Debbie Reynolds Films: Some Quality Acting

Effervescent actress-singer-dancer-movie memorabilia collector Debbie Reynolds is Turner Classic Movies’ Star of the Day on Friday, August 18, as TCM continues its “Summer Under the Stars” series. TCM is presenting 13 Debbie Reynolds films. (See Debbie Reynolds movie schedule further below.)

Fans of Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain (1952) will be able to watch the romantic comedy-musical for the 118th time. But fan or no, there’s much to enjoy in Singin’ in the Rain, including Reynolds and Donald O’Connor’s performances, several great songs from the 1920s, and Jean Hagen’s high-pitched mix of Norma Talmadge, (the British) Mabel Poulton, and Corinne Griffith. The iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” number is one of my least favorite moments in the film; I like that song much better when sung at the finale of The Hollywood Revue of 1929.

George Marshall’s The Gazebo (1959) is a moderately entertaining crime comedy starring Reynolds and Glenn Ford, then a top box office attraction. Released that same year, Marshall’s The Mating Game, costarring Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, and Una Merkel, is much more enjoyable.

Charles Walters’ The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) earned Reynolds her only Best Actress Oscar nomination, less for her characterization, I believe, than for her boundless energy. As Molly Brown, Reynolds sings, dances, romances, laughs, cries, jumps about, and even survives the sinking of the Titanic. How could she not have received some form of industry recognition? Harve Presnell costars.

Bud Yorkin’s Divorce American Style (1967) earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination for Robert Kaufman (story) and Norman Lear (screenplay). In addition to Reynolds, the cast includes Dick Van Dyke, Jean Simmons, Jason Robards, and former MGM musical star Van Johnson – curiously, someone Reynolds had never worked with before.

Henry Koster’s The Singing Nun (1966) fared well at the box office, but it was no The Sound of Music; Reynolds has the title role, a Hollywood version of the real-life Belgian nun Sister Luc-Gabrielle (née Jeanine Deckers), also known as Sister Smile; Greer Garson plays a glamorous Mother Superior who also smiles quite a bit. The film’s little ditty, the 1963 worldwide hit “Dominic” – here “Dominique” for phonetic reasons – may have you either humming away about the Catholic saint or throwing a chair at your TV. [Note: Sally Field’s The Flying Nun is not related to The Singing Nun.]

Debbie Reynolds films: TCM schedule (EDT)

6:00 AM THE AFFAIRS OF DOBIE GILLIS (1953)
Director: Don Weis.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Bobby Van, Barbara Ruick, Bob Fosse, Hans Conried.
73m

7:15 AM I LOVE MELVIN (1953)
Director: Don Weis.
Cast: Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson, Allyn Joslyn, Les Tremayne, Noreen Corcoran, Jim Backus.
Cameo: Robert Taylor.
77m

8:45 AM THE TENDER TRAP (1955)
Director: Charles Walters.
Cast: Frank Sinatra, Debbie Reynolds, David Wayne, Celeste Holm, Lola Albright, Carolyn Jones, Howard St. John, Tom Helmore, James Drury.
111m

10:45 AM BUNDLE OF JOY (1956)
Director: Norman Taurog.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher, Adolphe Menjou.
98m

12:30 PM TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR (1957)
Director: Joseph Pevney.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Leslie Nielsen, Walter Brennan.
89m

2:00 PM THE MATING GAME (1959)
Director: George Marshall.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, Paul Douglas, Una Merkel, Fred Clark, Philip Ober, Charles Lane, Trevor Bardette, William Smith, Addison Powell.
97m

3:45 PM MARY, MARY (1963)
Director: Mervyn LeRoy.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Barry Nelson, Michael Rennie.
126m

6:00 PM IT STARTED WITH A KISS (1959)
Director: George Marshall.
Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Eva Gabor, Gustavo Rojo, Fred Clark, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Morgan, Robert Warwick, Robert Hutton.
100m

8:00 PM THE GAZEBO (1959)
Director: George Marshall.
Cast: Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner, John McGiver, Mabel Albertson, Doro Merande, Bert Freed, Martin Landau, Robert Ellenstein.
102m

10:00 PM THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (1964)
Director: Charles Walters.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Harve Presnell, Ed Begley, Jack Kruschen, Hermione Baddeley, Vassili Lambrinos, Martita Hunt, Audrey Christie.
129m

12:15 AM DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE (1967)
Director: Bud Yorkin.
Cast: Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, Van Johnson, Lee Grant.
109m

2:15 AM SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)
Director: Gene Kelly.
Cast: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Cyd Charisse, Rita Moreno, Douglas Fowley, Kathleen Freeman, Dawn Addams, Mae Clarke, Tommy Farrell.
103m

4:15 AM THE SINGING NUN (1966)
Director: Henry Koster.
Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Greer Garson, Katharine Ross, Ricardo Montalban, Agnes Moorehead, Chad Everett, Ricky Cordell, Juanita Moore, Tom Drake.
97m

“Debbie Reynolds Films on TCM” notes

Debbie Reynolds film schedule via the TCM website.