- Allene Roberts, Union Station, 1950. Change of Lorna for director Rudolph Maté’s film noir – under-rated because he was not Fritz Lang. Or Jacques Tourneur.
- Ida Lupino, On Dangerous Ground, 1950. Also in the snowy mountains frame for the blind Mary were Lauren Bacall, Olivia de Havilland, Faith Domergue, Susan Hayward, Deborah Kerr, Janet Leigh, Margaret Sullavan, Teresa Wright, Jane Wyman – and Broadway newcomer Margaret Phillips. RKO chose well. Because, although un-credited, Lupino also co-directed the noir thriller with Nicholas Ray. In all, she helmed 41 films and TV shows during 1949-1968 when Hollywood women were just supposed to pout, pirouette and pucker up.
- Jean Simmons, The Actress, 1953. Ruth Gordon’s autobiographical tale began as a 1944 play, Journey To A Star, hitting New York in ‘46 as Years Ago with Fredric March as her father. For the movie, it had it be Spencer Tracy said Gordon, who wrote two of his and Katharine Hepburn’s nine films (Adam’s Rib, Pat and Mike) with husband Garson Kanin. She didn’t care who played her. After Debbie Reynolds’ 1952 test was deemed “superficial nonsense” by Kanin, Hendrix was a front runner until Tracy looked hard at the wife of his poker buddy, Stewart Granger.
- Peggie Castle,Jesse James’ Women, 1954. Hendrix and Arlene Whelan were announced as two of the women of Don Barry and Jack Beutel as Jesse and Frank James. The guys were right, the ladies became Castle and Lita Baron. Of the four nominees, Castle won the most gigs, 58 to, say, Baron’s 26.
Birth year: 1928Death year: 1981Other name: Casting Calls: 4