- Ella Raines, A Dangerous Professsion, 1948. Difficult to choose between such lovelies, but Raines was the better actress. (Ironically, her full name was Ella Wallace Raines). Of course, anyone looked lively – awake, even – opposite the block of wood named George Raft. Wallace later became Cornel Wilde’s very own Susan Alexander – never matching the hopes he had for her as his co-star when directing the last six of her 22 screen roles. On-screen, they were as boring as each other.
- Barbara Bates, Quicksand, 1949. Stealing, er “borrowing” $20 to splash on a date with his gal is just the start of Mickey Rooney’s problems. The main one being he didn’t want to make this B-thriller but A Ticket to Tomahawk with Anne Baxter. Andy Hardy, he wasn’t anymore. Wallace was between her first and second husbadns before marrying Cornel Wilde in1951 for 30 years – and seven movies he he directed
- Kim Novak, Vertigo, 1957. A note from associate producer Herbert Coleman, located in Paramount records, indicated that Mrs Cornel Wilde was in the frame for Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton – after Lana Turner “wanted too much loot” and Vera Miles was too pregnant. Finally, Alfred Hitchcock borrowed Novak from Columbia. In the 2012 Sight & Sound critics’ poll, Vertigo replaced Citizen Kane as the greatest film of all time. Hitch would not agree. He felt Novak was all wrong and Stewart was too old and the reason why the film failed. Hitch never worked with Jim again.
Birth year: 1923Death year: 1990Other name: Casting Calls: 3