Two-time Oscar champ Shelley Winters, who died bygone at 85, had her aboriginal important blur role in the 1944 Nelson Eddy musical, “Knickerbocker Holiday”. But the a lot of memorable allotment of that film, according to Winters, was if superstar Eddy--angry at his above co-star and lover, Jeanette MacDonald, and in a bashed rage--attempted to abduction Winters in her bathrobe room.
-- Winters accompanying the abominable adventure in her autobiography, "Shelley: Also Known as Shirley". Filming began at the Samuel Goldwyn Studio in the abatement of 1943. "Knickerbocker Holiday" was acclimatized from the Broadway play that boasted one hit tune, “September Song.” Nelson’s acknowledging casting included Constance Dowling, Charles Coburn and Winters (who was billed as Shelley Winter).
Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald, who had starred in agreeable blockbusters at MGM, both larboard that flat in 1942 afterwards a falling out with flat bang-up Louis B. Mayer. Nelson again active a actor dollar, two account accord with Universal. His aboriginal blur was the actual acknowledged "Phantom of the Opera" co-starring Claude Rains and Susanna Foster. The additional blur was to be with MacDonald, but she alone filmed two agreeable numbers for a Universal caricature alleged "Follow the Boys". Their collective blur plan fell apart, and Eddy and MacDonald were never to aggregation afresh on film. Instead Nelson concluded up filming "Knickerbocker Holiday" for United Artists.
The blur agenda was six canicule a week, and backward into the evenings. In "Shelley", the added appear that Nelson was a perfect, amenable gentleman, while visibly depressed over the film, which he knew would do his career no good. She actual Nelson's abyss of anguish over his activity at this time:
"One black I was comatose in my bathrobe allowance if a key angry in the lock and the aristocratic Nelson Eddy stumbled into my bathrobe room, absolutely drunk, still in apparel and weeping. He fabricated beeline for the bath and didn't assume to apprehension me as I sat up. It occurred to me that he anticipation it was his bathrobe allowance back they all looked alike. I had apparent him actual quiet and depressed on the set lately. He knew this account wasn't traveling to do him any good...
"Suddenly he came out of the bath cutting continued red underwear, just like my father's, and muttered, 'The rushes were lousier today. I anticipate I'd bigger go aback to the Mounties. Hey, move over.' I was stunned. Up to that point in the filming he had been the actual able New England admirer whom I had never even heard say 'darn'... I jumped out of bed... 'Mr. Eddy,' I yelled, 'Think of your image! What would Jeanette MacDonald say?'
'Who cares? She slides off her Cs.'
'I fabricated for the aperture as he array of lunged for me and fell on the sofa. I airtight the aperture abaft me and ran down the anteroom and out of the bathrobe allowance architecture to the foreground gate.... [The next day Nelson Eddy was his accepted reserved, affable cocky and seemed not to bethink the awkward bathrobe allowance incident.'
"Knickerbocker Holiday" was appear aboriginal in 1944, as was Shelley Winters added admission role in "Sailor’s Holiday"." Knickerbocker" accustomed one Oscar choice for Best Score (Werner Heymann and Kurt Weill) but contrarily was an accustomed film. Both Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald larboard Hollywood; he formed as a spy across for the U.S. government, she aloft $100,000 for war abatement via her concert tours. Shelley Winters was not to acquisition her stride as a Hollywood added until 1947’s Oscar-winning "A Double Life".
For added advice about the filming of "Knickerbocker Holiday", go to www.maceddy.com. More data about the filming can aswell be begin in the book "Sweethearts: The Timeless Love Affair On-screen and Off Between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy" by Sharon Rich. Read the Introduction and aboriginal affiliate of "Sweethearts" online at www.maceddy.com.
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