Jeanne Crain

20th Century Fox

The Gang’s All Here was produced by 20th Century Fox, who cast Crain in her first sizable role, in the romantic drama Home in Indiana (1944) with Walter Brennan, playing the love interest of Lon McAllister. The film, shot in Technicolor, was popular at the box office and established Crain as a film name.^[4]

A delighted Darryl F Zanuck, head of Fox, gave Crain top billing in In the Meantime, Darling (1944), playing a war bride, directed by Otto Preminger. Her acting was critically panned, but she gained nationwide attention. It resulted in landing the leading role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in October 1944, a musical film which was eventually made with Betty Grable as the star.^[5]

Crain first received critical acclaim when she starred in Winged Victory (1944). She co-starred in 1945 with Dana Andrews in the musical film State Fair, in which Louanne Hogan dubbed Crain's singing numbers. After that, Crain often had singing parts in films, and they invariably were dubbed, in most cases by Hogan.

State Fair was a huge hit. So too was Leave Her to Heaven (1945), where Crain was the "good" sister of "bad" Gene Tierney, both in love with Cornel Wilde. Crain now was established as one of Fox's bigger stars - so much so that Zanuck refused to let her play the comparative small part of Clementine in My Darling Clementine (1946)

Crain and Wilde were reunited in Centennial Summer (1946), directed by Preminger, Fox's attempt to match the success of Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). More popular was Margie (1946). Her ice skating ability was on display in this film, in which she and Conrad Janis danced around the ice rink as her boyfriend Alan Young slipped and stumbled his way along the ice.

She made two films in 1948, You Were Meant for Me, a musical with Dan Dailey, that might have been Marilyn Monroe's first appearance on film, and Apartment for Peggy, with William Holden.

Career Peak

In 1949, Crain appeared in three films. A Letter to Three Wives (1949), in which Crain was one of several stars, quickly became established as a classic, winning Joseph L. Mankiewicz two Oscars and being a solid box office hit. The Fan, directed by Preminger and based on Lady Windemere's Fan by Oscar Wilde, was received poorly. However Pinky earned Crain a nomination the Academy Award for Best Actress and was one of the more popular films of the year. Pinky was controversial because it told the story of a light-skinned African American woman who passes for white in the Northern United States. Although Lena Horne and other black actresses were considered, producer Darryl F. Zanuck chose to cast a white actress for fear of racial backlash.

Crain had another big success when she starred with Myrna Loy and Clifton Webb in the 1950 biographical film Cheaper by the Dozen, although her part was more of a supporting role. She had a cameo as herself in I'll Get By (1951) and starred in Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), a mildly popular drama about snobbery in college sororities.

Next, Crain paired with Cary Grant in the Joseph L. Mankiewicz film of the offbeat drama People Will Talk (1951). Despite Jeanne's heavily campaigning for the female lead, Anne Baxter initially was cast in the part, but when she had to forfeit due to pregnancy, Crain was given the role after all.^[6]

Shortly after, Crain starred in Charles Brackett's production The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951). Cast in May 1951, Crain was Brackett's first choice for the role.^[7] Crain was reunited with Loy for Belles on Their Toes (1952), the sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen, getting top billing this time.

While still at 20th Century Fox, Crain played a young wife quickly losing her mind amid high-seas intrigue in Dangerous Crossing (1953), co-starring Michael Rennie. She starred in Vicki (1953), a remake of I Wake Up Screaming. Fox tried her in a Western City of Bad Men (1954). The box office performance of these last few films was mild, and Crain left the studio.

Universal

Crain made Duel in the Jungle (1954) in Britain and then Man Without a Star (1955), a Western with Kirk Douglas at Universal, where she played the lead female role as a hard-nosed ranch-owner.

Crain showed her dancing skills in 1955's Gentlemen Marry Brunettes co-starring Jane Russell, Alan Young, and Rudy Vallee. The production was filmed on location in Paris. The film was based on Anita Loos' novel, a sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Gentlemen Marry Brunettes was popular throughout Europe at the time and was released in France as A Paris Pour les Quatre (To Paris for the Four), and in Belgium as Cevieren Te Parijs. Later in the 1950s, Crain, Russell, and another actress formed a short-lived singing and dancing lounge act on the Las Vegas Strip.

Crain made the Western comedy The Second Greatest Sex (1956), then starred with Glenn Ford, Russ Tamblyn, and Broderick Crawford in The Fastest Gun Alive directed by Russell Rouse. It was a big hit. At Universal, she was in the thriller The Tattered Dress (1957).

In 1957, she played a socialite who helps a floundering singer and comedian (Frank Sinatra) redeem himself in The Joker Is Wild. She was working extensively in TV, including an adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

In 1959, Crain appeared in a television production of Meet Me in St. Louis. Also starring in the broadcast were Loy, Walter Pidgeon, Jane Powell, and Ed Wynn, with top billing going to Tab Hunter.

Later Career

Film roles became fewer in the 1960s as Crain went into semi-retirement. She appeared as Nefertiti in the Italian production of Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile (1961) with Edmund Purdom and Vincent Price. During this period, Crain appeared—for the second time—as one of the mystery guests on What's My Line?, and made guest appearances on the Riverboat and Burke's Law.

She starred again with Dana Andrews in Hot Rods To Hell (1967). Her last films were Skyjacked (1972) and The Night God Screamed (1975).^[8]

Film

Television