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Peter Van Eyck, The Moon Is Down, 1942. Eythe won a Fox contract due to his work as Lieutenant Todner in the play and was expected to reprise Tonder – except it became Van Eyck’s debut.
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Dennis O’Keefe, Doll Face, 1944. Vivian Blaine’s leading man changed from Eythe to the man of the hour, O’Keefe, for the movie of ex-stripper Gypsy Rose Lee’s novel, The Naked Genius. This was the screen debut of future Tarzan and Germany’s Old Shatterhand, Lex Barker.
- Glenn Langan, Dragonwyck, 1945. Producer Darryl F Zanuck went through three changes – from John Hodiak to William Eythe to Michael Francis is – to find the right Dr Jeff Turner.
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Richard Conte, 13 Rue Madeleine, 1946. Ya cain’t always get wot ya wanna… Not even if you were Darryl Zanuck. For his US Amy Intelligence thriller, the head Fox wanted such people as Eythe, Glenn Langan, John Payne for O’Connell, plus Rex Harrison or Randolph Scott, as spy boss Bob Sharkey. And lost ’em all!
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Richard Conte, Whirlpool, 1948. Repeat performance… Two years earlier The Hollywood Reporter announced Eythe for the kleptomaniac Gene Tierney’s husband. Two months later, he was Cornel Wilde. Eythe looked much like Tyrone Power – not good as they both worked at Fox. As he went from B to C movies, he hit the sauce too much and was dead by 38.
- Richard Conte, Highway Dragnet, 1953. Who should be the ex-solder on the lam from the cops after a murder he did not commit? Broadway’s Eythe was first choice in 1946, until replaced by Cornel Wilde as the WWII vet – eventually a Korean war vet for Conte nine years later. Eythe’s screen career never took off, he was over after just 23 roles.
Birth year: 1918Death year: 1957Other name: Casting Calls: 6