She WAS drop-dead gorgeous! One of the top screen beauties, easily. Have you ever seen Sundown? Not a very good film but she makes one of the most amazing entrances I've ever seen on film! Too bad she had such a tragic life.

Meant to put GT in the subject line. (Now THAT would be something is she posted at this point :-)!)

Have not seen "Sundown"... or any Gene Tierney films that I can think of, off-hand, I'm now sorry to say.
She is (or was...) a definite "hottie"....

When you swim mostly in the silent waters, stars like GT do not register on your radar...I'll have to start spending more time with those pesky talkies... ;-)

Sorry to hear of her tragic life; all too-common for the beautiful stars of Hollywood thru the years....

I am not familiar w/ Gene's life, so I went and looked her up on Wikipedia...

"During her marriage to Cassini, Tierney had a romance with actor Tyrone Power (her co-star in The Razor's Edge (1946). That came to an end in the spring of 1946."
---
"During the filming of Dragonwyck, she met the young John F. Kennedy, who was visiting the set that day. They began an affair that ended the following year when Kennedy told her he could never marry her because of his political ambitions."
---
"Worried about her mental health, she consulted a psychiatrist, and was admitted to Harkness Pavilion in New York. Later she went to the The Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. After some 27 shock treatments, she attempted to flee, but was caught and reinstitutionalized. (She was an outspoken opponent of shock treatment therapy, claiming that it had destroyed significant portions of her memory.)"
---
"Her autobiography, Self-Portrait, in which she candidly discussed her life, career and mental illness, was published in 1979."

One of the things that really set her over the edge (if not the only thing) was giving birth to a severely disabled daughter in the mid-40's.

Apparently, Tierney went to a Hollywood Canteen (to help the War cause, etc.) while pregnant and was exposed to a female soldier who had German measles. This solder had jumped her quarantine that night to meet Tierney and as a result exposed her to the measles which in turn affected the child GT was carrying. She gave birth to a second daughter perfectly healthy but never quite recovered from from that first pregnancy.

Not sure how true this is but rumor has it that Agatha Cristie based "The Mirror Crackd'" (I think that's the title at least) on this event (?)

Thanks for the added info, Joanne!

It adds even more info on the lovely (& tragic) GT.
Research is so crucial in discussing actors & films; you cannot underestimate it in figuring out why stars did what they did; it helps explain their life choices, & sometimes makes their film performnaces even more fascinating...

Thanks for the update, Kerry. Good researching on
your part!!! I must admit I never had the opportunity to research GT in the past, but was saddened to see that she suffered such a sad & tragic life....
Again, not unusual for beautiful stars in Hollywood,
unfortunately.... Thanks again for the update, Kerry,
& for shedding a light on this beautiful & talented woman...

No problem, Bill. Joanne, I read that part, too, about "The Mirror Crack'd"...

IMDB.com trivia:

"Some speculate that the solution to The Mirror Crack'd is based on the real life tragedy of Gene Tierney."

Rita Hayworth had the most troubling lives of all. She was molested by her father when she was young, and developed early Alzheimers. Apparently some paparazzi caught her one time out and about and she appeared lost.

Hollywood chews up and spits people out. There are many women who came to Hollywood back then, made it big, and then were either committed, abused, or dead before their 60s. Greta Garbo withdrew to a world where only a few people saw her. Frances Farmer was in a sanitarium for a while. Marilyn Monroe could not handle life and therefore possibly took her own. Lana Turner had failed romances (incl Tyrone) and Judy Garland was driven into an early grave because of accidental barbiturate overdose. People literally were thrown to the wolves.

I only know of a few leading ladies from back then who hung on...Bette Davis, one of my faves, was too **** mean to go down. Marlene Dietrich didn't care what others thought of her. Maureen O'Hara was very grounded. They were able to hang on because of their character and fortitude.

Thanks for the followup, Kerry.

I was not aware of Rita's early background (only that she was a dancer...). Monroe, Garland, Farmer & Turner's tragedies have been well-documented, so I was familiar with them. The mysterious & aloof Garbo
(also well-documented)probably did herself a favor by retiring to seclusion from the media.

This dark underbelly of Hollywood in exploiting its female stars stretches all the way back to the silent era. "It Girl" Clara Bow was the most celebrated case
(father sexually abused her; mother tried to kill her with a butcher knife), Louise Broooks (also sexually
molested by a neighbor; her mother never believed her), John Gilbert (locked in closets, sometimes for days) while his mother (a provincial stage actress) partied with men. Wallace Reid suffered the same exploitation (to drugs) by his studio that Garland suffered. Drug abuse (Mabel Normand, Barbara LaMarr, & numerous others) & alcohol abuse (Keaton)was ramant during the 1920's. Drug pushers, pimps & criminals
attached themselves to the film industry like leeches
& fed off the stars (& their money & bodies) while the industry pretty much looked the other way...
It was really a disgraceful situation that the industry allowed to exist...

To me there are two Hollywoods: the glamorous, mystical side (it's stars), & the dark, exploitive side (the studios & producers). Given what many of these stars suffered in their childhood &/or adulthood
its a wonder that they turned out as good as they did... I prefer to think of the talented stars & their wonderful films, though I know there was another story going on off-screen as well...

I also agree with you, Kerry, on the strong female stars in Hollywood; add Mary Pickford to that list... She was another resilient star who more than held her own...

Agreed, and I'd add Barbara Stanwyck (and Kate Hepburn for that matter..athough with her it was probably a too-healthy-ego-to destroy :-)! to that stable lot. Gotta love Davis, as well :-)!

I think Rita H. probably did have some problems with her father but it seems like the Barbara Leeming bio. is the only time that this info. came out (before or since; kinda strange although there is validity to it in all likelyhood). Have you heard it from another source?

Garland would have burned out early even if it wasn't for MGM apparently, but MGM was a big culprit (if not entirely responsible!)

Are you watching the Brando doc. on TCM, btw?

Good point, Joanne. I'll bet if we all put our heads together on this forum we could come up with a list of about a dozen "Golden Age" female stars (like Stanwyck, Hepburn (Kate) & others, like the great Bette, who took no 'guff' from the studios... Kudos to them all!

Missed the Brando doc; not one of my faves, but I admire his talent, as well as the colorful off-screen stories about him.. He worked with everyone from Chaplin ("A Countess from Hong Kong")to Johnny Depp ("Don Juan DeMarco"). Kevin Spacey does a spooky right-on Brando impersonation. My fave Brando pics are probably off-mainstream for most folks: "The Freshman"(with Matthew Broderick; hilarious!) & "Last Tango in Paris."

Adding to strong women during the golden years--Olivia de Havilland--defied Jack Warner's studio contractual grip.

MV

Yes, Melody, & what makes it all the remarakable was how *young* Olivia was....

...butting in here between Melody's posts, but just to let you know that the "silents" posts have been pushed to the second page--click on "next" at the bottom or click the last msg. (below)...IF you're still inclined that is :-)!