Arun Vajpey
Member
There is a short Titanic sequence in the 1964 Debbie Reynolds musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown. I saw it at a rerun in 1967 and that was what started my interest in the Titanic saga.
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The Unsinkable Molly Brown
- Thread starter Arun Vajpey
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Robert T. Paige
Member
This is a rather old post. But I wonder where the name "Molly" originated ? Was it from the musical ? I have always heard she was known as Margaret Brown or Mrs. J.J. Brown and was actually not the"hick"portrayed....even in ANTR.....but was self taught and fluent in several languages.
All other criticisms aside, IMHO, Kathy Bates portrayal in the 1997 movie was more true-to-life ?
Dave Gittins
Member
Here's the story, from this very site!
Despite the legend, she was not ostracized by society nor rejected by her family. The myth of "Molly" Brown has very little to do with the real life of Margaret Tobin Brown, although it speaks to her spirit. Margaret was never known as "Molly": the name was a Hollywood invention. The story began in the 1930s with the colorful pen of Denver Post reporter Gene Fowler, who created a folk tale, and sensationalist writer Carolyn Bancroft, who wrote a highly fictional account for a romance magazine that was turned into a booklet. This story enjoyed various radio broadcasts during the 1940s and was the basis for the Broadway play, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", which eventually became the MGM movie of the same name, starring Debbie Reynolds. Even James Cameron's 1997 film "Titanic" has very little to do with the real story of Margaret Tobin Brown. After attempting to mitigate or correct the legend of "Molly," the Brown family eventually withdrew from the public and refused to speak with writers, reporters, or historians. Only recently have they agreed to cooperate with the efforts of a historian, Kristen Iversen, and allowed access to letters, scrapbooks, photographs, and many personal effects of Margaret Tobin Brown that had previously been unavailable. The first full-length biography of Margaret Tobin Brown was published in June, 1999.
Despite the legend, she was not ostracized by society nor rejected by her family. The myth of "Molly" Brown has very little to do with the real life of Margaret Tobin Brown, although it speaks to her spirit. Margaret was never known as "Molly": the name was a Hollywood invention. The story began in the 1930s with the colorful pen of Denver Post reporter Gene Fowler, who created a folk tale, and sensationalist writer Carolyn Bancroft, who wrote a highly fictional account for a romance magazine that was turned into a booklet. This story enjoyed various radio broadcasts during the 1940s and was the basis for the Broadway play, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", which eventually became the MGM movie of the same name, starring Debbie Reynolds. Even James Cameron's 1997 film "Titanic" has very little to do with the real story of Margaret Tobin Brown. After attempting to mitigate or correct the legend of "Molly," the Brown family eventually withdrew from the public and refused to speak with writers, reporters, or historians. Only recently have they agreed to cooperate with the efforts of a historian, Kristen Iversen, and allowed access to letters, scrapbooks, photographs, and many personal effects of Margaret Tobin Brown that had previously been unavailable. The first full-length biography of Margaret Tobin Brown was published in June, 1999.
Aaron_2016
Guest
I heard the name 'Margaret' was too big to fit on the broadway theater show sign and it meant they would need to reduce the font size of the title, so in order to draw more attention they shortened the name to 'Molly' and made the font large to get more attention.
The movie titles on theater billboards really had to be short if they wanted the film to stand out amongst the others.
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The movie titles on theater billboards really had to be short if they wanted the film to stand out amongst the others.
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Robert T. Paige
Member
Nice pictures, Aaron !
Looks like an old Cadillac and Lincoln Zephyr parked in front of the Apollo.
Dave Gittins
Member
As pointed out earlier, the name was used long before the musical or the movie. It has nothing to do with theatre signs.
Aaron_2016
Guest
What was the title of the story before it became the Broadway show?
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Dave Gittins
Member
