Hidden Jewell

Gertrude Lawrence

Joan Davis

The most popular guesses for our latest Mystery Guest were, respectively, musical comedy legend Gertrude Lawrence and comedienne Joan Davis. Popular, but wrong. Personally, while we can see shades of Gertie in our MG, we don't see Davis at all -- but we would have understood, had any of you guessed Katherine Cornell, Ilka Chase, or even Gloria Guinness!

Katharine Cornell

Ilka Chase

Gloria Guinness

You would, however, still have been wrong. No, our Mystery Guest is not any of these soignee, gracious ladies of the thea-tah or society pages; she's Isabel Jewell, the snappy broad who will be forever immortalized as "that poor white trash, Emmy Slattery" in Gone with the Wind (1939).

Miss Jewell specialized in playing tough cookies; she was even romantically linked in real life with the fast-talking actor Lee Tracy, which would have been a marriage made in pre-Code heaven. Among her more notable appearances were Manhattan Melodrama (1934), which is remembered as the first pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy, as well as the last film John Dillinger ever saw (he was gunned down by federal agents upon exiting the theater); and as one of Bette Davis' fellow dance hall "hostesses" in Marked Woman (1937).

L-R: Mayo Methot, Lola Lane, Bette Davis, Rosalind Marquis and Isabel Jewell in Marked Woman (1937, Warner Bros.)

Aside from her gallery of various floozies, chippies and molls, Jewell also won notice for her against-type portrayal of a doomed seamstress destined for the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Her most substantial role, however, was as the sympathetic prostitute in Lost Horizon (1937).

Publicity for Lost Horizon (1937, Columbia)

Despite her strong showings in an impressive number of major, A list features, Jewell's career went into an almost immediate decline following Gone with the Wind; she appeared in such unsavory productions as Babies for Sale (1940) and the Poverty Row comedy Danger! Women at Work (1943).

Lobby card for Danger! Women at Work (1943, PRC)

By the end of the 1940's, Jewell was back in prestige productions like The Snake Pit and Unfaithfully Yours (both 1948), but in unbilled bit parts. Around this time, she also began cultivating a considerably more refined image, after years of being typecast as the brassy blonde.

Isabel Jewell, ca. 1940's

During the 1950's, television brought a steadier flow of work, but like so many unfortunate cases before her, Jewell fell on hard times: she was arrested in 1959 for passing bad checks, and again a few years later for drunk driving. She died at age 64, from undisclosed causes, in 1972; and posthumously entered the cult film annals via her appearances as Edie Sedgwick's mother in Ciao! Manhattan (1972) and a snoopy landlady in Tab Hunter's sleaze-shocker Sweet Kill (1973).

Isabel Jewell, ca. 1964

The profile-less "David" correctly guessed Miss Jewell, as did our ever-astute Toby Worthington -- a "jewell" of a fellow, himself. As always, thanks for playing, darlings; and for being patient while you waited for the reveal!

Hidden Jewell

Gertrude Lawrence

Joan Davis

The most popular guesses for our latest Mystery Guest were, respectively, musical comedy legend Gertrude Lawrence and comedienne Joan Davis. Popular, but wrong. Personally, while we can see shades of Gertie in our MG, we don't see Davis at all -- but we would have understood, had any of you guessed Katherine Cornell, Ilka Chase, or even Gloria Guinness!

Katharine Cornell

Ilka Chase

Gloria Guinness

You would, however, still have been wrong. No, our Mystery Guest is not any of these soignee, gracious ladies of the thea-tah or society pages; she's Isabel Jewell, the snappy broad who will be forever immortalized as "that poor white trash, Emmy Slattery" in Gone with the Wind (1939).

Miss Jewell specialized in playing tough cookies; she was even romantically linked in real life with the fast-talking actor Lee Tracy, which would have been a marriage made in pre-Code heaven. Among her more notable appearances were Manhattan Melodrama (1934), which is remembered as the first pairing of William Powell and Myrna Loy, as well as the last film John Dillinger ever saw (he was gunned down by federal agents upon exiting the theater); and as one of Bette Davis' fellow dance hall "hostesses" in Marked Woman (1937).

L-R: Mayo Methot, Lola Lane, Bette Davis, Rosalind Marquis and Isabel Jewell in Marked Woman (1937, Warner Bros.)

Aside from her gallery of various floozies, chippies and molls, Jewell also won notice for her against-type portrayal of a doomed seamstress destined for the guillotine in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Her most substantial role, however, was as the sympathetic prostitute in Lost Horizon (1937).

Publicity for Lost Horizon (1937, Columbia)

Despite her strong showings in an impressive number of major, A list features, Jewell's career went into an almost immediate decline following Gone with the Wind; she appeared in such unsavory productions as Babies for Sale (1940) and the Poverty Row comedy Danger! Women at Work (1943).

Lobby card for Danger! Women at Work (1943, PRC)

By the end of the 1940's, Jewell was back in prestige productions like The Snake Pit and Unfaithfully Yours (both 1948), but in unbilled bit parts. Around this time, she also began cultivating a considerably more refined image, after years of being typecast as the brassy blonde.

Isabel Jewell, ca. 1940's

During the 1950's, television brought a steadier flow of work, but like so many unfortunate cases before her, Jewell fell on hard times: she was arrested in 1959 for passing bad checks, and again a few years later for drunk driving. She died at age 64, from undisclosed causes, in 1972; and posthumously entered the cult film annals via her appearances as Edie Sedgwick's mother in Ciao! Manhattan (1972) and a snoopy landlady in Tab Hunter's sleaze-shocker Sweet Kill (1973).

Isabel Jewell, ca. 1964

The profile-less "David" correctly guessed Miss Jewell, as did our ever-astute Toby Worthington -- a "jewell" of a fellow, himself. As always, thanks for playing, darlings; and for being patient while you waited for the reveal!

Guess Who?

(If you already know, let everyone else guess first, darlings!)

Guess Who?

(If you already know, let everyone else guess first, darlings!)

A Ghost Story

This is not a pre-surgery Joan Rivers...

Joan Rivers and Ed Sullivan, ca. 1968

...nor is it Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona (a.k.a. Vikki Carr).

Vikki Carr, ca. 1965

No, this lovely lady is our latest Mystery Guest: the deliciously throaty thrush, Miss India Adams!


Miss Adams is, of course, best known as the "ghost voice" employed by MGM for Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford in the 1953 pictures, The Band Wagon and Torch Song, respectively. In the former, Adams dubbed Charisse for "New Sun in a New Sky," as well as the ensemble finale, "That's Entertainment."

Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire and Nanette Fabray perform "That's Entertainment!" in The Band Wagon (1953, MGM)

Charisse actually filmed another solo spot, dubbed by Adams, for The Band Wagon, entitled "Two Faced Woman." It was ultimately cut from the film, but when Adams was assigned to supply the singing voice for Joan Crawford in Torch Song, the number was resurrected -- only to be staged, inexplicably, in a "tropical" setting, with Crawford and her chorines made up like refugees from a minstrel show.

Joan Crawford is a "Two Faced Woman" in Torch Song (1953, MGM)

The other numbers recorded by Adams-as-Crawford included the already well-known pop hit, "Tenderly"; "You Won't Forget Me," which was apparently considered memorable enough for popular jazz starlet Helen Merrill to include on her With Strings album two years later; and "Follow Me," which Crawford herself recorded (in hopes of providing the vocals for her entire characterization).

Re-edited video of "Follow Me" from Torch Song with Joan Crawford's own vocal

Interestingly, Adams would later recall her experience with Crawford quite fondly, while remembering Cyd Charisse as cold and unfriendly. Unfortunately, Adams' friendship with Crawford -- which lasted beyond filming -- came to an abrupt end when MGM released a recording of the numbers from Torch Song, giving Adams full credit for the vocals -- something which was rarely done at that time, with the studios (and the stars themselves) preferring to let the fans believe that the actors were doing the actual chirping. MGM had expressly told Adams not to let Crawford know about the record until its release, and the perceived deception hurt Crawford deeply. Still, to this day, Adams has nothing but praise for Queen Joan.


Following her brief run as a celebrity ghost at MGM, Adams relocated to New York, where she performed in theatre (including Can-Can and The Most Happy Fella); toured nightclubs, such as the famed Latin Quarter; and recorded a highly sought after album for RCA, Comfort Me with Apples (1959), which is a masterpiece of the "sex kitten chanteuse" genre popularized by the likes of Eartha Kitt, Abbe Lane and Lola Albright.


The next stop for India Adams was England, which she made her home base from 1965 until 1981. In 1969, she was the stand by for Ginger Rogers when the latter starred as Mame at the Drury Lane Theater; in true old trouper fashion, Rogers never missed a performance, even when ill, so Adams never had the chance to make her West End bow.

Ginger Rogers and India Adams


Newsreel footage of Ginger Rogers as Mame

She may have made a career out of singing, subbing or standing by for superstars, without ever becoming one herself; but among the discerning few, India Adams is a fondly remembered talent -- and she's still going strong, having performed most recently in Hollywood this past January. We think she's just sensational!


We're sorry we've been so ghost-like ourselves of late, but we hope to be back to our normal pace very soon. As always, thanks for playing, darlings!



Official website HERE.

A Ghost Story

This is not a pre-surgery Joan Rivers...

Joan Rivers and Ed Sullivan, ca. 1968

...nor is it Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona (a.k.a. Vikki Carr).

Vikki Carr, ca. 1965

No, this lovely lady is our latest Mystery Guest: the deliciously throaty thrush, Miss India Adams!


Miss Adams is, of course, best known as the "ghost voice" employed by MGM for Cyd Charisse and Joan Crawford in the 1953 pictures, The Band Wagon and Torch Song, respectively. In the former, Adams dubbed Charisse for "New Sun in a New Sky," as well as the ensemble finale, "That's Entertainment."

Oscar Levant, Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Fred Astaire and Nanette Fabray perform "That's Entertainment!" in The Band Wagon (1953, MGM)

Charisse actually filmed another solo spot, dubbed by Adams, for The Band Wagon, entitled "Two Faced Woman." It was ultimately cut from the film, but when Adams was assigned to supply the singing voice for Joan Crawford in Torch Song, the number was resurrected -- only to be staged, inexplicably, in a "tropical" setting, with Crawford and her chorines made up like refugees from a minstrel show.

Joan Crawford is a "Two Faced Woman" in Torch Song (1953, MGM)

The other numbers recorded by Adams-as-Crawford included the already well-known pop hit, "Tenderly"; "You Won't Forget Me," which was apparently considered memorable enough for popular jazz starlet Helen Merrill to include on her With Strings album two years later; and "Follow Me," which Crawford herself recorded (in hopes of providing the vocals for her entire characterization).

Re-edited video of "Follow Me" from Torch Song with Joan Crawford's own vocal

Interestingly, Adams would later recall her experience with Crawford quite fondly, while remembering Cyd Charisse as cold and unfriendly. Unfortunately, Adams' friendship with Crawford -- which lasted beyond filming -- came to an abrupt end when MGM released a recording of the numbers from Torch Song, giving Adams full credit for the vocals -- something which was rarely done at that time, with the studios (and the stars themselves) preferring to let the fans believe that the actors were doing the actual chirping. MGM had expressly told Adams not to let Crawford know about the record until its release, and the perceived deception hurt Crawford deeply. Still, to this day, Adams has nothing but praise for Queen Joan.


Following her brief run as a celebrity ghost at MGM, Adams relocated to New York, where she performed in theatre (including Can-Can and The Most Happy Fella); toured nightclubs, such as the famed Latin Quarter; and recorded a highly sought after album for RCA, Comfort Me with Apples (1959), which is a masterpiece of the "sex kitten chanteuse" genre popularized by the likes of Eartha Kitt, Abbe Lane and Lola Albright.


The next stop for India Adams was England, which she made her home base from 1965 until 1981. In 1969, she was the stand by for Ginger Rogers when the latter starred as Mame at the Drury Lane Theater; in true old trouper fashion, Rogers never missed a performance, even when ill, so Adams never had the chance to make her West End bow.

Ginger Rogers and India Adams


Newsreel footage of Ginger Rogers as Mame

She may have made a career out of singing, subbing or standing by for superstars, without ever becoming one herself; but among the discerning few, India Adams is a fondly remembered talent -- and she's still going strong, having performed most recently in Hollywood this past January. We think she's just sensational!


We're sorry we've been so ghost-like ourselves of late, but we hope to be back to our normal pace very soon. As always, thanks for playing, darlings!



Official website HERE.