TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR (1957)

Debbie Reynolds was a natural for the romantic comedy role of a backwoods girl suddenly transplanted to the home of a wealthy pilot (Leslie Nielsen) she nurses back to health after a plane crash. She was a Texas girl who always felt slightly out of place hobnobbing with Hollywood big wigs. The film initially fared poorly at the box office, but Reynolds joined then-husband Eddie Fisher as a hit recording artist with the tune “Tammy”. The number became the film’s salvation and garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Song. With the song’s popularity, Universal re-released the picture and it became a hit.  Despite the reversal in fortune, Reynolds did not appear in the film’s sequels, which starred Sandra Dee instead.

d. Joseph Pevney, 89m, 35mm

DCP courtesy of Universal Pictures.