EPISODE 95 -  “VIRGINIA GREY: Classic Cinema Star of the Month” - 7/07/25

If VIRGINIA GREY is remembered at all, the blue-eyed, blonde-haired beauty is probably best remembered as the caustic perfume counter girl in The Women (1939), who sees right through the gold-digging ways of Crystal Allen, played by JOAN CRAWFORD. In these brief scenes, she is so charismatic and saucy, she really shows how to deliver a zinger of a line. She may also be remembered as the good luck charm of producer ROSS HUNTER, who put her in many of his popular movies of the mid-1950s and 1960s. But there was so much more to this talented actress. This week, we explore her life and career as we honor her as our Star of the Month. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

“Virginia Grey, a Veteran of 100 moves, dies at 87,” August 6, 2003, New York Times;

Robert Taylor: The Man WIth the Perfect Profile (1973), by Jane Ellen Wayne;

“The Girl Who Won Gable Back,” November 1951, by Linda Griffin, Modern Screen magazine;

“An Interview With Virginia Grey,” by Mike Fitzgerald, www.westernclippings.com;

“Virginia Grey,” briansdriveintheater.com;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IBDB.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Movies Mentioned: 

The Women (1939), starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, & Rosalind Russell;

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927), starring James B. Lowe;

Dames (1934), starring Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell. & Joan Blondell;

Secret Valley (1937); starring Richard Arlen & Virginia Grey;

Test Pilot (1938), starring Clark Gable & Myrna Loy;

Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938), starring Lana Turner;

Dramatic School (1938) starring Luise Rainer & Paulette Goddard;

The Hardy’s Ride High (1939), starring Mickey Rooney & Lewis Stone;

Idiot’s Delight (1939), starring Clark Gable & Norma Shearer;

Broadway Serenade (1939), with Jeanette MacDonald & Lew Ayres;

Another Thin Man (1939), starring William Powell & Myrna Loy;

Hullabaloo (1940), starring Frank Morgan;

The Big Store (1941), starring the Marx Brothers;

Blonde Inspiration (1941), starring John Shelton;

Tarzan’s New York Adventure (1942), starring Johnny Weissmuller & Maureen O’Sullivan;

Whistling in the Dark (1941), starring Red Skelton & Ann Rutherford;

Bells of Capistrano (1942), starring Gene Autry & Virginia Grey;

Sweet Rosie O’Grady (1943), with Betty Grable & Robert Young;

Strangers in the Night (1944), starring William Terry & Virginia Grey;

Blonde Ransom (1945), with Virginia Grey;

House of Horrors (1946), with Robert Lowery & Virginia Grey;

Unconquered (1947), starring Gary Cooper & Paulette Goddard;

Leather Gloves (1948), with Cameron Mitchell;

Mexican Hayride (1948), starring Abbott & Costello;

Jungle Jim (1948), Starring Johnny Weissmuller & Virginia Grey;

Highway 301 (1950), with Steve Cochran & Virginia Grey;

Slaughter Trail (1951), starring Gig Young & Virginia Grey;

Three Desperate Men (1951), with Preston Foster & Virginia Grey;

Captain Scarface (1953), with Leif Erickson & Virginia Grey;

The Forty-Niners (1955), with Wild Bill Elliott & Virginia Grey;

All That Heaven Allows (1955), starring Jane Wyman & Rock Hudson;

The Rose Tattoo (1955), starring Anna Magnani & Burt Lancaster;

Jeanne Eagles (1957), starring Kim Novak;

Portrait In Black (1960), starring Lana Turner;

Back Street (1961), starring Susan Hayward;

Flower Drum Song (1961), starring Nancy Kwan;

The Naked Kiss (1964), starring Constance Tower;

Love Has Many Faces (1965), starring Lana Turner, Cliff Robertson & Hugh O’Brien;

Airport (1970), with Burt Lancaster & Dean Martin;

---------------------------------

http://www.airwavemedia.com

Please contact [email protected] if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices