When Luise Rainer walked out of her contract with MGM at the end of 1938 the myth of the reclusive star who abandoned fame was set in motion. But Luise had no intention to stop working, rather she wanted to take some charge over a career that was out of her control. Apart from one more film for Paramount (Hostages (1943)) she would never again make a film in Hollywood; over the next 30 years she chose the stage and television as her canvas.
After the war television entered its boom years. Cinema attendance declined and by the 1950s there was a huge rise in sales of television sets. In 1950 alone over 7 million television sets were sold in the U.S.A. and for the rest of the decade sales did not drop below 5 million per year. Television producers looked to movie stars to provide legitimacy and gravitas to the new medium and many of the best known stars of the big screen appeared in cameo and guest roles during this time. Television offered a chance to appear in a variety of genres with, on the whole, good production values, with the obvious benefit of a shorter filming schedule and, what every star needs, exposure to millions of viewers. The trend for guest spots for the biggest stars continues to this day, although the heyday for what would now be called ‘stunt casting’ was the 50s and 60s…until television started to create stars of its own. Many of the earliest programmes were broadcast live and no longer exist; Luise had made a foray into radio drama a 1940 episode of the serial Lincoln Highway, and she made her television acting debut in a 1949 episode of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, an anthology series that ran from 1948 to 1950.
As with much of Luise’s post-Hollywood career her appearances were sporadic, but now Luise was choosing projects she wanted to do rather than those she was contracted for, the selection of roles is interesting and varied. Most of Luise’s earliest TV performances are now lost but those that do survive show that her skill and integrity as an actress was applied to even the most inconsequential roles. In later years Luise became the star of choice to discuss the ‘golden age of Hollywood’ for a number of nostalgic documentaries looking back at the history of cinema, most notably the epic two-part miniseries MGM: When The Lion Roars, in 1992. The list here features all of Luise’s acting roles for television, and all documentaries and interviews where new footage was recorded; I have also included Luise’s radio appearances (marked as such), which amount to some guest appearances, interviews and her appearance on the BBC’s long-running programme Desert Island Discs. Where known I have given the original airdate and country of origin. For more details, including credits and additional information click on the linked text.
1937
Ohio River Flood Benefit [radio]
– Broadcast: 11 February 1937 (USA)
1940
Lincoln Highway [radio]
– Broadcast 5 October 1940 (USA)
1941
Lincoln Highway [radio]
– Broadcast 1 March 1941 (USA)
1943
The Great Waltz [radio]
– Broadcast 9 May 1943 (UK)
1944
The Adventures of Ellery Queen: The Inner Circle [radio]
– Broadcast: 28 December 1944
1948
Hollywood’s Open House [radio]
– Broadcast: 13 May 1948 (USA)
1949
Toast of the Town
– Broadcast: 9 January 1949 (USA)
The Chevrelot Tele-Theatre: Trapeze
– Broadcast: 24 January 1949 (USA)
Toast of the Town
– Broadcast: 6 February 1949 (USA)
WPIX Theater Time: Lost Child
– Broadcast: August 1949 (USA)
By Candlelight
– Broadcast live: 27 November and 1 December 1949 (BBC Television, UK)
1950
Toast of the Town
– Broadcast: 5 February 1950 (USA)
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: The Seagull
– Broadcast live: 5 March and 10 March 1950 (BBC Television, UK)
Lux Video Theatre: Rosalind
– Broadcast 9 October 1950 (USA)
1951
Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre: Woman Overboard
– Broadcast: 19 May 1951 (USA)
1952
The Arthur Murray Party
– Broadcast 2 March 1952 (USA)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars: Love Came Late
– Broadcast: 23 May 1952 (USA)
Programme title unknown (Alan Scott interview)
– Broadcast: August 1952 (USA)
1953
Lux Video Theatre: A Bouquet for Caroline
– Broadcast: 9 February 1953 (USA)
1954
Suspense: Torment
– Broadcast: 30 March 1954
Masquerade Party
– Broadcast: 6 October 1954 (USA)
1956
Child Health Day United Nations Radio Broadcast [radio]
– Broadcast: 1 May 1956 (with her daughter, Francesca)
1957
BBC Sunday Night Theatre: The Stone Faces
– Broadcast: 1 December 1957 (UK)
1959
The Ed Sullivan Show
– Broadcast: 15 February 1959
The Arthur Murray Party
– Broadcast: 2 March 1959 (USA)
The Ed Sullivan Show
– Broadcast: 29 March 1959
Telethon
– Broadcast: 16 – 17 May 1959
1964
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
– Broadcast: 14 April 1964
1965
Girl Talk
– Broadcast: 5 November 1965
Combat!: Finest Hour
– Broadcast: 21 December 1965 (USA)
1977
The British Academy Awards
– Broadcast: 4 March 1977
1978
After Noon
– Broadcast: 15 June 1978
1981
The Joe Franklin Show
– Broadcast: 1981 (USA)
1983
The 55th Annual Academy Awards
– Broadcast: 11 April 1983
1984
The Love Boat: Love is Blind / Baby Makers / Lady and the Maid
– Broadcast: 3 March 1984 (USA)
1987
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood!
– Broadcast: 18 May 1987 (USA)
1988
By Herself: A Dancer
– Broadcast: 1988 (UK)
1992
MGM: When the Lion Roars
– Broadcast: 22 March 1992 (USA)
1997
On Screen [radio]
– Broadcast: 1 May 1997 (UK)
1998
The 70th Annual Academy Awards
– Broadcast: 23 March 1998
Boulevard Bio: Die letzte Leinwandgöttin
– Broadcast: 16 June 1998 (Germany)
Changing Stages: A View of the Theatre of the 20th Century: America
– Broadcast: 1998 (UK/USA)
1999
Desert Island Discs [radio]
– Broadcast: 2 April 1999
2001
The South Bank Show: Greta Garbo – A Lone Star
– Broadcast: 11 March 2001
2003
75 Years of the Academy Awards: An Unofficial History
– Broadcast: 18 March 2003
75th Annual Academy Awards
– Broadcast: 23 March 2003
2011
Luise Rainer at the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival
– Broadcast: 12th January 2011 (US)
BBC Radio 4 Today [radio]
– Broadcast: 23 February 2011 (UK)
2020
Hollywood
– Premiered: 1st May 2020 (Worldwide)
Luise Rainer 