Good mornin',
Good mornin'!
We've talked the whole night through,
Good mornin'
Good mornin' to you.

Marnie’s room, two-twenty-seven AM…

“Mawnie?” Rita pushed the slightly ajar door further in and peered into the darkness of the room.

“Yes?” Marnie was tired and afraid and confused, and mostly nothing anyone could say would make those feelings go away. But Rita was different if entirely similar to Marnie in that they both had been damaged badly by rejection and they both cared a lot about how others felt.

“I just wanted to check on you…see how you’re doin’, okay?” She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, barely missing sitting on a stuffed dog that Marnie kept close. Bark Gable, she called him. Rita picked up the stuffed animal and began a playful if entirely unfamiliar routine by having the dog ‘talk.’

“Mistah Gable, how’s my girl here doin’?” She spoke to the dog instead of Marnie. Before Marnie could answer, Rita continued the dialogue, holding the stuffed dog and making his head move up and down.

“Well, Miss Contaldi, she’s been very, very sad. I think she’s afraid.” Rita said in a lower-pitched near-growl.

“I’m sorry to hear that. My friend Louise told me the other day that her brother …Sorry…her sister is just like Marnie. It’s really too bad, but it must be hard.” Marnie smiled weakly; appreciative but still overwhelmed.

“Her sister read about a guy in Sweden....” She nodded enthusiastically at the stuffed dog and continued.

“Had an operation and everything. That must have hurt like hell.” Rita broke character with a wry laugh before resuming.

“It was in some magazine….” She looked away from the stuffed animal to find Marnie wide-eyed in surprise.

“You should go see that doctor, hon. Maybe there’s hope for at least one of us.” Rita turned away, feeling far away from the encouragement she had just given Marnie. The girl touched her arm and beckoned for her to join her in bed; nothing sexual about it, Rita climbed under the covers and cuddled with her best friend. They talked and cried and they talked much more until they both fell asleep.

Good mornin', good mornin'!
It's great to stay up late,
Good mornin', good mornin' to you.

MGM Stage II, much later that morning…

“Hey kid, come here?” The bright eyed man waved to Marnie. She walked quickly onto the set; the house scene for the Good Morning number.

“Yes, Mr. O’Conner, I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, lowering her head just a little.

“Debbie is held up on another set for a few and we just have to block the beginning of the shot,” another voice spoke from behind.

“Oh, Mr. Kelly,” she practically swooned. He grabbed her hand and led her over to the window in the fake kitchen. She turned slightly and Donald grabbed her hand as well.

“Now don’t worry about the dancing; we’ve got that okay. We just want to go over the first few lines before the number to get the timing down. You can do this. I believe in you.” Marnie wasn’t the first girl on the set that caught the eye of the men. They weren’t like a lot of guys in the business, but they did like to flirt. Donald pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it, but with a decidedly silly face. She had watched him perform throughout the shooting and knew what a kidder he was.

“Okay…I say…blah blah blah….March 23rd is my lucky day and Cosmo says …blah blah blah….it’s March 24th…it’s morning…. And you say?” He stared at her waiting for her response. Like many girls in the business, being a script girl was like being handed a dream written down one line at a time. She knew the script by heart.

“And…what a lovely morning?” She put her head down slightly again.

“That’s where we say….Happy Birthday!!!!” Kelly and O’Conner said in unison along with Debbie Reynolds and the crew and Jean Hagen who walked out from behind the set.

“Happy Birthday, Marnie.” She held a sheet cake with one lit candle.

“Go ahead, kid. Make a wish!” She winked once, which escaped Marnie totally. She spoke again, her winking very obvious.

“Make a wish… Maybe a wish of a life time.” She stepped closer and used her eyes to draw attention to the cake, which was in pink frosting with words that read,

“ Happy Birthday wishes to Marnie Svenson from all of us.”

She blew out the candle and her face grew red and hot. Doug Fowley, the actor playing the director of Dueling Cavalier, came up and kissed her on the cheek. One by one cast and crew stepped forward with hugs and kisses and handshakes. At the very last, Jean Hagen stepped up and hugged the girl and handed her an envelope.

“Happy Birthday, Miss Svenson.” She chirped in her Lena voice before settling into her soft alto tones.

“A few of us thought this might help on a rainy day,” she laughed softly at the irony of the moment, given the title of the movie. Marnie opened the envelope to find a lot of cash; some crinkled and given on the spur of the moment, along with more than several crisp new twenties.

“It’s just fine,” Jean said, hugging the girl again. She had said that to another only a few days before. She turned and nodded her head and Linda walked up. Certainly not a stranger on the set, she still seemed unfamiliar to Marnie, but in an oddly comfortable way.

“I wanted to say Happy Birthday to you as well.” She went to step back but Jean arched one eyebrow and mouthed, ‘go ahead.’ Linda remained stock still. Looking around, Jean noticed that all of the cast and crew had walked off; likely to lunch, leaving the three of them alone but for one of the set dressers pushing a sofa into position on the marks on the floor.

“Go ahead.” Jean spoke aloud.

“Happy B..Birthday,” Linda stammered, stepping into a very awkward hug with Marnie.

“T…thanks.” Marnie stepped back; her face had reddened once again. She looked at Jean as if to say, ‘what do I do?’ Jean nodded and smiled.

“I’ve got to make a phone call. Say…here’s a thought.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a set of car keys.

“The dark blue Chrysler outside Studio I. Why don’t you two run out for lunch, my treat. Fanellis’, you know? You can tell Vito that I sent you. It’ll be my birthday gift, okay?” As if she hadn’t already given enough. Before they could respond she had turned and walked off, leaving them feeling more awkward than ever.

“What…what should we do?” Marnie stared at Linda; noticing for the first time how amazingly deep blue the girl’s eyes were. A slight bump on the bridge of the nose and a scar on her upper lip. What some might consider plain or unattractive, Marnie noted that the features added character to an already pretty face. Whatever she was going to do with the increasingly uneasy feelings she was having, she didn’t want to insult the girl. And Marnie kept telling herself that she was a girl, and girls don’t like girls; missing both the irony of her own identification and the realization that she actually was having feelings.

“I guess we should go to lunch?” Linda looked away, embarrassed at the suggestion. As awkward and afraid and even a bit ashamed as Marnie was feeling, she answered quickly.

“O..Okay…” Her voice trailed off and she blew out a very troubled breath before feeling Linda grab her hand; a gesture that was totally foreign to both girls, but would prove to be entirely real. In a word, they both felt fine….

When the band began to play
The sun was shinin' bright.
Now the milkman's on his way,
It's too late to say goodnight.
So, good mornin', good mornin'!
Sunbeams will soon smile through,
Good mornin', good mornin', to you…

Next: Singing in the Rain

Good Morning
Words and music by
Arthur Freed and
Nacio Herb Brown
As performed by
Gene Kelly, Donald O’Conner and
Debbie Reynolds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4v5hB1dKk