Comments on: Miss Frozen Face

Miss Frozen Face

Skeptic — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:42:46 -0800

Back in 1940, a young singer called Virginia O'Brien made her debut in the LA production of "Meet the People" when she was seized by a paralyzing case of stage fright. The policeman daughter nevertheless bravely kept on singing while the audience roared with laughter. Surprisingly, her frozen-faced delivery, far from cutting her career short, created a unique niche for her instead (her wide vocal range and stunning looks also helped). Within short, she'd be appearing as deadpan "featured singer" in a number of golden-age MGM comedies, such as the "In the Storehouse", "Panama Hattie", or, most memorably, "Du Barry was a Lady". It's a bit sad that such a singing and acting talent was reduced to a novelty act, but, damn, what an act!

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:45:39 -0800

Damn, the "Panama Hattie" link was supposed to lead here

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:02:42 -0800

Weird, creepy, hilarious, enchanting all at the same time. I loved this.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:03:16 -0800

So that's what Mortica did before meeting Gomez! That "Du Barry Was A Lady" number is a gem. Why is it not more famous?

By: Bromius

Bromius — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:05:59 -0800

Here she is singing perhaps the least effective lullaby ever in the otherwise unmemorable Marx Brothers film The Big Store. She sure was...something.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:26:48 -0800

I guess I should be worried that I've seen that very same expressive range on the faces of my sexual partners? Nice post!

By: rusty

rusty — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:27:24 -0800

Remarkably lifelike.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:34:00 -0800

What a thing that is!

By: mr.grum

mr.grum — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:37:04 -0800

Excellent! A long time favorite of mine, I even bought a copy of the otherwise ho-hum Du Barry was a Lady just to be able to see that number again. It's great to see the internets have started showing more of her work, a couple of years ago Salome was the only thing I could find. I find the story of her discovery a little fishy though, she was too good a comedienne and too smart a singer for that to ring true to me. But who cares? Nothing wrong with a good Hollywood story. Thanks for the post!

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:39:06 -0800

I love posts like this about forgotten but revealing little slices of pop culture. Not only had I never heard of her, I've now also heard "Did I Get Stinkin' At The Club Savoy" and its hilarious 1940s lyrics about getting blotto in a bar. It seems a shame her talent was contained in such a gimmicky way (obvious at the start of that clip), since it's obvious from the few emotive moves she's allowed that she could have totally wowed the camera. And what a voice! Thanks, Skeptic, this is neat stuff.

By: robtf3

robtf3 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:56:57 -0800

In Ziegfeld Follies she smiles.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:12:18 -0800

There's more detail about her in this Guardian obit, including a slightly different take on the "Meet the People" story. Turns out she was married to the first Hollywood Superman and was related to Robert E. Lee. Better still, she drops the deadpan thing to belt out a great "Bring on the Wonderful Men" in the 1946 Zeigfield Follies. I like this woman.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:07:07 -0800

Another Virginia O'Brien fan over here. Nice post.

By: Lipstick Thespian

Lipstick Thespian — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:43:04 -0800

can't talk....Eraserhead flashback....Lady in the Radiator....on Youtube.....hizxct!

By: Morpeth

Morpeth — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:12:22 -0800

"no matter how you slice it boys it's still...Salome." I heard that line in a musical on TV when I was 6 years old. It may have been my first encounter with a pun. I've always wondered what movie it came from, and now, thanks to this fabulous post, I know.

By: winna

winna — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:24:52 -0800

She was also in the mostly forgettable* Judy Garland vehicle The Harvey Girls. You'll have heard 'On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe' if you're a fan of Judy. My personal favorite song from that musical is "It's a Great Big World", in which O'Brien does a lovely job. *the musical numbers are great. The story is not so great. skip to the musical numbers if you watch it.

By: DU

DU — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:45:15 -0800

The Dude Looks Like a Lady link isn't frozen faced...or does she shut it down later in the song?

By: doctorschlock

doctorschlock — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:23:55 -0800

Dead-pan or not. I'd rather see someone like her today more than most of these flavor of the month actors.

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:26:33 -0800

DAMN what a voice. Sigh. I miss the classics.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:22:40 -0800

*makes note to learn how to sing "no matter how you slice it.." because god I love puns*

By: jetsetsc

jetsetsc — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:34:58 -0800

In the future, nothing will be forgotten, out of print or obscure. With Youtube, DVD's and Bittorrent we will move from being a culture of the now, where anything older than six months or so gets forgotten, to something where the past hundred years of film, tv and music are instantly accessible and thus more relevant. Being a human, all of this stuff speaks to me - from the faces of 1904 Londoners, to performances by Virginia O'Brian and Anita O'Day. This may seem trivial to someone in their 20's, but coming of age in the 80's, where you had live near a great college radio station, or revival movie house to have access to this stuff, I'm constantly amazed by how much of our cultural media heritage is just there for the browsing nd absorbing.

By: the sobsister

the sobsister — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:41:47 -0800

Excellent. Thank you.