It's Halloween, and what's scarier than washed up, glamorpuss-turned-grotesque-monster Hollywood icons? Since the early '60s there's been a tradition of actresses of a certain age who could only find work in low- to mid-budget horror films.
It may have started with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", which boasted two once respectable stars (Bette Davis and Joan Crawford). Bette plays a former child star who keeps her crippled sister Blanche (la Crawford) locked in her room. To see Bette dressed up in her Baby Jane costume, singing "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" is to know the meaning of creepy.
Both ladies showed up in other questionable films. Joan starred in "Strait-Jacket," "Berserk!," and "Trog." She had the good sense to bow out in 1972. Bette worked up until her death in 1989, making such classics as "Dead Ringer," "Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte," "Madame Sin," and "Scream, Pretty Peggy," among others.
Some others who went down this path were Veronica Lake ("Flesh Feast"), Gloria Grahame ("Mansion of the Doomed," "The Nesting"), Tallulah Bankhead ("Die! Die! My Darling!"), Olivia de Havilland ("Lady in a Cage"), and Shelley Winters ("What's the Matter with Helen?, "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?").
I look forward to seeing Reese Witherspoon in about 40 years playing an axe-wielding maniac, chopping off the heads of Paris Hilton and Hillary Duff. Now that's entertainment.
1 Comments:
Point taken. I didn't want to lump such classics as "Charlotte" and "Lady" in with "Trog." My intention was to show that once classy Hollywood icons took roles that were available to them. It's a long road from "Now Voyager" to "Baby Jane."
The Brit v. American comparison, while valid, doesn't take into account the fact that the films I named are from the 60s/70s, while yours are more recent. I think older American actresses are getting better roles these days because they have more power in the industry (not to mention the fact that the population is aging). 40 years ago they had to take what they got. You aren't likely to see Meryl Streep showing up in a remake of "House of Whipcord" any time soon.
By 
MadCatJoey, at
7:45 AM
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