Mary Martin is taking the early lead.

Archiefit wrote:

I chose Marjorie Reynolds because she is just so cute.  No other reason.

HAHA. So she wins the cuteness award from you! Bing actually wanted Mary Martin for Holiday Inn but she was pregnant at the time. 

I do believe Marjorie Reynolds was the prettiest of the 1940s stars.
 

Ron Field wrote:

Depends on the part being played.
That one take in the lift with Jane Wyman ‘In the cool cool cool of the evening’ is a hard one to beat.

That was a great scene but that was from 1951.
 

I just had to vote for Dorothy Lamour for her wonderful subtle comedy timing, sense of fun, lovely singing voice and understated believability - no matter how whacky the situation. Bing and Bob were lucky to have such a radiantly talented woman - and despite her featured cameo, boy was she missed in "Road to Hong Kong"!

Ron Field wrote:

Depends on the part being played.
That one take in the lift with Jane Wyman ‘In the cool cool cool of the evening’ is a hard one to beat.

Yes, she is marvellous. So natural. I also enjoyed her very much in "Just for You" splendidly performing "Zing a Little Song" with Bing. I'd listened to the song's studio recording for decades before being totally captivated by the film version and routine. I was just wondering with all your decades of Crosby admiration, Ron - are there any favoured performances you're particularly fond of from any of the above ladies? 

Archiefit wrote:

I chose Marjorie Reynolds because she is just so cute.  No other reason.

Yes, she's lovely. Isn't she radiant and lit like a dream during "White Christmas".
 

Ron Field wrote:

Joan Bennett in ‘Mississippi’ was good and again when Bing was in jail and sang - I wish I was Alladin’ in another film (name escapes me at the moment)

Oh, she was so beautiful dressed in white in that film, if I remember correctly. I don't think I've seen it in over forty years but Ron, can you remember if this was the film Bing sang, "Down By the River" or was that in Dixie or another film of his from the thirties?

I voted for Joan Caulfield after spending the whole morning considering my options, it was a tough one, in 1940s Bing got the most talented co-stars than any other decade. Marjorie Reynolds was very pretty and radiant, and a good actress, Mary Martin was indeed multi-talented performer and Dorothy Lamour was also radiant, pretty with a great voice and superb comedy timing, she was a good actress  and I adored the Road movies I recently show Dixie the film too.
It was a tough choice, Joan Fontaine is the most talented actress of them all I believe that she was one of the best actress of the golden age, and she deserved the Oscar for her wonderful perfrormance in Rebecca (she lost) and for her performance in Suspicion (she won over her sister Olivia De Havilland) she gave a great performance showcasing her acting range in The Emperor Watz, she was simply captivating and I like her a lot, she was really great. Also I wish to see her Bing Crosby Show episode but I do not have it.
Ann Blyth (1928-) the only one in the list still alive and the earliest alive Academy Award nominee (nominated in 1945 for best supporting actress in Mildred Pierce) at the age of 96 is a very good actress and mighty talented too. Also got a nice chemistry with Bing and a fine singing voice.
Ingrid Bergman is also very beautiful and talented actress winning more Oscars and BAFTA and Tony than all Bing's co-stars of all decades. Her wonderful performance in The Bells of St Mary was one of her finest roles and made it tough to not choose her, she was magical and a great actress - I almost voted for her- and it's dissapointing that she does not rank higher in the poll.
Rhonda Fleming became a star after the Connecticut Yankee and was one of the prettiest, she most definately filmed better in technicolor than anyone else in Hollywood, her hair, her eyes and her skins shade maked her look divine under the Technicolor cameras and rightfully proclaimed Queen of Technicolor. 

But my personal favorite (a hard choice) is Joan Caulfield, she was a very good actress and I have seen almost all her movies. She was a classic beauty radiating demure feminity with a graceful demeanor and her eyes were blue but a shade darker than most. She got an amazing chemistry with Bing that reflected their real romantic relantionship (when Bing's marriage was almost collapsed due to Dixie's alcoholism Bing started a serious relationship with the possibility of marriage with Joan that lasted from 1945 till the spring of 1946). They really looked great together, she filmed better in technicolor than most but she looked gorgeous in Black and White too, she made many succesfull films with Bob Hope, William Holden, Robert Cummings, Fred Mcmurray etc. and worked also in Television. So after carefull though I casted my vote for her. She was great in Blue Skies and in Welcome Stranger.

Last edited by Pantelis Kavouras (09/3/2025 11:49 am)

David, One of my favorite movies is with Mary Martin and Bing. "Rhythm on the River". Mary was excellent with Bing in this movie. Even in "Birth of the Blues", loved when she whistled with Bing on " Wait till the Sun Shines Nellie". I also loved the chemistry between Bing and Joan Caufield and Rhonda Flemming. I did not care for Joan Fontaine, I liked her sister Olivia much better. But Olivia didn't make any movies with Bing. Too bad. So Mary Martin is my first choice followed by Caulfield and Flemming.

What a difficult survey to answer. 

I went with Mary Martin because the two films are stand outs. Dottie is a close second due to her ability to hold her own with the chemistry of Crosby and Hope.

This is what Giddins said on the Holiday Inn matter:
“Bing wanted Mary Martin for the love interest. It was because of him that Berlin, who was slow in cottoning to her, wrote Martin into his early treatment. This was a clash Bing could not win. DeSylva hardly needed to remind him that she was pregnant. Well, she wouldn’t be pregnant when they went into production. Even so, DeSylva countered, she might not want to go from the maternity ward to a soundstage and they couldn’t wait till the last minute to cast the female lead. Anyway, with two major stars on board, this was a chance to promote a couple of low-wage contract players.”

She would’ve been great in Holiday Inn, though I enjoy Reynolds in the role too.

That's so sweet how Linda was named. What did Linda have to say of her mother's memories working with Bing?

Yes, although just going on her screen persona, I so often found Betty Hutton irritating. Clearly there was an abundance of talent, there and I thought she worked well with Bing in "Here Come The Waves" but from my seat in the stalls, she clearly belonged to the war. Peppy, noisy and marshalling in manner, this really wore on me in De Mille's post war circus epic, "The Greatest Show on Earth".

By contrast, Dorothy Lamour (easily my favourite of Bing's 'forties leading ladies), a co-star in the same film, always seemed so natural, gently humorous and relatable. You look at her personality as opposed to Grable's and it's as if they're from another era.

I don't think it's without coincidence that her turn with Astaire in "Let's Dance" is the only leading man musical of his I've yet to see. I've read that on the set of The Bandwagon and during a rare outburst while remonstrating with Nanette Fabrary, Fred sighted Hutton as the reason for his disapproval.