Let's Talk about Joan Bennett
A few months ago I discovered Dark Shadows on Netflix. It has since been taken off... boo/hiss. Anyway, I fell in love with Joan Bennett. She was quite beautiful, even under the harsh lighting of daytime television.
This lead me to watch some of her movies. She was in a lot of film noir.
Apparently her movie career ended after a scandal in which her husband shot her agent, who may or may not have been her lover.
She must have been a fascinating woman and she had a great career. Luckily she was able to transition to television.
Do people consider her one of the greats? Let's talk.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 61 | January 8, 2018 3:22 AM
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Her co-stars adored her and none ever said she played a star trip. Didn't her grandson used to post here?
by Anonymous | reply 1 | August 7, 2014 12:06 AM
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The co-stars of DS loved her, saying she was always willing to run lines with people and do whatever was needed to get the job done.
She made some good films. Just watched There's Always Tomorrow last night on TMC. There is a noir one set outside of L.A.; the lady who played Lucy's mother has a bit part in it.
A beautiful woman and a good actress. I read she was amazed at the speed they did DS, not doing retakes or getting right, just moving quickly. But it is a cool show, and I wish they would put it on ME TV or one of those.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 7, 2014 12:27 AM
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I think she had a small vocal range. Kind of a pinched nasally voice. I just watched her in The Reckless Moment.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | August 7, 2014 12:36 AM
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She was already playing mothers (Father of the Bride and Father's Little Dividend) when Walter Wanger shot Jennings Lang. She was 41. So it's hard to say how her film career was affected. She had been something of a siren once she'd changed her look (Cole Porter wrote, in the 40's, "Let's talk of Lamarr, that Hedy so fair -- why does she let Joan Bennett wear all her old hair?"). Sirens don't often transition well.
Interesting that she and Wanger didn't divorce until 1965, although it seems pretty clear that she had indeed been having an affair with Lang. Wanger was 57, Bennett was 41 and Lang was 36.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | August 7, 2014 12:51 AM
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See her transitional film, "Trade Winds." She goes from blond to brunette and changed her career forever. And it's a good picture.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | August 7, 2014 12:59 AM
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She was no Constance Bennett.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 7, 2014 1:07 AM
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r1 is right. Her grandson has posted here in the past.
I hear her on various stories on Old Time Radio on NPR.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | August 7, 2014 1:12 AM
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She was a star, but never a superstar.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | August 7, 2014 2:23 AM
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Joan's older sister, Constance, was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 1930s, so demure blonde ingenue, Joan, was forever in Connie's shadow. When she went brunette in "Trade Winds" (1938), she suddenly became an in-demand sultry noir siren and box office star.
Of Connie's constant quibbling with her age, Joan once observed, "With all of Constance's juggling of dates over the years, I started out as the youngest, then became her twin and finally wound up as the oldest sister."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 9 | August 7, 2014 2:34 AM
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I was surprised when I found out she was a natural blonde who had dyed her her hair brown in order to advance her career. Usually it's the other way round.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 10 | August 7, 2014 2:54 AM
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It must have been a hoot to hang out with her and Louis Edmonds. I read that they would more or less raid the liquor cabinet whenever they rehearsed together at her place.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | August 7, 2014 3:00 AM
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Besides Constance (who's buried in Arlington) there was an older sister named Barbara. Barbara married Morton Downey the singer so that obnoxious shit who was on tv in the 80s was her nephew. He said that he had no use for his aunts. I'm sure the feeling was mutual.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | August 8, 2014 3:56 AM
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She SHOULD be a great. So awesome in "The Reckless Moment" and "Scarlet Street."
by Anonymous | reply 13 | August 8, 2014 4:09 AM
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Amy in 1933's Little Women, starring Katharine Hepburn as Jo, directed by George Cukor.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | August 8, 2014 7:59 AM
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Was she the poor man's Gene Tierney? A lovely actress, and wonderful in many of her films. She added a spark of class, and THAT was difficult considering, to DS.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | August 8, 2014 9:29 AM
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Was she a freelancer? That might be why she's somewhat neglected.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | August 8, 2014 9:53 AM
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She's always struggling to remember her lines on DS.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | August 8, 2014 10:03 AM
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Hedda Hopper wrote about Joan in her autobiography.
Before becoming a gossip columnist, Hedda was a struggling aging character actress in 1930s Hollywood and had played Joan's mother in some forgotten film. Hedda complained that because of her lesser stature she had always had to wait until the end of the day before they'd gotten around to filming her closeups.
When, years later Joan was shooting Father of the Bride, Hedda pointedly teased her in her column, asking her how it felt to play her first mother role.
In retaliation, Joan sent Hedda a live skunk. No slacker at one-upmanship, Hedda named the skunk Joan.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | August 8, 2014 11:52 AM
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Let's talk of Lamarr, that Hedy so fair
Why does she let Joan Bennett wear all her old hair?
by Anonymous | reply 19 | August 8, 2014 12:10 PM
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Didn't her grandson post here?
by Anonymous | reply 20 | August 8, 2014 2:38 PM
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We've never heard from Hedy Lamarr's grandson.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | August 8, 2014 3:21 PM
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Joan Bennett was never a major star but had a good run in the 30's and 40's. In the mid-40's she hit her stride with two Fritz Lang films - WOMAN IN THE WINDOW and especially SCARLET STREET, and then a few years later with THE RECKLESS MOMENT.
But after that she played her first mother role in FATHER OF THE BRIDE (where I don't think she really had that much to do - the film is focused on Tracey and Taylor mostly) and it was mostly TV from the 50's on.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | August 8, 2014 4:40 PM
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Sister Barbara wound up killing herself at 51.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | August 8, 2014 10:13 PM
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Joan Bennet has been a SKELETON in her coffin for YEARS now.
She had a try for "Gone With the Wind" but lost out.
She made a bunch of movies with the help of her husband a producer in the 1940s.
Never won an Oscar.
Grew old and took a lower job in a silly daytime soap about vampires and werewolves for cash.
After that she grew more old and died.
End of story.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | August 8, 2014 10:35 PM
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[quote] Joan Bennet has been a SKELETON in her coffin for YEARS now.
[quote] She had a try for "Gone With the Wind" but lost out.
[quote] She made a bunch of movies with the help of her husband a producer in the 1940s.
[quote] Never won an Oscar.
[quote] Grew old and took a lower job in a silly daytime soap about vampires and werewolves for cash.
[quote] After that she grew more old and died.
[quote] End of story.
Might you be joining her soon?
by Anonymous | reply 25 | August 8, 2014 10:45 PM
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Joan Bennett was signed to 20th Century Fox in the early part of her career, but she left in 1933, and signed with independent producer Walter Wanger the following year. Marrying in 1940, Bennett and Wanger partnered with director Fritz Lang to form their own production company, churning out noir films throughout the '40s that were hit and miss.
By the 1950s, Bennett was in her 40s and deemed too old for leading lady parts, so she reinvented herself in wholesome supporting mother roles. But the ensuing Jennings Lang shooting scandal killed what was left of her career. She would work sporadically over the years, but studios of the time were hesitant to hire an alledged adultress. Desperate for work, she took a lowly job on a daytime gothic soap opera(!), "Dark Shadows," which ended up briefly reigniting her career.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | August 9, 2014 2:27 AM
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Did Joan remain with Wanger after the shooting?
Was Wanger jailed or was it considered justifiable homicide?
by Anonymous | reply 27 | August 9, 2014 3:23 AM
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Dark Shadows is a LOT LESS SILLY than the shit you freepy Bravo lovers watch!
For it's time, it was totally different and had fun, fantastic storylines. When it first started, there were no vampires or werewolves, just a Gothic atmosphere, so Joan DID NOT go to work on a vampire show.
Nothing quite like it had ever been seen on TV before.
Many kids from the mid sixties who are now boomers remember it fondly, and have passed on their fondness for the series to younger people.
PBS NYC ran DS for years, and it brought loads of cash for their telethons.
It also ran in SF for years at 11 PM and out-rated all the 11 o'clock news shows.
Fan festivals have been held annually and sometimes semi-annually since the 80s--with sold out hotels every time.
Three motion pictures. A mini series and a revival series pilot.
35 paperback tie in novels published roughly 1966--1976.
3 more tie in novels by star Lara Parker more recently.
Dozens of non-fiction books about the show and it's stars.
So what you think is silly may not be silly to everyone.
At least DS was original and imaginative, fun, and safe for all ages. Were the production values great? No, but it was very much like live theatre.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | August 9, 2014 3:34 AM
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Am I the only one who thought OP was talking about that missing little girl from the the 90s, even while reading the post lol.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | August 9, 2014 3:40 AM
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Read all about the Bennett - Walter Wanger - Jennings Lang scandal at link. After the shooting, Wanger went to prison for 4 months but returned to produce Invasion of the Body Snatchers and other films; Lang recovered from his wounds and eventually became head of Universal Pictures. Joan's career never really recovered in Hollywood. Double standard?
But Joan and Wanger didn't divorce for another 15 years after the shooting, even though they never lived together after the day of the shooting and Wanger's arrest.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 30 | August 9, 2014 4:52 AM
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She is terrific in those Fritz Lang movies. A femme fatale who was smart AND to die for. Plus, she was in Suspiria. I actually think that film is pretty overblown and not scary, but she's still cool.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | August 9, 2014 6:39 AM
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She was a very smart and sophisticated woman who was typed as a mindless ingénue in her early career.
But once she dyed her hair brunette and left her studio contract, the complexity of her persona was freed and she gave some brilliant performances.
She was apparently very well-respected by all of her peers.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | August 9, 2014 1:29 PM
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I read this as "Let's Talk about JonBenet."
by Anonymous | reply 33 | August 9, 2014 1:53 PM
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She would have had a great career, if only Mrs. Patsy Ramsey, formerly of Boulder, CO hadn't gotten her hands on her . . .
by Anonymous | reply 35 | August 9, 2014 4:58 PM
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Let’s talk of Lamarr, that Hedy so fair Why does she let Joan Bennett wear all her old hair? If you know Garbo, then tell me the news, Is it a fact the navy's launched all her old shoes.
[....]
Let's talk about drugs Let's talk about dope. Let's try to picture Paramount minus Bob Hope.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | August 9, 2014 6:31 PM
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Thanks for taking the rap Mommy.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | August 9, 2014 7:50 PM
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Such pretty blonde hair, that little girl.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | August 9, 2014 7:53 PM
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Joan's father, Richard Bennett, was a famous stage and silent film actor. I believe that she had serious vision problems as she got older which impacted her ability to work.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | August 9, 2014 8:36 PM
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R30, R36, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm R4.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | August 9, 2014 8:39 PM
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I loved her on Dark Shadows, especially when she would forget her lines. It is tough for movie actors to get daytime because of the speed at which it happens. The actress who played Victoria Winters looked so much like, I always wondered if the writers planned to reveal that Victoria and Elizabeth were mother and daughter.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | August 9, 2014 8:46 PM
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They rushed through Dark Shadows, rehearsing late morning early afternoon and taping late afternoon.
She wasn't the only one with difficulty at doing lines.
But somehow they made it worked and we overlooked the many errors and mistakes, just enjoying the different type of show it was, setting our imaginations free to wonder about the Collins family, their mansion and its' grounds, Collinsport; perhaps the best storyline was the 1897 sequence--the series kind of faltered after they returned to the present post 1897.
I used to love Grayson Hall's over the top performance, and also beautiful Lara Parker, Kathryn Leigh Scott, and Alexandra Moltke. Donald Briscoe was so handsome on that show. Ditto Joel Crothers.
An era of no Kardashians, no Mu sli m terrorists, no reality TV, the world was less crazy then. Still had problems I know but less of an insane asylum.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | August 9, 2014 8:48 PM
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[quote]An era of no Kardashians, no Mu sli m terrorists, no reality TV, the world was less crazy then
No offense or anything, but the 60s was one of the most turbulent eras in our history as a country.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | August 9, 2014 8:54 PM
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Joan as Alice (as in wonderland)
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 44 | August 9, 2014 8:57 PM
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Was Fritz Lang worth all that bother? Was he some kind of a hunk?
by Anonymous | reply 45 | August 9, 2014 10:26 PM
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R45, he was an amazing director. Incredible film noir.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | August 9, 2014 10:47 PM
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R41 you can find online an original storyline/show Bible where at one point they had planned to reveal that Joan was Alexandra's biological mother.
Very observant of you.
Lots of DS stuff online, I forget exactly where I saw this.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | August 11, 2014 3:36 AM
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[quote]Joan's career never really recovered in Hollywood. Double standard ?
Joan Bennett was 41 at the time of the shooting. At 41 most film actresses are on the way down, particularly back then. She still managed to make a half dozen films in the 50s, more than her (more) successful sister Constance who at one point in the 1930s was 'the highest paid actress' in the country.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | August 11, 2014 3:49 AM
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But Connie was always reluctant to play second leads and mothers, unlike Joan.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | August 11, 2014 12:02 PM
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R45, it wasn't Fritz Lang that the fuss was about. It was Jennings Lang.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | August 11, 2014 2:28 PM
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Well, then.....was Jennings Lang some kind of a hunk? Was he worth all that trouble?
by Anonymous | reply 51 | August 11, 2014 8:34 PM
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L to R: Walter Wanger, Joan Bennett, Monica Lewis (Mrs. Jennings Lang), and Jennings Lang.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 52 | August 12, 2014 5:40 AM
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According to this newsclip, Bennett and Lang were trysting in Marlon Brando's apartment:
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 53 | August 12, 2014 5:43 AM
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Let's not. Some near-homophones are best not spoken of in polite company.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | August 12, 2014 6:07 AM
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Art Wallace, the co-creator and original scripter of DS has stated Vicki was to be the daughter of Paul Stoddard and Liz's unknown to her half sister (Betty Hanscombe) - that way the resemblance to Bennett would make sense. Liz was not to be Vicki's mother, but her aunt. They dropped the plot line when Barnabas come on strong. There was final scene where a sneering Jason McGuire tauned Vicki with 'who she really is' at the Blue Whale, then Jason was killed and Vicki never worried about it again.
Back to Joan - her last hubby was a cross dresser and she knew about it and accepted it gleefully.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | August 16, 2014 11:13 PM
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I don't understand that thing with Jennings Lang. Wouldn't a woman in her 40s be too old to be having sex?
by Anonymous | reply 56 | August 18, 2014 6:36 AM
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Joan Bennett loved doing Dark Shadows. It was the fourth act in her career, after playing the ingenue, the femme fatale, and the devoted mother.
Now she got to head the cast of the first truly gothic soap.
I am sure that she knew what she was doing in the more preposterous scenes, such as the one linked here, but there was never any winking at the audience, meaning that she and Jonathan Frid have gifted us with a wonderful example of true camp in its highest form.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 57 | August 19, 2014 9:18 PM
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[quote]Besides Constance (who's buried in Arlington) there was an older sister named Barbara
Barbara's greatest fame came from writing for Redbook.
by Anonymous | reply 58 | August 19, 2014 9:29 PM
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I used to wish the women in my family were classy like Elizabeth Collins Stoddard.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | January 7, 2018 3:07 PM
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Dark Shadows is on Hulu and Amazon now. Amazon has all the seasons, but there's a seasons-long gap on Hulu. Not sure why.
I've been watching it on and off, and also enjoying the linked blog, which is funny. I'm on episode 327, and apparently in for a lot of craziness if I stick with it.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 60 | January 7, 2018 3:31 PM
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Stick with it. Truly it is like live theatre. So many beautiful women on this show and several handsome men. Grayson Hall deserved an Emmy for her high camp. Much later, you will scream wiyh delight at her Ma g da. Damn auto correct. David Henesey is a great child actor. A fun romp...it will suck you in, nothing else like it.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | January 8, 2018 3:22 AM
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