Arturo

Something else we need to mention here is that Zanuck probably knew television would go color. So they were making more color films, even the noir, because they knew there would be a market to show these on television at some point in the future. *And that is exactly what happened.* Yes that's what happened. But in 1953, Zanuck and the other studio heads viewed TV as the enemy, and they certainly weren't planning their film output on it being shown on TV eventually. Color TV would come to pass, they had to have known, but at that time, they had not leased any of their backlog to TV, nor were they going to. It was until the later 50s, when the first studio did this (RKO if I remember correctly), and the profits it made on doing so helped break down the studios' reticence to cooperate in any way with the enemy. In the mid-50s, the studios used color more and more for two reasons, primarily because they wanted to differentiate their product from what was on THEN on TV as much as possible, and new color processes, such as Deluxe-, etc.broke the near monopoly Techncolor had had, and made it cheaper to film in color. *Zanuck was also remaking old films as episodic television. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, which is available on Netflix streaming, was redone with Macdonald Carey and Teresa Wright. They were making twice the money by pushing their product on both the widescreen and the small screen. It was a win-win.* In 1955, Fox decided to co-opt TV by producing new versions of some of their classic movies, as well as some original ones. The 20th Century Fox Hour ran for two years, starting in the fall of 1955. But this was a 180 degree turn from only two years before, when even big stars were warned of dire career consequences if they appeared on TV. PS- FMC ran all the episodes, recently found and restored, some 8-10 years ago, with Robert Wagner doing wraparounds for them. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 27, 2012 11:57 PM

*I think it would've been fun to see Linda in another film with Victor Mature. They were great in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE. Pat Neal with him in SOMETHING FOR THE BIRDS is really unusual casting, as they have such different acting styles.* I agree that Darnell and Mature were great together in MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, and should've been reunited. I don't know that SFTB would have been the best vehicle for that. I think that a crime drama or another gritty western might have been betther. Victor Mature had been pencilled in early on for one of the roles in TWO FLAGS WEST; not sure which: Cornel Wilde's, Joseph Cotton's or Jeff Chandler's, but he would've been good in any of them, and reteamed with Linda. *It's too bad Linda and Ty couldn't have made DIPLOMATIC COURIER. In this case one almost wishes the studio would've shelved the project until Linda was feeling better and found something else that suited Pat Neal's talents.* Yes, Linda would've been very good in DC imo. The studio tried several times in the postwar period to reteam Linda with Tyrone Power. It almost happened for CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE, but when Linda replaced Peggy Cummins in FOREVER AMBER, and that movie was shelved for a few months while new director Otto Preminger rebooted said project, both films would overlap in production. So Linda lost out on the part of Catana to Jean Peters in her movie debut. Later, the studio wanted to reunite Ty and Linda LYDIA BAILEY, but Power refused to do another costume adventure at that time. And of course the aforementioned reason why the weren't together in DIPOMATIC COURIER. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 27, 2012 11:43 PM

When BLACK WIDOW came out a few years ago as part of the Fox Film Noir series, I laughed and thought that this was the most un-noirish title they put out under that series yet. I have never thought this as a noir; it is basically a murder mystery, and one not too compelling at that. If you will, it is ALL ABOUT EVE where Eve gets snuffed by one of those she double-crossed. Some over the top performances, with Ginger Rogers especially adept at the scenery chewing. And the scenery and costumes are lovely; Travilla is the person best known for dressing Marilyn in some of her iconc outfits. Again, this movie wasn't meant as a crime drama (read: Film Noir), but is more akin to a drawing room murder mystery, or an Agatha Christie style mystery. This was one of the first handful of Cinemascope features, pioneered by Fox, in an attempt to stanch the hemorraging of the movie audience defection to TV. More, it attempted to bring some of that audience back ("Movies are bigger than ever") by offering something not on the small screen: giant widescreen and color, with a wide array of stars in photogenic surroundings and clothes...in other words, the fantasy world at which the movies had always excelled. For the first couple of years or so, Cinemascope features at Fox dealt mostly with this type of movie; smaller scale, intimate dramas were out; Zanuck infamously passed on ON THE WATERFRONT as not being attuned to the studio's needs at this time. Around 1956, when Cinemascope was no longer the novelty that it was at first, and therefore, no guarantee of success, the studio started producing more smaller scale pictures, sometimes in black and white, but still in Cinemascope. Gene Tierney's role was small here, because as mentioned, she had recently suffered a mental breakdown after the end of her relationship with Prince Aly Khan. Zanuck had been indulging Tierney since around 1950 by giving her roles that were not too challenging, especially since she was having trouble memorizing lines. Tierney's mental illness would have her off the screen for a number of years after 1955, but 20th would continue to offer her the occasional role, some which she did, into the 60s. This was Peggy Ann Garner's first role as an adult, and this film makes it obvious why she didn't transition from a child star as her contemporary Liz Taylor had. One, she wasn;t that good of an actress, and two, she was far from the beauty that Liz was.

*Patricia Neal is another one that Zanuck hired for a few pictures in the early 1950s. Could Linda have done her roles in SOMETHING FOR THE BIRDS, DIPLOMATIC COURIER and THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL...?* SOMETHING FOR THE BIRDS was meant for Anne Baxter and then Jeanne Crain. Don't know what happened to Baxter, but Crain...surprise surprise....became pregnant and had to be replaced. Linda would've probably enjoyed being cast slightly against type as the conservationist who romances a Washington lobbyist to get him to support her cause. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL was to have starred Anne Baxter, but she became pregnant before filming began. Linda, who could not bear children and had adopted, was seldom cast as a mother, in fact in only a handful of her movies. So it would have been a long shot being cast in this one. DIPLOMATIC COURIER was actually meant for Linda; who better on the lot to play a sexy Matai Hari-style spy? However, when it was finally ready to go before the cameras, she was in a London hospital for several weeks, recuperating from jaundice she contracted while filming on loan in Jamaica (ISLAND OF DESIRE aka SATURDAY ISLAND). When she returned to the US, she was still weak and had recurring bouts of the illness. So she instructed Fox and her agent that she was too weak to work while she recuperated. She was out of commission for several months. So Linda missed out on some potential movies which had been intended for her, including at least one of the films that Patricia Neal did at 20th during this time.

*I think, after seeing the film, that they really did need a fresh face for Bernadette. Jennifer really looked the part.* Jennifer Jones was great, but I can see any of the three 20th actresses mentioned as doing a creditable job as Bernadette.

*Have you mentioned that Linda Darnell was the unbilled face of the Virgin Mary in SONG OF BErNADETTE?* I've mentioned it a couple of times, but not discussed it as part of Linda's filmography, due to the unbilled cameo nature of the role. I'll just say now that it became an inside joke in Hollywood that Zanuck cast his mistress as the Virgin Mary. From most accounts, this speculation was wrong, and Linda's sagging career was in 1943 was proof that she was not sleeping with the boss. Sh did want, desperately, the part of Bernadette, as did Gene Tierney, Anne Baxter and other hopefuls under contract. But as often happened then, he got someone from the outside, the heretofore Phyllis Isley, who as Jennifer Jones, scored a hit, became a star, won an Oscar, and bewitched David O. Selznick.

Linda Darnell's fourth movie release of 1944 was SWEET AND LOW DOWN. This was quite a change from the previous two years, when she only had two movies released (not counting her unbilled cameo in SONG OF BERNADETTE): THE LOVES OF EDGAR ALLEN POE and CITY WITHOUT MEN, and two aborted roles in movies she started: ORCHESTRA WIVES and THE GANG'S ALL HERE. Not only was Linda's output on the increase this year, but her change of image in SUMMER STORM was giving her career a new impetus. Her home studio, 20th Century Fox hoped to capitalize on her sudden entry into the **** sweepstakes by finding a sexy role for her. However, before Darnell's transformation on the big screen had been seen, the studio cast her again in her old image in SWEET AND LOWDOWN. SALD is like ORCHESTRA WIVES in that it takes place in the big band milieu, this time featuring the Benny Goodman Orchestra instead of the Glenn Miller Orchestra of the earlier film. Linda is a Park Avenue deb who takes up with a bandmember, to the chagrin of band singer Lynn Bari. Chic in 1944 fashions and upswept hairdos, Linda didn't have a whole lot to do. Also featured were Jack Oakie and James Cardwell. The movie proved to be popular entertainment, but as for Linda's career, she was just treading water in a guise she was about to discard.

*Never heard of her before this thread and wikipedia, sad the way she died through.* Which is why I have this thread going, and hope to get a SOTM for Linda Darnell, because I feel that she is unjustly forgotten by even many classic film fans.

*I recall reading somewhere that Richard Widmark would apologize to Sidney Poitier after completing scenes in No Way Out where the former had to abuse the latter.* I've read that also. The dialogue is quite searing and hard-hitting, so I can see why Widmark would apologize.

*Interestingly, SUMMER STORM was filmed during the cold of winter.* SUMMER STORM had several provisional titles before this one was decided on. It was probably chosen because of the movie;s release in July of 1944.

*In the film's earlier scenes her character is still very much the innocent, a continuation of her Fox image. Darnell is quite convincing in that persona, as well as the seductress into which her character evolves. Not all actresses would have been as effective in that kind of dual characterization within one film.* *I believe that Summer Storm was the first time that Linda Darnell attempted that. She's pretty darned good at it considering her inexperience with those kind of roles at the time.* Well, Linda Darnell doesn't seem all that innocent in the early scenes of SUMMER STORM. Soon after meeting George Sanders and Edward Everett Horton, she sees herself in the mirror and practices a coquettish "Good Morning Your Excellency". Immediately afterward, Hugo Haas' character arrives with a pair of boots for her, which she reacts excitedly, then catches herself. "What do you want for these?" and "My father says nobody gets something for nothing", giving away a kiss for the boots. She seems like she knows life's score, and her beauty's worth.

*Ironic that they formed a lifelong friendship doing a film in which Widmark's character hated Poitier's character.* What was really ironic, and commented upon, was that Richard Widmark was a really nice guy in real life, nothing like the psychotic characters he played early in is career. Nor was he a bigot, as was his character Ray Biddle was in NO WAY OUT.

*I am no expert on United Artists, and I do think UA certainly evolved over the years. But in the 1940s, I think it was more of a distribution company. Smaller independent companies usually produced a film like SUMMER STORM and UA helped put it in movie houses. The TCM database lists SUMMER STORM as having been made by Angelus Pictures, but on the IMDB it is slightly different. It is listed as having been made by Angelus Productions in association with Nero Films. Maybe Angelus was a company Linda and her agent created for tax purposes, I do not know, but SUMMER STORM is its only production. Nero Films, though, had three other films after this, none of them starring Linda Darnell.* *My guess is that Zanuck loaned her to Nero Films, Linda put up some of her own money to co-finance it, and UA distributed it. I could be all wrong about this, but I believe that SUMMER STORM was an opportunity that was probably developed by her agent or manager to reignite interest in her. If so, SUMMER STORM achieved all such goals.* I don't know much either how UA functioned back then, but I do know that neither Linda nor her agent had anything to do financially with SUMMER STORM. She was not at liberty to initiate her own projects in the early-mid 40s, which would become a more common practice in the 50s. She did seem to be the one to approach the producers about playing the role, of which called a 'she-devil", knowing that something drastic, like a shake up to her image of this sort, is what her career needed at that point. She had competition for the part from Susan Hayward, then near the end of her contract as the other woman at Paramount, which she refused to re-sign. Ironically, at the end of the 40s, when Zanuck signed Susan to a contract at Fox, and into the 50s, Linda and Susan competed for many of the same roles at the studio. Earlier, Susan was one of the hopefuls wishing to play Amber. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 23, 2012 2:21 PM

In 1944, Linda's stagnant career suddenly took an upward swing. Two things were responsible for this. One was the publicity generated by a Look Magazine story about the four most beautiful women in Hollywood. Linda was one of the four winners; the other three were Hedy Lamarr, Gene Tierney and Ingrid Bergman. The other event was the July release of SUMMER STORM, a film Linda made on loan to United Artists. In it Linda played a temptress in rural Russia before the revolution. She had George Sanders and Edward Everett Horton, among others, lusting over her and throwing caution to the wind in the process. This moody film was based on a Checkov story. The publicity run-up for the movie's release had Linda posed among bales of hay, with tousled hair, a short tight slit skirt, and a tight unbuttoned blouse. People sat up at these provocative photos, and took notice at the fact that Linda was now grown up. Linda had to fight for the role, as 20th Century Fox didn't want to loan her out. As mentioned earlier, the reason for this was that Darryl F. Zanuck felt that the image of Linda as a mantrap was to wild a swing from her girl-next door parts she had been playing till then. He relented, since he had new contenders for this type. He saw an early cut of this film, and began to look for a suitable role for Linda to focus on this sexy new image. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 23, 2012 12:52 PM

Linda Darnell's second film released in 1944, BUFFALO BILL, was actually filmed before IT HAPPENED TOMORROW, even though the latter was released first. BB was the first movie Linda had completed in over a year at her home studio, 20th Century Fox, other than her unbilled cameo in SONG OF BERNADETTE. This film made it clear she was still on the outs with the studio heads, because her role as an Indian maiden was a decidedly supporting one. Starring Joel McCrea as the title character, and Maureen O'Hara as his refined bride, it also featured Anthony Quinn as a Native American. Directed by William Wellman,this technicolor film played loosely with the historical facts, but was an entertaining yarn. Linda enjoyed filming BUFFALO BILL, and her chance to play a Native American, since she had Indian blood, a fact which was played up by studio publicity for the movie.

*Darnell was also in a thriller called 'Hangover Squar' with music by B.Herrman & stared Geo.Sanders plus Raymound Burr's brother, Lariad Gregar.* Yes, this is one of my favorite of her movies. Since I am discussing Linda' films chronologically, I will get to it soon, as I am in 1944,and HANGOVER SQUARE came out in 1945.

*NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEP seems like a fairly routine thriller, but it is one I have not seen yet.* NWS is routine, and to me, annoying. The focus on a generally unpleasant guy, in the guise of Gary Merril, makes me wonder what these three women see in him, especially Darnell as a movie star. I got the same feeling from her SLATTERY'S HURRICANE; why would she want to be with ex-flame Widmark, at his most annoyingly abrasive, when she seems to be happily married,

*I've seen it and it's a terrific and well-written film, one of the earliest to deal with the issue of racism. Darnell plays a mixed race character.* NO WAY OUT is a terrific and well-written movie, but Darnell is "white trash". You are thinking of PINKY, where Jeanne Crain is a light skinned black girl.

*I think Linda Darnell was in a film called "No Way Out" with Widmark and Poitier. Has anyone mentioned this film?* It was mentioned early on by Lori13. I mentioned it when I stated that I felt that Linda could've been nominated for an Oscar, had that year been not so noteworthy with female performances, and 20th Century Fox not put all its resources behind ALL ABOUT EVE in the oscar sweepstakes.

*I just made two rare DVD purchases online. I bought THE 13TH LETTER and HOTEL FOR WOMEN. I am excited to watch these...!* I'd puchased both titles from ioffer awhile back, although neither was of the best quality. HOTEL FOR WOMEN (1939) of course was Linda's film debut, cast in the lead within a couple of weeks after arriving in Hollywood at age 15. It is an enjoyable movie, with Ann Sothern, Lynn Bai and Elsa Maxwell among others, and Linda already showing poise and great beauty. THE 13TH LETTER (1951) I saw on the big screen a few years back in a film festival honoring the director; it was the last of four films Linda did with Otto Preminger. She was not happy to work again with this director whom she abhorred, but liked her part of a cripple. A remake of a French classic, LE CORBEAU, it tells the story of a flurry of poison pen letters implicating various individuals in a small Quebec town. Although topbilled, Linda's role is rather small, as the movie has the various individuals' storylines to explore. Filmed on location, it is quite atmospheric; I believe Hitchcock got the idea from this movie to do I CONFESS in Quebec. Also featuring Charles Boyer, Michael Rennie, and Constance Smith, among others. I wish both of these films will be coming out soon on the new Fox Archive Classics. I believe THE THIRTEENTH LETTER, like Linda's 1952 film NIGHT WITHOUT SLEEP, was probably going to be released as part of the Fox Film Noir series before the series got suspended. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 22, 2012 1:51 PM

*she should have taken notes from the Ava Gardner role in The Barefoot Contessa, which told a similar story to the one in Darling.* Well, we know the Prince had not lost his equipment in the war, nor as in the earlier drafts of TBC, was he homosexual, since he and Grace had three children (yes I know that sounds naive). But then again, Ava's character tried to remedy that, which led to her downfall. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 21, 2012 12:04 PM

One of the things I noticed when I recently watched CENTENNIAL SUMMER, was that Linda was showing a fair amount of cleavage. The censors went back and forth on this back then, cracking down or loosening up. Later that year, when she did FOREVER AMBER, they made the studio redo some scenes, for showing too much cleavage, or as they put it, "her heaving breasts". The book's notoriety had them on hyper-alert over this film. During the time of the filming of the second version AMBER (late 1946-early 1947), the fate of THE OUTLAW was in the courts as one local censor board after another banned its showing, garnering much publicity. Also, DUEL IN THE SUN (aka LUST IN THE DUST) was sending the censors into overtime. So when FA comes along, the Breen office wanted to dictate everything, effectively trying to have complete control,on how that salacious book could be interpreted. Beginning with changing the title. Zauck said no. "Wihout the title we have nothing", he said.

Linda Darnell had a busy year on the screen in 1944, compared to the previous two years (of course some of this year's releases she filmed in 1943). With her career on slow-mo, the studio had no problem in loaning her out again, as they had no pressing roles for her. She started off with a loanout to UA, IT HAPPENED TOMORROW. This enjoyable fantasy comedy had Dick Powell getting next day's headlines today. He figures out he can get rich by seeing the horse racing winners and betting on them. It comes crashing in on him when he reads his own obituary. Try as he might to avoid the place where he dies, circumstances compel him to his destiny. Linda as a magician's assistant, Jack Oakie, her uncle, all help in making this movie a lot of fun.

*What if Grace Kelly had not become the Princess of Monaco??* She would have continued with a successful movie career, done a few more Hitchcocks (instead of Miles, Novak, Saint or Hedren), and had affairs wtih her leading men; in other words a continuation of her career thus far. Edited by: Arturo on Dec 21, 2012 11:14 AM

Linda Darnell started 1943 with the release of he first film on loan, CITY WITHOUT MEN. She did this movie in the fall of 1942 for Columbia's B Unit, and deals with women renting rooms to be near their men, who are inmates in a prison. Even though this was a B which did nothing to help her stagnating career, Linda enjoyed the experience, feeling that the personnel at Columbia didn't treat her like a child, unlike at her home studio. Her infrequent movie assignments in 1942-43 allowed Linda the opportunity to help with war related relief efforts, like touring the country selling war bonds, or volunteering frequently at the Hollywood Canteen. What film roles she did do were in B movies, and it seemed that she was following the career trajectories of other once promising Fox starlets,which included Marjorie Weaver, Arleen Whelan, Nancy Kelly and Brenda Joyce. They had started off getting decent roles in A films, then went to leads in Bs or supporting roles in A films. Linda's next assignment was a musical,the Busby Berkley directed camp-fest, THE GANG'S ALL HERE, which went into production as THE GIRLS HE LEFT BEHIND, Besides Linda, these girls included top-starred Alice Faye, and Brazilian Bombshell Carmen Miranda, doing that Freudian field day, "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat". But during the production, Darnell eloped to Vegas with cameraman Peverell Marley, over twice her 19 years of age. The studio was aghast, thinking she'd ruin her career. She was yanked off of TGAH (ostensibly due to spraining an ankle while working on a dance routine for the movie), but she was suspended. The only other movie she appeared in that year was her cameo as the Virgin of Lourdes in SONG OF BERNADETTE (Gene Tierney got the female lead in HEAVEN CAN WAIT, which the studio had anounced for Linda). Linda had also hoped for the lead in SOB, but the studio decided against that. The supposed inside joke in Hollywood was that Zanuck's mistress was playing the virgin Mary. But it was precisely because of Linda having turned down Zanuck that was causing her career to slow down.