Luise Rainer

If this world were fair and even, the name Luise Rainer would be as familiar to classic movie fans today (and even to the general public) as the names of great film actresses like Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.

Born in Düsseldorf, Germany on January 12, 1910, Rainer was discovered by an MGM talent scout and brought to Hollywood where she starred with William Powell in ESCAPADE in 1935. Her next two films were THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936), in which she plays French entertainer Anna Held, and THE GOOD EARTH (1937) in which she plays O-Lan, a Chinese peasant farmer's long-suffering wife. Luise Rainer received back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actress for the two performances, a feat that has only been matched by one other actress—when Katharine Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar in both 1967 and 1968.

Though Rainer begged to continue with serious and demanding roles, studio boss Louis B. Mayer ignored her pleas and she was cast in lightweight, forgettable films after her double Oscar win. Frustrated, Luise left Hollywood behind in 1938 and moved to New York with husband Clifford Odets—returning just once to star in the WWII drama HOSTAGES in 1943. Luise Rainer had been off the silver screen for 54 years when she had a comeback of sorts at the age of 87 with a spirited performance in the 1997 British production of THE GAMBLER. You can read more about Luise Rainer's life and career on Wikipedia [here]—and thanks to a tip from DonHo57 from deep in the hills of West Virginia, I found more interesting tidbits about Luise Rainer on the TMC website [here], where I also found a list of several never-released-on-video-or-DVD Luise Rainer films from 1937 and 1938 that they're showing (and I'm missing) today. [January 12, 2011 update: you can now buy three of these Luise Rainer films on DVD here!]

I'm not sure why I've suddenly become fascinated with Luise Rainer and her films, as I've seen her name on the Oscar winners' list for years and have always just half-wondered about her. But over the past two weeks I've watched THE GREAT ZIEGFELD, THE GOOD EARTH and THE GAMBLER each for the first time and can heartily recommend them all (especially THE GOOD EARTH), if only to enjoy the talent and beauty of the wonderful and sadly forgotten star Luise Rainer.

Now living in London, Rainer turns 99 years old today, so I've put this mix together as a tribute. Happy Birthday, Luise Rainer!

side one:
01. Kaikyo - Asa-Chang & Junray
02. I'm Gonna Live Till I Die - Frankie Laine
03. Tacka Vet Jag Det Som Var En Gång - Mats Olsson med Sin Kör och Orkester
04. A Time For Love - Urbie Green
05. Triste Le Ciel - Georges Schmitt
06. 99 - Toto
07. Wien Bleibt Wien - Will Glahé & His Orchestra
08. Too Old to Cut the Mustard - Marlene Dietrich w/ Rosemary Clooney
09. Il a Mal Aux Reins Tintin - Suzanne Dehelly
10. In Germany Before the War - Marianne Faithfull
11. Bulgareasca - Fanfare Ciocârlia
12. Flower Crown - Goddess In the Morning
13. Eux - Raymond Lefèvre & His Grand Orchestra
[14. Octobre - Jacqueline François]
[ listen ]

side two:
01. C'est La Vie - Léo Ferré
02. Le Tour de Monde - Céline Dion
03. Lovely Sunny Days - Démis Roussos
04. Me Esta Matando Suavemente Con Su Cancion - Juan Torres
05. Say Goodbye to Hollywood - Billy Joel
06. Dreams - Ozz
07. Claire Disco Lune - Ferrante & Teicher
08. My Lost Dream - Yim Chu Ling
09. Louise - Erroll Garner
10. Finkenwalzer - Gunter Kallmann's German Chorus w/ Orchestra and Bells
11. Quando, Quando - Max Eric Trio
12. The Honey-Wind Blows - Leon Bibb
13. In the Sweet By and By - Fred Lowery
14. Louise - The Human League
[15. Aimer Comme Je T'aime - Jacqueline François]
[ listen ]