- Loretta Young, The Devil To Pay! 1929. Take One was Irving Cummings directing Constance Cummings (no kin) as Dorothy, Ronald Colman’s romantic (or economic) quarry. After two weeks, producer Sam Goldwyn realised she was too American for such a tres English black sheep of the family number. Take Two had George Fitzmaurice re-shooting everything with Young.
- Barbara Stanwyck, The Bitter Tea of General Yen, 1932. First choice for the Christian missionary falling for Chinese warlord Nils Asther… who was Swedish! Some 25 years later, in the similar (but true) Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Ingrid Bergman’s missionary become involved (untrue) with a Chinese Army officer Curd Jürgens – who was German!).
- Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951. If Bette Davis was producer Irene Mayer Selznick’s #1 Blanche DuBois (even before the play erupted on Broadway), there were soon many others… Constance, Olivia De Havilland, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Miriam Hopkins (“If there’s anybody Bette hates more than Joan Crawford, it’s Miriam,” commented Irene), Celia Johnson, Veronica Lake, Ruth Warrick, etc.
Birth year: 1910Death year: 2005Other name: Casting Calls: 3