Queen for a Day (1951)

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Faith Baldwin (story) and
John Ashworth (story) ...

Release Date:

7 July 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

The film was based on the popular daytime Mutual Broadcasting Company radio program that originated from New York on April 30...

Plot Keywords:

Master Of Ceremony | Radio Studio | Daredevil | Short Story | Voting

Cast

Jack Bailey	...	Jack Bailey - Studio Segment Program Host
Jim Morgan	...	Jim Morgan - Studio Segment
Ford Pearson	...	Ford Pearson - Studio Segment Program Announcer
Melanie York	...	First Contestant, studio segment
Cynthia Corley	...	Second Contestant, Studio segment
Kay Wiley	...	Third Contestant, Studio segment
Helen Mowery	...	Jan, Studio segment
Dian Fauntelle	...	Helena, Studio segment
Phyllis Avery	...	Marjorie, Gossamer World segment
Darren McGavin	...	Dan, Gossamer World segment
Rudy Lee	...	Pete, Gossamer World segment
Frances E. Williams	...	Anna, Gossamer World segment
Joan Winfield	...	Laura, Gossamer World segment
Lonnie Burr	...	Charles, Gossamer World segment (as Lonny Burr)
Tristram Coffin	...	Doctor, Gossamer World segment

Also Known As:

Horsie

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #15052)

Company:

Robert Stillman Productions

Trivia:

Feature film debut of Leonard Nimoy.

Goofs:

Factual errors: An advertiser executive on the Queen For a Day program suggests that a nurse attend a live broadcast of the show on her night off, even though it's already been established that performances of the program take place during the afternoon.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Leonard Nimoy: Spock and Beyond" (1996)

Pure Postwar Americana!

Three stories reveal how the "Queen for a Day" radio program changed people's lives for the better. What a weird and wonderful curio this is! Right before it hit the TV airwaves to become a long-running cult legend, "Queen for a Day" jumped from radio to the silver screen with this veritable promotional piece, as three highly suspect "stories" reveal how the beloved show changes lives forever. But first, we witness a broadcast of the radio show ("from the Mutual Don Lee Studios in Sunny California!"). Host Jack Bailey is your typical arrogant, fast-talking '50s Emcee, an out-of-control amalgam of cowboy, thespian and used car salesman. His "interviews" of show contestants are patently phony, and of course he gets all sorts of strange answers and predictable howling from the audience. (I was not aware there was so much sexual innuendo and double entendre in the program, but then again, the last time I saw one of the TV shows, I was ten!) Our first story, "Gossamer World", gives us an indelible portrait of post-war America, in the guise of its most precious new crop: the nuclear family. A little boy imagines all kinds of friends, and his mom and pop (Darren McGavin!) love him to death, until illness visits him and... oh well, you know the rest. The second story, "High Dive", is as silly as they get, about a teenager who wants to earn money for college by becoming a high-diver at the carnival. Good thing one of his pals is Leonard Nimoy! This segment contains some of the decade's worst racial stereotyping, bar none. The third, and by far most shocking story is "Horsie" (by Dorothy Parker!), is about a wet nurse who is teased by a TV producer and his wife because (get this) she's UGLY! Every time we see her in close-up, we hear a horse's whinny! Needless to say, this scary, brutal mini-drama wouldn't even get out of the gate today. When poor "Horsie" winds up being "Queen for a Day", we can hardly believe our eyes. How patronizing WAS the '50s to women, anyway? Wow! Makes you wonder about Ms. Parker, as well. Warts and all (and there's a lot of warts), this rare feature is absolute time-capsule gold. Its like watching something made on another planet.