Ona Munson/Una Merkel

Do you prefer one to the other and why?

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Updated On: 4/13/08 at 05:26 PM

Introducing them at a party would be a real coup! :)

* Edit to add Ilka Chase

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Updated On: 4/13/08 at 05:36 PM

Top Ona, bottom Una?
Hard to recognize Una without a smile and Ona without bells hanging from her ears.

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actually, i do prefer ONA. i'm a GWTW freak.

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Updated On: 6/26/05 at 05:45 PM

I enjoyed Una in 42nd Street.
AndyHardy will be able to rattle off a few of her other pictures.
Ona of course was perfection as Belle. What did you think of Ann Margret as Belle?

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"Move out of the way, trash!"

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"And Miz Wilkes, if you see me on the street you don't have to say hello."

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It's perfect when you have absolutely nothing else to do.

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Love Una Merkel in "42nd Street".
She and Ginger Rogers have good chemistry.

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now HOW did i miss the recent posts on this thread??

never never never watch SCARLETT. to give attention to that ripley trash would be a sin against margaret mitchell's grave. don't settle for anything less than the ORIGINAL.

"she's a mighty proud woman prancing around atlanta like she owns it."

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ok, now I have time. My personal Merkel favorites are:


Dangerous Female: the original version of the Maltese Falcon, AS A COMEDY...Una play Effie to great effect.

Private Lives: She plays the second wife of Robert Montgomery in this wonderful version of the play (movie)

Red Headed woman -the saucy roomate of skanky Jean Harlow.

Bombshell -Again, with Harlow, as her secratary in this fantastic "behind the scenes of moviemaking" movie.

Riffraff -again, with Harlow, as a poor girl working at a cannery in a seasside town..Sidekick role to Harlow, which she did exceedingly well.

On Borrowed Time -for some dramatic Una, see this fantastic movie about Lionel Barrymore trapping death up in his apple tree. Una is pretty good in the movie as live in help to the elderly couple.

Destry Rides Again -old tiem west dance hall girl Una gets in some great cracks against Marlene Dietrich.

And, of course...the obvious ones....

42nd street
Broadway Melody of 1936
This side of Heaven
Baby Face HArrigan


Good luck locating any of these movies (outside of 42nd street). I've seen all of them and more, and Una Merkel was one of the best wisecracking Pre-code dames (Blondell, Farrell, Harlow, notwithstanding).

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Yeah, Wicked was an OK pre-code movie, but it did not utilize Una to her best advantage.

We should start a thread titled "Una in Wicked?" and see how many Wicked fans show up to argue the point and wonder when she will start!

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Una Merkel was amazing as Geraldine Page's mother in Summer and Smoke. She should have gotten the Oscar that year.

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