Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theatre and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in both lead and supporting roles in big-budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s. She co-starred with Tyrone Power in four films, including the classic The Mark of Zorro (1940). Her biggest commercial success was the controversial Forever Amber (1947), an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the 1940s and Fox's biggest hit of 1947. She won critical acclaim for her work in Summer Storm (1944), Hangover Square (1945), Fallen Angel (1945), Unfaithfully Yours (1948), A Letter to Three Wives (1949), and No Way Out (1950).
Early life Darnell was born in Dallas, Texas, as one of four children (excluding her mother's two children from an earlier marriage) to postal clerk Calvin Roy Darnell and the former Margaret "Pearl" Brown. One of her maternal great-grandparents was Cherokee. She was the younger sister of Undeen and the older sister of Monte Maloya and Calvin Roy, Jr. Her parents were not happily married, and she grew up as a shy and reserved girl in a house of domestic turmoil.Davis, Ronald L., Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream. Starting at an early age, her mother, Pearl, had big plans for Darnell in the entertainment industry.Davis, Ronald L., Hollywood Beauty: Linda Darnell and the American Dream, p. 16. She believed that Linda was her only child with potential as an actress and ignored the rearing of her other children.
According to her siblings, Darnell enjoyed the limelight and shared her mother's dream. Darnell once said, "Mother really shoved me along, spotting me in one contest after another. I had no great talent, and I didn't want to be a movie star particularly, but Mother had always wanted it for herself, and I guess she attained it through me." One elocution teacher recalled: "[Darnell] didn't stand out particularly, except that she was so sweet and considerate. In her theater work, she wasn't outstanding, but her mother was right behind her everywhere she went."
Unlike her husband, Pearl had a notorious reputation in the neighborhood of being "aggressive" or "downright mean". Despite some financial problems, Darnell insisted that she had a joyful childhood and loving parents."Linda Darnell Newest 'Cinderella' In Hollywood" by Louella O. Parsons, Deseret News, August 19, 1939, p. 7 Darnell was a model by the age of 11 and was acting on the stage by the age of 13. She initially started modeling to earn money for the household and performed mostly in beauty contests.
Before leaving school for Hollywood, Darnell was a student at Sunset High School, which she entered in September 1937, majoring in Spanish and art."Watch These 5 Girls!," The St. Petersburg Times, June 1, 1940 She did not have a lot in common with her peers and usually spent her time at home as a teen, working under the guidance of her mother. In 1936, she entered the Dallas Little Theater and was cast in the southwestern premiere of Murder in the Cathedral. In 1937, she was hired as one of the Texanita hostesses at the Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition.
In November 1937, a talent scout for 20th Century Fox arrived in Dallas looking for new faces. Encouraged by her mother, Darnell met him, and after a few months, he invited her for a screen test in Hollywood. Arriving in California alongside Mary Healy and Dorris Bowdon in February 1938, Darnell initially was rejected by film studios and was sent home because the 14-year-old was declared "too young."
Career beginnings Although originally wanting to become an actress on the stage, Darnell was featured in a Gateway to Hollywood talent search and initially landed a contract at RKO Pictures. The job had no certainty, though, and she soon returned to Dallas. When 20th Century-Fox offered her a part, Darnell wanted to accept, but RKO was unwilling to release her. Nevertheless, by age 15, she was signed to a contract at 20th Century-Fox and moved to a small apartment in Hollywood, all alone, on April 5, 1939. With production beginning in April 1939, she was featured in her first film, Hotel for Women (1939), which had newspapers immediately hailing her as the newest star of Hollywood. Loretta Young was originally assigned to play the role, but she demanded a salary that the studio would not give her. Darryl F. Zanuck instead cast Darnell "because he felt that the name would advertise her beauty and suggest a Latin quality that matched her coloring."
Although only 15 at the time, Darnell posed as a 17-year-old and was listed as 19 years old by the studio. According to columnist Louella O. Parsons, Darnell was "so young, so immature and so naive in her ideas" and was very loyal to her boss, Darryl F. Zanuck. Her true age came out later in 1939, and she became one of the few actresses under the age of 16 to serve as leading ladies in films."Linda Darnell, Just 16, Achieves Film Stardom In A Woman's Role" by Robbins Coons, Big Spring Daily Herald, October 15, 1939, p. 2 While working on Hotel for Women, Darnell was cast alongside Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) in June 1939."Success Comes Fast and Heavy", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 28, 1939 She was later replaced because the studio felt her role was not important enough. In an interview during production of Hotel for Women, which lasted until June, Darnell admitted that movie making was not what she expected: "I'm learning what really hard work is. At home in Dallas, I used to sprawl on the lawn and dream about the nice, easy time the screen stars must be having in Hollywood, but the last two months have taught me quite another story."
Since the beginning of her career at 20th Century-Fox, Darnell had been very positive about her frequent co-star Tyrone Power. In a 1939 interview, she expressed her interest in starring opposite Power in Johnny Apollo (1940). Rationalizing why she was not cast, Darnell said: "It's a man's part and the girl's role is only incidental." Dorothy Lamour was cast, instead. Nevertheless, Darnell had her way. She was assigned to the female lead opposite Power in the light romantic comedy Day-Time Wife (1939). Although the film received only slightly favorable reviews, Darnell's performance was received positively, with one critic saying: "Despite her apparent youth, [Darnell] turns in an outstanding performance when playing with popular players.""At the Motion Picture Theaters", Ottawa Citizen, December 18, 1939, p. 7 Another critic wrote: "little Linda is not only a breath-taking eyeful, but a splendid actress, as well.""'Daytime Wife' Makes Hit At U.A. Theater", Berkeley Daily Gazette, December 11, 1939, p. 16 Life stated that Darnell appeared to be 22 and was "the most physically perfect girl in Hollywood". Following the film's release, she was cast in the drama comedy Star Dust in December 1939."Stars' Lives Good Stories", Pittsburgh Press, December 27, 1939, p. 15 The film was hailed as one of the "most original entertainment idea[s] in years" and boosted Darnell's popularity, who was nicknamed "Hollywood's loveliest and most exciting star"."Linda Darnell Scores New Hit In 'Star Dust'", Daily Record (Washington), April 12, 1940, p. 6 Variety said: "Miss Darnell displays a wealth of youthful charm and personality that confirms studio efforts to build her to a draw personality." Her studio contract had been revised to allow Darnell to earn a week ().
Stardom
After appearing in several small films, the 16-year-old Darnell was cast in her first big-budget film in May 1940, appearing again opposite Tyrone Power in Brigham Young (1940), which was shot on location in mid-1940 and was regarded as the most expensive film 20th Century Fox had yet produced. Darnell and Power were cast together for the second time owing to the box-office success of Day-Time Wife, and they became a highly publicized onscreen couple, which prompted Darryl F. Zanuck to add 18 more romantic scenes to Brigham Young."Tyrone Power Gets Love Scenes", Deseret News, August 22, 1940, p. 13 The film's director, Henry Hathaway, in later life had only slight memories of Darnell, but recalled that "a sweeter girl never lived." By June 1940, shortly after completing Brigham Young, Darnell earned "a weekly salary larger than most bank officials.""Success Story of Linda Darnell Is Challenge to High School Girls" by Jimmie Fidler, The St. Petersburg Times, June 9, 1940, p. 22
In the summer of 1940, Darnell began working on The Mark of Zorro (1940), in which she again co-starred as Power's sweetheart in a role for which Anne Baxter was previously considered. A big-budget adventure film that was raved over by the critics, The Mark of Zorro was a box-office sensation and did much to enhance Darnell's star status. Afterwards, she was paired with Henry Fonda for the first time in the Western Chad Hanna (1940), her first Technicolor film. The film received only moderate attention, unlike Darnell's next film, Blood and Sand (1941), which was shot on location in Mexico and in which the 17-year-old was reunited with Power. It was the first film for which she was widely critically acclaimed. Nevertheless, Darnell later claimed that her downfall began after Blood and Sand. In an interview, she said:
The studio was unable to find Darnell suitable roles. In late 1940, Fox chose her for the main role in Song of the Islands (1942), a Hawaiian musical film which eventually starred Betty Grable."Linda Darnell Chosen 'Song of Islands' Star", Los Angeles Times, August 15, 1940 After Blood and Sand, she was set to co-star with Claudette Colbert in Remember the Day (1941), but another actress was eventually cast. Meanwhile, she was considered for the female lead in Swamp Water (1941), but Anne Baxter was later assigned the role. Darnell was disappointed and felt rejected; ignoring the fact that she had taken the female lead in The Mark of Zorro the previous year, for which Baxter was being considered, Darnell later lamented: "Right under your very nose someone else is brought in for that prize part you wanted so terribly." Months passed by without any work, and in August 1941, the still 17-year-old was cast in a supporting role in the musical Rise and Shine (1941). The film was a setback in her career, and she was rejected for a later role because she refused to respond to Darryl F. Zanuck's advances. Instead, she contributed to the war effort, working for the Red Cross and selling war bonds. She was also a regular at the Hollywood Canteen.
Professional setbacks
In early 1942, Darnell filmed The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, another film that did little to advance her career. Meanwhile, she realized that Darryl F. Zanuck had lost interest in her, and she was overlooked for most film roles for which she felt suited. Instead, she was cast in roles that she loathed, including the musical Orchestra Wives (1942). Zanuck insisted that she take the role, but she was replaced by Ann Rutherford after 12 days of shooting, with the press reporting that "Linda Darnell and Twentieth Century-Fox aren't on the best of terms at the moment." As a punishment, she was lent out to another studio for a supporting role in a B movie called City Without Men (1943). According to co-star Rosemary DeCamp, Darnell nevertheless was "very polite", and she was satisfied to work at a studio that did not treat the 18-year-old as a child. In April 1943, she was put on suspension, which meant being replaced in the Technicolor musical film The Gang's All Here (1943). By this time, Darnell had eloped, which caused Zanuck to be even more furious.