Versatile Six-Time OscarNominee Stood Her Ground
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Those 1940s - 1950s were extraordinary times when morals were bound by shackles of steel . . . Deborah Kerr seemed to rise in the entertainment industry, and by ordinary standards was considered beyond reproach.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
EVAN THE MOST DARING STORIES
can be told and even brought to films when
done with courage, honesty and good taste.
FLASHBACKS ~ RECOLLECTIONS ~ and REMEMBRANCES . . . !
"Count Your Blessings" - one and all - Deborah Kerr is RETIRED AND RESTING with family and friends . . . and with this her faithful fans and industry wish her well . . . !
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Biographies
for Deborah Kerr
Complete and (in part) . . .
(continued from A Cinematic ScrapBook on Deborah Kerr)
Cast against type in From Here to Eternity as Burt Lancaster's adulterous lover, Deborah broadened her emotional range in the minds of cinemagoers with a memorably sensual roll in the surf.
Extraordinarily versatile, the six-time Oscar nominee stood her ground in hoopskirts opposite Yul Brynner in The King and I, sparred charmingly with Cary Grant and David Niven several times, and smoldered opposite Robert Mitchum, most notably as a housewife made transcendent by sacrifice in The S U N D O W N E R S.
When Deborah did not have a handle on a role (e.g., Beloved Infidel) her neurotic tremulousness (used tellingly to portray a neglected closet drinker in Edward, My Son) wound up parodying her cashmere-sweatered earth mother role as in Tea and Sympathy. At her sharpest, however, Deborah memorably agonized to find a balance between submerged desire and a self-imposed code of honor, whether as a wallflower doomed to Separate Tables or a nun taxed by her chastity habit in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison.
Deborah's abandonment of Hollywood after the failures of The Arrangement and The Gypsy Moths was especially disheartening since the decade started so promisingly with her repressed governess in The Innocents, a spellbinding spin through Capote's freudinizing of Turn of the Screw, a splendidly evasive Miss Madrigal in the civilized The Chalk Garden, and a definitive study in the denial of the flesh in a Night of the Iguana vulgarized by director John Huston but redeemed by its stars.
Adept at teary melodrama and light comedy, Deborah entranced a new generation of fans through the An Affair to Remember clips that filled (and that were the sole reason to tolerate) Sleepless in Seattle. A superb theatrical performer, Deborah toured in made-to-order warhorses, enjoyed a broadway return in Albee's Seascape, and demonstrated that time had not withered her variety in such television showcases as the BBC's Ann and Debbie and the opulent mini-series A woman of Substance. Through a kaleidoscopic career, Deborah never lost the cool beauty and inborn gentility that initially established her stardom.
_____________________________________________________
Filmography
for Deborah Kerr
through years 1940s - 1950s . . .
Deborah Kerr in character with Jenny Hill for "MAJOR BARBARA" - 1941
Deborah Kerr in character as Sally Hardcastle for "LOVE ON THE DOLE" - 1941
. . . in character with Gulielma Springelt for "PENN OF PENNSYLVANIA" ("The Courageous Mr. Penn") - 1942
. . . in character with Mary Brodie for "HATTER'S CASTLE" - 1942
. . . in character with Kari for "THE DAY WILL DAWN" ("The Avengers") - 1942
. . . in character as Edith Hunter for "THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP" ("Colonel Blimp") - 1943
. . . in character as Catherine Wilson for "PERFECT STRANGERS" ("Vacation from Marriage") - 1945
. . .in character as Bridie Quilty for "I SEE A DARK STRANGER" ("The Adventuress") - 1946
Deborah Kerr in character as Sister Clodagh for "BLACK NARCISSUS" - 1947
Deborah Kerr in character as Kay Dorrance for "THE HUCKSTERS" - 1947
. . .in character as Nona Tybar for "IF WINTER COMES" - 1948
Deborah Kerr in character as Evelyn Boult for "EDWARD, MY SON" - 1949
Deborah Kerr in character as English heiress for "PLEASE BELIEVE ME" - 1950
. . . in character as Elizabeth Curtis for "KING SOLOMON'S MINES" - 1950
What secures its fame - in "King Solomon's Mines - however, is its stateliness, its authentic locales and cultures, and its believability as a real adventure. It is, in other words, the real thing. Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr bring a stature to their roles that is magnificent and memorable.
Tall, handsome, swarthy, Stewart Granger is perfect as ALLAN QUARTERMAIN, the white hunter. He is approached by a friend to undertake another safari for an Englishwoman, ELIZABETH CURTIS, who wants to search for her lost husband who had a treasure map that showed the location of the legendary mines of King Solomon. He meets with the woman, played by a young, fresh and very sincere Deborah Kerr, who convinces him to undertake the safari, which he considers mad, only because she was willing to pay enough to take care of his son's education in England.
Quartermain's obvious disdain for her expedition creates considerable tension that is relieved a bit by her good-natured, sympathetic brother, played by Richard Carlson, who gives a sensitive performance that surprisingly did little for his career.
The movie is dated a bit in the beginning because of the Edwardian-style outfits worn by Deborah Kerr, but once her safari with Quartermain starts, the adventure could have been yesterday, although it is a little slow-moving, which is not inappropriate given the means of travel, which is mostly on foot.
There are a couple of scenes that a bit too cute in which Elizabeth (Kerr) encounters various jungle dangers, but the movie really kicks up dust in a sensational stampede. The movie was shot on location in Africa and the photography is great, but after the stampede the scenery becomes secondary to the tribes they encounter, captured in very important footage during ceremonies, and the love interest that not surprisingly develops between Quartermain and Elizabeth. The latter is handled quite nicely as Elizabeth falls in love with Quartermain but remains dedicated to her quest to find out if her husband is alive. The moment when hopes are raised that he might still be alive is very poignant as she clearly knows by then that she loves Quartermain but intends to uphold her duty as a wife.
Deborah Kerr in character as Lygia for "QUO VADIS?" - 1951
Deborah Kerr in character as Princess Flavia for "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA" - 1952
Deborah Kerr in character as Joan Willoughby for "THUNDER IN THE EAST" - 1953
Deborah Kerr in character as Priscilla Effington for "DREAM WIFE" - 1953
Deborah Kerr in character as Catherine Parr for "YOUNG BESS" - 1953
Deborah Kerr in character as Karen Holmes for "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY" - 1953
Montgomery Clift cast against type as Prewitt is a brilliant Zinnemann choice. Clift brings a simple dignity to the role of Robert E. Lee Prewitt, Jr. Burt Lancaster plays tough top sergeant Warden with typically big acting strokes. There are moments when he's a trifle stiff, but overall it's one of Lancaster's finer films. Deborah Kerr is another terrific choice in the role of Karen Holmes. Deborah makes herself seem a cut above everyone around her, maintaining a certain degree of ice even her most sexual moments. Frank Sinatra playing Maggio won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The many small roles are handled with equal care.
Ernest Borgnine stands out in the role of Stockade Sergeant Fatso Judson. With fine guidance from Zinnemann these tough exterior characters are able to show their internal emotions through the combination of articulate script and outstanding direction.
Deborah Kerr in character as Portia for "JULIUS CAESAR" - 1953
Deborah Kerr in character as Sarah Miles for "THUNDER IN THE EAST" -1955
Deborah Kerr in character as Laura Reynolds for "TEA AND SYMPATHY" - 1956
Deborah Kerr in character as Nurse Lee Ashley for "THE PROUD AND PROFANE" - 1956
Deborah Kerr in character as Mrs. Anna Leonowens for "THE KING AND I" - 1956
Deborah Kerr in character as Sister Angela for "HEAVEN KNOWS, MR. ALLISON" - 1957
Deborah Kerr in character as (please, you guess) for "AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER" - 1957
. . . in character as Anne for "BONJOUR TRISTESSE" - 1958 and in character as Sybil Pailton-Bell for the Academy Award-winner"SEPARATE TABLES" - 1958
Deborah Kerr in character as Lady Diana Ashmore for "THE JOURNEY" - 1959
Directed by: Anatole Litvak
The J O U R N E Y cast
Deborah Kerr...............................Lady Diana Ashmore
Yul Brynner................................Major Surov
Jason robards,Jr...........................Paul Kedes
Robert Morley..............................Hugh Deverill
E.G. Marshall..............................Harold Rhinelander
Anne Jackson...............................Mrs.Margie Rhinelander
Ron Howard.................................Billy Rhinelander
Flip Mark..................................Flip Rhinelander
with Kurt Kasznar, David Kossoff, Gerard Oury, Marie Daems, Anouk Aimee, Barbara von Nady, Maurice Sarfati, Siegfried Schurenberg, Maria Urban, Jerry Fujikawa, Erica Vaal, Dimitry Fedotoff, Leonid Pylajew, Wolf Neuber, Michael Szekely, andCharles Regnier, Ivan Petrovich, Ernst Konstantin, Senta Berger, Fred Roby as Rosso.
Deborah Kerr in character as Grace Allingham for "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS" - 1959
Deborah Kerr in character as Sheilah Graham for "BELOVED INFIDEL" - 1959
Deborah Kerr in character as Ida Carmody for "THE S U N D O W N E R S" - 1960
Deborah Kerr in character as Hilary Rhyall for "THE GRASS IS GREENER" - 1960
Deborah Kerr in character as Martha Radcliffe for "THE NAKED EDGE" - 1961
Deborah Kerr in character as Miss Giddens for "THE I N N O C E N T S" - 1961
Deborah Kerr in character as Miss Madrigal for "THE CHALK GARDEN" - 1964
Deborah Kerr in character as Hannah Jelkes for "THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA" - 1964
. . . in character as Valerie Edwards for "MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS" - 1965
. . . in character as Catherine de Montfaucon for "13" ("EYE OF THE DEVIL" - 1967
. . . in character as Agent Mimi ['Lady Fiona McTarry'] for "CASINO ROYALE" - 1967
Deborah Kerr in character as Prudence Hardcastle for "PRUDENCE AND THE PILL" - 1968
Deborah Kerr in character as Elizabeth Brandon for "THE GYPSY MOTHS" - 1969
Deborah Kerr in character as Florence Anderson for "THE A R R A N G E M E N T" - 1969
For Television: Deborah Kerr in "WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION" - 1982
For Television: Deborah Kerr in "REUNION AT FAIRBOROUGH" - 1985
Deborah Kerr in character as Helen for "THE ASSAM GARDEN" - 1985
Again for television as mini-series: "A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE" and "HOLD THE DREAM" as Emma Harte in 1986
_________________________________________________
HomeLife & ScreenStories
in Deborah Kerr's Theatrical World and
H O L L Y W O O D . . .
New York, October 24th, 1946
AVA GARDNER has been granted a divorce from the musician ARTIE SHAW on grounds of mental crulty.
* * * * * *
Vallauris, May 27th, 1949
RITA HAYWORTH has married Prince ALY KHAN.
* * * * * *
The Swing of the Pendulum: 1950 - 1959
The skinny 40s crooner FRANK SINATRA made a second career for himself when he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role of Private Maggio in "From Here to Eternity" - 1953. The film also saw DEBORAH KERR rescued from gentility, playing the adulterous wife making love to BURT LANCASTER on a beach.
Lancaster himself emerged, with KIRK DOUGLAS, as the most versatile and adventurous of the Hollywood stars at the time.
The revelations of "Eternity" are Deborah Kerr and Frank Sinatra. Hollywood has always reserved a pedestal for stately British leading ladies, cool and graceful actresses under whose gentility there might lurk a streak of sensuality. Deborah, in America since 1947, has been confined mainly to decorative roles in melodramas and adventure films, but in "Eternity" she has abandoned restraint to play the nymphomaniac Karen Holmes, taking that illicit tumble in the surf with Burt Lancaster.
Sinatra was in dire straits when he pleaded for, and got, the part of the brow-beaten Italian GI Maggio at the knock-down salary of $8,000 a week. Now he's hit the comeback trail and must be in the running for an OSCAR.
* * * * * *
Korea, February 1st, 1954
MARILYN MONROE is on a tour of the battle front, boosting morale by entertaining the troops.
* * * * * *
SYDNEY GREENSTREET has died in Hollywood on January 19th, 1954.
New York, December 28th, 1954
The New York Critics have voted MARLON BRANDO best actor for ELIA KAZAN'S "On the Waterfront," and GRACE KELLY best actress for GEORGE SEATON'S "The Country Girl."
* * * * * *
New York, February 9th, 1951
Actress GRETA GARBO, a resident in the United States since 1925, had become an American citizen.
* * * * * *
Los Angeles, April 30th, 1951
VINCENTE MINNELLI and JUDY GARLAND, who have been married since 1945, have filed for divorce.
******
Hollywood, August 28th, 1951 - Robert Walker dies at age 33
Troubled star ROBERT WALKER has died during the filming of LEO McCAREY'S "My Son John." Ravaged by the alcoholism which overwelmed him after his divorce from BARBARA FORD, daughter of JOHN FORD, Walker nonetheless turned in a remarkable performance in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S recent "Strangers on a Train." As the playboy psychopath Bruno Anthony, casually swapping murders with FARLEY GRANGER'S weak-willed tennis star.
Yahoo Quick Search
times.
Send e-mail to:greatauntingeborgg@movieland.com/
Copyright © 2010 Hugh Miles-Hutchinsen. All Rights Reserved