her former partner, Billy McKay (Eddie Garr), the man she should have married instead. It was after the family discovered May was a burlesque queen that her marriage to Al was annulled. Randy is convinced that his mother, Adele (Nana Bryant) and her society friends, are not that way. During the engagement party at the Carroll estate do both mother and daughter come up with some unexpected results.

Had it not been for the fact that Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) ever appeared in LADIES OF THE CHORUS, chances are this so-so story with forgettable songs might have vanished into some dark corner of a dusty film vault along with other forgettable Columbia programmers from this period. Because of Monroe's rise to stardom that took place in the 1950s, LADIES OF THE CHORUS was reissued into theaters, with opening credits changing Monroe's name over the title instead of Adele Jergens. The reissue print is the one that's been circulating on television, and used years later on both video cassette and DVD. The film itself would have been more believable as well as acceptable had Jergens played Monroe's older sister rather than her mother, considering how Jergens doesn't seem old enough to have a grown-up daughter, even without the blonde wig she uses to appear younger during the burlesque musical show sequences.

Songs by Allan Roberts and Lester Lee featured are: "Ladies of the Chorus" (sung by chorus during opening credits); "You Belong to Me," "Every Baby Needs a Da-Da Daddy," "You Belong to Me" (all sung by Marilyn Monroe); "I'm So Crazy for You" (sung by Adele Jergens); "The Ubangi Love Song" (performed by the Bobby True Trio); and "You're Never Too Old" (sung by Nana Bryant). While such a song as "Every Baby Needs a Da-Da Daddy" simplifies Monroe's musical style along with "You Belong to Me," somehow Nana Bryant steals the limelight with her rendition to "You're Never Too Young." Other acts incorporated into the story include a father and son bubble talking under water-type interior decorators, Hipple and Hipple Jr., played by Dave and Alan Barry; followed by the jive-singing by the Bobby True Trio at the Carroll home. Others in the cast include: Steven Geray (Salisbury, the Butler); Myron Healy )Tom Lawson); Gladys Blake (The Flower Shop Girl); and Almira Sessions (Woman at Engagement Party), among others.

Formerly shown on American Movie Classics cable channel prior to 2001, LADIES OF THE CHORUS has also become part of the film library of Turner Classic Movies dating back to its humble beginnings of 1994. Even though its basic theme could have been "You're Never Too Young," the movie itself is strictly "B" material with story-line resembling those early talkie musicals of the late 1920s. Regardless, it does offer curiosity and interest for anyone interested in viewing the youthful presence of Marilyn Monroe in her only movie for Columbia. (**)

For Marilyn Monroe fans this is a real treat. Before she hit the BIG time, Monroe made this 1 hour B movie at Columbia and puts in a relatively assured performance despite this being so early in her career.

Sure, her performance wasn't going to win an Oscar but she is self-assured and natural in front of the camera. Leaving aside a couple of duff line deliveries Monroe sparkles in this movie and brightens it up somewhat.

Although relatively light-weight and inconsequential, this cheapo is actually pretty well produced and looks and feels of higher quality than most quickie filler films.

At the end of the day, this is really going to appeal only to fans of Marilyn Monroe wanting to see her in an early role, but is enjoyable nevertheless and a pleasant way to waste an hour.

Peggy Martin (Marilyn Monroe) and her mother Mae (Adele Jergens) are both burlesque chorus girls. Bubbles LaRue keeps pushing Peggy to go out with clients but Mae forbids it. Peggy is tired of her mother's protectiveness but when Bubbles comes at Mae, Peggy is the one punching back. Bubbles quits. Mae is asked to do the solo dance but she gives it to Peggy. A new star is born. In the audience, Randy Carroll is taken with her.

This is early Monroe. She was still a relative nobody at the time. I doubt that she got top billing during its initial run even if she's the nominal lead. It's fascinating to see her before her sex goddess persona. She is still an ingénue. She has her overpowering beauty but her pouty sex goddess is still under construction. In that light, Randy is not good enough. It's hard to cast a suitor for a future legend. All I know is that Randy is not good enough. I don't see enough heat in the relationship and that drags down the film. It's still fascinating to watch a pre-goddess Monroe.