Marjorie Reynolds

Marjorie Reynolds was an American film and television actress who appeared in more than 50 films, including the 1942 musical [Holiday Inn (film)|Holiday Inn], in which she and Bing Crosby introduced the song "White Christmas" in a duet, albeit with her singing dubbed by Martha Mears.

Early life

The daughter of a doctor and his wife, Reynolds was born Marjorie Goodspeed in Buhl, Idaho. She acted under the names Marjorie Goodspeed and Marjorie Moore. When she was three years old, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. She began to take dancing lessons at age 4. She attended Los Angeles High School.

Career

Beginning at age 6, Reynolds was a featured child actress in such silent films as Scaramouche. At age 8 she stopped acting to concentrate on education until leaving school at 16 to play a ballerina in Herbert Brenon's Wine, Women and Song. She went on to appear in bit parts in many films, including Gone with [the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind] and as a chorus girl in Paramount Pictures musicals. Her first speaking role was in Murder in Greenwich Village and she then appeared in a number of westerns for Poverty Row studios opposite most of the cowboy stars of the time with the exception of Gene Autry.
Reynolds played the loyal girlfriend opposite wrongly accused Richard Cromwell in Enemy Agent. That same year, in The Fatal Hour, Reynolds appeared for Monogram Pictures as a reporter on the trail of Boris Karloff's detective James Lee Wong and opposite Grant Withers as a cop.
File:Doomed to Die 1.jpg|thumb|Doomed to Die, Boris Karloff seated. Standing L-R, Marjorie Reynolds, Gibson Gowland, Grant Withers
File:William Bendix Marjorie Reynolds The Life of Riley 1956.JPG|thumb|William Bendix and Marjorie Reynolds in a 1956 episode of the television series The Life of Riley
Perhaps her best-known film was Holiday Inn, which introduced the classic song "White Christmas". She performed the song both as a duet with Bing Crosby and later in a solo performance, although her singing was dubbed by Martha Mears. The movie also showcased her dancing ability.
She also had major roles in Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear and in the movie Up in Mabel's Room. Her career progression was hindered by the premature death of her mentor, Mark Sandrich.
Reynolds starred with Abbott and Costello in the supernatural comedy The Time of Their Lives, one of the few films with Abbott and Costello as leads but not together as a team. Instead, Costello spends most of his screen time with Reynolds; they play a pair of American Revolution ghosts who need the help of Abbott and his friends to get to heaven. Leonard Maltin's review of the film describes it as "Most unusual film for A&C and one of their best... Imaginative, funny, and well done." She was cast in a supporting role in Mario Lanza's film debut, That Midnight Kiss.
She later appeared in the NBC version of the television series The Life of Riley and appeared on three episodes of the television series Leave it to Beaver.

Personal life

Reynolds was married to Jack Reynolds, a casting director. The couple had a daughter, Linda, and divorced in 1952. Her second husband was film editor Jon M. Haffen. He died in 1985.

Recognition

Reynolds has a star in the Television section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1525 Vine Street.

Death

On February 1, 1997, having suffered from congestive heart disease, she collapsed and died in Manhattan Beach, California, while walking her dog. She was 79 years old.

Acting credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Producer	Studio/Distributor	Other cast members	Refs.
1923		Child		B. P. Shulberg Productions	, Preferred Pictures, Exclusivité Equitable Films	Kenneth Harlan, Miriam Cooper
1923	Scaramouche	Bit part		Rex Ingram	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Ramon Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone
1923	Trilby	Waif		Richard Walton Tully	Associated First National Pictures	Andrée Lafayette, Creighton Hale
1924	Revelation	Child	George D. Baker		Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Viola Dana, Monte Blue, Lew Cody
1933	Wine, Women and Song	Marilyn Arnette		I. E. Chadwick	State Rights	Lilyan Tashman, Lew Cody
1933	College Humor			William LeBaron		Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Richard Arlen, Mary Carlisle
1935	Collegiate		Ralph Murphy	Adolph Zukor	Paramount Pictures	Jack Oakie
1936				Adolph Zukor	Paramount Pictures	Jack Benny
1936	Three Cheers for Love			Adolph Zukor	Paramount Pictures	Robert Cummings, Eleanore Whitney
1936	College Holiday	Student		William LeBaron, Harlan Thompson	Paramount	Jack Benny, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Martha Raye
1936	Dancing Pirate			Merian C. Cooper	RKO Pictures	Rita Hayworth, Frank Morgan, Charles Collins
1937	Murder in Greenwich Village	Molly Murphy		Irving Briskin	Columbia Pictures	Richard Arlen, Fay Wray
1937	Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts	Norma Willis		Edward L. Alperson	Grand National Films Inc.	Tex Ritter, Philip Ahn
1938	Western Trails	Alice		Paul Malvern	Universal Pictures	Bob Baker
1938	Delinquent Parents	Edythe Ellis as a young woman		Ben N. Judell	State Rights	Doris Weston
1938	Rebellious Daughters	Claire		Ben N. Judell	State Rights	Verna Hillie
1938	Six Shootin' Sheriff	Molly Morgan		Max Alexander	Grand National Films Inc.	Ken Maynard
1938		Jean Greeley		L. G. Leonard	Columbia Pictures	Buck Jones
1938		Jane Allen		Trem Carr	Universal Pictures	Bob Baker
1938	Guilty Trails	Jackie		Trem Carr	Universal Pictures	Bob Baker
1938	Man's Country	Madge Crane		Robert Tansey	Monogram Pictures	Jack Randall
1939	Gone with the Wind			David O. Selznick	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Vivien Leigh
1939	Mr. Wong in Chinatown	Bobby Logan		William T. Lackey	Monogram Pictures	Boris Karloff, Grant Withers
1939	Streets of New York	Anne Carroll		Scott R. Dunlap	Monagram Pictures	Jackie Cooper
1939	Sky Patrol	Betty Lou Barnes		Paul Malvern	Monogram Pictures	Jackie Coogan, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr.
1939	Racketeers of the Range	Helen Lewis		Bert Gilroy	RKO Radio Pictures	George O'Brien, Chill Wills
1939	Danger Flight	Betty Lou		Paul Malvern	Monogram Pictures	Milburn Stone, Jacon Robards Sr.
1939	Mystery Plane	Betty Lou		Paul Malvern	Monogram Pictures	Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr.
1939	Stunt Pilot	Betty Lou		Paul Malvern	Monogram Pictures	Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr.
1939		Mary		Trem Carr	Universal Pictures	Bob Baker
1939	Timber Stampede	Anne Carr		Bert Gilroy	RKO Radio Pictures	Chill Wills
1940		Bobby Logan		William T. Lackey	Monogram Pictures	Boris Karloff, Grant Withers
1940	Doomed to Die	Bobby Logan		William T. Lackey	Monogram Pictures	Boris Karloff, Grant Withers
1940	Midnight Limited	Joan Marshall		T. R. Williams	Monogram Pictures	John 'Dusty' King
1940	Chasing Trouble	Susie		Grant Withers	Monogram Pictures	Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland, Milburn Stone
1940	Up in the Air	Anne Mason		Lindsley Parsons	Monogram Pictures	Frankie Darro, Mantan Moreland
1940	Enemy Agent	Peggy O'Reilly		Ben Pivar	Universal Pictures	Richard Cromwell, Helen Vinson, Robert Armstrong
1941	Cyclone on Horseback	Mary Corbin		Bert Gilroy	RKO Radio Pictures	Tim Holt
1941	Dude Cowboy	Barbara Adams		Bert Gilroy	RKO Radio Pictures	Tim Holt
1941		Margaret Swann		Larry Darmour	Columbia Pictures	Jack Holt
1941	Robin Hood of the Pecos	Jeanie Grayson		Joseph Kane	Republic Pictures	Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes
1941	Secret Evidence	Linda Wilson		E.B. Derr	Producers Releasing Corporation	Charles Quigley
1941	Tillie the Toiler	Bubbles		Robert Sparks	Columbia Pictures	William Tracy, Sylvia Field
1941	Top Sergeant Mulligan	Gail Nash		Lindsley Parsons	Monogram Pictures	Nat Pendleton, Carol Hughes, Sterling Holloway
1941	Law of the Timber	Perry Lorimar		Bernard B. Ray	Producers Releasing Corporation	Monte Blue, J. Farrell MacDonald
1942	Holiday Inn	Linda Mason		Mark Sandrich	Paramount Pictures	Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Virginia Dale
1943	Dixie	Jean Mason		Paul Jones	Paramount Pictures	Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Billy De Wolfe, Clara Blandick, Eddie Foy, Jr.
1943	Star Spangled Rhythm	Herself		Joseph Sistrom	Paramount Pictures	Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Mary Martin, Veronica Lake
1944	Ministry of Fear	Carla Hilfe		Buddy G. DeSylva	Paramount Pictures	Ray Milland, Carl Esmond, Hillary Brooke
1944	3 Is a Family	Kitty Mitchell		Sol Lesser	United Artists	Charles Ruggles, Fay Bainter, Hattie McDaniel, Arthur Lake
1944	Up in Mabel's Room	Geraldine Ainsworth		Edward Small	United Artists	Charlotte Greenwood, Gail Patrick, Dennis O'Keefe
1945	Bring on the Girls	Sue Thomas		Fred Kohlmar	Paramount Pictures	Eddie Bracken, Veronica Lake
1945	Duffy's Tavern	Peggy O'Malley		Danny Dare	Paramount Pictures	Bing Crosby
1946	Meet Me on Broadway	Ann Stallings		Burt Kelly	Columbia Pictures	Fred Brady
1946	Monsieur Beaucaire	Princess Maria of Spain		Paul Jones	Paramount Pictures	Bob Hope
1946		Melody Allen		Val Burton	Universal Pictures	Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Gale Sondergaard
1947	Heaven Only Knows	Ginger		Seymour Nebenzal	United Artists	Robert Cummings, Brian Donlevy
1949	Bad Men of Tombstone	Julie		Maurice King	King Brothers Productions	Barry Sullivan, Broderick Crawford
1949	That Midnight Kiss	Mary		Joe Pasternak	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Mario Lanza, Kathryn Grayson
1950	Customs Agent	Lucille Gerrard		Rudolph Flothow	Columbia Pictures	Benson Fong, William Eythe
1950		Martha Rollins		Bryan Foy	Warner Bros.	John Archer, David Brian
1950	Rookie Fireman	Margie Williams		Milton Feldman	Columbia Pictures	Bill Williams, Barton MacLane
1951	His Kind of Woman	Helen Cardigan		Robert Sparks	RKO Pictures	Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Vincent Price
1951	Home Town Story	Janice Hunt		Arthur Pierson	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer	Jeffrey Lynn, Donald Crisp, Alan Hale, Jr.
1952	Models Inc.	Peggy Howard		Jack Dietz	Mutual Pictures Corporation	Howard Duff, Coleen Gray
1952	No Holds Barred	Rhonda Nelson		Jerry Thomas	Monogram Pictures	Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, David Gorcey, Bernard Gorcey
1956	Mobs, Inc.	Mary Hale Browne				Reed Hadley
1959	Juke Box Rhythm	Martha Manton		Sam Katzman	Columbia Pictures	Jo Morrow, Jack Jones, Brian Donlevy
1962		Mary		Ken Kennedy	Emerson Film Enterprises Inc.	George Kennedy