10 Things You May Not Know About Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews (1909 – 1992) was a major movie star during the 1940s and 1950s. He had major roles in several classic films, including Laura, State Fair, A Walk in the Sun, and The Best Years of Our Lives. He starred on Broadway in Two for the Seesaw, replacing Henry Fonda. He guest starred on numerous television shows and headlined the daytime soap opera Bright Promise (1969 – 1971). For many years he struggled with alcoholism, which damaged his career during the 1950s. He eventually got sober and was active with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

1. He was born Carver Dana Andrews in Mississippi, the third of 13 children.

2. He was a popular actor at the famed Pasadena Playhouse where he once carried a spear in a     production of Julius Caesar.

3.     He was under contract to both Samuel Goldwyn and Twentieth Century-Fox, an unusual arrangement during the days of the major Hollywood studios.

4.    Andrews appeared in five films with Gene Tierney: Tobacco Road, Belle Starr (both 1941), Laura (1944), The Iron Curtain (1948), and Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).

Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney kiss in Laura.

5.     A trained opera singer, Andrews had his singing voice dubbed in the musical State Fair (1945), costarring Jeanne Crain.

6.    Speaking of Jeanne Crain, she and Andrews starred in four movies together: State Fair, Duel in the Jungle (1954), Madison Avenue (1961), and the cult classic Hot Rods to Hell (1967).

7.    He was director Otto Preminger’s favorite leading man. He made more films with Andrews than with any other actor: Laura, Fallen Angel (1945), Daisy Kenyon (1947), Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), and In Harm’s Way (1965).

8.    The disaster movie parody Airplane! (1980) got most of its material from Zero Hour! (1957) Starring Andrews and Linda Darnell.

Linda Darnell (far left) and Dana Andrews (far right) try to land a commercial airliner in Zero Hour!

9.     Actor Steve Forrest, best know for his role as Lt. Hondo Harrelson in the television series S.W.A.T., is Andrews’s younger brother.

10.   He was never nominated for an Academy Award.


If you’re interested in learning more about Dana Andrews, I recommend you check out the biography Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews by Carl Rollyson.

Dana Andrews gets his due

The title for my class comes from
Carl Rollyson’s recent biography of Andrews.

As any reader of this blog knows, I love classic movies. I have many favorite actors and actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Age, but my favorite actor from this time period is Dana Andrews. As a kid growing up, I used to watch a lot of old movies on TV (before cable and TCM). When I discovered the films of Andrews (Laura, Fallen Angel, The Best Years of Our Lives), I was fascinated by his naturalistic acting style, one without artifice or exaggerated emotions and mannerisms.

Through my blog, I became acquainted with Andrews biographer, Carl Rollyson. Rollyson wrote the first comprehensive biography of the actor, receiving cooperation from the Andrews family. The book inspired me to organize a Dana Andrews blogathon with my fellow classic movie bloggers. It was a huge success. So successful was the blogathon that I decided to propose a class on Andrews. This spring I’ll be teaching Dana Andrews: Hollywood Enigma at Facets Film School, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL. If you’re in Chicago and you love classic movies, I encourage you to take this class.

DANA ANDREWS: HOLLYWOOD ENIGMA

Wednesdays, March 20-April 24, 7-10 pm

Dana Andrews (1909-1992) was one of Hollywood’s most popular movie stars during its golden age. He worked with many legendary, accomplished directors including John Ford, Lewis Milestone, Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, and William Wyler to name just a few. Andrews’s career is a true American rags-to-riches story as he was the third of 13 children born to a Baptist minister and his wife, yet rose to become a movie star. His minimalist acting style personified ‘the male’ mask of the 1940s, in such classic films as Laura, Fallen Angel, and Where the Sidewalk Ends, in which he played the ‘masculine ideal of sang froid impassivity. These singular films, all directed by Preminger, recognized this distinguishing characteristic of Andrews’s acting ability and perhaps exploited it best. Although Andrews fulfilled his dreams, he did not live the typical celebrity lifestyle. A family man at heart, Andrews avoided the limelight that many of his contemporaries fully embraced. A complicated man, he had a problem with alcohol for most of his adult life, but despite his personal conflicts, he was admired and well liked by his colleagues, leaving us with an extraordinary body of work that will be studied for generations to come.

To register for this film class, click here.

FILMS SCREENED AND DISCUSSED:

Laura (Otto Preminger, 1944)

Fallen Angel (Otto Preminger, 1945)

A Walk in The Sun (Lewis Milestone, 1945)

Canyon Passage (Jacques Tourneur, 1946)

Boomerang! (Elia Kazan, 1947)

Daisy Kenyon (Otto Preminger, 1947)

Book Review: Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews

Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews by Carl Rollyson
The University Press of Mississippi, 2012

Dana Andrews was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the mid-1940s to early 1950s. A basically decent man, Andrews struggled with alcoholism for decades. His addiction affected his film career; other stars got roles that should have gone to him.

Carl Rollyson’s biography is comprehensive and fascinating. Rollyson obviously respects his subject, however, he is objective when it comes to some of the unattractive and disturbing incidents in Andrews’s life.

Andrews was born in Collins, Mississippi in 1904. His father, a Baptist minister, moved the family to Huntsville, Texas to accept a pastorate there. Somewhat rebellious, Andrews’s pursuit of an acting career was shunned by his strict parents. A talented singer, Andrews also studied opera. As soon as he was able, he moved to California to pursue his dream of acting success. He eventually became a regular performer at the famed Pasadena Playhouse where he met second wife, Mary Todd.

Andrews as Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives,
perhaps his finest screen performance

Hollywood eventually came calling and Andrews was signed by legendary independent filmmaker Samuel Goldwyn in 1938. After some small and supporting roles in films like the Ox-Box Incident, Andrews hit pay dirt as Lieutenant Mark McPherson in Laura, playing opposite Gene Tierney. A critical and financial success, Dana Andrews was now a full-fledged movie star. Success, and all the trappings that came with it, was tough for Andrews to handle. His drinking started to get in the way of his career and personal life. Amazingly, for the years he was a major star, his drinking rarely affected his on-screen work.

Andrews worked with major directors like John Ford, Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, William Wyler, and Lewis Milestone. If it weren’t for his drinking, Andrews may have starred in the classic films Gentlemen’s Agreement and Twelve O’Clock High, both going to Gregory Peck. He finally conquered his demons late in life and was able to enjoy acting on the stage with his wife. A family man at heart, Andrews loved his wife and family passionately, if not perfectly. Apart from learning a lot about Andrews the man and actor, the reader comes away with an understanding of what the life of a movie star was like under the studio system. As you might imagine, it wasn’t as glamorous as we were led to believe. Rollyson’s work is respectful and objective, painting a rich portrait of one of Hollywood’s most beloved  movie stars.

Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews is available at Amazon.com and bookstores everywhere.

Rollyson is a professor of journalism at Baruch College, CUNY. He is the author of more than thirty books, including the forthcoming American Isis: The Life and Death of Sylvia Plath and biographies of Marilyn Monroe, Lillian Hellman, Martha Gelhorn, Norman Mailer, Rebecca West, and Susan Sontag. He is the advisory editor of the Hollywood Legends Series.

Take a look at the Dana Andrews blogathon posts to learn more about the actor and his most famous movie roles by clicking here.

Dana Andrews biography due September 2012

The Enigma of Dana Andrews
The first definitive biography of Dana Andrews is set for publication in September. Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews was written by Carl Rollyson who has biographies of Marilyn Monroe and poet Sylvia Plath (February 2013), among others, to his credit.

Understated and Underrated
Like many of Andrews’s fans know, the actor was terribly underrated even when he was at his peak in the late 1940s to early 1950s. For this new biography, Rollyson had access to journals, home movies, the Andrews family, and studio records.

Noir Legend
According to the author a study of film noir would not be complete without a review of Andrews’s work. The films Laura, Fallen Angel, and Where the Sidewalk Ends immediately come to mind when one considers some of Andrews’s best noir films.

The Man Under the Fedora 
As well as Andrews wore a fedora, he was incredibly versatile and could hold his own when cast alongside other major stars like Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda in Daisy Kenyon. It’s this critic’s opinion that Andrews gives the best performance in that film. Under Otto Preminger’s tight direction, Andrews’s Dan O’Mara is a multidimensional character who is neither hero nor villain.

Dana Andrews Blogathon Coming Soon
In July I’ll be hosting a Dana Andrews blogathon. More information about that event will be forthcoming. In the meantime, you may preorder Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews from Amazon.com.