I don’t think of legendary American actress Lauren Bacall (1924-2014) as a frock flicks actress, but she’s done a surprising-to-me number of period films!
Sonia Kovac in Bright Leaf (1950)
Elvira Condomine in Ford Star Jubilee: “Blithe Spirit” (1956)??
Photo by Ernest E. Reshovsky / © 2000 Marc Reshovsky
Catherine Wyatt in North West Frontier (1959)
Mrs. Harriet Hubbard in Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Bond Rogers in The Shootist (1976)
Mrs. Cranston in Mr. North (1988)
Doris Duke (elderly) in Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke (1999)
Mado Remei in Presence of Mind (1999)
Mam in Manderlay (2005)
Dame Lydia in These Foolish Things (2006)
I’m not going to lie, this whole article was worth it simply for the pleasant surprise of seeing Ms. Bacall in a picture with Mr Noel Coward – I’m not sure it’s physically possible to be less Humphrey Bogart than Mr Coward, yet Ms. Bacall somehow worked with them both (Not to mention Mr John Wayne to boot!).
How fascinating the twists and turns of a career can be! (Also, how fascinating a kaleidoscope is show business).
Lauren Bacall is such an iconic actress for her own period that I have a lot of trouble picturing her as a period actress.
That said, it’s interesting to see her in Bright Leaf with her hair parted in the middle instead of on the left side with the little flip on the other. It’s easy to see why she kept the look for so long. It definitely worked for her.