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HarlowMGM — 10 years ago(February 21, 2016 02:21 PM)
Her role in YOUNG MAN OF MANHATTAN is probably the closest to a "dumb blonde" part - although at this point Ginger was definitely a dark redhead but it's a little dizzy (though not really "dumb") bimbo character out to get Claudette Colbert's husband, most definitely not a "typical" Ginger Rogers role.
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prosperitycraftgrace — 10 years ago(February 21, 2016 04:33 PM)
I agree with the comment about "Young Man of Manhattan." Another film that might come close to the "dumb blonde" is her character of Arlette in "Heartbeat." Although that character is really more just naive than actually "dumb." In "Carefree" there's a hilarious sequence where her character of Amanda is supposed to be under hypnosis and she runs around doing stupid antics, but that doesn't really count, either.
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vkmfanhuey — 10 years ago(February 22, 2016 08:27 PM)
well, there ARE a few to me one of the most 'ditzy', yet classic roles for Ginger was that of Roxie Hart although not blonde, was truly the most airbrained role she had.. so much so that you almost forget it's Ginger sometimes ALMOST
A few of her earlier roles were firmly in the 'ditzy' category, for better or worse: the aforementioned Young Man of Manhattan; honor Among Lovers, where she played a bit role, and perhaps her 'peak' of ditzyness; and Professional Sweetheart, where she was really more 'spoiled brat' than ditzy
But she had quite a few roles early on which solidified her as a 'grounded' role, with common sense - sometimes playing 'straight girl' to the slapstick leading dudes, like Joe E. Brown, Ed Wynn, or Guy Kibbee (42nd Street).
Of course, her roles with Freddie were generally 'aloof', thus not on the ditzy side Stage Door saw her at her most 'street smart', cracking wise with Kate Hepburn, no less
Kitty foyle won her the Oscar for the 'moxie' kid who made the best out of a difficult situation but for some reason, a few of her roles 'post-Kitty' were on the 'lighter' side, to the edge of 'ditzy' Tom, dick and Harry, she was just a bit spacey the aforementioned Roxie and a role where i think she is a pretty convincing 'ditz', It Had To Be You most of her roles in the mid-40s to mid-50s were 'stable', yet 'colorful', such as Dreamboat, Travelling Saleslady, and Monkey Business, where Edwina is a definite 'ditz' when in teenager mode
but overall, the body of Ginger's work finds her as a no-nonsense character who is approachable and friendly, but not one to be taken advantage of
um that's all I got for now -
denis-38 — 9 years ago(July 07, 2016 12:54 PM)
Ginger played a couple of dizzy roles during her career, but none that were actually "dumb"several that were uneducated/brassy/streetwise.
Ginger was great, but why drag Monroe into it? What did MM have to do with Ginger's career, aside from Monroe's small role in "Monkey Business?" Ginger lived on and on and had full career and life. Monroe died young. There is no comparison, they had very different careers.
However, as to the matter of going blonde, Marilyn (then Norma Jeane) was extremely reluctant to bleach her hair during the first year of her modeling career. Although already successful, she was told that going blonde would improve her looks and result in more work. She resisted ""it's not natural!") until she was offered a particularly lucrative advertising job. She finally gave in. And then of course, saw that the lighter shade was indeed more flattering. -
jwhuey67 — 9 years ago(October 17, 2016 09:59 PM)
Ginger had the same 'blonde epiphany' in the early 30s, and by the time she and Freddie were in high gear, she was very blonde and she (and more specifically her mom) were pretty hesitant to change it, but it worked. I do think it's cool that she won the Academy Award for Kitty Foyle as a 'non-blonde'
And as Lead Gingerologist, it must be noted that Ginger and MM also were in the film "We're Not Married!", although not in a scene together (a 'multiple storyline' type film)