Greer Garson at Reel Classics, Page 6

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Greer Garson

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Garson left MGM following the disappointing HER TWELVE MEN in 1954, and took a vacation from Hollywood entirely after appearing the following year in a Cinemascope western for Warner Bros. called STRANGE LADY IN TOWN. But in 1960 she scored a triumphant comeback as Eleanor Roosevelt in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO, adapted by Dore Schary from his play about Franklin D. Roosevelt (played by Ralph Bellamy) between 1921 and 1924 when the future president was first stricken with his debilitating illness. Almost unrecognizable behind false teeth, character makeup, and a distorted voice, Garson turned in a brilliant performance as Mrs. FDR and earned a seventh Oscar nomination for her work. The only true character part of her career, it would be Garson's last great role.

More Memorable Quotations:

"'It's it, ain't it?' Some word, 'it'! In the dictionary, it breaks all records for usage: a personal pronoun of the third person and neuter gender used as a substitute for a noun; or representing something possessing sex where sex is not particularized or considered; or to refer to some matter not definitely conceived; or as the grammatical subject of a clause such as 'It is believed he is dead.' 'He is dead it is generally believed.' You can't smoke in here!" --as Emily Sears in ADVENTURE.
"If that's life, I'll take the library." --as Emily Sears in ADVENTURE.
"Love's a drug, isn't it?" --as Emily Sears in ADVENTURE.
"A friend of ours wants to see us." --as Emily Sears in ADVENTURE.
"You're never so alone as when you're waiting." --as Marise Aubert in DESIRE ME.
"The only two things you need for a really happy marriage are you and the man you love." --as Julia Packett in JULIA MISBEHAVES.
"It's possible to like a thing and let it go." --as Irene Forsyte in THAT FORSYTE WOMAN.
"Uncle Jolyon, do you think marriage without love can be respectable?" --as Irene Forsyte in THAT FORSYTE WOMAN.
"I don't think you can talk someone out of love." --as Kay Miniver in THE MINIVER STORY.
"I never get tight before lunch." --as Kay Miniver in THE MINIVER STORY.
"Death can be easy. It's living that's difficult." --as Kay Miniver in THE MINIVER STORY.
"I'm not interested in a character, Baroness. I plan to become a lady, and for that, no character is necessary." --as Jane Hoskins in THE LAW AND THE LADY.
"He disturbs me." --as Jane Hoskins in THE LAW AND THE LADY.
"Between spending one more moment in this room with you and going to jail, I prefer jail." --as Jane Hoskins in THE LAW AND THE LADY.
"Mr. McChesney always uses a long word when he can avoid a short one." --as Victoria McChesney in SCANDAL AT SCOURIE (1953).
"Ah, perdition!" --as Victoria McChesney in SCANDAL AT SCOURIE (1953).
"You see, Patsy, what happened was that a lovely young girl met a handsome young man and they fell in love, but for some reason, they couldn't get married. We don't know what the reason was, but their sin is not yours and they're paying for it terribly... because they haven't got you." --as Victoria McChesney in SCANDAL AT SCOURIE (1953).
"I feel like a coat rack." --as Eleanor Roosevelt in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO.
"When one member of a family is ill, it's difficult for the rest of the family. What all of us are inclined to forget is that it's most difficult for the one who is sick." --as Eleanor Roosevelt in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO.

A decade after she left MGM, Garson returned to the studio to play the Mother Prioress in Debbie Reynolds' musical vehicle, THE SINGING NUN (1965), based on the true story of a Belgian nun named Sister Ann who signed a record deal and even appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Also in the cast was fellow MGM veteran Agnes Moorehead who had appeared with Garson in THE YOUNGEST PROFESSION (1943), MRS. PARKINGTON (1944) and SCANDAL AT SCOURIE (1953).

Garson made her final big-screen appearance in the rather non-consequential role of Mrs. Cordelia Biddle opposite Fred MacMurray in Disney's 1967 musical comedy THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE, based on Cordelia Drexel Biddle and Kyle Crichton's book My Philadelphia Father about an eccentric millionaire who keeps alligators as house pets and teaches boxing at his daily Bible classes.