Keep Your Powder Dry(1945).

Keep Your Powder Dry(1945). Drama starring Lana Turner, Susan Peters, and Laraine Day. The film was directed by Edward Buzzell and written by George Bruce and Mary C. McCall, Jr.

One sunny morning Valerie Parks, is told by the family attorney, that she will not receive her trust fund until she proves that she deserves it, so she decides to join the WACS. Next.. on the list to join, Ann Darrison, who decides to enlist after her serviceman husband John is sent overseas. Last, but not least is Leigh Rand, the daughter of a military family, who also decides enlists.

The three new recruits, meet on the way to the Ft. Des Moines training camp and Leigh and Val, instantly develop a dislike for each other and Darrison becomes the mediator, when all three are assigned as mechanics, in the same unit. Leigh challenges Val, saying she never will complete basic training. Val, proves her wrong and does very well in class. Val and Leigh, eventually become friends and all three girls are accepted into Officers' Candidate School.

One day, Capt. Bill Barclay, a friend of Ann's husband, arrives at their base to visit Ann. Later, Bill meets Val and asks her on a date, Leigh, who is attracted to Bill herself, reminds them that enlisted WACS are forbidden to date officers. Leigh arranges for Val, to be assigned to duty that night to prevent them from meeting. Which angers Val and so ends their friendship.

Later Val, receives a telegram from her attorney, telling her that he is in town, she goes to meet him. Instead, she is met by her old friends Harriet and a drunken Junior Vanderheusen. Val tells her friends, that she plans to stay in the military and gives them a piece of her mind. Insulted, Junior spills his drink on Val's uniform.

Knowing that she cannot return to the barracks smelling of alcohol, Val goes to see Leigh, who is on leave and staying in the next room. Val, begs her to bring her a clean uniform in the morning. Leigh agrees, but when she returns to the hotel the next morning with the clean uniform, she runs into Junior in the elevator.

After learning from Junior, that Val only joined the military to receive her inheritance. Leigh, launches into a campaign to get rid of Val. Two days before graduation, Val, unable to stand her abuse, slaps Leigh in the face and marches off the field.

Later when Val, refuses to stick up for herself to their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Spottiswoode. The officer calls Leigh, before the board and informs her that her platoon has rated her unfit to be an officer. Leigh, takes the blame for Val's outburst.

Col. Spottiswoode goes to see Anne and informs her that her husband has been killed in combat. When Leigh and Val, hear about Ann's loss, her courage shames them into staying the corps.



I recently saw this classic movie on TCM for the first time. I would call it a female version of a WWII buddy movie. Agnes Moorehead, Natalie Schafer and June Lockhart have supporting roles.

Susan Peters (July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952). Her first job was to read with potential actors in their screen tests. Before long she had impressed studio executives with her own talent, and they began casting her in films.

For the first two years she used her given name and played small, uncredited parts in the film, Meet John Doe (1941). Her first substantial role was in the film, Random Harvest (1942), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. MGM, cast her in the starring role in the film, Song of Russia (1943).

Peters was married to the actor Richard Quine on November 7, 1943. A couple of months after performing in the film, Keep Your Powder Dry, Peters and her husband were duck hunting when a rifle accidentally discharged, causing a bullet to be lodged in her spine. The accident left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Peters attempted to continue her acting career.

MGM continued to pay her salary, unable to find suitable projects, Peters left the studio. She returned for the lead role in, The Sign of the Ram (1948). Unfortunately, her disability made her a difficult actress to cast.

Lindsay Lohan "looks like" Lana Turner.

Lindsay Lohan (born July 2, 1986). Began her career as a child fashion model before making her movie debut in Disney's remake of, The Parent Trap(1998). Lohan gained further fame between 2003 and 2005 with leading roles in the films: Freaky Friday, Mean Girls and Herbie.

Lana Turner (February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995), was discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in the film, They Won't Forget (1937). She also performed in the films: Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), Johnny Eager (1941), Ziegfeld Girl (1941) and Somewhere I'll Find You (1942). She is known as one of the first Hollywood scream queens for her role in the horror film, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1941) and her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in the film noir, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). Her popularity continued through the 1950s, in such films: The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Happy Birthday: Lana Turner!

Lana Turner (February 8, 1921 – June 29, 1995). While attending Hollywood High School, Turner decided to skip a typing class and bought a Coke at the Top Hat Cafe, where she was seen by William R. Wilkerson, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. Wilkerson referred her to Zeppo Marx. Marx's agency introduced her to film director Mervyn LeRoy, who cast her in her first film, They Won't Forget (1937). Based on a novel by Ward Greene called, Death in The Deep South, which was loosely based on a real life case: the trial and lynching of Leo Frank after the murder of Mary Phagan in 1913. It is considered by many critics to be one of the best dramas of the 1930s. Turner earned the nickname "The Sweater Girl" from her form-fitting sweater she wore in the movie.



In late 1937, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and graduated from high school. Her next performance was opposite Mickey Rooney in the Andy Hardy film, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938). It was this appearance that made Louis B. Mayer convinced that Turner could be the next Jean Harlow.



Mayer gave her the leads in many teen films: Dramatic School (1938), These Glamour Girls (1939) and Dancing Co-Ed (1939). From the beginning of her career, Turner stood her ground on her beliefs and was one of the few actresses to go against Mayer's wishes.

During World War II, Turner became a popular pin-up girl due to her popularity in films: Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Johnny Eager (1942) and four films she did with Clark Gable. The Turner/Gable films were only heightened by rumors about a relationship between the two.

Another one of her well known films was, Slightly Dangerous (1943). A Romantic comedy film starring Lana Turner and Robert Young. A story of a bored young woman who runs away to New York City and ends up impersonating the long-lost daughter of a millionaire. The film was directed by Wesley Ruggles.



After the war, Turner performed in the film, The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946). The film noir was the turning point in her career and was Turner's first femme fatale performance.

In August 1946, it was announced Turner was going to replace Katharine Hepburn in the historical drama, Green Dolphin Street (1947). a story about a girl named Sophie who was in love with Edmund, but her parents forced her to marry wealthy Octavius. Years later, Edmund returns with his son, William. Sophie's daughter, Marguerite, and William fall in love. Marguerite's sister, Marianne, also loves William. Timothy, secretly loves Marianne and kills a man in a fight. Both men deserts from the navy and start a business together. One night, drunk, William writes Octavius, demanding his daughter's hand but, being drunk, he asks for the wrong sister.

For this role she darkened her hair and lost 15 pounds. It was her first starring role that did not center on her looks.



Later that year, Turner landed a role in the film, Cass Timberlane, a role that Jennifer Jones, Vivien Leigh and Virginia Grey were also considered for. Production of Cass Timberlane was very exhausting for Turner, as it was filmed while she was making the movie, Green Dolphin Street. She was paired again with Clark Gable in the film, Homecoming, their chemistry on screen was so wonderful that they were nicknamed "the team that generates steam".

In 1948, Turner performed in the film, in The Three Musketeers, opposite Gene Kelly, Van Heflin and June Allyson. She then went on to perform in the film, A Life of Her Own (1950). A melodrama, directed by George Cukor. The story is about an aspiring model who leaves her small town to find fame and fortune in New York City.

During the 1950s, Turner was casted in the musicals: Mr. Imperium (1951), The Merry Widow (1952). The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) and later starred with John Wayne in the adventure film, The Sea Chase (1955). She was then cast in the epic, The Prodigal (1955). A story of a young Hebrew named Micah, who wants to live a more exciting life, demands his inheritance so he can go to the big city. There he falls in love with a beautiful priestess who only uses him for what she can get..

Later, Turner performed in the film, Peyton Place (1957), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film is about the lives and loves of the residents of a New England mill town, where everyone hides behind a tranquil facade.

Turner accepted the lead role in the remake of, Imitation of Life (1959) under the direction of Douglas Sirk. Which turned out to be the biggest hit of Turner's career.

She also made a film with Bob Hope in, Bachelor in Paradise (1961). Other well known films she performed at this time were: Portrait in Black (1960) and Madame X (1966), which was her last major starring role.

Please click here to read past Lana Turner movie reviews.

Lana Turner movies I have seen:

A Star Is Born (bit), (1937)
Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938)
Calling Dr. Kildare
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Weekend at the Waldorf (1945)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Green Dolphin Street (1947)
The Three Musketeers (1948)
A Life of Her Own (1950)
The Merry Widow (1952)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Latin Lovers (1953)
The Sea Chase (1955)
Peyton Place (1957)
Imitation of Life (1959)

A Life of Her Own(1950).

A Life of Her Own(1950). Directed by George Cukor. Cast: Lana Turner, Ray Milland and Ann Dvorak

Aspiring model Lily Brannel James, travels to New York City to apply to the Thomas Caraway Model Agency. After she is hired by Tom Caraway, Lily quickly become friends with former top model, Mary Ashlon, who shares with her the rules of the business. Mary plans a double date for her and Lily with advertising executive Lee Gorrance and lawyer Jim Leversoe. At the club, Mary drinks a little too much, Lily takes her home and Mary gives her a good-luck porcelain slipper. Later that same night, Mary takes her own life..

The following day, Lee visits Lily, but he shows no feeling over Mary's death. Lily goes on to become successful model continuing her a friendship with Jim, who introduces her to, Steve Harleigh, a Montana copper-mine owner on a business trip to New York. Although, Steve is married they begin seeing each other. When Steve is ready to head back to Montana, both he and Lily realize they have fallen in love, but know nothing can come of it .




Some time later, Steve returns to New York and against Jim's advice contacts Lily. Steve tells Lily he will be working almost full-time in New York, Lily rents a larger apartment where they can spend time together. Before long Steve says that his wife Nora is coming to visit him for his birthday. Lily wants him to tell Nora that he no longer loves her, but Steve confesses that Nora is an invalid because of a car accident for which he is responsible. Lily has to decide if her own happiness is worth destroying the life of another woman.

Lana Turner is excellent in this film and has some wonderful dramatic scenes. Margaret Phillips, as his wife, also does a wonderful performance.

Fun Fact:

Howard Keel, Cary Grant, George Murphy, and James Mason were among those considered for the role of Steve Harleigh, which eventually went to Wendell Corey, who worked on the production through mid-February 1950 but then allegedly asked to be released from the film because he felt he wasn't right for the role. Other sources claimed he was dismissed at the request of Turner and director George Cukor following an argument between the two stars. He was replaced by Ray Milland.

Ann Dvorak (August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979), she was raised in the business that would later make her a star. Her father, Edwin McKim worked as a director for the Lubin Studios and her mother, Anna Lehr, was a silent film star. The couple split when Ann was four, and she and her mother moved to Hollywood.

As a child, she appeared in several films. She began working for MGM in the late 1920s as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl. Her friend Joan Crawford introduced her to Howard Hughes. She performed in the pre-Code films: Scarface (1932),  Three on a Match (1932), with Joan Blondell and Bette Davis, Love Is a Racket (1932), and opposite Spencer Tracy in, Sky Devils (1932).

Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Brothers during the 1930s. She appeared with Perry Mason in, The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937). She also acted on Broadway. With her then-husband, British actor Leslie Fenton, Dvorak travelled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver and continued to perform in many British films.