Happy Birthday Jeanette MacDonald – June 18

Jeanette MacDonald in Sweethearts (1938)
Jeanette MacDonald in Sweethearts (1938)

Happy Birthday, Jeanette MacDonald!  Born today in 1903…106 years young!

For those of you wanting to see some of her films on TCM – nothing today – but starting next week there will be several of her films alone and with Nelson Eddy airing, as part of a month-long tribute to great movie directors – including Woody Van Dyke, who directed most of her MGM hits!

Below is the list of films on the TCM schedule – all times are Eastern. Nelson Eddy, also celebrating a birthday this month – June 29, will  be featured in one of his solo films, as noted below. Set your DVRs or VCRs!

The Merry Widow (1934)
PLAYING ON TCM: 06/23/2009 12:00:00 AM

A prince from a small kingdom courts a wealthy widow to keep her money in the country. C AST: Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Una Merkel. DIR: Ernst Lubitsch. Musical. BW 99 mins.

Naughty Marietta (1935)
PLAYING ON TCM: 06/24/2009 12:00:00 PM
A French princess in Colonial America gets involved with an Indian scout. CAST: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, Frank Morgan. DIR: W.S. Van Dyke II. Musical. BW 104 mins.

San Francisco (1936)
PLAYING ON TCM: 06/24/2009 02:00:00 PM
A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the big earthquake. CAST: Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, Spencer Tracy. DIR: W.S. Van Dyke II. Epic. BW 115 mins.

Maytime (1937)
PLAYING ON TCM: 06/30/2009 01:30:00 PM
An opera star’s manager tries to stop her romance with a penniless singer. CAST: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, John Barrymore. DIR: Robert Z. Leonard. Musical. BW 132 mins.

Let Freedom Ring (1939)
PLAYING ON TCM: 07/04/2009 08:30:00 AM
A crusader returns to his Western hometown to root out corruption. CAST: Nelson Eddy, Victor McLaglen, Lionel Barrymore. DIR: Jack Conway. Musical. BW 87 mins.

Rose Marie (1936)
PLAYING ON TCM: 07/25/2009 12:15:00 AM
An opera singer goes undercover in the Canadian wilderness to hunt for her criminal brother.
CAST: Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy, James Stewart. DIR: W. S. Van Dyke II. Musical. BW 111 mins.

The Firefly (1937)
PLAYING ON TCM: 07/25/2009 10:00:00 PM
A Spanish spy masquerades as a singer to sabotage Napoleon’s forces. CAST: Jeanette MacDonald, Allan Jones, Warren William. DIR: Robert Z. Leonard. Musical. BW 130 mins.

NOTE: If you will be in the Los Angeles area on June 28,  join us for a special afternoon celebrating the birthdays of  Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy! Details here!