Mari Blanchard Trailers
Becoming Marilyn TrailerMcLintock! TrailerTwice-Told Tales Trailer
Petite, attractive Mari Blanchard rarely managed to get the lucky breaks. The daughter of an oil tycoon and a psychotherapist, she suffered from severe poliomyelitis from the age of nine, which denied her a hoped-for dancing career. For several years, she worked hard to rehabilitate her limbs from paralysis, swimming and later even performing on the trapeze at Cole Brothers Circus. At the urging of her parents, she then attended the University of Southern California, where she studied international law before dropping out nine units short of a degree. Her university studies did not lead to a career either. Sometime in the late 1940s, she joined the Conover Agency as an advertising model and, at the same time, was promoted by famed cartoonist and writer Al Capp, becoming the inspiration for one of his Li'l Abner characters.
As the result of an advertisement on the back page of the Hollywood Reporter, Mari was signed to a contract with Paramount. However, her early experience in the movie business proved an unhappy one, most of her roles being walk-ons and bit parts. Ten Tall Men (1951), for example, limited her to a token stroll down a street, twirling a parasol and smiling seductively at members of the Foreign Legion. It wasn't until Mari joined Universal that her fortunes improved somewhat, with a co-starring role (opposite Victor Mature) in The Veils of Bagdad (1953). After that, it was all downhill again. Burt Lancaster, co-producer and star (with Gary Cooper of the excellent A-grade western Vera Cruz (1954), had requested Mari as his leading lady, but Universal refused her release to United Artists and forbade her to accept the lucrative role (Denise Darcel ended up getting the part). Mari then lost the lead in a much lesser picture,Saskatchewan (1954), to Shelley Winters. Instead, she was cast as Venusian Queen Allura in one of the least exciting outings by Universal's leading comic duo, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953).
Mari did end up with a respectable starring role in the western Destry (1954) opposite Audie Murphy. A remake of the classic Destry Rides Again (1939), she was cast in the Marlene Dietrich part and took great pains to affect a totally different look, darkening her hair so as not to be compared to the great star. Even the name of her character was changed from 'Frenchy' to 'Brandy'. "Destry" was not all smooth sailing. There was tension between her and director George Marshall (who had also directed the original version) and Mari suffered a facial injury as the result of a fight scene. The film was critically well received, but unfortunately Universal failed to renew its contract with Miss Blanchard, and her career then went into free fall.
Freelancing for lesser studios, she played a TB victim injected with a serum turning her into a Mr. Hyde-like killer in the lurid She Devil (1957) (during filming she nearly died of acute appendicitis). Mari then appeared for Republic in the eminently forgettable No Place to Land (1958) before briefly starring in her own short-lived adventure series Klondike (1960). Her last role of note was as the cheerful and likeable town madam in the rollicking John Wayne western comedy McLintock! (1963). Sometime that year, Mari Blanchard developed the cancer which was to claim her life in 1970 at the age of just 47.
Most Popular Mari Blanchard Trailers
Total trailers found: 30
14 April 1954
A federal agent arrives in Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the construction of a new railroad track.
15 June 1951
With the help of some seedy gangsters, young attorney Steve Keiver makes some quick cash by bending the law, and in the process, he impresses the mobsters so much that they invite him to work for them on a regular basis.
22 July 1957
Japanese communists attempt to take over Hawaii and only Dr. Jim Ransom can stop them.
01 September 1963
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends.
01 April 1957
Biochemists give fruit-fly serum to a dying woman, with side effects.
26 October 1951
Sgt. Mike Kincaid of the French Foreign Legion learns, from a Riff prisoner, that an attack will soon be made by the villainous Hussin on the Legion's outpost of Tarfa.
01 June 1954
The story of a wild black stallion and the cowboys who set out to capture him.
12 November 1963
Aging rancher and self-made man, George Washington McLintock is forced to deal with numerous personal and professional problems.
09 October 1955
To redeem his father's wrongdoings, Ericson joins the law to fight outlaws.
20 April 1951
In this fast-paced remake of the Maurice Chevalier vehicle Folies Bergère, talented Danny Kaye plays both a performer and a heroic French military pilot.
07 March 1952
Advertising executive Alan Miller, a recovered alcoholic who now does interventions on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous, is called to help Broadway actress Jenny Carey whose developing career is threatened by an increasing dependence on alcohol.
06 October 1953
Antar is sent by Suleiman, head of the Ottoman Empire, to Bagdad to prevent Hammam, Pasha of Bagdad, from purchasing the services of local leader Mustapha to unite the hill tribes and overthrow the emperor.
16 November 1951
A scrupulously honest lawyer discovers that the client he's gotten off was really guilty.
12 October 1951
A young crusading reporter in a small town tackles civic corruption.
01 October 1952
Further misadventures of comic soldiers Willie and Joe, now in Japan.
01 December 1954
Western remake of "Destry Rides Again", starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Thomas Mitchell, Lori Nelson and Lyle Bettger.
30 November 1955
Following WWII, ex-G.I. Stan opened up a drive-in restaurant. His girlfriend, Joanie, is one of the car hops.
02 June 1955
Legendary pirate and adventurer Sinbad is in single-minded pursuit of two things: beautiful women and a substance called Greek Fire--an early version of gunpowder.
03 October 1958
A cropduster pilot finds himself caught between two women—one who loves him and the other, who doesn’t handle rejection well, who’s out to destroy him.
01 December 1958
The opportunistic Jean marries an older man, plantation owner Don Luis, for financial security and finds herself falling for his virile right-hand man, Carlos.
13 December 1956
A group of stagecoach passengers are held hostage by bandits waiting for a shipment of gold they plan to steal.
06 April 1953
Lester and Orville accidentally launch a rocket which is supposed to fly to Mars. Instead it goes to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
04 September 1952
Paris-based New York Herald Tribune reporter Jimmy Race is sent by his boss behind the Iron Curtain in Budapest to investigate a meeting involving the Hungarian ambassador.
07 July 2022
The story of how Norma Jeane Mortenson became Marilyn Monroe (1926-62), a lucid path of self-discovery, from anonymity to stardom: the painful birth of a myth.
24 June 1952
Carlos Delargo, the banished son of a royal princess of Mandorra, is returned to the kingdom to be tried for a murder change.
15 December 1951
Not to be confused with the 1929 film The Overland Telegraph, this Western from director Lesley Selander stars Tim Holt as a cowboy appropriately named Tim Holt.
28 October 1956
The story of a bunch of hard-drinking steeplejacks.
13 April 1962
A TV executive tries to create a musical special to save his network.
17 May 1956
Strong-willed Luisa attracts lots of men, but her intelligence and sharp tongue often sends them running.
