Description: This is an original publicity photograph from Take It or Leave, a 1944 musical-comedy film directed by Benjamin Stoloff. It was the screen version of the popular radio quiz show of the same name, whose main feature was "the $64 question." Master of ceremonies Phil Baker played himself in the movie, Edward Ryan, and Madge Meredith, (billed Marjorie Massow) co-starred. Madge Meredith (born Marjorie May Massow; 1921 – 2017) was an American film actress who appeared in numerous films and television series between 1944 and 1964. She served two and a half years in prison from a wrongful conviction for kidnapping. On July 2, 1947, a warrant was issued for Meredith's arrest charging her and three men with the kidnapping and beating of Nick Gianaclis, Meredith's business manager and Verne Davis, his bodyguard. Meredith denied involvement in the kidnapping and claimed that Gianaclis was trying to exact revenge after she had sued him over the purchase of a house, a lawsuit that was decided in her favor. She also claimed that he became angry when she resisted his romantic advances. On December 12, 1947, the jury in a four-week trial found Meredith and two codefendants guilty of five felony charges. Meredith proclaimed her innocence, but her attorney's motion for a new trial was denied Her conviction was upheld by both the district appeals court and the Supreme Court of California. On May 9, 1949, Meredith entered the California Correctional Institution near Tehachapi to begin serving her sentence. In March 1951, the parole board recommended Meredith's released after it decided that she had been unjustly convicted. An interim committee on crime and corrections of the California State Assembly issued a report concluding: "The case of Miss Meredith, from beginning to end, is a mockery of investigation, of defense counseling, of trial procedure, and of justice itself." On July 14, 1951, California's governor Earl Warren ordered Meredith's release from prison, commuting her sentence to time served. He observed: "This is a bizarre case, perhaps more fantastic than any moving picture in which the defendant acted, but certainly having many of the attributes of a scenario." Actress Jennifer Jones noticed Meredith at the coffee shop's cashier desk the late summer of 1943 and invited her to take a screen test. The test was successful, and she signed a film contract with 20th Century-Fox. Her first film appearance came as the female lead in Take It or Leave It (1944). She was billed as Marjorie Massow in Take It or Leave It and her following film, In the Meantime, Darling. She changed her name to Madge Meredith in 1945. In 1946, after an uncredited appearance in the previous year's Kitty, Meredith signed a contract with RKO Pictures. She soon had roles in Child of Divorce (1946), The Falcon's Adventure (1946) and Trail Street (1947). Following her conviction and imprisonment related to a kidnapping case, Meredith resumed her career in 1952, appearing in uncredited roles in To Hell and Back (1955), Tea and Sympathy (1956), The Ten Commandments (1956) and The Guns of Fort Petticoat (1957), her final feature film. Following her film career, Meredith appeared on many television series such as Sea Hunt, Northwest Passage, Tales of the Vikings, The Best of the Post and The Littlest Hobo. All items are carefully packaged and mailed within one business day of receipt of payment. Multiple purchases combine to save on shipping.
Price: 34.95 USD
Location: Wilmington, Delaware
End Time: 2024-02-02T02:17:12.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5.75 USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Original/Reproduction: Original
Object Type: Photograph
Industry: Movies
