Ava GardnerThough Ava Gardner has been in many other types of films, this ravishing beauty has only been in a couple that can be considered film noir.
In The Killers (1946), she plays Kitty Collins, a femme fatale if there ever was one. There's a tantalizing scene in a room where the tense young Swede (Burt Lancaster) is distracted from his conflict with some bad guys by the sight of Kitty, languishing on a bed in the background behind them. In The Bribe (1949), she plays with Robert Taylor, Charles Laughton and Vincent Price. As Elizabeth, she betrays her husband for the love of a federal agent (Taylor), but then drugs her new lover when blackmailed by her husband's black market cohort. The Killers was really the film that made people first sit up and take notice of her acting ability. Previously, she had played many bit parts, mainly for the studio to show off her gorgeousness. Gardner was a poor Southern girl with no acting training when she got "discovered" in New York. MGM put her under contract, but the Killers was made when she was out on loan to Universal. She went on to become a huge star, complete with three tumultous marriages: to Mickey Rooney, big band leader Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra. Back from the Ava Gardner page to the Film Noir Women page. Return to the Film Noir Alley home page. |
