Anna Lee, why did Ford waste her talents
Posted: February 12th, 2008, 1:59 pm
Anna Lee once told someone that she maybe should have stayed in Britain and carried on with her career there. She was in a Jessie Matthews film and i think did the original King Solomon's Mines.
in John Ford's How Green Was My Valley she was every bit as outstanding as co-star Maureen O'Hara. however, while Maureen became rightly a major star, Ford seemed content to put Anna in small roles. i don't understand why he did that because she gave another great performance for him in Fort Apache. i haven't seen the film for ages, but i would imagine Gideon's Day is another example of this, though i wonder if the only reason she got the part was because she was British and she was handy.
Yet in movies like The Horse Soldiers and Sargeant Rutlidge her talents were totally wasted in walk on roles. in the early 60s she had the smallest of roles in The Prize, but in that brief moment she still shined like a beacon. she still looked good enough at that point to play leading lady to the likes of Duke Wayne
I don't know if the novel of How Green Was My Valley went on from the movie, but i'd like to think Bronwyn would marry Huw after he'd reached his late teens, after all she wasn't that much older than him. it for me would explain the begining of the film with him packing his bags to leave the valley. Bronwyn at near 70 had died and his reason for staying had gone
in John Ford's How Green Was My Valley she was every bit as outstanding as co-star Maureen O'Hara. however, while Maureen became rightly a major star, Ford seemed content to put Anna in small roles. i don't understand why he did that because she gave another great performance for him in Fort Apache. i haven't seen the film for ages, but i would imagine Gideon's Day is another example of this, though i wonder if the only reason she got the part was because she was British and she was handy.
Yet in movies like The Horse Soldiers and Sargeant Rutlidge her talents were totally wasted in walk on roles. in the early 60s she had the smallest of roles in The Prize, but in that brief moment she still shined like a beacon. she still looked good enough at that point to play leading lady to the likes of Duke Wayne
I don't know if the novel of How Green Was My Valley went on from the movie, but i'd like to think Bronwyn would marry Huw after he'd reached his late teens, after all she wasn't that much older than him. it for me would explain the begining of the film with him packing his bags to leave the valley. Bronwyn at near 70 had died and his reason for staying had gone