Miracle on Main St. (1939) Starring Margo, Walter
Abel, William Collier Sr., Lyle Talbot. Directed by Steve Sekely. Screenplay by
Frederick Jackson. Produced by Jack H. Skirball. Run time: 78 minutes. Black
and White. USA Christmas, Melodrama
Before there was Cher or Madonna, there was Margo. Born
María Marguerita Guadalupe Teresa Estela Bolado Castilla y O'Donnell, in Mexico
City, Margo began her career as a dancer, at age 9, working for her uncle
Xavier Cugat and his band in performances at nightclubs in Mexico. While
accompanying Cugat and his orchestra at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City,
Margo was discovered by producer and director Ben Hecht and screenwriter
Charles MacArthur, who cast the 17-year-old performer as the lead in their film
Crime Without Passion. She would also have a memorable part in Frank
Capra’s Lost Horizon (1937).
