Centennial Lana Turner
Various Hollywood stars were born exactly 100 years ago, so I thought it would be nice to dedicate a couple of posts this year to the centennials of the stars I like. One of them is Lana Turner whose 100th birthday will be celebrated tomorrow. More a movie star than a movie actress and more famous as a glamour icon and sex symbol, Lana is one of the greatest Hollywood screen legends.
Born as Julia Jean Turner on 8 February 1921 *) in Idaho, Lana lost her father John at the age of nine when he was robbed and murdered walking home after a lucky gambling night. His murder was never solved. No doubt the strong bond Lana developed with her mother Mildred was strengthened by this horrific incident. While Mildred worked as a beautician to support them, Lana went into foster care. Later her mother suffered from respiratory problems and Mildred's doctor advised a move to a drier climate. Lana and her mother relocated to California.
*) According to IMDB: "There is some discrepancy as to whether her birth date is February 8, 1920 or 1921. Lana herself said in her autobiography that she was one year younger (1921) than the records showed, but then this was a time where women, especially actresses, tended to "fib" a bit about their age. Most sources agree that 1920 is the correct year of birth." I only read the IMDB comment after I had prepared most of this post, so I go along with Lana herself and also found sources online mentioning 1921 as her birth year.
The story goes that Lana was discovered at a soda fountain at Top Hat Malt Shop. She was in her junior year at the Hollywood High School and skipped a typing class to get a Coke. There she was spotted by the publisher of The Hollywood Reporter and subsequently got signed to a contract by Warner Bros film director Mervyn LeRoy at the age of sixteen.
Leroy cast Lana in her first film, They Won't Forget (1937), which I watched just a couple of days ago. Even though her role was quite small (she played the murder victim), she made an impression. It was mostly the scene where she walks down the street in a tight sweater (with her large bust showing) which caught people's attention. She was nicknamed The Sweater Girl after that. When LeRoy moved from Warner Bros to MGM, he made the suggestion to WB to release Lana from her contract and let her go to MGM. Since WB didn't see anything in Lana, they didn't have any problem releasing her. Big mistake, WB!
In 1938 Lana completed her high school education and graduated from Hollywood High School, while working on-set with an educational social worker. MGM cast her in several youth-oriented films, like Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) and These Glamour Girls (1939). She also achieved fame as a pin-up girl during WWII and embarked on a tour throughout the United States to sell war bonds (in fact, selling her kisses to the highest war bond bidder).
The height of Lana's career was in the 1940s and 1950s. The films The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) had more demanding roles for her and the critics responded favourably to her performances. With her role in Peyton Place (1957) she finally got recognition for her work and was awarded a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Lana's personal life was highly publicised. She had short-lived affairs with well-known actors like Clark Gable, Tyrone Power and Frank Sinatra. She was married eight times to seven different men. Famously she said:
“My goal was to have one husband and seven children, but it turned out to be the other way around.”
It is said that Tyrone Power was the love of her life. Of her many husbands wealthy rancher Fred May (husband number 5) was the most amiable, he reminded Lana of Power, and Lana was fonder of him than any of her other husbands. He was also the only husband who wasn't trying to use her. They had lived together for a year before they tied the knot and got along really well. Their marriage only lasted two years and there's not a clear reason why they divorced. They remained friends until Fred's death two years after the divorce.
Lana's only child, a daughter, Cheryl Crane, was born in 1943 from Lana's marriage to actor-turned-restaurateur Stephen Crane, her second husband (she married Crane twice). Cheryl was the subject of media attention when she (14 years old at the time) killed her mother's lover, mobster Johnny Stompanato. When Lana and Johnny had gotten into a heated fight, Stompanato threatened to kill Lana. Cheryl came to her mother's rescue and stabbed Stompanato to death with a kitchen knife. The case was an instant media sensation and in the end was ruled a justifiable homicide. Cheryl was acquitted of the murder charge. Lana was afraid the affair might damage her career (despite her Oscar nomination for Peyton Place) and she accepted the lead part in Imitation of Life (1959) with a cut in salary. This role proved to be one of her best performances.
Lana's film career almost spanned five decades and she made 54 movies. There were a couple of good roles and performances but mostly she was stuck in uninspiring parts. At the height of her fame she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States and one of MGM's biggest stars. She's been cited as one of the most glamorous film stars of all time. She once commented to a journalist on her image:
“Forsaking glamour is like forsaking my identity. It's an image I've worked too hard to obtain and preserve.”
Lana had been an avid smoker for most of her life and died of throat cancer at the age of 74 on 29 June 1995.
I haven't seen that many films of Lana but I'm trying to catch up this month.
These are all the Lana films I've seen up till now, 15 in total, here listed in watching order:
*The Three Musketeers (only seen in childhood)
*Imitation of Life (seen in childhood and rewatched on the big screen in March 2018)
*Johnny Eager (September 2015)
*The Postman Always Rings Twice (July 2016)
*The Great Garrick (December 2016)
*Calling Dr. Kildare (January 2018)
*Peyton Place (seen on the big screen in July 2018)
*Slightly Dangerous (May 2019)
*Love Finds Andy Hardy (December 2020)
*The Bad and the Beautiful (December 2020)
*Two Girls on Broadway (February 2021)
*A Life of Her Own (February 2021)
*Marriage Is a Private Affair (February 2021)
*They Won't Forget (February 2021)
*We Who Are Young (February 2021)
I've never been a Lana fan, though I like her well enough. Now seeing more of her films I do like her more (despite the films not being that special). Her acting skills are limited but she made a couple of good films. If I had to name one favourite Lana film, it would be — without any doubt — Imitation of Life. I've seen this Douglas Sirk melodrama more than once and at one time I was even very fortunate to see it on the big screen (this film always makes me cry). This was her comeback film after the Stompanato affair and I think it's probably her strongest performance. The Academy didn't acknowledge it as such, yet there were Oscar nominations for Susan Kohner and Juanita Moore, both for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
I can hardly remember Lana's role as Lady de Winter in The Three Musketeers, which I have only seen in my childhood, so this definitely warrants a rewatch. I had expected more of her acclaimed films The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Bad and the Beautiful. The Postman ... has a really strong first half with Turner and John Garfield plotting to kill Cecil Kellaway. This part is well-paced and suspenseful. But the second part is a bit messy and therefore disappointing. Lana's first appearance in the film is great, with the legs and the lipstick. The Bad and the Beautiful I only just watched last December and it was a bit underwhelming. I loved the scene where Lana is going crazy in the car. I really enjoyed Peyton Place, a quintessential soap. It has a long runtime but I didn't mind, and probably my enjoyment had a lot to do with the fact that I saw this on the big screen.
Furthermore I loved The Great Garrick with Olivia de Havilland and Brian Aherne, but to be honest I cannot even remember Lana being in this one. I enjoyed Johnny Eager (Lana and Robert Taylor look absolutely beautiful together) but most memorable for me is Van Heflin's great performance. Slightly Dangerous with Robert Young was also enjoyable. Lana has her best moment at the beginning of the film in a sequence directed by an uncredited Buster Keaton. Here she proves she can do her job at the soda fountain blindfolded and it's a lovely scene. Calling Dr. Kildare (the second instalment in the Dr. Kildare series) I liked, but this is the entry where Laraine Day is being introduced as nurse Mary so I guess I wasn't really paying attention to Lana. Love Finds Andy Hardy I watched last December and here Lana only has a supporting role. I love Judy Garland in this film, she definitely outshines her female rivalries.
Of the five Lana films seen so far this month (Two Girls on Broadway, A Life of Her Own, Marriage Is a Private Affair, They Won't Forget and We Who Are Young) I enjoyed her film debut They Won't Forget and A Life of Her Own the most. You can read my thoughts on these films in my next round-up post.
I might also watch more Lana films this month so stay tuned for the next round-up!
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Lana Turner, Centennial Girl, born 100 years ago on 8 February 1921;
*Lana Turner, glamour queen;
*Lana Turner, The Sweater Girl;
*Lana Turner with Tyrone Power, the love of her life;
*Lana Turner and Frank Sinatra;
*Lana Turner and husband number 5 Fred May;
*Lana Turner and husband number 2 Stephen Crane and their babygirl Cheryl;
*Lana Turner and attorney Jerry Geisler at the Johnny Stompanato murder trial, 1958;
*Lana Turner; (3 glamour photos)
*The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) with John Garfield and Lana Turner;
*The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), on the set with director Tay Garnett, John Garfield and Lana Turner;
*The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) with Lana Turner and Kirk Douglas;
*Johnny Eager (1941) with Lana Turner and Robert Taylor;
*Peyton Place (1957) with Lana Turner and Lee Philips;
*Imitation of Life (1959) with Lana Turner and Juanita Moore;
*Lana Turner and good friend Eleanor Parker, 1948;
*Lana Turner and best friend Ava Gardner;
*Bachelor in Paradise (1961) with Lana Turner, dancing the hula. (gif by me)
Happy 100th Birthday, Lana! Have fun!
