Sunday, December 20, 2009

If a Screen Legend Dies in Obscurity....And Nobody Hears About it........

In a just universe, folks, all of these so-called entertainment shows ("The Insider", "Extra", etc.) would have taken at least some time to acknowledge the great career of screen legend and sex symbol, Jennifer Jones. For those of you who didn't hear about it (and, yes, I'm assuming that is most of you), Jones passed away last week at the age of 90. To say that this woman was a huge talent is an understatement. She won an Academy Award in 1943 for "The Song of Bernadette". She was also nominated four other times; in 1944 for "Since You Went Away", in 1945 for "Love Letters", in 1946 for "Duel in the Sun", and in 1955 for "Love is a Many Splendored Thing". Couple these roles with films such as "Portrait of Jennie", "Tender is the Night", "A Farewell to Arms", etc. (plus, like I said on top, the lady was hot!) and, yeah, you kind of get the picture. Too bad Ms. Jones had to die around the same time that Tiger was getting screwed (figuratively, I'm saying). That, my friends, is the real tragedy..................................................................................................P.S. The real fact of the matter, folks, is that Jennifer Jones's career has for years been ignored, inexplicably so. While contemporaries such as Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, Olivia DeHavilland, etc. continue to be remembered/their long careers honored, Jennifer Jones has largely been forgotten (I posit again, this lack of coverage of her death). I don't know, maybe it has to do with the fact that her fiance/future husband/mogul, David O.Selznick, pulled a few strings for her. But, come on here, Jane and Peter Fonda - they had some help. So did Michael Douglass. It's not like Jones didn't deserve the opportunity. And have I mentioned, too - THIS LADY WAS FRIGGING HOT?

6 comments:

Oso said...

I fell in love with her after Duel in the Sun. Gregory Peck was the badass brother, right?
Yeah she was beautiful.And yes,I'd been unaware of her passing too.

Oso said...

BTW,
do you like Shakira? I just posted a video of her at Mikes.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

"Duel in the Sun" is one of those strage movies that's simultaneouly very good and very bad. The acting is first rate, the story and cinematography are both superb, etc.. And, yet, it is kind of over the top at times/overly melodramatic. Yes, Gregory Peck as a bad guy - I loved it! Just like Henry Fonda in "Once Upon a Time in the West", Burt Lancaster in "Sweet Smell of Success", and Denzel Washington in "Training Day". Counter-casting at it's best. Shakira? Oh, yeah! You're talking about looks, right? LOL

Commander Zaius said...

Will, it never ceases to amaze me at the stupidity of those in what I laugh at when I hear the words "entertainment journalism". The sad story of young Brittany Murphy's recent passing was worth about two or three mentioning during the Monday morning news but the morning people on just about every show droned on and speculated about why and how she died. I got a little sick when all one could seem to say was that she died while taking a shower.

That Ms. Jones passed without a bare mention can be taken as a statement on journalism in general. Then again I got sick of hearing about Tiger until it devolved from a sad story of a fallen man to a comedy about his multiple antics and the rabid and banal television types drooling for the next revelation.

Kentucky Rain said...

That freaking Tiger Woods is all the news these days. JJ was hot and at the top of her game when she stepped off the stage forever!

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I hate to say this, double b, but I think that we've only scratched the surface on this whole Brittany Murphy thing. The tabloids (print, the internet, AND television), I fear, are going to continue to milk it....and milk it to death.........I totally agree, Mike; body, face, talent, personality, the whole package really. Too bad she isn't more celebrated....P.S. I would also add Jean Simmons, Eva Marie Saint, and Anne Baxter to that list of underrated actresses from the studio era.