- Awards
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Jeanne Crain was a big commodity for 20th Century-Fox in the mid-to-late-'40s, and she starred in several successful movies.
Strangely enough, Crain's an actress I often forget about when thinking of movies from her time period. On the other hand, I've enjoyed what I've seen thus far of her work: she was good as Gene Tierney's virginal sister in LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945), and I liked her as Deborah in A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949). I remember seeing PINKY (1949) once before on TV, and I thought her work in that role was quite good as well.
Apparently Crain was a top contender to play Eve in ALL ABOUT EVE in 1950, but Darryl F. Zanuck felt she lacked the "mean streak" the role required, and he assigned Anne Baxter to the part instead. I'm glad that this re-cast happened: I couldn't see anyone other than Anne Baxter playing Eve Harrington. That part must've been tailor-made for her... even if nobody knew it.
Like Linda Darnell, Crain's another actress that Fox just simply lost interest in after a while even though she wasn't even 30 years old. After her contract with the studio was over in the early-'50s, she went on to appear in other movies for other studios. She secured a contract with Universal Pictures, where she made such forgettable fluff as THE SECOND GREATEST SEX (1955), a tacky Western comedy co-starring pin-up girl Mamie Van Doren. She briefly paired with United Artists for GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES (1955), the lackluster sequel to GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953), co-starring the ravishing Jane Russell.
Any fans of Jeanne Crain?
Strangely enough, Crain's an actress I often forget about when thinking of movies from her time period. On the other hand, I've enjoyed what I've seen thus far of her work: she was good as Gene Tierney's virginal sister in LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945), and I liked her as Deborah in A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (1949). I remember seeing PINKY (1949) once before on TV, and I thought her work in that role was quite good as well.
Apparently Crain was a top contender to play Eve in ALL ABOUT EVE in 1950, but Darryl F. Zanuck felt she lacked the "mean streak" the role required, and he assigned Anne Baxter to the part instead. I'm glad that this re-cast happened: I couldn't see anyone other than Anne Baxter playing Eve Harrington. That part must've been tailor-made for her... even if nobody knew it.
Like Linda Darnell, Crain's another actress that Fox just simply lost interest in after a while even though she wasn't even 30 years old. After her contract with the studio was over in the early-'50s, she went on to appear in other movies for other studios. She secured a contract with Universal Pictures, where she made such forgettable fluff as THE SECOND GREATEST SEX (1955), a tacky Western comedy co-starring pin-up girl Mamie Van Doren. She briefly paired with United Artists for GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES (1955), the lackluster sequel to GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953), co-starring the ravishing Jane Russell.
Any fans of Jeanne Crain?
