Silver Screen Magic with Grace Kelly

Born on November 12, 1929, Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who achieved stardom in Hollywood films. She received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. The actress met and married Prince Rainier III on April 18, 1956, and became Princess of Monaco. She died in 1982.

“The Bridges at Toki-Ri” is a 1954 American war film about the Korean War. It starred William Holden, Grace Kelly, Frederic March, Mickey Rooney, and Robert Strauss. It was directed by Mark Robson and produced by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize winner James Michener.

The plot is set during the Korean War and centers on a group of pilots, led by Harry Brubaker (William Holden), tasked with bombing a group of heavily defended yet crucial bridges in North Korea. Grace Kelly plays Nancy Brubaker, his wife.

“To Catch a Thief” is a 1956 American romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge. The film starred Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

The plot features Cary Grant as John Robie (alias "The Cat"; alias "Conrad Burns"), who has to save his reformed reputation by catching an impostor preying on wealthy tourists, including oil-rich widow Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and her daughter Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), on the French Riviera.

“The Country Girl” is a 1954 American drama film that was adapted from the 1950 play of the same name by Clifford Odet. The film starred Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and William Holden. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. Grace Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

The plot is about Frank Elgin (Bing Crosby), an alcoholic fading star struggling to revive his career. Georgie Elgin (Grace Kelly) is his long-suffering but supportive wife.

“Dial M for Murder” is a 1954 American crime thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film starred Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the stage play on which it was based were written by the English playwright Frederick Knott.

The plot revolves around Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), a retired English professional tennis player who is married to a wealthy socialite, Margot Mary Wendice (Grace Kelly), who has been having an affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), an American crime-fiction writer. Unbeknownst to them, Tony knows about the affair and plots to kill Margo to inherit her fortune, thinking tha a divorce would leave him penniless.

“Fourteen Hours” in 1952 was Grace Kelly’s feature film debut. The American drama was directed by Henry Hathaway. It starred Richard Basehart, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Debra Paget. The film marked the screen debut of Grace Kelly and Jeffrey Hunter. It was based on an article by Joel Sayre in The New Yorker describing the 1938 suicide of John William Warde.

The plot tells the story of a desperate man, Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart), threatening to jump off the 15th floor of a hotel and the NY City police officer Patrolman Charlie Dunnigan (Paul Douglas), who tries to dissuade him. Grace Kelly played the small but memorable role of Mrs. Louise Ann Fuller, a woman going through a divorce who watches the drama unfold.

“High Noon” is a 1952 American Western directed by Fred Zinnemann. It starred Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film won four Academy Awards (Actor, Editing, Score, and Song). Also four Golden Globe Awards  (Actor, Supporting Actress, Score, and Black and White Cinematography). The award-winning score was written by Ukrainian/Russian-born composer Dimitri Tiomkin.

The plot centers on the town marshal of Hadleyville, a small town in the New Mexico territory. Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) finds his sense of duty tested when he must decide to either face a gang of killers alone or leave town with his new wife, Amy Fowler Kane (Grace Kelly).

“High Society” is a 1956 American musical romantic comedy directed by Charles Walters. It starred Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra. It is an MGM film with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The film is a musical remake of the 1940 screwball comedy “The Philadelphia Story.” This was Grace Kelly’s last professional appearance before her marriage to Prince Rainier II.

The plot involves a successful, popular jazz musician, C. K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby), trying to win back the affections of his ex-wife, Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly), who is preparing to marry another man, George Kittredge (John Lund). Meanwhile, a reporter, Macaulay "Mike" Connor (Frank Sinatra), arrives to cover the wedding and falls for Tracy too.

“Mogambo” is a 1953 American adventure/romantic drama that was directed by John Ford. The film starred Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly and featured Donald Sinden. It was filmed on location in colonial British East Africa, Tanganyika, the Uganda Protectorate, and the French Congo with a musical soundtrack consisting almost entirely of traditional music recorded in Congo. The film was adapted by John Lee Mahin from the 1928 play “Red Dust.” It is considered to be the remake of the 1938 film “Red Dust,” which was set in Vietnam and also starred Gable in the same role. Grace Kelly received the Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress.

Set in a remote African outpost, the plot centers on a love triangle between hunter Victor Marswell (Clark Gable), a New York socialite Eloise "Honey Bear" Kelly (Ava Gardner), and a married woman, Linda Nordley (Grace Kelly).

“Rear Window” is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is based on the 1942 short story “It Had to Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich. It was released by Paramount Pictures and starred James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, and Raymond Burr. The film was screened at the 1954 Venice Film Festival in competition for the Golden Lion.

The plot is about a man, L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies, a photojournalist (James Stewart) who is recovering from a broken leg at his apartment in New York City’s Greenwich Village. His mid-floor rear window looks out onto a courtyard with small garden plots, surrounded on four sides by apartments in adjoining buildings. Jeff is regularly visited by Stella, a middle-aged nurse (Thelma Ritter), and his couture-dressed girlfriend, Lisa Fremont, a socialite who works in fashion (Grace Kelly). He becomes convinced that he has witnessed a murder while using binoculars to spy on his neighbors.

“The Swan” is a 1956 American romantic comedy-drama that was directed by Charles Vidor. It is the remake of the 1925 silent film of the same name based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnar. The film starred Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness, and Louis Jordan. The film was released the day Grace Kelly became princess consort of Monaco.

The plot revolves around Princess Alexandra (Grace Kelly), the youngest daughter of a vanished family of nobles from an unspecified country, attempting to seduce Crown Prince Albert (Alec Guinness) visiting them in their exile. To do so, she uses her handsome tutor, Dr. Agi (Louis Jordan), to make Prince Albert jealous.