BIRTH: October 16, 1923
DEATH: April 10, 1965
AGED: 41 years
DIED FROM: Fire in home, burned 90% of her body. Not sure of the cause of the fire although cigarettes may be the likely culprit but not sure if it was Linda or her friend.
REAL NAME: Monetta Eloyse Darnell
MARRIED: 3 Times
AFFAIRS: Howard Hughes, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Italian actor Giuseppe Amato, Vic Orstti. Dated Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper, George Montgomery, Kay Keyser, Eddie Albert..etc, etc, etc.,
CHILDREN: 1 adopted daughter
NICKNAME: Filmdom’s Most Eligible Bachelorette.
TALENT: she loved to paint and draw
KNOWN FOR: her exquisite beauty
I am taking a major risk…why? This is, I believe, Joel’s favourite actress and I hope I do this amazing gal justice since she is not well known which is sad. If Joel has anything more to add, please let me know in your comment. This is a gal that I always wanted to know more about even when I was a kid because she was not only strikingly beautiful, but she seemed intelligent and and full of spunk. She deserved a lot more than what she was given, partly, I believe, due to Darryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox, who lusted after her but whom she rejected. You can see that he made sure she just didn’t get the parts she deserved due to the creep but most of them were creeps who had power and the almighty casting couch. She grew up one of 5 kids whom her mom saw stars in front of her beautiful girl and decided to capitalize on her daughter’s beauty lying about her age, mind you, I don’t think Linda minded at the time but she was only 13! When they headed to Hollywood and Hollywood found out about her young age, they actually told her to go home until she was of age! When she returned, still young, in my humble opinion, she starred in films from the get go with people believing she was much older than her 16/17 yrs. Her mom had a bad reputation for being a bully on set and nasty, with Linda, finally, kicking her out of her life. Linda actually loved painting, travelling and didn’t care much about the whole scene and had few Hollywood friends except for Ann Miller.
She did have bad taste in men, with her first husband introducing her to alcohol which led her to a downward spiral of alcoholism and her so-called love of her life, Joseph L Mankiewicz using her for 6 years before dropping her to stay with his wife calling her a nice gal but with terrifying personal problems. She did deal with depression and even a couple of suicide attempts while trying to get sober. She was staying with her former secretary and friend, when, in the middle of the night, she awoke to fire in the home. She got her friend’s daughter and friend to the 2nd storey window and they jumped but fearing the fall, she tried to find a different way out. She was burned over 90% of her body and died a day later. What a horrible way to go for someone who deserved an Oscar nod, if not the Oscar for A Letter to 3 Wives and who just wanted to be loved.
FILMS
1. A Letter To Three Wives-1949
2. My Darling Clementine-1946
3. Blood and Sand-1941
4. Fallen Angel- 1945
5. Unfaithfully Yours-1948
6. Night Without Sleep-1952
7. Forever Amber-1947
8. Hangover Square-1945
9. Star Dust-1939
10. The Mark Of Zorro-1940
I haven’t seen many of her films so, after, Blood and Sand, I chose movies that I would want to see in order, mind you there are other films I want to see not even listed. Which are your favourite films of hers? Have you seen any?
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteShady's Comet has circled around and returned to the blogosphere for another three-day go. How are you and my animal buddies Lexi and Harley?
I remember actress Linda Darnell, but didn't know all these interesting facts about her, including the terrible manner in which she perished at the too young age of 41.
I always liked actor Paul Douglas (married 5 times, divorced 4 times, and also died young at age 52). I have seen Paul and Linda along with other faves Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain and Ann Sothern in A Letter To Three Wives. I don't remember watching any of Linda's other films, but would like to see her in the film noir mystery Night W/O Sleep and in the role of a prostitute in the Italian melodrama Angels Of Darkness which also stars another favorite of mine - Anthony Quinn.
I enjoyed the two videos. Linda certainly was a stunner. It's a shame she was held back by power hungry men in her professional life and treated poorly in her personal life as well. Thanks for shining the spotlight on the lovely and talented Linda Darnell.
I'm back on the blog circuit this week and invite you to drop by and see me at Shady's Place. Have a wonderful week and month, dear friend BB!
Hello and glad to see you here.i found this in my spam. I have no idea why it would go there.
DeleteLinda Darnell was really quite a great actress but not given the chance she deserved. She still found the ability to captivate us with her beauty and talent in the film.s she did make. Like you, I haven't seen many of her films but I wa to. She died too tragically and in great pai
Birgit - I left a comment first thing this morning. It published but has since vanished. Could you please check your spam bin? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGot it!
DeleteI have heard of her. I do believe I've seen A Letter to Three Wives. What a terrible way to go. It sounds like she was not a happy person. So many famous people weren't.
ReplyDeleteI think she had a lot of hangers on. I believe she did find some happiness albeit it could have been more.
DeleteHi Birgit,
ReplyDeleteOf course, I wholeheartedly approve of your choice for the month, and you are correct that the lovely Linda is my favorite actress of all-time!!
She did get a raw deal from Zanuck and I’m not sure that, despite her success there, 20th Century Fox was the best studio for her. They focused so much on her beauty that even when she received a role that gave her a chance to display her very real ability-Hangover Square, Fallen Angel, Summer Storm (although that was made on loan out)-it wasn’t followed up by other worthy parts but another decorous one. She might have fared better at Warners with their grittier edge especially later in her career when she excelled at the tough dame type of role (Letter to Three Wives, No Way Out, etc.) But no matter the role she added something memorable to her films.
My first exposure to her was very early with the 1952 flick “Blackbeard, the Pirate” on the Saturday Early Morning Movie, which to my 6- or 7-year-old eyes was a great movie! Its tale of colorful adventures on the high seas with Robert Newton hamming it up outrageously as the title character, incredibly athletic Keith Andes bounding all over the place and Linda as the spunky and very beautiful lady faire (and as I was later to discover Granny Clampett herself, Irene Ryan, all dolled up as her dipso maid!) all in sumptuous Technicolor made me an instant fan! I still have a soft spot for the film though I must admit it is not the masterpiece I once thought!
Anyway, after that I toiled for years to find and watch all her films, something that became considerably easier once TCM came along though even they never ran her Italian lensed films (thank you internet!) A few years ago, I finally tracked down the last of them 1954’s “Angels of Darkness” ….in Italian (but we take what we can manage to find). I also own her biography “Hollywood Beauty.”
Enjoyed the clips and was so glad to see her delightful appearance as a Mystery Guest on “What’s My Line?” pop up after the first one ended!!
I hope I did her justiceJoel. I'm so glad to see you here. You know, I think I saw that pirate movie top but when I was really young. I remember think the lead was too much. You are lucky that you saw all her films. And I think you are right, Warner bros. Would have been the best. 2nd, maybe Paramount but she would have had to deal with Cohn. I love her in A Letter to 3 Wives and My Darling Clementine.
DeleteI usually just list my top 10 of whoever you’ve chosen for the month but since this is a special case and she didn’t appear in hundreds of films (only 41 actually, and she died at 41 how ironic) I’m going to do a full ranking…hope you don’t mind 😊 Comments on the top 5 and then a listing of the rest!
ReplyDelete#1 must be “A Letter to Three Wives” (1949)-I think universally agreed to be her best performance and she should have been nominated. I think category confusion (were all three women leads or each supporting to the other?.... they were leads but I’m guessing that was the thinking) cost her. Considering the overall weak field that year, except for Olivia de Havilland who would have and should have won for “The Heiress” no matter who else was in the running, there was certainly room for Linda.
2) No Way Out (1950)-The other place she really should have been nominated, though in supporting, and this time she should have won. Her character of Edie completely evolves during the run time of the film, and she handles that beautifully.
3) Hangover Square (1945)-She is deliciously venal as a grasping strumpet who unwisely uses the disturbed Laird Cregar (in his last film before his far too early death) and pays the price.
4) This is My Love (1954)-Her last really juicy part as a woman trapped in a miserable existence (ironically named Vida Dove meaning peaceful life) which she plays memorably. Another award caliber performance but it was made at RKO as her main star period was starting to fade.
5) It Happens in Roma (1955)-Charming comedy filmed in Rome with Linda in a marriage of convenience with Vittorio Gassman but pursued by Rossano Brazzi and unsure who to choose, we should all have such problems!
6-41:
6. Fallen Angel (1945)
7. Summer Storm (1944)-Her first challenging role, she acquits herself very well.
8. Angels of Darkness (1954)
9. Forever Amber (1947)
10. Dakota Incident (1956)
11. The Lady Pays Off (1951)
12. The Walls of Jericho (1948)
13. Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952)
14. My Darling Clemintine (1946)
15. Second Chance (1953)-Terrific little action flick with Robert Mitchum and Jack Palance originally released in 3-D.
16. Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
17. Everybody Does It (1949)
18. The 13th Letter (1951)
19. Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
20. Blood and Sand (1941)
21. The Mark of Zorro (1940)
22. Island of Desire (1952)
23. Two Flags West (1950)
24. It Happened Tomorrow (1944)
25. Zero Hour! (1957)-You probably already know this was the inspiration for “Airplane!”
26. Centennial Summer (1946)
27. Night Without Sleep (1952)
28. Slattery’s Hurricane (1949) -Middling drama but great cast, in addition to Linda this has Richard Widmark and Veronica Lake!!
29. Star Dust (1940)
30. Day-Time Wife (1939)
31. City Without Men (1943)
32. The Great John L. (1945)
33. Hotel for Women (1939)
34. Black Spurs (1965)-Her last film, released after her passing.
35. The Guy Who Came Back (1951)
36. The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942)
37. Rise and Shine (1941)
38. Chad Hanna (1940)
39. Buffalo Bill (1944)
40. Sweet and Low-Down (1944)-The music provided by Benny Goodman is great and Linda and Lynn Bari (and their mile high hairdos) are lovely but the lead actor James Cardwell, while attractive, has the screen presence of lint. Tragically he committed suicide a few years later at only thirty-two.
41. Brigham Young, Frontiersman (1940)
You probably are shocked it took me a couple of days to comment on this post, but I’m embroiled in the process of moving including getting the old house on the market and settling into the new more streamlined place…. it has been a bumpy and time-consuming road!!!
Oh that's why I haven't seen you! Moving is a big stress but it sounds like you are ridding yourself of stuff. Mind you, if I move( dreading that day) I would have to keep all.my DVDS which must be close to a thousand now. Some I don't care about as they are myhubbys and he like Van Damme and Seagal, blechh, I want to see your top 5 especially the one with Laird Craegar. I would rate My Darling higher but I haven't seen many of her films.i should fi d one on YouTube.
DeleteI love My Darling Clementine but my placement is based more on her role in the film than the quality of the overall picture. She's lovely and spunky in it and adds a nice flavor to her scenes but the film rightly belongs to Henry Fonda and Victor Mature.
Delete