- Jill Curzon, Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, 1966. The Doctor’s companions from the first cinema movie, Dr Who and the Daleks, 1965, were unavailable for the first sequel,and so Roy Castle and Jennie Linden’s Ian and Barbara became Cribbins and Jill Curzon’s Tom and Louise. (The second sequel was cancelled).
- Jane Merrow, The Lion In Winter,1968. Jennie tested with Peter O’Toole but lost out on being Alais, his King Henry II’s mistressHowever,writer-producer Larry Kramer saw the test and asked her to beUrsula in his Women In Love, a role already spurned by Faye Dunaway, Vanessa Redgrave and Carol White as being less important than Glenda Jackson’s Gudrun.
- Susan George, Straw Dogs, 1971. No thank you, Mr Peckinpah.
Sweet Sue was too strong – heroic enough to save the day for Dustin Hoffman as her milque-toast husband… but wary, like others, of how far director Sam Peckinpah wanted to push the rape scene. Hoffman confessed to making it just for the money but still objected to his Mr Milque-toast having such a nymphettish wife. Sweet little Sue, however, was made of sterner stuff. She fought Hollywood heavyweight Peckinpah and bravely said she’d quit rather than agree to his overly explicit portrayal of her rape. Peckinpah gave in and kept his camera on her face, not her body. Cuts by the UK censor then made the (three minute) sequence worse by actually implying sodomy. (Irish censors cut the entire scene and a global video release was banned until… 2002). Jacqueline Bisset, Judy Geeson Linda Hayden, Judy Huxtable, Jennie Linden, Hayley Mills, Helen Mirren, Charlotte Rampling and Carol White were, inevitably, also in the mix for Amy – the name of Sue’s future production company. - Stephanie Beacham, The Nightcomers, 1972. Even…No thank you, Mr Brando!!! Jennie played safe with gentle TV for quite a spell after Women In Love. She refused Michael Winner’s Turn of the Screw prequel with Marlon Brandov – when Vanessa Redgrave was delayed on another gig, Of all the numerous UK directors who rashly claimed to have signed Brando for a movie, only Winner delivered him.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 4