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Original and Reproduction Marjorie Main Posters Available at Movie Goods
Marjorie Main
1890-1975
Updated 2/5/2008 with more films available on DVD.
biography
Born Mary Tomlinson in Indiana in 1890, Marjorie Main's father was a minister who did not approve of dramatics as a form of entertainment. She briefly attended college in Indiana but left to attend drama school. Upon graduation, she taught dramatics for a year but eventually went into vaudeville in the 1910s. When she married Dr. Stanley Krebs in 1921, she more or less gave up performing for several years. Krebs, who was about 25 years older than Main, retired to New York later in the 1920s; Main then resumed acting, this time on Broadway. Her film career began with small roles in the early 1930s. But with the death of her husband in 1935, Main threw herself into her work. She never remarried and had no children.
Universal still of Marjorie Main
From 1936 through 1957, Main acted in more than 100 'A' and 'B' pictures, tackling comedy and drama with ease. She took on a variety of supporting roles in big-budget films, and she was often a star attraction in the B's, such as the Ma and Pa Kettle series produced by Universal.
the films of marjorie main
The Bugle Sounds (1941)
With frequent co-star Wallace Beery in The Bugle Sounds
Honky Tonk (1941)
With Clark Gable in the MGM western Honky Tonk
A Woman's Face (1941)
With Joan Crawford in the campy MGM drama A Woman's Face
The Affairs of Martha (1942)
From the comedy The Affairs of Martha with Spring Byington, Frances Drake, Marsha Hunt, and Richard Carlson
Tish (1942)
With Aline MacMahon, Lee Bowman, and Zasu Pitts in the comedy Tish
Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Main looks glamourous in this scene from the romantic comedy Heaven Can Wait. Also pictured are Louis Calhern, Spring Byington, and Eugene Pallette
Gentle Annie (1944)
From the MGM western Gentle Annie. LEFT: With James Craig and Donna Reed. RIGHT: With James Craig, Donna Reed, Harry Morgan, and Paul Langton
Rationing (1944)
Scene from the wartime comedy Rationing with Wallace Beery and Dorothy Morris
Undercurrent (1946)
From the film noir outing Undercurrent, with Edmund Gwenn, Katharine Hepburn, and Robert Taylor
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947)
From the Abbott and Costello vehicle The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap with George Cleveland
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948)
With Joe Besser and Percy Kilbride in the Universal comedy Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin'
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952)
Main in Universal's Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair
Ma and Pa Kettle at Home (1954)
LEFT, CENTER A and B: Promotional photos from Ma and Pa Kettle at Home. CENTER C: With Percy Kilbride as Pa Kettle and Brett Halsey as their son Elwin. RIGHT: With Alan Mowbray
later years
With the release of The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm in 1957, Marjorie Main retired from films, although she made a few television appearances in the late 1950s. She passed away in April 1975 from cancer at the age of 85.
Stella Dallas [DVD](1937) DVD
One of Hollywood's classic tearjerkers stars Barbara Stanwyck as a working-class woman who sacrifices all for her daughter's well-being, only to be rejected by her years later. Anne Shirley, John Boles, Alan Hale and Marjorie Main co-star; King Vidor directs. 106 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French.
Dead End [DVD](1937) DVD
Landmark drama of life in the crime-ridden slums of Depression-era New York stars Humphrey Bogart as a hoodlum who returns to his old neighborhood and is idolized by the local youths (the Dead End Kids, in their film debut). William Wyler's classic crime tale, scripted by Lillian Hellman, also stars Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney, Wendy Barrie. 92 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French.
Little Tough Guy [DVD](1938) DVD
The Dead End Kids star in this social drama of slum life during the Depression about a strike-breaker who is accused of murder and sent to reform school. Stars Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell. 85 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
Little Tough Guy [VHS](1938) VHS
The Dead End Kids star in this social drama of slum life during the Depression about a strike-breaker who is accused of murder and sent to reform school. Stars Billy Halop, Huntz Hall and Gabriel Dell. 84 min.
The Complete Thin Man Collection [DVD] DVD
All six films from the popular MGM series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Dashiell Hammett's sophisticated crimesolvers, Nick and Nora Charles, are featured in a seven-disc boxed set. The duo's search for a missing inventor leads to a deadly whodunit in "The Thin Man" (1934), with Maureen O'Sullivan, Nat Pendleton, and Edward Ellis in the title role. Nick and Nora then return to solve a murder among San Francisco's bluebloods in "After the Thin Man" (1936), co-starring Elissa Landi and a young James Stewart. Baby Nick Charles, Jr. makes his debut in "Another Thin Man" (1939), as mom and pop aid an old friend who fears for his life. C. Aubrey Smith, Virginia Grey, and Marjorie Main co-star. Then, it's murder among the "horsey set" in "Shadow of the Thin Man" (1941), with Barry Nelson and Donna Reed. And "The Thin Man Goes Home" (1944), only to find crime has followed him there; co-stars Gloria De Haven and Lucile Watson. Finally, New York's jazz joints provide the backdrop for "Song of the Thin Man" (1947), with Keenan Wynn and Gloria Grahame. 10 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; documentaries; radio broadcasts; TV pilot; interviews; bonus shorts; more.
The Joan Crawford Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Women," "Mildred Pierce," "Humoresque," "Possessed" (1947), and "The Damned Don't Cry."
The Women [DVD](1939) DVD
Clare Booth Luce's celebrated play receives a sterling treatment from director George Cukor and an all-star cast. Soap opera and screwball comedy collide when Norma Shearer finds her marriage in trouble when Joan Crawford gets friendly with her man, while scandal maven Rosalind Russell spreads the word. Features a fashion show sequence shot in color. With Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland. 132 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English, French; Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish; documentary; interviews; theatrical trailers; more.
The Dark Command [DVD](1940) DVD
Epic frontier saga, directed by Raoul Walsh and set in pre-Civil War Kansas. Town marshal John Wayne must protect his territory from a band of pro-South vigilantes. With Walter Pidgeon, Claire Trevor, Roy Rogers, "Gabby" Hayes. 100 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono; production notes; interactive menus; scene access.
Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
This lavish five-disc boxed set opens with the tearful melodrama "Sadie McKee" (1934), as maid Joan travels to the big city and is pursued by rakish wastrel Gene Raymond, millionaire Edward Arnold and lawyer Franchot Tone. "Strange Cargo" (1940), Crawford and Clark Gable's eighth film together, is an unusual religious allegory in which a group of Devil's Island escapees fall under the sway of a Christ-like fellow convict. With Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas. Next, plastic surgeon Melvyn Douglas repairs blackmailer Crawford's outward appearance, but cannot heal her scarred soul, in director George Cukor's "A Woman's Face" (1941), with Conrad Veidt. The classic soaper "Flamingo Road" (1949) stars Joan as a carnival dancer stranded in a small Southern town who finds romance with politicos Zachary Scott and David Brian and trouble with corrupt sheriff Sydney Greenstreet; Michael Curtiz directs. And icy Broadway star Crawford forsakes romance for her career, until she meets blind pianist Michael Wilding, in the lush love story "Torch Song" (1953), with Gig Young and Harry Morgan. 8 1/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English; featurettes; bonus shorts; theatrical trailers.
Heaven Can Wait [DVD](1943) DVD
Delightful fantasy/comedy from Ernst Lubitsch that despite its title opens in the "other place," where deceased womanizer Don Ameche renews his exploits with the Devil while waiting to learn his afterlife destination. Gene Tierney also stars as Ameche's true love; with Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Eugene Pallette, and Laird Cregar as the Satanic "His Excellency." 112 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; featurette; interviews; theatrical trailer; more.
Meet Me In St. Louis [DVD](1944) DVD
Charming Judy Garland stars in this captivating musical set in turn-of-the-century St. Louis and its World's Fair. Tom Drake is the boy of her dreams, Margaret O'Brien her precocious little sister. Songs include "The Trolley Song," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and the title song. 113 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; audio commentary; isolated music score; theatrical trailers; "making of" documentary; TV specials; TV pilot; bonus shorts "Bubbles" (1930) with Garland, and "Skip to My Lou" (1941); audio outtake; radio broadcast; photo gallery. Two-disc set.
The Harvey Girls [DVD](1946) DVD
When America headed west, so did Fred Harvey's restaurant chain...and so did a lot of demure young waitresses who didn't know how wild the frontier was! Judy Garland and Ray Bolger star in this delightful musical that features "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe." John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury co-star. 101 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai; audio commentary; deleted scenes; theatrical trailer; more.
Katharine Hepburn: 100th Anniversary Collection [DVD] DVD
First, in "Morning Glory" (1933), Katharine Hepburn earned her first Best Actress Oscar for portraying a feisty New Englander determined to be a Broadway star. With Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Adolphe Menjou. Next, in "Sylvia Scarlett" (1935), Hepburn stars with Cary Grant (in their first film together) as an embezzler's daughter whose love life is complicated when she is forced to disguise herself as a boy. Co-stars Brian Aherne, Edmund Gwenn. Then, in "Dragon Seed" (1944), Hepburn is a Chinese patriot who leads a resistance movement against Japanese forces. Features Walter Huston, Turhan Bey. In the hilarious "Without Love" (1945), sparks fly after widow Hepburn rents a room to man of science Spencer Tracy. Keenan Wynn and Lucille Ball lend support. The film noir fave "Undercurrent" (1946) has Kate discovering that her new husband is full of dark secrets. Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum co-star. Finally, in "The Corn Is Green" (1979), Hepburn is a British spinster teacher trying to help a brilliant young Welsh miner fulfill his potential. With Ian Saynor, Bill Fraser. 10 1/2 hrs. total on six discs. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French; bonus shorts.
The Best Of Bud Abbott And Lou Costello, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Abbott and Costello pull off a bank heist in "Hit the Ice" (1943); they star as plumbers who are mistaken as members of the social elite in "In Society" (1944); Bud and Lou are caretakers at an all-girl college in "Here Come the Co-Eds" (1945); the only big screen appearance of their "Who's on First?" routine is featured in "The Naughty Nineties" (1945); Lou plays a vacuum cleaner merchant in "Little Giant" (1946); "The Time of Their Lives" (1946) has Lou as a falsely accused ghost; the problems of homecoming G.I.s are spoofed in "Buck Privates Come Home" (1947); it's fun on the frontier in "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" (1947). 11 hrs. on two discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: Spanish, French; theatrical trailers.
The Adventures Of Ma And Pa Kettle, Vol. 1 [DVD] DVD
First, the hillbilly husband and wife played by Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride are introduced in the all-time favorite barnyard comedy "The Egg and I" (1947), with Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. Then, the Kettle clan is about to be run out of their home until Pa wins "the home of the future" in a slogan-writing contest in "Ma and Pa Kettle" (1949). AKA: "The Further Adventures of Ma and Pa Kettle." The Kettles find themselves in New York where they unwittingly help a crook on the lam in "Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town" (1950). Finally, Ma and Pa head back to the homestead when they think there's uranium on the premises in "Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm" (1951). 5 3/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
The Adventures Of Ma And Pa Kettle, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride lead the hilarious backwoods brood to the county fair with hopes of winning some tuition money for their college-bound daughter in "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair" (1952). Jim Backus co-stars. Next, the Kettles wind up in the middle of an espionage plot involving secret plans during a trip to Paris in "Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation" (1953). Then, Ma and Pa try to help Elwin, one of their 15 kids, win a scholarship to an agricultural college in "Ma and Pa Kettle at Home" (1954). And, when their cousin becomes ill in Hawaii, Ma and Pa head to the islands to help out in her pineapple factory in "Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki" (1955). 5 1/2 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles.
Summer Stock [DVD](1950) DVD
Forget your troubles by watching Judy Garland and Gene Kelly in this favorite MGM musical about a farm overrun by a summer theater troupe. Features "Get Happy" and Kelly's "newspaper dance"; with Eddie Bracken, Marjorie Main, Phil Silvers. 109 min.Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; featurette; theatrical trailer.
Mr. Imperium [VHS](1951) VHS
Lush romantic tale starring Ezio Pinza as a charismatic prince who falls for aspiring nightclub singer Lana Turner. When Pinza becomes king of his country, their love is lost...until he meets her years later after she has become a Hollywood star. Marjorie Main, Debbie Reynolds and Sir Cedric Hardwicke also star; songs by Harold Arlen and Dorothy Fields. 87 min.
Royal Wedding (1951)/The Belle Of New York (1952) [DVD] DVD
Fred Astaire and Jane Powell are a brother/sister dance team who travel to England to perform during the "Royal Wedding" of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip and manage to each find love along the way. Songs include "Too Late Now," "Open Your Eyes" and "You're All the World to Me" (which features Astaire dancing on the walls and ceiling of his hotel room). With Sarah Churchill, Peter Lawford, Keenan Wynn. Next, Astaire is a Gay Nineties playboy who tries to reform in order to win the heart of mission worker Vera-Ellen in "The Belle of New York." With Wynn, Marjorie Main; songs include "Seeing's Believing," "Oops" and "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man." 174 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French; featurette; interview; bonus shorts "Droopy's Double Trouble" (1951), "Car of Tomorrow" (1951), "Magical Maestro" (1952), "Musiquiz" (1952); outtakes; theatrical trailer.
The Long, Long Trailer [DVD](1954) DVD
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz are a laugh riot in this comic lark directed by Vincente Minnelli. They're off on their honeymoon with an expensive, unwieldy trailer, and laughs aplenty are in store. Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn also star. 96 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; bonus shorts "Ain't It Aggravatin'" (1954), "Dixieland Droopy" (1954); theatrical trailer.
The Lucy & Desi Collection [DVD] DVD
In addition to "Forever Darling" and "The Long, Long Trailer," this three-disc set includes the exclusive title "Too Many Girls" (1940), a delightful Rodgers-Hart musical starring Lucille Ball as a carefree co-ed at a small university trying to dodge the four boys hired to keep an eye on her. Stellar support from Desi Arnaz (this is where he and Lucy met!), Ann Miller, Eddie Bracken; look for Van Johnson as a chorus boy. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; theatrical trailers; bonus shorts.
Friendly Persuasion [DVD](1956) DVD
A Quaker family's faith and love is put to the test during the Civil War when the eldest son feels he must join the army in order to prove his manhood. William Wyler sensitive adaptation of the Jessamyn West novel stars Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Marjorie Main, and Anthony Perkins. 137 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital mono, French Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French; "making of" documentary; theatrical trailer.
filmography
The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm (1957) with Gloria Talbott and John Smith
The Kettles in the Ozarks (1956) with Arthur Hunnicutt
Friendly Persuasion (1956) with Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, and Anthony Perkins
Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki (1955) with Lori Nelson, Percy Kilbride, and Russell Johnson
Ma and Pa Kettle at Home (1954) with Brett Halsey, Percy Kilbride, and Mary Wickes
The Long, Long Trailer (1954) with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
Rose Marie (1954) with Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, and Fernando Lamas
Ricochet Romance (1954) with Chill Wills and Irene Ryan
Fast Company (1953) with Howard Keel and Polly Bergen
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953) with Percy Kilbride and ray Collins
Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair (1952) with Lori Nelson, Percy Kilbride, and James Best
The Belle of New York (1952) with Fred Astaire
Ma and Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951) with Percy Kilbride and Richard Long
It's a Big Country (1951) with Gary Cooper, Janet Leigh, and Nancy Davis
The Law and the Lady (1951) with Greer Garson and Fernando Lamas
Mr. Imperium (1951) with Lana Turner and Ezio Pinza
Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950) with James Whitmore and Phyllis Kirk
Summer Stock (1950) with Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and Eddie Bracken
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950) with Percy Kilbride, Richard Long, and Jim Backus
Ma and Pa Kettle (1949) with Percy Kilbride and Richard Long
Big Jack (1949) with Wallace Beery and Richard Conte
Feudin', Fussin' and A-Fightin' (1948) with Donald O'Connor, Percy Kilbride, and Penny Edwards
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
The Egg and I (1947) with Fred MacMurray, Claudette Colbert, Percy Kilbride, Louise Allbritton, and Richard Long
The Show-Off (1946) with Red Skelton, Marilyn Maxwell, and Marshall Thompson
Bad Bascomb (1946) with Wallace Beery and Marshall Thompson
Undercurrent (1946) with Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, and Robert Mitchum
The Harvey Girls (1946) with Judy Garland, John Hodiak, and Cyd Charisse
Murder, He Says (1945) with Fred MacMurray
Gentle Annie (1944) with James Craig, Donna Reed, and Harry Morgan
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) with Judy Garland, Mary Astor, and June Lockhart
Rationing (1944) with Wallace Beery
Johnny Come Lately (1943) with James Cagney, Hattie McDaniel, and Marjorie Lord
Heaven Can Wait (1943) with Gene Tierney and Don Ameche
Jackass Mail (1942) with Wallace Beery and J. Carrol Naish
Tennessee Johnson (1942) with Van Heflin
We Were Dancing (1942) with Norma Shearer
Tish (1942) with Zasu Pitts
The Affairs of Martha (1942) with Richard Carlson and Spring Byington
The Bugle Sounds (1941) with Wallace Beery, Donna Reed, William Lundigan, and Chill Wills
The Trial of Mary Dugan (1941) with Laraine Day, Robert Young, and Tom Conway
Honky Tonk (1941) with Clark Gable and Lana Turner
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) with John Wayne and Ward Bond
A Woman's Face (1941) with Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas
Barnacle Bill (1941) with Wallace Beery
The Wild Man of Borneo (1941) with Frank Morgan, Bonita Granville, and Bille Burke
Wyoming (1940) with Wallace Beery and Ann Rutherford
The Captain Is a Lady (1940) with Charles Coburn, Virginia Grey, and Billie Burke
Susan and God (1940) with Joan Crawford, Fredric March, Rita Hayworth, and Bruce Cabot
Turnabout (1940) with Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis, and Mary Astor
Dark Command (1940) with John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon
Women Without Names (1940) with Ellen Drew
I Take This Woman (1940) with Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, and Laraine Day
Two Thoroughbreds (1939) with Joan Leslie
Another Thin Man (1939) with William Powell, Myrna Loy, Tom Neal, Virginia Grey, and Nat Pendleton
The Women (1939) with Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Paulette Goddard, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Virginia Grey, and Mary Beth Hughes
Angels Wash Their Faces (1939) with Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan, Leo Gorcey, and Huntz Hall
They Shall Have Music (1939) with Joel McCrea
Lucky Night (1939) with Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor
Too Hot to Handle (1938) with Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Walter Pidgeon
Girls' School (1938) with Anne Shirley, Ralph Bellamy, and Gloria Holden
There Goes My Heart (1938) with Fredric March and Patsy Kelly
Under the Big Top (1938) with Anne Nagel
Little Tough Guy (1938) with Huntz Hall
Prison Farm (1938) with Lloyd Nolan and John Howard
Romance of the Limberlost (1938)
Test Pilot (1938) with Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, and Gloria Holden
Boy of the Streets (1938) with Jackie Cooper
The Shadow (1937) with Rita Hayworth
The Wrong Road (1937) with Lionel Atwill
The Man Who Cried Wolf (1937) with Lewis Stone
Dead End (1937) with Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sidney, Humphrey Bogart, Huntz Hall, and Leo Gorcey
Stella Dallas (1937) with Barbara Stanwyck and Anne Shirley
Love in a Bungalow (1937) with Nan Grey and Kent Taylor
Music in the Air (1934) with Gloria Swanson
Take a Chance (1933) with Buddy Rogers
Hot Saturday (1932) with Nancy Carroll, Cary Grant, and Randolph Scott
A House Divided (1931) with Walter Huston
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This page premiered January 28, 2003.
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