Pretty lady - Jean Hagen Discussion

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

I really can't add anything to your appreciation of Mz Verhagen, but I love when older performers get cred. Good for you.

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[–] PlatinumScreen (221) 5 years ago

Thank you, snepts. I can tell you know of Jean Hagen because you used her true last name.

Hagen tends to be overlooked in The Asphalt Jungle because of the other female in the movie who was on the screen all of a few nanoseconds, Marilyn Monroe. Even the DVD cover has Marilyn's image larger than the star Sterling Hayden's.

It sort of makes me sad to see all the older stars with zero posts on here. They deserve recognition.

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[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

Btw, if you know anything about Sterling Hayden's life and filmography, he's a very unusual dude. I love that he got a role in one of the most heralded films of recent memory -- The Godfather.

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[–] PlatinumScreen (221) 5 years ago

I have heard he was quite the character off the screen, but I don't know much about him past that. I didn't know until recently that he was in The Godfather.

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[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

One of the best films you can study him in is Johnny Guitar. It's borderline Camp, but it's also filled with tension and mystery. Almost like a David Lynch film, but much brighter and direct. And has a real story with real action. And Ernest Borgnine as well !
Oh! Did I leave out Joan Crawford ? My goodness !

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[–] PlatinumScreen (221) 5 years ago

Beyond the fact Sterling Hayden is in it, I'm intrigued when Ernest Borgnine and Joan Crawford are in the same movie together. Thank you for the recommendation! I'll watch it.

I've just been reading about Mr. Hayden. He had an eventful life off-screen.

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[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

She was also hilarious as the "other woman" in the tracy-and -Hepburn comedy "Adam's Rib".

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[–] PlatinumScreen (221) 5 years ago

I've seen bits and pieces of Adam's Rib through the years, but it deserves a proper view. Thanks for the recommendation!

She was just so good in everything I've seen her in. I don't know why she wasn't a much bigger star.

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[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Yeah, her failure to become a huge movie star is one of those mysteries that will still be puzzling me on my deathbed. The woman was beautiful and was up there with Judy Holliday for comedic talent, yet her career never took off.

Did she prefer stage work? Did she have a family that was more important to her than her career? Did she piss off a studio head? It has to be something like that!

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[–] PlatinumScreen (221) 5 years ago

Otter, I found the following at the site linked below. It contains some possible information on why she didn't become a bigger star.

"...From 1953 through 1956, Hagen played Margaret Williams, wife of nightclub entertainer Danny Thomas, in Make Room for Daddy. Her character was summarily "killed off" when she left the series in its third season; according to Thomas, Hagen felt that sitcom work was beneath her. Unfortunately, with such notable exceptions as The Shaggy Dog (1959) and Sunrise at Campobello (1960), Hagen's career went into an eclipse after Make Room for Daddy, and by 1964 she had retired from acting. As historian Bill Warren observed, Hagen "was so versatile that, paradoxically, she became hard to cast." In the mid-1970s, after undergoing radical surgery and cobalt treatment for throat cancer, Hagen valiantly attempted a comeback in character roles. Jean Hagen died at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital at the age of 54."

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jean_hagen

I agree with you she was up there with Judy Holliday. It's funny you mention her because I was thinking about the movie Born Yesterday with Holliday and William Holden. There was probably only one other actress on the planet who could've done that role as well as Holliday, and it's Jean Hagen. Likewise, Judy Holliday probably could've done Hagen's role in Singin' in the Rain with as much skill. I'm going to say something controversial here--they were better comedic actresses to me than Lucille Ball who is THE 50s comedic actress of record. I can't imagine Lucy in either of the two roles I just mentioned.

Sadly, both Holliday and Hagen died too young. Holliday was just 43.

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[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Oh absolutely both Holliday and Hagen were better comic actresses than Lucille Ball! It's just that Lucy was the one who found a career path that made her a huge, huge, long-term star, while Holliday's film career was spotty, and Hagen's fizzled.

It just goes to show what a massive crapshoots career decisions can be, Lucy's hit sitcom made her a megastar and eventually a studio head, while Hagen's hit sitcom did nothing for her.

PS: Judy Holliday and Jean Hagen both have hilarious supporting roles in "Adam's Rib". Tracy and Hepburn are at their absolute best in that film, but Hagen and Holliday are marvelous too.

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[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Thanks for giving me another reason to watch The Asphalt Jungle again. It's been a while since I saw it.

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[–] huwdj (4562) 2 years ago

She seems to be one of those actors whose films just aren't shown anymore. So we all know her from Singin' in the Rain and maybe The Asphalt Jungle (to be honest it's so long since I saw this I cannot remember her in it) and that's it. On the other hand there are many other actors who didn't have a role in an iconic film and are, more or less, completely forgotten - so there's that?

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