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switch parts: rhonda fleming and jane greer?

posted 14 years ago by onleft23
7 replies | jump to latest

as good as jane greer was - and it is one of the definitve
femme fatale performances, i know - i think rhonda fleming would
have been just as good in the role

just a little older a little more refined than greer
and still every bit as alluring you ask me - more so even

the vibe would have to have swayed toward a more 'cerebral lust'
- for lack of a better term - between jeff and meta
than the the horminal attraction between jeff & kathy

but the characters are all so sharp exploring that angle could have
been quite interesting

fleming's meta is coldly calculating ('cold around the heart' as jeff
describes her to petey the cabby) and obv aware of her feminine wiles

she would have given jeff all he could handle in the brains department
and i doubt jeff could have kept up his initial distaste for her for long
maybe not a 'baby i don't care' surrender perhaps more along the lines
of an 'okay you win' capitulation to nature's way

but a different movie for sure an interesting one tho i think
and meta and jeff together for sure would have out-smarted whit
and his outfit - theyd a gotten the loot the tax sheets the affadavit
the works ... and got away clean - a noir with a happy ending now
how's that for a prospective classic spec sheet

fleming was the classic 'hollywood actress' im my 'umble - looks & smarts
& style & femininity oozing

[–] jxh13 14 years ago

Rhonda Fleming was very capable, but Jane Greer really works here. She has a kind of innocent face, and her famous "look," an imperturbable, enigmatic expression, really adds a dimension to the character. She was promoted by the studio as having a "Mona Lisa smile," and it really contributes to the story.

My own view is that Rhonda Fleming could have played the role effectively, Jane Greer is just absolutely spot-on perfect.

[–] ubu55 11 years ago

"...a different movie for sure an interesting one tho i think
and meta and jeff together for sure would have out-smarted whit
and his outfit - theyd a gotten the loot the tax sheets the affadavit
the works ... and got away clean"

Agree entirely, LOL!

I'd have to say, every time I watch the film and it gets to the point Meta opens her door & we see her for the first time, my reaction is:

"WOW! Who's THAT?!!"

Physically, she makes me forget all about Kathy & wonder why Mitchum wouldn't feel the same. Greer is attractive, Fleming is gorgeous!

That said, as you indicate, there's nothing vulnerable about her. She looks Jeff right in the eye, treats Joe like a subordinate, and is utterly believable plotting murder. It would have had to be a different story.

On a side note, always wondered if she was a brunette in this or her hair was a deep, dark red?

[–] Trax-3 9 years ago

"WOW! Who's THAT?!!"

Physically, she makes me forget all about Kathy & wonder why Mitchum wouldn't feel the same. Greer is attractive, Fleming is gorgeous!

Exactly!

That scene in her apartment was the highlight of the movie that otherwise failed to impress me much.

[–] TrippyTrellis 9 years ago

Trax-3- I agree with you 100%.

Jane Greer was a fine actress and a very attractive woman but didn't really posses star quality. Just like Gail Patrick before her, she was at her best playing second leads. She was great, for instance, playing second lead to Susan Hayward in the impressive (as opposed to "Out of the Past") "They Won't Believe Me".

Rhonda Fleming, beyond gorgeous, had the star quality and personality needed for this film noir's deadly femme fatale.

[–] mecormany 8 years ago

I strongly disagree with everyone so far on this topic. I like Rhonda Fleming but she could not have done justice to KM like Greer did. Greer's performance is one of the best female parts ever, and the best femme fatale ever. There's not a false step or note in Greer's acting from beginning to end. She WAS Kathie Moffat. And she is gorgeous in a non-traditional way -- can't explain it better than that. Gorgeous, sexy and as lethal as a cobra. I've been a Greer fan all my life (first saw OOTP in my teens and am now in my 60s) and watch movies like Dick Tracy and The Falcon's Alibi and other frivolous B flicks just to see her, all because of her performance in this movie, which I have seen countless times. No way Fleming could have portrayed Kathie as superbly as Greer did. And I'm sure Tourneur realized that.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Noir-It-All 7 years ago

Jane Greer had an element of class, too.

I would love to understand the character Kathie Moffitt better by learning about her backstory.