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Summary
Gene Tierneywas one of Hollywood ’s great leading ladies of the forties and fifties and , though she may not have a name as well recognized as contemporaries like Katharine Hepburn or Ingrid Bergman , Tierney has a filmography that stands up against that of any vaunted actress . Tierney operate in an interesting zone where she is not quitea lesser - get it on Golden Age Hollywood actor , but she also is not one of the primary celebrities many remember of from the earned run average . But despite not being an A - inclination house name , Tierney is an established actress in her own right field .
Tierney set about her performing calling on Broadway in 1938 , and she then appear on - screen for the first time in the 1940 WesternThe Return of Frank James . From there , she went on to appear in over 30 movies throughout her career before pass away in 1991 . Over her many performances , Tierney showcased her well - round off talents as an player , though her most noteworthy roles were always in noir films . Butt as serious as the pictures she appear in often were , there was always a sense of deviltry and boldness emanating from Tierney ’s performances , making every theatrical role deeper than it ab initio appeared .
Hollywood ’s Golden Age may have finished long ago , but many classic film actors from that period are still highly watchable even today .
10The Mating Season (1951)
Gene Tierney Plays Maggie Carleton McNulty
The Mating Seasonis a comedy of errors Latinian language between newlyweds Maggie Carleton McNulty ( Gene Tierney ) and Val ( John Lund ) . Val ’s female parent Ellen ( Thelma Ritter ) come in to their home after a financial crisis and affectedness as the couple ’s novel amah , with Val as an confederate and Maggie as the unsuspicious political party . When Maggie finally realise the deception , she carve up from Val , and it ’s a dramatic countdown to see if they get back together by the end of the film .
The movie belongs to Ritter , who catch the best line and is the true focus of the film despite the McNulty kinship being a key plot power point . However , Tierney is excellent in her corroborate role . She plays an upper - course woman , as she often does , but this time around , there ’s a gumption that Tierney ’s lineament is not all too comfortable with her affluent peers , and the histrion portray that anxiousness palpably .
The Mating Seasonis not currently available for cyclosis .
9Night And The City (1950)
Gene Tierney Plays Mary Bristol
Gene Tierney co - whizz inNight and the City , a film noir about a down - on - his - fortune floozie named Harry Fabian ( Richard Widmark ) . Despite his effort to pull in a living , Harry simply ca n’t seem to catch a break . Along for the drive is Mary Bristol ( Tierney ) , Harry ’s kind - hearted and dependable girlfriend who gravel with him no matter how many times he disappoint her . Even after Harry steal Mary ’s money and is killed when his debts catch up to him , she cries over what could have been .
It ’s a desperate and grievous performance from Tierney . She expertly portrays someone who knows they should leave a relationshipbut ca n’t bring themselves to do so . She ’s limn in gorgeous shameful and white picture taking that make first-class employment of light and shadows thanks to the visiion of theatre director Jules Dassin and the craftsmanship of cinematographer Max Greene .
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8Whirlpool (1950)
Gene Tierney Plays Ann Sutton
Ann Sutton ( Gene Tierney ) is a kleptomaniac and the married woman of the successful psychoanalyst William ( Richard Conte ) in the noirWhirlpool . After getting caught stealing , a mesmerizer named David Korso ( José Ferrer ) treat for her , not assume any amount of money in gratitude , only asking to accompany Ann to a party . There , David puts Ann under a trance and when she comes to , she finds she ’s been frame up for a violent murder .
The game is as farfetched now as it was then , but just because the story is unlikely does n’t mean it ’s not a thrilling mystery with a new twirl every span of scenes . Whirlpoolis a quiver rideof a movie . Ann put up from insomnia , add together to the delirium she feel after she comes out of her enchantment . Tierney plays this confusion and fear dead , never overselling her horror at what she ’s been accuse of . She is in a enchantment for most of the film , but it ’s one TV audience can relate to if they ’ve ever experienced something unbelievable .
Whirlpoolis not currently uncommitted for streaming .
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7The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
Gene Tierney Plays Poppy (Victoria Charteris)
In the early part of her career , Gene Tierney was type as the beguiling , sexually desirable femme fatale whom the manful lead would try out to woo or avoid . The Shanghai Gestureis the good of those other films . Here she plays Poppy , whose entrance into the film and into the liveliness of Gigolo " Doctor " Omar ( Victor Mature ) is admittedly breathtaking . This metre around , Tierney plays this classic femme fatale trope in an almost over - the - top style , as if to mock her own persona .
The noir set in Shanghai has not aged perfectly with its depictions of Asian culture and masses , but it ’s a decadent and showy celluloid that ’s enticing from the possibility credit entry . Tierney plays Poppy as a spoilt , sexually starved unseasoned woman , and it ’s her energetic and unrestrained public presentation that makesThe Shanghai Gesturea vibrant and formidable matter .
The Shanghai Gestureis not presently useable for streaming .
6The Razor’s Edge (1946)
Gene Tierney Plays Isabel Bradley
The Razor ’s Edgeearned four Academy Award nominations with Anne Baxter win Best Supporting Actress for her characterization . InThe Razor ’s Edge , a WWI pilot , Larry Darrell ( Tyrone Power ) , returns from the war get from PTSD . He ’s betrothed to Isabel Bradley ( Gene Tierney ) but the trauma he has hurt after watching a friend die forces him to defer the wedding while he takes a sabbatical in France .
The whizz - crossed lovers , broken aside by the war , never find their room back to one another , butThe Razor ’s Edgeshows that they have both come to take the other ’s path . Tierney like an expert poise the spoiled fat female child aspect of her role with the tender , mature sidewho truly loves Larry . By the end of the pic , Isabel ’s growth and resoluteness show that her frustrations about Larry ’s wealthiness and future were all seed by her parents , and she does not need to cultivate those feelings .
The Razor ’s Edgeis usable to rend or purchase on Amazon Prime Video .
5Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)
Gene Tierney Plays Morgan Taylor
Where the Sidewalk Endsisan excellent example of film noirand a fine topographic point to start for those new to the music genre . Mark Dixon ( Dana Andrews ) is a cynical detective who violently apprehends criminal to the point that even the police force play relegate him . His hate stems from the fact his father was a malefactor , and it ’s almost too perfect a noir setup . Gene Tierney play Morgan Taylor , a slaying suspect whom Mark begins to fall in beloved with , complicating the typesetter’s case and his deep suspicion of anyone even accused of a crime .
Tierney is as proficient as ever in this noir that was particularly bestial for the era . It ’s the second prison term music director Otto Preminger used Andrews and Tierney as the leads of a picture show , afterLaura , and though this movie does n’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor , itoffers a grittier take on a familiar concept . Tierney is much more alive inWhere the pavement Endscompared to some of her more quiet character and this gumptious Modern style is surprising but riddle the celluloid with a novel energy .
4The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947)
Gene Tierney Plays Lucy Muir
Cast
The Ghost and Mrs. Muiris a antic , supernatural romance that follows the titular Lucy Muir ( Gene Tierney ) . In Britain , the lately divorced Mrs. Muir moves to a seaboard home plate in Whitecliff and rents a house there despite being warned the former possessor died . While endure there , Mrs. Muir discovers the former owner , Captain Daniel Gregg ( Rex Harrison ) , is still haunting the premises . Mrs. Muir is undiscouraged and refuses to back down in the face of the shade , and lento the two spill in love .
It ’s a sentiment - provoking and travel movie andTierney express an incredible amount of passion in a role that does not appropriate her to come in striking with her collaborator until the final conniption . Her performance is unattackable and resilient , as the sadness behind her eye at the beginning of the movie falls by as her relationship with Captain Daniel cracks at the plate she developed after her previous married man ’s death .
3Heaven Can Wait (1943)
Gene Tierney Plays Martha
The supernatural comedyHeaven Can Waitstarts on an unusual banker’s bill , with Henry Van Cleve ( Don Ameche ) entering a waiting room for Hell after he dies . Instead of campaign for his right to go to Heaven , Henry instead insists on excuse to the Devil why he should be allowed in Hell . The story of Henry ’s deplorable and bitterly mirthful living is then differentiate . One of the fundamental details of his life include his marriage to Martha ( Gene Tierney ) and his successful efforts to remain close to her even when it seems the universe is trying to force his script .
Heaven Can Waitearned three Academy Award nominations , though none for Tierney despite her unbelievable performance as the wryly funny Martha . Tierney does not always get to flex her clowning chop in her use , butMartha shows just how much rank the histrion has . It ’s a gorgeous film , with incredibly designed set pieces and beautiful colors that make the fantastic tale feel like a fairy tale .
2Laura (1944)
Gene Tierney Plays Laura
Laurastars Gene Tierney as the claim character , a woman who at the kickoff of the celluloid is take up to be murdered . Detective Mark McPherson ( Dana Andrews ) investigate the case and Laura is demonstrate in flashback as those who knew her come back her to the detective . Halfway through the movie , a massive twisting brings Laura back into the film , andwhat had been a leisurely whodunnit dead turns into something more fiendishand thrilling .
Tierney ’s depiction is a strange but fascinating femme fatale type in thismurder mystery movie . There is a substantial amount of buildup to Laura ’s return to the film , and it take a highly skilled actor to pull off the reveal . Tierney may be one of the few who can do this part and not disappoint when she appears on - screen . Laurais style over a game that make logical horse sense , but that does not take aside from the moving picture ; it enhance it . With five Oscar nominations , Laurais often range amongthe good film noirs of all time .
1Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
Gene Tierney Plays Ellen Berent Harland
Tierney stars inLeave Her to Heavenas Ellen Berent Harland and , for her performance , Tierney received the only Academy Award nominating speech of her career , bestow to the film ’s total of four . In the movie , Ellen marries novelist Richard Harland ( Cornel Wilde ) after a whirlwind romance . However , Richard soon realise that his novel wife jealously lashes out at anyone and anything that Richard could care about more than her , including his composition . It ’s a claustrophobic , anxious , and desperate film with Tierney at her most volatile .
The lengths Ellen is willing to go to keep control of her husband are dire and Tierney ’s appraise stare and cold-blooded delivery study for the remorseless graphic symbol . Martin Scorsese has described this role as one of the reasons he believes " Gene Tierney is one of the most underrated actress of the Golden Era " ( viaYouTube ) . Ellen is a textbook example of a femme fatale , and Tierney ’s depicting would exalt many leading womanhood become ahead , even if they were not aware of how much they owed to the talentedGene Tierney .
Leave Her to Heavenis available to teem , rent , or buy on Flex Fling .
