Wow!!! Margaret O'Brien grew up to be gorgeous. Damn, she should've been able to cross over. I'd love to hear her talk about being pinched repeatedly by my favorite actor, the famously sadistic acting genius Wallace Beery.
Her "Canterville Ghost" co-star Charles Laughton once told a story that testifies to her abilities as an actress, even at that young age. They had just done a perfect take of a long scene together, when Laughton remarked "Maggie, you can't read yet, can you?" When she said no, he responded by citing a movie scene where she read a bedtime story to a gangster. "How did you manage that?" She replied, "I learned it and pretended reading." That's class...and talent.
One of the most winsome, talented, charming child actresses ever to make films (Lionel Barrymore remarked "If this child had been born in the Middle Ages, she'd've been burned as a witch!"), Maggie O'Brien grew into a pretty, talented, charming lady with a delightfully self-depricating sense of humor, well on display here. Nonetheless, Margaret O'Brien was, and is, a national treasure. Anyone who's seen here in such films as "Meet Me in St. Louis," or "The Secret Garden" will aver to that.
Margaret was also in a brilliant comedy called 'The Canterville Ghost with Robert Young (as the cowardly hero, he was also Marcus Welby MD in later life on American TV) and Charles Laughton (as the Ghost). Brilliant film, actors and Margaret was utterly charming in it, I think she was about the same age as she was in 'Meet Me In St Louis'... Fabulous indeed... :0)x
Margaret was always masterful with dialects. One of her earliest appearances that's often overlooked (it had started as a David O. Selznick, but was ultimately finished and released by 20th Century-Fox) was in 1943's "Jane Eyre." She gave an adorable performance as Rochester's ward, Adele, complete with a completely believable French dialect. I would have given my eye teeth to see her play Eliza Doolittle in either "Pygmalian" or "My Fair Lady'; she would have been a pip!
@poeseloetje According to the Internet Movie Database she made two appearances as the Mystery Guest on "What's My Line". The first was on February 25, 1951 and the second on November 24, 1957. I think it's safe to say that this is the latter appearance. I met Margaret O'Brien several time and found her to be a very charming lady.
Great clip. Loved the accent. First time I remember seeing Margaret O'Brien grown up. She was quite attractive. Loved watching her films when she was a child. Always thought she was way better than Shirley Temple.
@therleyt I do, too. Not long ago TCM had a Sunday devoted to her movie for her birthday, maybe and I had gotten up to go to work and saw that they were doing it. I hadn't seen Journey for Margaret in over twenty years, so I took a personal day off and watched her all day.
Haha this is wonderful! Interesting that my two favorite WML guests (O'brien and Esther Williams) are both SoCal natives and both still with us thank goodness!
XD As I read, she is half Spanish, half Irish. And she is brunette with dark eyes, typical Spanish girl, but her skin is very white, maybe that's the only "Irish" has inherited. Watch the movie "Meet me in St Louis" and check it. (The mustache it has all the girls in all countries, some more than others, What happens is that we remove it.. Wake up!
She was a fantastic child actress, I love her in all her movies. Recently saw her and other former child actors on TCM, I think from 2005 or '06. It was really good. She explained how she could bring on the tears so quickly. Again an amazing and adorable actress.
I've never seen any of Margaret O'Brien's adult movies but I loved, loved, loved her as a child actress. There was something about her that grabbed your heart. With a single word she could have you laughing or in tears.
Can someone recommend one of her movies, as an adult actress, that you love?
@markedwardindc Thanks! One of her best for sure! I was looking for a recommendation for one of her movies as an adult actress, though. I've been in a classics mood lately so I'll probably just go check out her IMDb page and see where that leads!
Thanks for posting this delightful segment. What a lovely young lady little Margaret grew up to be. I wish Robert Osbourne over at Turner Classic Movies would interview her at length.
Actually Margaret didin't get the part for two reasons.Her mother felt uneasy about the part and she didin't have the same admiration for James Dean as Natalie Wood.I think it's a waste of talent that she didin't progress to mature part like Natalie Wood or Elizabeth Taylor.Oh well she still remains one of the best child stars ever.
Miss OBrien is really QUITE lovely here. So talented & yet quite sexy. This is one of the most enjoyable "Whats My Line" clips I've seen. THANKS for sharing! It's a dirty rotten low down shame that her teen & adult career didn't match her childhood years. She certainly had the LOOKS and TALENT to become a HUGE star!
How true! But in Jackie's case, in his autobiography he claimed that his tears were brought about by the director falsely telling him his dog was dead! I hope such savage techniques weren't used on cute & adorable Margaret! :)
And she was such a cute little girl when she did "Under the Bamboo Tree" with Judy Garland...a cute girl growing up into a beauty is, in my opinion, quite rare.
There's a big difference between how Natalie was raised and Margaret.Natalie was born to a strict disilusional mother and a gentle alchoolic father emasculated by his wife.Margaret became a star very young too she didin't live the same trauma as Natalie.Both had controling mothers but while Margaret mother showed real concern for her daughter,Natalie mom was more concerned about her image.Judy was more Natalie but I do think it is a waste of talent that Margaret never made the transition.
I couldn't have said it any better myself. it's a mystery/ Some childhood actors/actresses lose something special as they get older. She became a stunning beauty. I wonder if it may have been that she was on the same idea as Liz Taylor and there wasn't room for two of them. We'll never know for sure.
GSN rebroadcast this 1957 episode on 2 December 2008. It featured not only O'Brien in her cockney period but a cute female French fire eater and a wise-guy white hunter from Central Africa who specialized in bagging crocodiles. The panel did not guess a single contestant all evening, even though Kilgallen is indeed bloomin' clever.
Too bad they ran out of time - she was mighty cute. What is she calling them, Ducks? "Oh I'd say so, Ducks"? Is that some Cockney slang term, or I am I hearing it wrong?
This clip was from episode #390 on 11/24/1957. Miss O'Brien was 20 years old. She had also appeared in episode #39 on 2/25/1951 when she was 14.
"My Fair Lady" had opened the year before on Broadway with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in the starring roles and was a huge hit (it ran for 2,717 performances - at the time a record). I suppose Margaret O'Brien was attempting to do an Eliza Doolittle with her faux-cockney accent. I would like to have heard a lot more of her in her real voice.
A long way from Meet Me in St. Louis and the Secret Garden. Gil Fates used a clip of this in WML at 25, and it wasn't even the funniest bit. That vocal disguise compared to the kind of voice she had as a child actor really makes this clip funny.
Margaret O Brien is my IdoI I Love her
woodruffaful 2 weeks ago
Wow!!! Margaret O'Brien grew up to be gorgeous. Damn, she should've been able to cross over. I'd love to hear her talk about being pinched repeatedly by my favorite actor, the famously sadistic acting genius Wallace Beery.
Onlymusical 2 weeks ago
I love, love, love, love her dress -- just simply beautiful!!!
markedwardindc 1 month ago
a stunning performance!!
henrygrove100 1 month ago
Margaret O'Brien a genius!
henrygrove100 1 month ago
She looks like Elizabeth Taylor
pianosleuth12 5 months ago
Great actress but boy what a terrible cockney accent and Peter Ustinov by the look on his face knew it!
zinnia617 6 months ago
@zinnia617 you are right it is bad but it confused them.
MrChristainchris 2 weeks ago
Her "Canterville Ghost" co-star Charles Laughton once told a story that testifies to her abilities as an actress, even at that young age. They had just done a perfect take of a long scene together, when Laughton remarked "Maggie, you can't read yet, can you?" When she said no, he responded by citing a movie scene where she read a bedtime story to a gangster. "How did you manage that?" She replied, "I learned it and pretended reading." That's class...and talent.
librarybob1958 6 months ago
One of the most winsome, talented, charming child actresses ever to make films (Lionel Barrymore remarked "If this child had been born in the Middle Ages, she'd've been burned as a witch!"), Maggie O'Brien grew into a pretty, talented, charming lady with a delightfully self-depricating sense of humor, well on display here. Nonetheless, Margaret O'Brien was, and is, a national treasure. Anyone who's seen here in such films as "Meet Me in St. Louis," or "The Secret Garden" will aver to that.
librarybob1958 6 months ago
it is very funny they had no idea who it is.
MrChristainchris 7 months ago
Margaret was also in a brilliant comedy called 'The Canterville Ghost with Robert Young (as the cowardly hero, he was also Marcus Welby MD in later life on American TV) and Charles Laughton (as the Ghost). Brilliant film, actors and Margaret was utterly charming in it, I think she was about the same age as she was in 'Meet Me In St Louis'... Fabulous indeed... :0)x
wenglishsal 9 months ago
She grew into a very beautiful woman here. I remember her from "Meet Me In St. Louis".
trschaefer 9 months ago
I don't think I've seen O'Brien beyond her role in "Secret Garden". She changed...but not so much I suppose.
lorrainewands 9 months ago
@TheTedgale well the tv show audience is american, not english, so it sounds cockney to us.
shoobedoorocketship 10 months ago
My God! She could match Pete Ustinov as a dialectician accent for accent(LOL!).
TheStanbabe 11 months ago
Margaret was always masterful with dialects. One of her earliest appearances that's often overlooked (it had started as a David O. Selznick, but was ultimately finished and released by 20th Century-Fox) was in 1943's "Jane Eyre." She gave an adorable performance as Rochester's ward, Adele, complete with a completely believable French dialect. I would have given my eye teeth to see her play Eliza Doolittle in either "Pygmalian" or "My Fair Lady'; she would have been a pip!
Noveltooner 11 months ago
@Noveltooner She would have been awesome in that role!!
calalilygirl 5 days ago
Very funny!, I remember her as a little girl with Judy Garland in the really beautiful scene "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"!!
MANUELFARINELLI 1 year ago
What year was this, does anyone know?
poeseloetje 1 year ago
@poeseloetje According to the Internet Movie Database she made two appearances as the Mystery Guest on "What's My Line". The first was on February 25, 1951 and the second on November 24, 1957. I think it's safe to say that this is the latter appearance. I met Margaret O'Brien several time and found her to be a very charming lady.
jknuttel 1 month ago
Great clip. Loved the accent. First time I remember seeing Margaret O'Brien grown up. She was quite attractive. Loved watching her films when she was a child. Always thought she was way better than Shirley Temple.
daven58100 1 year ago
beautiful lady!
gingercady007 1 year ago
I still love Margaret O'Brien!
therleyt 1 year ago
@therleyt I do, too. Not long ago TCM had a Sunday devoted to her movie for her birthday, maybe and I had gotten up to go to work and saw that they were doing it. I hadn't seen Journey for Margaret in over twenty years, so I took a personal day off and watched her all day.
alvastarr1 1 year ago
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What an idiot!
henrygrove100 1 year ago
@henrygrove100
Well, there are hundreds of millions who've adored Margaret for as long as 70 years now, and then there's... you.
LarryMennox 1 year ago 2
@LarryMennox I adore her!
henrygrove100 1 year ago
@henrygrove100 We know you are an idiot, but do have to repeatedly prove it
63utuber 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@63utuber I adore her what are you talking about?
henrygrove100 1 year ago
she was 21 in heller in pink tights
volcomboy687 1 year ago
@volcomboy687 A little correction: she was born in 1937 and the movie is from 1960, so she was 23.
loverofoldtimes 11 months ago
lol According to google this episode was in 1957 so Margaret was only 20 years old at the time, she seems much older though.
filmidioten 1 year ago
Haha this is wonderful! Interesting that my two favorite WML guests (O'brien and Esther Williams) are both SoCal natives and both still with us thank goodness!
Marckymarc71 1 year ago
She is half-Spanish, here resides her beauty ;) :p (lol)
Lealonna 1 year ago
@Lealonna
Impossible! She doesn't have a mustache! XD
LarryMennox 1 year ago
@LarryMennox
XD As I read, she is half Spanish, half Irish. And she is brunette with dark eyes, typical Spanish girl, but her skin is very white, maybe that's the only "Irish" has inherited. Watch the movie "Meet me in St Louis" and check it. (The mustache it has all the girls in all countries, some more than others, What happens is that we remove it.. Wake up!
Lealonna 1 year ago
@Lealonna
Whatever Margaret is, the combination is breathtaking. Spanish eyes AND Irish eyes - how can you beat that? Just kidding about the mustache. :-)
LarryMennox 1 year ago 2
Comment removed
LarryMennox 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
She's embarassing , the panelist are so much above her. John Daly seems embarassed.
henrygrove100 1 year ago
@henrygrove100
I happen to know Margaret personally and was not embarassing.
You don't even know who and all you can think about is insulting
her. You're a Moron!!! Get a life.....
lovingmike12 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
@lovingmike12 She's a total embarassment! Don't you think so?
henrygrove100 1 year ago
@henrygrove100
lovingmike12 1 year ago
Hahaha, this is hillarious!! She just gives it her ALL, doesn't she?
KarinPluss 1 year ago 4
@KarinPluss yes she does!
henrygrove100 1 year ago
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! Kinda of a cross between Sophia Loren & Audrey Hepburn.
LUV HER!!!
rmckley 1 year ago 2
Margaret O'Brien played Elizabeth Taylor's sister in "Little Women". They look enough like sisters!!
Taharah007 1 year ago 2
@Taharah007 Yes they do.
calalilygirl 4 months ago
what a bish
henrygrove100 1 year ago
Comment removed
LarryMennox 1 year ago
Margaret---classy name, classy girl.
calalilygirl 1 year ago
Oh I'd say so ducks!
aspiegirl4 1 year ago 5
What a wonderful talent - what a shame she barely does any films now. Absolute legend from start to finish
myrnaloysboy 1 year ago
She was a fantastic child actress, I love her in all her movies. Recently saw her and other former child actors on TCM, I think from 2005 or '06. It was really good. She explained how she could bring on the tears so quickly. Again an amazing and adorable actress.
SoCalGal52 1 year ago
Mr. Ustinov is quite stirred by her, particularly around 1:48.
senoramariposa 1 year ago
I've never seen any of Margaret O'Brien's adult movies but I loved, loved, loved her as a child actress. There was something about her that grabbed your heart. With a single word she could have you laughing or in tears.
Can someone recommend one of her movies, as an adult actress, that you love?
wheresmylife 1 year ago
@wheresmylife "Meet Me In St. Louis," of course!!!
markedwardindc 1 year ago
@markedwardindc Thanks! One of her best for sure! I was looking for a recommendation for one of her movies as an adult actress, though. I've been in a classics mood lately so I'll probably just go check out her IMDb page and see where that leads!
wheresmylife 1 year ago
w´hat does Arlene said at 2:33h
khtx 1 year ago
She used the same accent Margaret O'Brien used and said, "Busy little soul, ain't she?!"
wheresmylife 1 year ago
I liked the show but John Cameron Swazey was so pompos.
Handiman544 1 year ago
Comment removed
LarryMennox 1 year ago
@Handiman544 It's not John Cameron Swayze, who had hosted the "Camel News Caravan," but John Charles Daly who hosts "What's My Line?"
jmccracken1963 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this delightful segment. What a lovely young lady little Margaret grew up to be. I wish Robert Osbourne over at Turner Classic Movies would interview her at length.
erzbet07 2 years ago 3
is this the same margaret o'brien from meet me in st. louie?
RdtheLiterature 2 years ago 3
RdtheLiterature, Yes it is.
markserjeant 2 years ago
@markserjeant yes, she was the baby sister in Meet Me in St. Louis.
SoCalGal52 1 year ago
she's the best....
RENTAMOB1 2 years ago
very lovely Margaret, thanx for your creative answers!
carpentermanuel 2 years ago
Comment removed
LarryMennox 2 years ago
Actually Margaret didin't get the part for two reasons.Her mother felt uneasy about the part and she didin't have the same admiration for James Dean as Natalie Wood.I think it's a waste of talent that she didin't progress to mature part like Natalie Wood or Elizabeth Taylor.Oh well she still remains one of the best child stars ever.
JanWest24 2 years ago
I can imagine o'brien in "Splendor in the Grass". I think the results would have been awesome, esp. with Kazan at the helm.
PSMcL67 1 year ago
Miss OBrien is really QUITE lovely here. So talented & yet quite sexy. This is one of the most enjoyable "Whats My Line" clips I've seen. THANKS for sharing! It's a dirty rotten low down shame that her teen & adult career didn't match her childhood years. She certainly had the LOOKS and TALENT to become a HUGE star!
JubalCalif 2 years ago 4
No child actor, with the exception of Jackie Cooper, could cry as on cue as the great and utterly adorable Margaret O'Brien.
eheaven3 2 years ago 2
@eheaven3
How true! But in Jackie's case, in his autobiography he claimed that his tears were brought about by the director falsely telling him his dog was dead! I hope such savage techniques weren't used on cute & adorable Margaret! :)
JubalCalif 8 months ago
I've never seen the panel so thrown! This was a delight.
hkk321 2 years ago 4
If there was ever any better evidence of how Hollywood can waste a talent ...
63utuber 2 years ago 3
Was she auditioning for the lead in My Fair Lady?
Cris43130 2 years ago 4
Comment removed
LarryMennox 2 years ago
I swear, I thought Ustinov was going to propose to her!
sayward12 2 years ago 4
I'm not the only one for sure - if anyone can get her first WML appearance and upload it here ...
1borito 2 years ago 6
Such a beautiful girl! Absolutely stunning!
And she was such a cute little girl when she did "Under the Bamboo Tree" with Judy Garland...a cute girl growing up into a beauty is, in my opinion, quite rare.
Too bad we didn't see much of her as a grown-up.
OldTimerGoGetter 2 years ago 12
Margaret O' Brien had the panel in stitches! I was laughing so hard at this!
rickram1961 2 years ago 7
she looks like a youthfull cross mix of Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor..
nicksacop 3 years ago 3
prettier than Natalie
Muffy2314 3 years ago 4
she is stunning here.
Muffy2314 3 years ago 10
i love her in meet me in st louis..her judy garland wahooooo legends xxx
26mae1987 3 years ago
Margaret was beautiful!
annpham 3 years ago 32
Comment removed
LarryMennox 3 years ago 4
Natalie Wood's death didn't have anything to do with her party-girl years. She drowned accidentally.
JimeBonJovi 3 years ago 5
Comment removed
LarryMennox 3 years ago
Actually Natalie had very good grades.Straight A and she was right for the part altough Margaret could have done it too.
JanWest24 2 years ago
Comment removed
LarryMennox 2 years ago
There's a big difference between how Natalie was raised and Margaret.Natalie was born to a strict disilusional mother and a gentle alchoolic father emasculated by his wife.Margaret became a star very young too she didin't live the same trauma as Natalie.Both had controling mothers but while Margaret mother showed real concern for her daughter,Natalie mom was more concerned about her image.Judy was more Natalie but I do think it is a waste of talent that Margaret never made the transition.
JanWest24 2 years ago 3
Sorry for my bad grammar.I live in Quebec.
JanWest24 2 years ago
Comment removed
LarryMennox 1 year ago
I couldn't have said it any better myself. it's a mystery/ Some childhood actors/actresses lose something special as they get older. She became a stunning beauty. I wonder if it may have been that she was on the same idea as Liz Taylor and there wasn't room for two of them. We'll never know for sure.
Muffy2314 3 years ago 7
This is one of the funniest clips ever! Margaret is a hoot!
BornYesterday0126 3 years ago 22
This episode is still jolly funny.
This is probably Ustinov's first appearance as a panelist. I wish the producers had used him more often: urbane, witty, smart.
In this period, director Franklin Heller likes to have the camera operator pan the camera down the panel with the nameplates in focus.
soulierinvestments 3 years ago 2
GSN rebroadcast this 1957 episode on 2 December 2008. It featured not only O'Brien in her cockney period but a cute female French fire eater and a wise-guy white hunter from Central Africa who specialized in bagging crocodiles. The panel did not guess a single contestant all evening, even though Kilgallen is indeed bloomin' clever.
soulierinvestments 3 years ago
Was she ever gorgeous!
senoramariposa 3 years ago 11
Too bad they ran out of time - she was mighty cute. What is she calling them, Ducks? "Oh I'd say so, Ducks"? Is that some Cockney slang term, or I am I hearing it wrong?
VonCringe 3 years ago 2
"Ducks" is a very old Cockney/working-class Londoner term of endearment, similar to "luv", "darling", or "sweetie".
quesabrosa 3 years ago 10
Thank you for the explanation, I'd never heard that before.
VonCringe 3 years ago 3
This clip was from episode #390 on 11/24/1957. Miss O'Brien was 20 years old. She had also appeared in episode #39 on 2/25/1951 when she was 14.
"My Fair Lady" had opened the year before on Broadway with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in the starring roles and was a huge hit (it ran for 2,717 performances - at the time a record). I suppose Margaret O'Brien was attempting to do an Eliza Doolittle with her faux-cockney accent. I would like to have heard a lot more of her in her real voice.
Fenhalls 3 years ago 2
A long way from Meet Me in St. Louis and the Secret Garden. Gil Fates used a clip of this in WML at 25, and it wasn't even the funniest bit. That vocal disguise compared to the kind of voice she had as a child actor really makes this clip funny.
soulierinvestments 3 years ago