Gregory Peck discovers “The Keys of the Kingdom”

The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) is an American film based on the novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin. The film was directed by John M. Stahl and produced by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The film stars Gregory Peck, Thomas Mitchell, Rose Stradner, Edmund Gwenn, James Gleason, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Anne Revere, and Vincent Price. Others in the cast include Roddy McDowall and Peggy Ann Garner.

The plot focuses on Father Francis, (Peck) an old man, who returns to the parish of his youth. Monsignor Sleeth (Hardwicke) believes that it would be best if he retires, which is not what Father Francis desires. The Monsignor gets ready for bed and notices Father Francis’s journal. He begins to read it and learns all about the elderly priest’s life from his youth until today. He reads of Francis’s work in China and the church and school that he helped establish with the help of three missionary nuns.

As Monsignor Sleeth finishes the journal, he has second thoughts about Father Francis.

Gregory Peck and Rose Stradner

John M. Stahl (1886 – 1950) was an American film director and producer who began his career in silent movies in 1913. In 1919 he signed with the film company Louis B. Mayer Pictures, which would eventually become Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Stahl made the transition to sound and directed Imitation of Life (1934) starring Claudette Colbert which was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. In 1935, he directed Magnificent Obsession starring Irene Dunne and Robert Taylor. Other films of note include Back Street (1932) starring Dunne and John Boles, and The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) starring Gregory Peck. Many believe that director Douglas Sirk was influenced by Stahl’s melodramatic style. Sirk remade both Magnificent Obsession (1954) and Imitation of Life (1959).

Gregory Peck (1916 – 2002) was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He had three Best Actor nominations early in his career for The Keys to the Kingdom (1944), The Yearling (1946), Gentleman’s Agreement (1947), and Twelve O’Clock High (1949). He had non-exclusive contracts with David O. Selznick and Twentieth Century-Fox, which gave him great flexibility in the roles he chose to play. Other classic Peck film roles include Roman Holiday (1953), The Big Country (1958), and The Guns of Navarone (1961). He finally won a Best Actor Academy Award for his iconic portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

Thomas Mitchell (1892 –1962) was an American character actor who had a long career in film and theater. Mitchell was one of the most recognizable character actors in movies during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1939, Mitchell had important roles in five classic films: Stagecoach, Only Angles Have Wings, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Gone with the Wind, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Mitchell won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role as Doc Josiah Boone in Stagecoach.

Vincent Price (1911 - 1993) was an American actor who worked on the stage, in film, radio, and television. He was also an art collector and author. Price established himself as a character actor in the 1940s with roles in films like The Song of Bernadette (1943), Laura (1944), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), and Leave Her to Heaven (1945). In the 1950s, he established himself as a star of horror films including House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958), and House on Haunted Hill (1959). Toward the end of his career, Price had important roles in The Whales of August (1987) and Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990).

Roddy McDowall (1928 - 1998) was a British-born American actor. He started his career as a baby model and then began appearing in films as a young child in England. When he came to Hollywood, he became an in-demand child actor where he appeared in dozens of films including My Friend Flicka (1943), Lassie Come Home (1943), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944), and Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1945). McDowell was able to successfully transition from child actor to adult actor appearing in lead and supporting roles in films like Midnight Lace (1960), The Longest Day (1962), Cleopatra (1963), and That Darn Cat! (1965). He may be best known as Cornelius, one of the intelligent apes in The Planet of the Apes (1968), its sequels, and short-lived TV series. McDowall also served as a producer of Overboard (1987) as well as co-starring with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

Peggy Ann Garner (1932 – 1984) was an American child film actress who achieved great fame during the mid-1940s. Garner entered films at age six. By age twelve, she had reached her peak playing the role of Francie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. For her performance in that film, Garner won an Academy Juvenile Award. Garner was memorable as the title character as a young girl in Jane Eyre (1943). After her success in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Garner had starring roles in Nob Hill (1945), Junior Miss (1945), and Home Sweet Homicide (1946). Soon thereafter, Garner was relegated to a supporting player, never able to successfully transition to adult roles. In spite of the lack of film roles, Garner had success on Broadway and appeared on popular television shows including Perry Mason, Combat!, Batman, The Big Valley, and Lou Grant.

The Keys of the Kingdom trivia

• This film garnered Peck’s first Academy Award nomination.
• Joseph Cotten tested for the role of Father Francis. Other actors considered were Spencer Tracy, Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Gene Kelly, Alan Ladd, and Henry Fonda.
• Ingrid Bergman was considered for the part of Mother Maria Veronica. The role went to Rose Stradner, the wife of producer Joseph L. Mankiwicz. This was her final film.
• Alfred Hitchcock liked the novel and hoped to direct it.
• Thomas Mitchell was in his 50s and Peck in his 20s when the film was released which makes it a bit odd that they were cast as best friends from childhood.

 

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link.

 

To join the discussion on Monday, September 25, 2023, at 6:30 Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Publicity photo of Gregory Peck and Roddy McDowall reading the novel on set

Discussion questions

1. This was Gregory Peck’s breakthrough film. What did you think of his performance?
2. The film is an example of the studio system at its zenith. The depth of the supporting cast is staggering. Of all the great supporting players, did you have a favorite or one that stood out to you?
3. The movie was filmed entirely on the backlot and the sound stages at 20^th Century-Fox. What did you think of the production? Were you convinced the action took place in China?
4. What do you think the movie had to say about faith and belief?
5. Did anything about the film surprise you?

 

Gene Tierney unravels the mystery surrounding “Dragonwyck”

Dragonwyck (1946) is an American historical drama directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Vincent Price, and Glenn Langan. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Anya Seton. The film score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography was by Arthur C.  Miller (How Green Was My Valley).

Miranda Wells (Tierney) is a Connecticut farm girl who lives with her parents, Ephraim (Huston), Abigail (Anne Revere), and her brothers and sister. Miranda dreams of a more romantic life away from the farm and is delighted when she is given the opportunity to be a companion for her distant cousin Nicholas Van Ryn’s (Price) eight-year-old daughter Katrine (Connie Marshall). 

Van Ryn is the master of Dragonwyck Manor, a huge mansion sitting along the Hudson River in New York. Miranda is overwhelmed by the enormity of Dragonwyck and the new luxuries she now enjoys. At first, Miranda is charmed by her cousin and young charge, but slowly, things begin to change.

She discovers that Katrine is alienated from both of her parents and doesn’t believe that they love her. Miranda also realizes that the marriage between Nicholas and his wife Johanna (Vivienne Osborne) is far from perfect.

When Nicholas’s affections turn from Johanna to Miranda, life becomes a complicated nightmare for the young farm girl from Connecticut.

Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, and Anne Revere

Gene Tierney (1920 – 1991) was an American actress. Tierney got her start on the stage where she played the ingenue lead in The Male Animal. She was spotted by 20th Century-Fox Studio head Darryl F. Zanuck and he offered her a movie contract. Zanuck said that Tierney was the most beautiful woman in the movies. Tierney proved that she could carry a film not completely based on her beauty in films like Laura (1944) and Leave Her To Heaven (1945) for which she was nominated for her first and only Best Actress Academy Award. Other important films include The Razor’s Edge (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), The Iron Curtain (1948), Whirlpool (1949), and The Mating Season (1951). In the late 1940s, she struggled with mental illness which negatively affected her career. After 1955’s The Left Hand of God, Tierney was off the screen until Advice & Consent (1962). She appeared in two films after that, but her career in film effectively ended in 1964 after a guest appearance in The Pleasure Seekers.

Walter Huston (1883 - 1950) was a Canadian singer, stage, and film actor. He is also the patriarch of the Huston clan that includes his writer-director son John, and his granddaughter, actress Anjelica. Huston worked in the theater, with roles on Broadway where he made his debut in 1924. Once talking pictures began in Hollywood, Huston worked as both a leading man and also a character actor. Some of Huston’s films include The Virginian (1929), Rain (1932), Gabriel Over the White House (1933), The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, directed by his son John. Huston’s last film was The Furies (1950) co-starring Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey.

Vincent Price (1911 - 1993) was an American actor who worked on the stage, in film, radio, and television. He was also an art collector and author. Price established himself as a character actor in the 1940s with roles in films like The Song of  Bernadette (1943), Laura (1944), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), and Leave Her to Heaven (1945). In the 1950s, he established himself as a star of horror films including House of Wax (1953), The Fly (1958), and House on Haunted Hill (1959). Toward the end of his career, Price had important roles in The Whales of August (1987) and Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990).

Glenn Langan (1917 - 1991) was an American character actor on film and stage. He appeared on Broadway in Glamour Preferred and Johnny Belinda. As a contract player at 20th Century-Fox, Langan had roles in Margie (1946), Dragonwyck (1946), Forever Amber (1947), and The Snake Pit (1948). Langan also starred on the radio in Murder is My Hobby and Mystery Is My Hobby.

Dragonwyck features a strong supporting cast that includes Anne Revere, Spring Byington, Connie Marshall, Jessica Tandy, Harry (Henry) Morgan, and Vivienne Osborne.

Connie Marshall and Gene Tierney

To watch the film on YouTube, click the link below.

Dragonwyck trivia:

• Ernst Lubitsch was the original producer/director but had to drop out due to illness.
• The the first film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
• Gregory Peck was originally cast as Nicholas Van Ryn, but had to drop out when Lubitsch became sick and filming was delayed.
• Vincent Price lost 30 pounds for the role.
• Gene Tierney was the top dramatic actress at 20th Century-Fox and at the height of her popularity when this film was released. 

Why watch this film?

• It is the first directorial effort for Joseph L. Mankiewicz who also wrote the screenplay.
• Vincent Price has one of the best roles of his career in Dragonwyck.
• The film is an example of the studio system at its height; the production values for this film are excellent.
• This was the last film credit for Vivienne Osborne whose career goes back to the silent film era.

To join the discussion on July 26, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and link to the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion Questions:

1. What genre would you categorize this film?
2. Was Vincent Price convincing as Nicholas Van Ryn?
3. Did Gene Tierney make a convincing Miranda Wells?
4. What did you think of the supporting cast? Did you have a favorite?
5. Did anything surprise you?
6. What are some of the contrasts between Nicholas and Miranda?

Edward G. Robinson lives in a "House of Strangers"

House of Strangers (1949) is a film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, and Richard Conte. The cinematography is by Milton R. Krasner (Scarlet Street 1945).

Richard Conte (sitting), Paul Valentine, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., and Luther Adler

Edward G. Robinson is Gino Monetti, an Italian-American banker whose business practices are questionable at best, against the law at worst. His four sons work with him at the bank. Gino dominates and belittles them at every opportunity, which causes deep resentments.

When Gino is put on trial for bank fraud, three of his sons take control of the bank with only Max (Richard Conte), a lawyer, taking his father’s side. Max bribes a juror in an attempt to keep his father out of jail, which leads to his disbarment and a seven-year prison term.

Richard Conte and Susan Hayward

Once out of jail, Max vows revenge on his brothers, especially older brother Joe (Luther Adler) who, like his father, controls his younger brothers Pietro (Paul Valentine) and Tony (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.).

Max’s quest for revenge threatens his relationship with Irene Bennett (Susan Hayward) a client he fell in love with. Will Max’s hatred and bitterness destroy him and his family or will he be able to create a new life with Irene.

Nineteen forty-nine was a great year for director Mankiewicz. That same year he wrote and directed A Letter to Three Wives, for which film he won two Academy Awards for directing and writing. He would win two more Oscars the following year for writing and directing All About Eve (1950). He is the only director to win back-to-back Academy Awards for writing and directing.

Edward G. Robinson (1893 – 1973) was an American actor of the stage and screen. Robinson is a true star from Hollywood’s Golden Age where he starred in the gangster classic Little Caesar (1931), Kid Galahad (1937), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939), The Sea Wolf (1941), Double Indemnity (1944), and Key Largo (1948). Robinson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1973 but was never nominated for a competitive Oscar.

Susan Hayward (1917 – 1975) was an Academy Award-winning actress for her role as Barbara Graham in I Want to Live (1958). Hayward worked as a fashion model but traveled to Hollywood in 1937 to try out for the role of Scarlett O’Hara. She didn’t win that coveted role, but she secured a film contract. Hayward’s career took off in the late 1940s when she was nominated for Best Actress for Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947). She received four more Best Actress nominations for My Foolish Heart (1949), With a Song in My Heart (1952), I’ll Cry Tomorrow (1955), and I Want to Live. Later in her career, Hayward replaced Judy Garland as Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls (1967).

Richard Conte (1910 – 1975) was an American actor who came to prominence in the late 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. He co-starred with James Stewart in Call Northside 777 (1948) and had the lead role in Thieve’s Highway (1949) directed by Jules Dassin (Night and the City 1950), and played Gene Tierney’s husband in Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool (1949). Conte worked constantly and had major roles in Ocean’s 11 (1960) and The Godfather (1972).

Below is the YouTube link to House of Strangers. Be sure to use this link because there are several versions available on the channel. The quality of this one is terrific.

After you’ve watched the movie, join us on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Zoom for a discussion. The Zoom meeting link is below

Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "House of Strangers"

Time: Jul 14, 2020 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72214920975?pwd=V1RjQXZMS1BDQzVZR0JYUFpkaWNvQT09

Meeting ID: 722 1492 0975

Password: 9skVd3

Questions for discussion:

1. Noir or not? How does this fit in with the genre in your opinion?

2. Did Edward G. Robinson’s character remind you of another famous character from the movies?

3. Some critics thought that Susan Hayward’s role wasn’t necessary for the film narrative. Do you agree with that assessment?

4. Were you surprised by anything? Did the movie end the way you thought it would?

Screening of "A Letter to Three Wives" May 29 at Daystar Center

A Letter to Three Wives (1949)

Where: Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street

When: May 29, 2018

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Hosted by Stephen Reginald

A Letter to Three Wives (1949) is based on a novel by John Klempner. His novel was entitled A Letter to Five Wives. Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz thought the novel was too long and would be difficult to transfer to the screen. So, he shortened it to four wives and then shortened it again to three. Mankiewicz adapted the screenplay with author and screenwriter Vera Caspary (Laura).

The plot revolves around three wives who, just before going on a boat ride and picnic with some disadvantaged children, receive a letter from a society friend named Addie Ross. In the letter, Addie says she’s run off with one of their husbands. While the women spend the afternoon volunteering, each looks back on her marriage and wonders if hers is the husband who ran off with Addie.

Is it Deborah Bishop’s (Jeanne Crain) husband Brad (Jeffrey Lynn)? Deborah, a poor farm girl, met her husband in the Navy during World War II. Somewhat insecure and naïve, she thinks Brad is attracted to Addie because she is beautiful and sophisticated. Is it Rita Phipps’s (Ann Sothern) husband George (Kirk Douglas)? Rita has a career writing radio soap operas, the quality of which, her schoolteacher-husband disapproves. She wonders if her job, which brings in some much-needed cash, is somehow intimidating to George and ruining their marriage. Is it Lora Mae Hollingsway’s (Linda Darnell) husband Porter (Paul Douglas)? Lora Mae is a girl literally from the wrong side of the tracks who tries her best to marry up by marrying her boss, in part, to help provide for her widowed mother (the wonderful Connie Gilchrist) and younger sister Babe (Barbara Lawrence).

Like Mankiewicz’s All About Eve a year later, A Letter to Three Wives has witty dialogue delivered by a cast of pros. Crain, Sothern, and Darnell are all wonderful as the three wives, with Darnell a standout. As Lora Mae, Darnell has a tough exterior, but in many ways is more vulnerable than either Crain or Sothern.

For Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1949 was an extraordinary year. Not only did he win the Academy Award for Best Director, but he also won for Best Writing as well. Writing and directing was something Mankiewicz had always wanted to do and A Letter to Three Wives showcases Mankiewicz at the height of his creativity.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Chicago Film Club field trip: “All About Eve” March March 5 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road

Where: ShowPlace ICON, 150 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60605
When: March 5, 2017
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald
Run Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

From the moment she glimpses her idol on Broadway, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) strives to upstage Margo Channing (Bette Davis). After cunningly stealing Margo’s role, Eve disrupts the lives of anyone close to the actress in this timeless cinematic masterpiece. With its witty dialogue and knockout performances, the film earned a record 14 Oscar® nominations* and also features Marilyn Monroe in an early supporting role.

*1950: Best Picture (won), Supporting Actor (George Sanders, won), Costume Design (B&W, won), Directing (won), Sound Recording (won), Screenplay (won), Actress (Anne Baxter), Actress (Bette Davis), Supporting Actress (Celeste Holm), Supporting Actress (Thelma Ritter), Art Direction (B&W), Cinematography (B&W), Film Editing, Music (Score).

You can buy your ticket in advance by clicking here or purchase at your local theatre.

First-timers, look for me holding a Meetup sign below.

Halloween film series at Daystar Center starting October 8 with “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”

The Chicago Film Club’s Halloween series begins with a screening of the classic The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) Saturday October 8, 2016 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State St. All movies start at 6:45 p.m.

A haunted cottage by the sea
When a young widow Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) rents a house by the sea, she finds that it’s haunted by the ghost of Captain Gregg (Rex Harrison), the home's original owner. The two clash at first, but come to an understanding that turns into friendship and eventually love. When a flesh-and-blood suitor (George Sanders) makes a play for Lucy, what will become of the captain? This beautifully filmed movie (Charles Lang’s black and white cinematography was Oscar nominated) gave Tierney the chance to play a woman of warmth and character, rather than the icy, aloof beauty she was too often cast as.

Gene Tierney as Lucy Muir and Rex Harrison as Captain Gregg in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Top-flight talent
Besides the cast, the film has quite the pedigree. The film score was composed by the legendary Bernard Herrmann (Vertigo, Psycho, Taxi Driver). Charles Lang (Sabrina, Some Like it Hot) was in charge of the black and white cinematography. Lang was nominated for 18 Academy Awards. Film editor Dorothy Spencer (Stagecoach, Foreign Correspondent) worked with some of the best directors in Hollywood, including Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, and Elia Kazan edited the film. Fred Sersen who was in charge of the photographic effects department at Twentieth Century-Fox created the film’s special effects. Sersen won two Academy Awards for Best Effects (Crash Dive, The Rains Came). Gene Tierney’s husband, Oleg Cassini, designed the actress’s costumes. Cassini dressed Jacqueline Kennedy when she was First Lady. And last, but not least, the director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Makiewicz is most famous for writing and directing All About Eve (1950), but he also directed A Letter to Three Wives (1949), The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Guys and Dolls (1955), Cleopatra (1963), and Sleuth (1972).

Other movies scheduled below:

October 15—The Innocents (1961) starring Deborah Kerr
October 22—The Body Snatcher (1945) starring Boris Karloff
October 29—Psycho (1960) starring Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, and Janet Leigh

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Jeanne Crain: More Than Just a Pretty Face

A Fan's Perspective
I’m an unabashed fan of Jeanne Crain. Today is her birthday; if she were still with us, she’d be 86 years old. Crain was a beauty for sure, but she was also a talented movie actress who doesn’t get the credit she deserves. On screen she had a unique quality. Film fans loved her. During the war years, her fan mail was second only to Betty Grable's.

A studio photograph of Jeanne Crain

Home at Twentieth Century Fox
Signed to an exclusive contract with Twentieth Century Fox in 1943, Crain went through the star making machine. Cast in small roles at first alongside bigger stars, Crain made Home in Indiana and In the Meantime Darling in 1944. A hit with the public from the start, Crain received her best critical notices that same year in Winged Victory. But bigger roles and greater fame were on the horizon.

From Second Lead to Major Star
In 1945, Crain starred as Margy Frake in the hit musical, State Fair opposite Dana Andrews. That same year she played Gene Tierney’s stepsister in the box office blockbuster, Leave Her to Heaven. The film was a triumph for Tierney, earning her a best actress nod, but Crain had the film’s final closeup, beautifully photographed in Technicolor by none other than Academy Award winning cinematographer, Leon Shamroy. Next up for Crain was another musical, Centennial Summer (1946). Fox’s answer to M-G-M’s Meet Me in St. Louis, featured original music by Jerome Kern. But it would be her next film that would make her a household name and pop culture icon.

Crain made the cover of Life in 1946.

Historic Bubble Bath
With hers the only name above the title in Margie (1946), studio chief Darryl Zanuck propelled Crain to movie superstardom. As Margie MacDuff, a shy high school student during the roaring twenties, Crain was pitch-perfect. Noting Crain’s increasing popularity, Life magazine did a feature on the young actress, calling her “…one of Hollywood’s most talented young stars.” The feature goes on about the movie magic required to film a bubble bath scene that required “…a specially designed machine which could blow 250 [bubbles] per second out of a mixture of soap and glycerine…the small army of technicians present agreed that this was a scrubbing sensational enough to make Claudette Colbert’s historic 1932 milk bath in The Sign of the Cross look like Saturday night along Tobacco Road.” They don’t write publicity pieces like that anymore!

William Holden, Crain, and Edmund Gwen starred in the classic Apartment for Peggy.

Neglected Classic
In 1948, Crain starred in Apartment for Peggy with William Holden and recent Academy Award winner, Edmund Gwen. One of the neglected post-World War II films, Apartment for Peggy explores the housing shortage veterans encountered, among other issues, upon returning home. Directed by George Seaton (Miracle on 34th Street), Crain received some of her best reviews ever. The New York Times’s Bosley Crowther had this to say about the film: “It is the true demonstration of a GI student, which William Holden plays, and, especially, the vivid characterization, by Jeanne Crain, of his wife… Anyone who doesn't see it will be missing one of the best comedies of the year.”

Crain received her one and only Best Actress nomination for Pinky.

One Amazing Year!
On a winning streak and with world-wide popularity, Crain made three successful films released in 1949: A Letter to Three Wives, directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, The Fan, directed by Otto Preminger, and Pinky, directed by Elia Kazan. The latter earned Crain her one and only Best Actress Academy Award nomination, playing a light-skinned black woman passing for white. The controversial movie was the top grossing film of the year. All this success brought Crain to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the honor of immortalizing her hands and footprints in cement.

Crain's hands and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre

 

Pregnant Pauses
Other successes followed Crain into the 1950s, but the actress was growing tired of playing teenagers when she was in real life a wife and mother. Seemingly forever pregnant, Crain missed out on several top roles Zanuck had lined up for her. Supposedly, he “punished” Crain by casting her in some B-pictures that did nothing to move her career forward. Frustrated, Crain bought out her contract and left Fox where she had been a major star for 10 years. Unfortunately, Crain’s freelance work never equaled the success she attained at her former studio. The movie business was changing and the studios were dropping major stars and hiring new (and cheaper) talent.

One of Crain's last films for Fox

Enduring Popularity
Crain’s film career pretty much ended in the early-1960s, but her popularity with movie fans continued until her death in 2003. Liked and admired by her costars as well as the public, Crain left a tremendous body of film work that is a testament to both her talent and radiant beauty.

All About Addie (Ross)

A year before he won Academy Awards for the legendary All About Eve (1950), Joseph Mankiewicz won Academy Awards for writing and directing A Letter to Three Wives. Although not as legendary, A Letter to Three Wives is every bit as good, perhaps even better. Unlike Eve, Wives hasn’t deteriorated into camp parody. 

The Invisible Woman
A Letter to Three Wives is centered on three young wives (Jeanne Crain, Linda Darnell, Ann Sothern) whose roles are fairly equal and intertwined. But perhaps the most intriguing character in the movie is someone you don’t even see.

Caustic Commentary
Addie Ross, the divorced friend of all three wives informs them that she’s run off with one of their husbands. Throughout the movie, Jeanne, Linda, and Ann are consumed with anxiety about the state of their respective marriages. We don’t see Addie, but we hear her snide remarks and commentary throughout the film, making her a major character. And it’s clear that all of the husbands adore Addie and speak of her often in conversations with their wives present.

Award Winner

Who is the voice of Addie? None other than Academy Award winner Celeste Holm (Gentlemen’s Agreement). Her rich and sexy voice helps create, in our minds, a woman who is at once beautiful, (so strong is her presence and the other characters’ reactions, we’re sure she’s beautiful) alluring, and mysterious. Even though Addie is a “friend” of the three wives, they all seem to envy and fear her, although they’d be hard-pressed to admit it.

From Addie to Karen

What was Holm’s reward for her voiceover work? A role in Mankiewicz’s All About Eve. And this time we actually get to see her. The role of Karen Richards, Margo Channing’s best friend, would earn Holm another Academy Award nomination. Even with the Academy Award win and two other nominations, Holm never achieved superstar status. Still, she created some memorable characterizations, including a character named Addie Ross: the woman who is heard, but never seen.

Heigh-ho!

Take "A Letter to Three Wives"

A  Letter to Three Wives (1949) is based on a novel by John Klempner. His novel was entitled A Letter to Five Wives. Writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz thought the novel was too long and would be difficult to transfer to the screen. So, he shortened it to four wives and then shortened it again to three. Mankiewicz adapted the screenplay with author and screenwriter Vera Caspary (Laura).

The plot revolves around three wives who, just before going on a boat ride and picnic with some disadvantaged children, receive a letter from a society friend named Addie Ross. In the letter, Addie says she’s run off with one of their husbands. While the women spend the afternoon volunteering, each looks back on her marriage and wonders if hers is the husband who ran off with Addie.

Is it Deborah Bishop’s (Jeanne Crain) husband Brad (Jeffrey Lynn)? Deborah, a poor farm girl, met her husband in the Navy during World War II. Somewhat insecure and naïve, she thinks Brad is attracted to Addie because she is beautiful and sophisticated. Is it Rita Phipps’s (Ann Sothern) husband George (Kirk Douglas)? Rita has a career writing radio soap operas, the quality of which, her schoolteacher-husband disapproves. She wonders if her job, which brings in some much-needed cash, is somehow intimidating to George and ruining their marriage. Is it Lora Mae Hollingsway’s (Linda Darnell) husband Porter (Paul Douglas)? Lora Mae is a girl literally from the wrong side of the tracks who tries her best to marry up by marrying her boss, in part, to help provide for her widowed mother (the wonderful Connie Gilchrist) and younger sister Babe (Barbara Lawrence).

Like Mankiewicz’s All About Eve a year later, A Letter to Three Wives has witty dialogue delivered by a cast of pros. Crain, Sothern, and Darnell are all wonderful as the three wives, with Darnell a standout. As Lora Mae, Darnell has a tough exterior, but in many ways is more vulnerable than either Crain or Sothern.

For Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1949 was an extraordinary year. Not only did he win the Academy Award for Best Director, but he also won for Best Writing as well. Writing and directing was something Mankiewicz had always wanted to do and A Letter to Three Wives showcases Mankiewicz at the height of his creativity.

Jeanne Crain's great year

During the mid-1940s, you couldn't be more famous or beloved than Jeanne Crain. Under exclusive contract to Twentieth Century Fox since 1943, Crain was a top box office star until the early 1950s. During the war years, Crain received more fan mail than anyone on the Fox lot except Betty Grable.

Forties trifecta

In the mid-40s, Crain had hits with State Fair (1945), Centennial Summer, and Margie (both 1946). But in 1949 she really hit her stride with three critical and financial successes: A Letter to Three Wives, The Fan, and Pinky. Not only that, but she worked with three uniquely talented directors in each of those films. For A Letter to Three Wives, Crain worked with Joseph Mankiewicz; for The Fan, Crain worked with Otto Preminger; and for Pinky, Crain worked with the legendary Elia Kazan.

Julia who?

During Crain's peak in popularity, her face was on the covers of dozens of magazines. In Crain's obituary, film historian and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) host, Robert Osborne, called her the "Julia Roberts of the day."

Pregnant pauses

Crain was so popular and such a favorite of Fox studio chief, Darryl Zanuck that he slated many of the plum female roles for her. One problem for Crain was that she was seemingly always pregnant, which frustrated Zanuck to no end and resulted in Crain losing out on some great parts.

One role that Crain may have missed, because she was pregnant, was Eve Harrington in Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). Mankiewicz didn't think Crain could be tough enough in the role, but it would have been a brilliant move to cast Crain against type. (I mean no disrespect to Anne Baxter, who was superb.) But imagine audiences discovering that sweet Jeanne Crain was a cold, calculating villain. From Zanuck's perspective, casting Crain in that role made sense because she would have been a huge box-office draw. Pinky was the biggest-grossing film of 1949, and Bette Davis's star power was greatly diminished. With all Eve's acclaim, it wasn't as big a box office success as another Crain film released that year, Cheaper By The Dozen. With Crain in the picture, it might have been a bigger box office hit.

With Pinky, the first film from a major studio to deal with racism, Crain was nominated for her only Best Actress Academy Award. She lost out to the eventual winner, Olivia deHaviland (The Heiress), but it was an acknowledgment that Crain was more than just a pretty face.

And a pretty face she was, indeed.