British actress Jean Simmons (1929-2010) was one of THE leading ladies of her era, particularly the 1950s and 1960s. She did a number of historical films, with an academy award nomination for Hamlet and an Emmy win for The Thorn Birds. Let’s run down her many iconic appearances in frock flicks!
Harpist in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)
She was uncredited in a bit part in the Vivien Leigh-starring biopic.
Jane Brodrick in Hungry Hill (1946)
Two Irish families feud sometime in the 19th century.
Young Estella in Great Expectations (1946)
Her first round in the Dickens classic was in this feature film adaptation. It won’t be her last!
Caroline Ruthyn in The Inheritance (1947)
An heiress moves in with her guardian, who wants to murder her for her money.
Ophelia in Hamlet (1948)
THE role in THE Shakespeare play!
Emmeline Foster in The Blue Lagoon (1949)
I had no idea the Brooke Shields film was a remake! Two 19th century children are shipwrecked on an island and grow up together.
Victoria Barton in So Long at the Fair (1950)
A young woman’s brother disappears, and the hotel staff have no memory of him existing.
Lavinia in Androcles and the Lion (1952)
In ancient Rome, a Christian befriends a lion.
Young Bess (Queen Elizabeth I) in Young Bess (1953)
Simmons plays the future Queen Elizabeth I, in love with her creepy step-father except it’s not supposed to be creepy.
Ruth Gordon Jones in The Actress (1953)
A biopic of a real-life actress/playwright.
Diana in The Robe (1953)
A Biblical story about the Roman who crucified Jesus.
Merit in The Egyptian (1954)
“In ancient Egypt, a poor orphan becomes a genial physician and is eventually appointed at the Pharaoh’s court where he witnesses palace intrigues and learns dangerous royal secrets,” per IMDB.
Désirée Clary in Désirée (1954)
A biopic about Napoléon’s first love.
Lily Watkins in Footsteps in the Fog (1955)
“In early 1900s England, a maid tries to blackmail her master into romancing her when she discovers he murdered his wife,” per IMDB.
Julie Maragon in The Big Country (1958)
Set in the 1880s, two families feud over land in Texas.
Varinia in Spartacus (1960)
Real-life Spartacus leads a slave rebellion against the Romans.
Mary Follet in All the Way Home (1963)
A widow raises her children in 1915 Tennessee.
Sarah Churchill in Soldier in Love (1967)
A TV movie about the Duke and Duchess (Simmons) of Marlborough and their relationship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.
Frl. Rottenmeier in Heidi (1968)
An adaptation of the classic story about a Swiss orphan girl living in the Alps.
Fiona “Fee” Cleary in The Thorn Birds (1983)
In 1920s Australia, a young woman is in love with a priest. I’ve never understood the excitement about this TV miniseries, but then I’ve never seen it, so maybe I’m missing out?
Clarissa Main in North and South (1985)
Simmons plays the matriarch of the Southern clan in this story about two families before and during the Civil War.
Clarissa Main in North and South: Book II (1986)
More “white people suffer during the Civil War that they started”!
Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (1989)
Round two in the Dickens classic, this time a TV miniseries.
Carrie-Louise Serrocold in Miss Marple: “They Do It with Mirrors” (1991)
Her last frock flick role was in one episode of the 1950s-set murder mystery series.
What’s your favorite of Jean Simmons’ historical roles?
No Guys & Dolls? That’s how I remember Jean Simmons, as the Save-A-Soul sister. Also, she played Elizabeth Collins Stoddard / Naomi Collins (originated by Joan Bennett) in the 1991 TV remake of Dark Shadows. 1790 flashback!
I remember “Elmer Gantry” the same way, but haven’t seen it in forever.
Guys and Dolls is not a frock flick, charming though she is as Sister Sarah. It was set in the same era during which it was made.
I always think of it as earlier because of Damon Runyon’s stories, but I remember there’s a mention of television in a song lyric. And Adelaide gets to wear slacks!
Don’t waste your time on Thorn Birds. It’s an overacted, maudlin soap.
But Richard Chamberlain is beautiful!
He was beautiful and there was just something…. palpably sexy about the whole thing. At the time, it chalked up to the scintillating chemistry between him and Rachel Ward, but maybe his true sexuality infused the portrayal of the tortured priest?
Also, never forget the redoubtable Barbara Stanwick who also had the hots for the priest and was not above acting on that. This series is an 80’s Gem and I will die on this hill.
Whenever I think about “Thorn Birds” I think: childhood! My mother and grandmother really loved this miniseries. Because of that, whenever I think of the notion of star-crossed lovers, I think of Thorn Birds, not Romeo and Juliet.
Love her! One of my favorite actresses ever!
Spartacus! I also love her in Young Bess, but i don’t love the film. I didn’t remember she was Olivier’s Ophelia and didn’t know she’d done Miss Havisham (which is almost like Hamlet for women actors nowadays). Not Frock Flicks, but she also appeared on Star Trek The Next Generation as a bigoted Starfleet admiral in apparel of 2367 and was the voice of old Sophie in the English dub of Howl’s Moving Castle.
I loved her in Lean’s Great Expectations and always felt she could easily have played grown up Estella!
What was it about the late 50s-early 60s that made it the era of great leading lady side-eye?
Good grief, the lovely Ms. Simmons was born to wear the Classical/Neoclassical look.
Also, is it just me or she remind one of Ms. Vivian Leigh?
I mistook Vivien Leigh for Jean Simmons in an old movie. They are very much the same type.
I wouldn’t be surprised if her look, the pale brunette with the sharp eyes and dark, elegant brows got her cast as the acceptable Vivian Leigh alternate A LOT.
(Who is Vivian Leigh? Get me Vivian Leigh! Get me a Vivian Leigh type! Get me a young Vivian Leigh! and lastly, who is Vivian Leigh?)
So Long at the Fair has some lovely outfits. Plus it has the lovely Dirk Bogarde. And David Tomlinson (aka Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins) as her brother.
I just finished Ian Carmichael’s autobiography, and at one point he and Donald Houston were going to do a project together, but Houston got an offer to star in “The Blue Lagoon” which he just couldn’t turn down. (He’s the blond in the pic with Jean Simmons.) Years later, Houston’s brother Glyn played Bunter to Carmichael’s Lord Peter Wimsey.
Working with the lovely Jean Simmons on an equally lovely tropical beach would be an opportunity rather difficult to refuse (Especially if you get paid for the privilege!).
Re “The Actress”–I have trouble imagining a young Jean Simmons growing up to be Ruth Gordon! Those two women (or at least their screen personas) couldn’t be less alike. Simmons was also married to “Young Bess” co-star Stewart Granger in the 1950’s, and during that time she was subjected to Weinstein-like treatment from Howard Hughes, who held her contract. Because she said No to Hughes, he did his best to sabotage her career.
I love “The Big Country”.
She was one of the less-crazily-dressed characters.
What?
Thorn Birds was the Game of Thrones of its time.
the zeitgeist loved it. In 20 years, the zeitgeist will stare at it blankly.
Her version of The Blue Lagoon was a remake of an earlier silent film. It’s based on a novel published in, I think, 1908.
She was sooo lovely and such a good actress! Great WCW choice!!
I can’t imagine anyone not loving Jean Simmons: exquisite and a fine, underrated actress, from her youth through old age. But I didn’t realize she had played Miss Havisham; must find this.