Whats my line? - Frederich March

[reno1uest]

they used the weenie comment again in this show. this time margaret truman had a weenie.

[MystaFyre]

Definitely one of my favorite WML clips!

[iamintheburg]

Who knew this guy was such a hoot ? Fantastic performance and post.

[wencer]

@iamintheburg Seriously. This is one of the best ones on YouTube. Pity it doesn't have more views.

[1949man]

He took them further than most.....

[waynebrasler]

Unforgettable in "A Star Is Born" with the equally unforgettable Janet Gaynor. His wife Florence Eldridge was a wonderful actress and together they enjoyed a successful, intelligent, witty life. Real class all the way. In her mask, Margaret Truman looks so much like her mother Bess. The Trumans were a truly extraordinary family, more than the public knew. Bess literally hated Washington, D.C., and was back home in Independence. Missouri, more than people ever knew.

[deepseadirt]

this was a great stump of the panel, the first time i've seen that they didn't guess who it was. March was great. All they had to do was ask if he often acted with his spouse [Florence Eldridge], then one of them would for sure have gotten it.

[7slazenger]

Mr. March was probably the best guest on this show...!

[BesonXL]

Wonderful performance! The best quote is at 7:08

-Do ladies swoon over you?

-Noooooooooooo!!

:-)

[hankaaron1961]

Second WML clip I've seen where a mystery guest was known as a serious or dramatic image, yet provided one of the funniest guest appearance. The other was sourpuss Ed Sullivan.

[spagandtuna]

Truman is so pathetically inept.

[marythebabynurse]

One of my favorite old-time actors! What a treat to see him here and what a great job he did fooling the panel completely.

[zaq423]

Great story about how FM addressed a situation where Tallulalh Bankhead was upstaging his wife in a play they all appearing in. TB tried to upstage FM's wife first act soliloquy by brushing her famous long blond hair as the lines were being said. Thus, unnecessarily drawing the audience's attention to TB. In the second act during a TB soliloquy, Mr. March was off-stage having an outrageous coughing fit that drowned out TB's lines. TB got the message & did not try to steal the scene again.

[JubalCalif]

I love the voices Mr March uses! He has such a marvelous sense of humor about himself. He has always been one of my favorite movie actors. Equally good in both leading roles & character parts. A true American treasure. THANKS for sharing this wonderful episode with us! Hopefully everyone here at youtube has been having a GREAT holiday season! :)

[spitfireJEJ]

Excellent. Don't miss his towering performance in "Inherit the Wind".

[9TheMajor]

And the ORIGINAL A Star is Born

[funkeekatt]

They misspelled his nameplate. It's Fredric, not Frederic.

[mca1218]

A character actor *and* a leading man at the same time. And a multitude of performances right here. And steely eyes. What a clip.

[ipmoic]

He even takes this performance seriously! A consummate actor, he makes this performance just another of his great roles. He completely threw them off.

From the risqué "Design For Living" (1932) as a handsome leading man, to the President of the U.S. in "Seven Days In May" (1964) he was a true movie STAR!!

[13loomisst]

I just can't get enough of this one. Thanks again, very much.

[mwu008]

i never knew that federic march was such a funny guy. he always passes as someone serious. im surprised he could keep himself composed while giving those hilarious voices.

[QueenCeleste2]

Oh, be still my heart! Let's see, what male thespians do we have today.... Oh, never mind. Thanks so much for posting this wonderful clip!

[OldTimerGoGetter]

Marvelous! Marvelous! Just utterly marvelous how this great man spun the panels!

And how cute and clever it was he curtsied his way out like Jill did!

[13loomisst]

This is magnificent. Thanks very much.

[Tikilizzy]

And yes they do SWOON!!!!

[Tikilizzy]

Fredric March is one of the greatest actors ever. His intelligence and sensitivity in the roles he played is utterly amazing... comedy, melodrama, horror, drama... he could do it all. A wonderful talent.

[starskhutchgel]

@Tikilizzy Totally agree with you. A top class actor *****

[wollestoncraft]

I certainly swooned over him in movies. A shame he is not as well known now as some other stars of the golden age, his talent was phenomenal. He played such a wide range of roles over so many yrs & often quietly stole the picture by the depth & sincerity of his portrayals. His performance in "A Star Is Born" is heartbreaking; in so many other roles his integrity was like a bright light. One of the most talented actors ever, I watch his movies over & over & they're fresh each time.

[soulierinvestments]

GSN showed this in late May 2008. This comes from the same episode that gave us the clip

"Whats my line? -- Dorothy's children jill and dickie" (Kollmar). So this explains why March curtsied his way out -- Jill curtsied her way out.

[Uoz]

What just staggers me is that they spelled Fredric's first name WRONG on the little title card that appears at his desk. That must have happened SO often to Mr. March over the years that he probably just gave up correcting everybody after a while....

[rathrice]

Believe it or not, March's first name is misspelled in his Oscar winning role in the credits of THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES!

[moorlock2003]

I was named after Fredric March, and I know how it is with the misspellings. It's gotten to a point where I am surprised when my name is spelled correctly.

[lilypondlane]

The great Fredric March---the man from Racine, WI.

The acting profession will not see the likes of him again.

[banner74]

Ah,Dr. Jekyll himself.

[ParkerAllen2]

The performers they got to appear on this program was amazing. For anybody who loves old movies it's great fun to see. Thanks for posting.

[soulierinvestments]

Gil Fates wrote that after March did this smash boffo appearance on live TV, he wanted to see the Kinescope a few days later. Fates said that he sounded upset. Never in all his years in pictures and stage had he received so many comments. What was so special? Nothing was so special, but he hadn't encountered a 30 share audience before.

[soulierinvestments]

Gil Fates wrote of this spot that Fredric March was an actor of tremendous stature both in films and on stage. Fates' memory was that this was March's first appearance on TV. That might not be accurate, but said Fates, March "bamboozled the panel with a series of wildly funny accents and the spot was a smash." Days later, March contacted FAtes wanting to see the kinescope of the broadcast. March never got so much public comment, and he wanted to see what was so special.