American actress Gretchen Mol was supposed to be the It Girl of the 1990s (per Vanity Fair), but her career trajectory hasn’t always been straightforward. Nonetheless, she’s acted in numerous frock flicks, and I was happy to see her in my recent catch-up of Boardwalk Empire — so as always, my next thought was, “which frock flicks has she done?” Here’s my answer!
Maggie in Dead Man’s Walk (1996)
A TV miniseries adaptation of a Lonesome Dove prequel — set in 1840s Texas, two young men join the Texas Rangers.
Mary Greenway in The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)
A dramatization about the attempted suicide of the girlfriend of famed Beat writer Neal Cassady. Mol plays a former girlfriend.
Beatrice Gruman in Finding Graceland (1998)
A drifter claims to be Elvis Presley — after Elvis’s death — and joins a young man on a road trip (in the 1960s? maybe?).
Marion Davies in Cradle Will Rock (1999)
A group of left-wing activists put on a play in 1930s Depression America.
Ellie in Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
A Woody Allen film set in the 1930s, about a jazz guitarist who falls for a mute woman.
Hedy in Just Looking (1999)
“A teenage boy from the Bronx who is sent to Queens to live with his aunt and new uncle for one summer in the 1950s” per Wikipedia. Mol plays the object of his fascination.
Bettie Page in The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
A biopic about the 1950s pin-up and bondage model.
Eleanor in The Valley of Light (2006)
A Hallmark TV movie set in post-World War II France.
Alice Evans in 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
A remake of the famed 1957 film, about “a rancher impoverished by drought who takes on the dangerous but lucrative job of taking a notorious outlaw… to justice” (Wikipedia). Mol plays the rancher’s wife.
Catherine Caswell in An American Affair (2008)
Set in 1963, a young boy has an inside perspective one of JFK’s affairs and CIA assassination plans.
Gillian Darmody in Boardwalk Empire (2010-14)
An Atlantic City politician is also a bootlegger during Prohibition. Mol plays the quite-glamorous showgirl mother of the politician’s protegé.
Linda Mason in Perry Mason (2020-23)
A TV series about the famed fictional detective, this time focused on his origins in 1930s Los Angeles. Mol plays Perry’s ex-wife, and it was HARD to find pics of her!
Which is your favorite of Gretchen Mol’s frock flicks roles?
Gretchen Mol was also in the remake of The Magnificent Ambersons in 2002 with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Madeline Stowe.
I really liked her in Boardwalk Empire, and admittedly I have not seen any of these other films listed.
Regarding Finding Graceland; didn’t Elvis die in 1977? So that film could not have taken place in the 1960s, unless it was pure fantasy.
She was very good in the non-FF series 2022 remake of American Gigolo.
She was a GREAT Lucy Morgan, too. Pretty much exactly how I pictured her from the book (that’s one of my favorite novels, not admitting to how many times I’ve re-read it.)
Even in non-glam roles, she is beautiful!
There may be actresses as beautiful as Ms Mol, but it’s difficult to think of one more lovely – though her character in BOARDWALK EMPIRE is horrifyingly close to Cersei Lannister in so many ways.
On a less serious note, it always amuses me that my imagination always pronounces ‘Gretchen’ with a cartoonish ‘Old Lady German/Ve Haff Vays of Makink You TALK!’ accent, no matter the exact lady it is attached to (I actually work with a German who was kind enough to point out that the name is actually a pet name for ‘Margerete’, so for them it has a cuddly, sugar-sweet ring to it).