- Katharine Hepburn, Stage Door, 1937. It made sense to sign a contract with RKO in 1937 as the studio had the rights to her Broadway triumph. Except…
- Ginger Rogers, Stage Door, 1937. … Except RKO divided the role intwo – and rejected Lee for both of them.
- Barbara Stanwyck, Stella Dallas, 1937. A favourite for the title role that won Barbara an Oscar nomination. And so Lee disappeared into B-movies mainly because she was written off by Louella Parsons – displeased with a profile penned by Lee’s journo husband Tom Wood,
- Gladys George, The Roaring Twenties, 1938. Panama Smith was a tough role to fill. But nothing had changed that much at Warner since James Cagney had been away… Gladys George replaced Sheridan who replaced Patrick who had replaced Glenda Farrell. And film censor James L Breen banned any more jazzy Prohibition studies, which is why The Great Gatsbycould not get made for another ten years.
- Ann Sothern, Brother Orchid, 1939. Studio boss Jack Warner wanted Lee. Associate producer Mark Hellinger “fought bitterly” for Ann. Just another of their everyday feuds, which led to Mark telling the boss: “Keep using your other producers as messenger boys and involuntary ass-kissers… but credit me with just a little more manhood and honesty.”
- Gladys George, The Maltese Falcon, 1940. When Eve Arden proved unavailable for Sam Spade’s secretary, Effie, Patrick took up the shorthand pad and passed the widow Iva Archer to George. In fact, she also played Effie in the hokey re-make, The Black Bird, 1975.
Birth year: 1906Death year: 1982Other name: Casting Calls: 6