Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was an English-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in what was known as the International Settlement. Her father was a British patent attorney with a lucrative practice in Japan, but due to Joan and older sister Olivia de Havilland's recurring ailments the family moved to California in the hopes of improving their health. Mrs. de Havilland and the two girls settled in Saratoga while their father went back to his practice in Japan. Joan's parents did not get along well and divorced soon afterward. Mrs. de Havilland had a desire to be an actress but her dreams were curtailed when she married, but now she hoped to pass on her dream to Olivia and Joan. While Olivia pursued a stage career, Joan went back to Tokyo, where she attended the American School. In 1934 she came back to California, where her sister was already making a name for herself on the stage. Joan likewise joined a theater group in San Jose and then Los Angeles to try her luck there. After moving to L.A., Joan adopted the name of Joan Burfield because she didn't want to infringe upon Olivia, who was using the family surname. She tested at MGM and gained a small role in No More Ladies (1935), but she was scarcely noticed and Joan was idle for a year and a half. During this time she roomed with Olivia, who was having much more success in films. In 1937, this time calling herself Joan Fontaine, she landed a better role as Trudy Olson in You Can't Beat Love (1937) and then an uncredited part in Quality Street (1937). Although the next two years saw her in better roles, she still yearned for something better. In 1940 she garnered her first Academy Award nomination for Rebecca (1940). Although she thought she should have won, (she lost out to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle (1940)), she was now an established member of the Hollywood set. She would again be Oscar-nominated for her role as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth in Suspicion (1941), and this time she won. Joan was making one film a year but choosing her roles well. In 1942 she starred in the well-received This Above All (1942). The following year she appeared in The Constant Nymph (1943). Once again she was nominated for the Oscar, she lost out to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943). By now it was safe to say she was more famous than her older sister and more fine films followed. In 1948, she accepted second billing to Bing Crosby in The Emperor Waltz (1948). Joan took the year of 1949 off before coming back in 1950 with September Affair (1950) and Born to Be Bad (1950). In 1951 she starred in Paramount's Darling, How Could You! (1951), which turned out badly for both her and the studio and more weak productions followed. Absent from the big screen for a while, she took parts in television and dinner theaters. She also starred in many well-produced Broadway plays such as Forty Carats and The Lion in Winter. Her last appearance on the big screen was The Witches (1966) and her final appearance before the cameras was Good King Wenceslas (1994). She is, without a doubt, a lasting movie icon.
Rebecca
as Mrs. de WinterStory of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in...
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as Eve GrahamSan Francisco businessman Harry Graham and his wife and business partner, Eve, are in the...
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as Peggy DayA happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
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as Emmaline "Emmy" StebbinsBritish army sergeants Ballantine, Cutter and MacChesney serve in India during the 1880s, along...
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as Johanna Augusta FranziskaAt the turn of the 20th century, travelling salesman Virgil Smith journeys to Vienna in the hope...
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as Queen LudmillaBased upon the true story that inpired the Christmas carol about a young king's care for his people.
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as Fiametta / Bartolomea / Ginevra / IsabellaItalian poet Boccaccio (Louis Jourdan) hides in the court of Fiammetta (Joan Fontaine) and tells...
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as Self (uncredited)Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O....
Movie pageNo More Ladies
as Caroline RumseyA society girl tries to reform her playboy husband by making him jealous.
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as Eliza AllenThe story of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas revolution, statesman, and first president of the...
Movie pageDarling, How Could You!
as Alice GreyTwo absentee American parents get to know their three children again after spending five years...
Movie pageQuality Street
as Charlotte ParrattIn the 1810s, an old maid poses as her own niece in order to teach her onetime beau a lesson.
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as Ellen GraysonAlcoa Presents: One Step Beyond is an American anthology series created by Merwin Gerard. The...
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as Jennifer LangleyPassengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...
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as Self - PanelistFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...
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as Self - PresenterThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award,...
TV Show pageThe 20th Century Fox Hour
as uncreditedThe 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States...
TV Show pageThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Alice PembertonA continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of...
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TV Show pageThe Oscars
as SelfAn annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The...
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as uncreditedThe Bing Crosby Show is a 28-episode situation comedy television program starring crooner, film...
TV Show pageAloha Paradise
as uncreditedAloha Paradise is an American comedy series that aired on ABC on Wednesday night from February...
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as Self - Guest HostLetter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to...
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as Alexandra MarkhamDespite rumors of impending war, the majestic ship Normandie makes its transatlantic voyage from...
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as Countess Irene ForelliGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
TV Show pageGeneral Electric Theater
as Melanie LangdonGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
TV Show pageGeneral Electric Theater
as Laurel ChapmanGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
TV Show pageGeneral Electric Theater
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TV Show pageGeneral Electric Theater
as Linda StaceyGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was...
TV Show page