Rule 5 Saturday

Rita Johnson was a leggy blonde who had some memorable screen roles in the 1940’s, including Here Comes Mr. Jordan (with George Montgomery and Claude Rains) and the nail-bitingly suspenseful The Big Clock (Ray Miland and Charles Laughton). She had a wonderful, completely-at-ease style, and was a joy to watch on screen. Unfortunately, she had what has to be one of the most bizarre accidents in Hollywood history (a hair-dryer fell on her head), and she suffered a significant head injury requiring surgery. Although she recovered, the injury led to some physical problems that shortened her career.



Janis Carter was the quintessential blonde bombshell, and appeared in 30 films, ranging from war movies to film noir to comedy. I particularly liked her in the 1947 movie, Framed, with Glenn Ford.



Greer Garson was a celebrated English-born actress who had seven academy award nominations during a movie career spanning thirty years (she took Best Actress for her role in the 1942 film, Mrs. Miniver). She was frequently paired with Walter Pidgeon, but co-starred with many of the top actors of her day, including Clark Gable, Laurence Olivier and Ronald Coleman. Here’s an odd fact: she’s credited with giving the longest Academy Award acceptance speech in history (over five minutes).