If not MITZI, then who??
Let's assume Doris Day, had been given the role as Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific" which most people of these message boards wanted anyhow. Now let's also assume Doris Day had to pull out of the movie for some reason or another.
Who WOULD have been everyones choice to play Nellie in the movie in those circumstances, at THAT time of filming, during the latter part of 1957. Which other actress's at that time could have filled Doris Days boots, so to speak.
Audrey Hepburn
Elizabeth Taylor
Shirley Jones
Deborah Kerr
Mary Martin
Mitzi Gaynor
The top two mentioned actress's defintely would not have what it takes for the role. They didn't look right for it and also neither had a proper singing voice. Shirley Jones was was ideal for both, in looks and singing ability but she had just come off "Oklahoma" and "Carousel", so she would have been definitely out of the running for a third R&H movie. Deborah Kerr starred in
the King and I but she was dubbed in that, and she did not look like a Nellie Forbush to me. Now Mary Martin was a fine "stage" actress and a very good singer, who if the movie had been made a few years earlier would have been ideal for the role. But by the end of 1957 she was too old for the part.
So which other actress at that moment in time could have filled the role of Nellie Forbush, instead of the "abscent" Doris Day. For me, the only solution could have been MITZI GAYNOR, who had talent in abundance. She looked very pretty, sang beautifully and was a more than average actress. She had gained a lot of experience in other movies including "Anything Goes" and "Les Girls", so Mitzi was now primed for a major movie role. That is my opinion of course, so let us hear YOUR choices for the role in 1957, in the abscence of Doris Day.
"Darling ELLIE was the apple of my eye - Now she's in heaven I want to CRY"