Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney (November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is probably best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura in the 1940s.

Motion pictures

Tierney was offered the lead in MGM's National Velvet, but when the production was delayed she signed with 20th Century Fox. Her motion picture debut was in the starring role as Eleanor Stone in Fritz Lang's Western The Return of Frank James (1940) opposite Henry Fonda. A small role as Barbara Hall in Hudson's Bay followed, released that same year.

Related Topics:
MGM - National Velvet - 20th Century Fox - Motion picture - Fritz Lang - Western - The Return of Frank James - 1940 - Henry Fonda - Hudson's Bay

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1941 was a busy year for the actress, as she starred in the role as Ellie May Lester in John Ford's drama Tobacco Road, the title role in Belle Starr, as Zia in Sundown, and as Victoria Charteris AKA Poppy Smith in The Shanghai Gesture. In 1942, she played Eva in Son of Fury, the dual role as Susan Miller and Linda Worthington in Rings on Her Fingers, the role as Kay Saunders in Thunder Birds, and Miss Young in China Girl.

Related Topics:
1941 - John Ford - Tobacco Road - Belle Starr - Sundown - The Shanghai Gesture - 1942 - Son of Fury - Rings on Her Fingers - Thunder Birds - China Girl

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A supporting role in Ernst Lubitsch's classic 1943 comedy Heaven Can Wait, in which she played the dual role as Martha Strabel and Van Cleve, signaled an upward turn in Tierney's career as her popularity increased.

Related Topics:
Ernst Lubitsch - 1943 - Comedy - Heaven Can Wait

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In 1944, she starred in what became her most famous role as the intended murder victim, Laura Hunt, in Otto Preminger's masterful mystery Laura.

Related Topics:
1944 - Otto Preminger - Mystery - Laura

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After playing Tina Tomasino in A Bell for Adano (1945), she played the jealous hearted femme fatale Ellen Berent Harland, opposite Cornel Wilde, in the film noir Leave Her to Heaven, a performance that won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Related Topics:
A Bell for Adano - 1945 - Femme fatale - Cornel Wilde - Film noir - Leave Her to Heaven - Academy Award - Best Actress in a Leading Role

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Tierney starred in the role as Miranda Wells in Dragonwyck (1946). That same year, she played Isabel Bradley opposite Tyrone Power, with John Payne, Anne Baxter, and Clifton Webb, in The Razor's Edge, an adaptation Somerset Maugham's novel. She followed that with her role as Lucy Muir in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) opposite Rex Harrison, with George Sanders, Anna Lee, and Natalie Wood.

Related Topics:
Dragonwyck - 1946 - Tyrone Power - John Payne - Anne Baxter - Clifton Webb - The Razor's Edge - Somerset Maugham - Novel - The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - 1947 - Rex Harrison - George Sanders - Anna Lee - Natalie Wood

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