At a point one suspects fairly late in her relatively brief career as a Cheesecake Cutie, the first lady of the Broadway musical, Miss Mary Martin, adopts a festive seasonal pose.
The host, of course, entertained, in the company of a blackfaced Charlie McCarthy.
Ray Bolger lent some of his own unique talents to the entertainment;
Which also included a bevy of period-costumed lovelies. Here, Betty Grable and Martha Raye launch into an impromptu can-can competition, which seems to puzzle Mary Martin.
Martha, of course, was always such a shrinking violet.
Miriam Hopkins and a puzzlingly costumed if thoroughly disguised Tyrone Power had a rather more sedate time, although they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. Miriam Hopkins without her eye makeup, however appropriate to the era, is not necessarily a sight for the faint-hearted.
Norma Shearer was her usual contrary self, turning up sans costume and in the company of the second Mr. Mrs. Thalberg.
But in the end no one had a better time than Dorothy Lamour. And that made it all worthwhile, if you ask me.Another birthday, but I can't resist: I was raised to revere Miss Mary Martin (who might have been 95 today), and I still do.
Want an acting lesson? Watch her here, listening to "Some Enchanted Evening" as if it's the first time Nellie Forbush ever heard it.
It doesn't hurt that Ezio Pinza is singing it about as beautifully as it ever was sung; listen to how that last note, pianissimo, just floats there. I'd have kissed him like she does, too.
