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{{Short description|American actress (1910–1990)}}
:''For the ] ] ], see ''']'''.''
{{other people}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Joan Bennett in Photoplay December 1932.png
| image_size =
| caption = Bennett in '']'', December 1932
| birth_name = Joan Geraldine Bennett
| birth_date = {{birth date|1910|2|27}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|12|7|1910|2|27}}
| death_place = ], U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1916–1982
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|John Marion Fox|1926|1928|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|]|1932|1937|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|]|1940|1965|reason=div}}
* {{marriage|David Wilde<br>|1978}}
}}
| children = 4<ref name="latimes-Joan-Bennett-Dies">{{cite news |last1=Lesher |first1=David |title=Joan Bennett, Movie, Stage, TV Star, Dies |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-09-mn-8714-story.html |access-date=2 April 2022 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 December 1990}}</ref>
| resting_place = Pleasant View Cemetery, ], U.S.
| parents = ]<br />]
| relatives = ] (grandfather)<br />] (sister)<br /> ] (sister)<br /> ] (nephew)
}}


'''Joan Geraldine Bennett''' (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress, one of three acting sisters from a show-business family. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 films from the era of ]s, well into the ]. She is best remembered for her ] ] roles in director ]'s films—including '']'' (1941), '']'' (1944), and '']'' (1945)—and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (and ancestors Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, and Flora Collins in various timelines) in the gothic 1960s soap opera '']'', for which she received an ] nomination in 1968.<ref>https://www.emmys.com/bios/joan-bennett</ref>
'''Joan Geraldine Bennett''' (], ] &ndash; ], ]) was an ] ] ] who also achieved success later in life as a ] actress.


Bennett's career had three distinct phases: first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette ] (with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of ]), and finally as a warmhearted wife-and-mother figure.
]
Born in Palisades, New Jersey, Bennett was the youngest of 3 daughters of stage actors ] and ], and was the younger sister of actresses ] and Barbara Bennett (the mother of ]). Bennett and her siblings were also the grand daughters of prominent stage actor ]. Morrison, who was born in Jamaica, West Indies,(died ]) was a civil war veteran who served in the black division of the Louisana Native Guards.


In 1951, Bennett's screen career was marred by scandal after her third husband, film producer ], shot and injured her agent ]. Wanger suspected that she and Lang were having an affair,<ref>Erickson, Hal. '']''.</ref> a charge which she adamantly denied.<ref name=LAT121451/> She married four times.
Bennett made her first film appearance in ] in an uncredited part and appeared in a few silent films while a child. She married at the age of sixteen, and when this marriage ended two years later, resumed her acting career. Contracted to ] she appeared as a blonde ingenue in a several films including ] in ], before leaving this studio to appear in '']'' (]). She was not taken seriously as an actress and struggled to establish herself. Her task was further complicated by the rapid rise to fame of her sister Constance, who at this time was one of ]'s most successful and popular actresses, and with whom she was unfavourably compared.


For her final film role, as Madame Blanc in ]'s cult horror film '']'' (1977), she received a ] nomination.
She signed a contract with producer ], whom she would marry in 1940. He managed her career, and with director ] convinced her to change her hair from blonde to brunette. With this change her screen persona evolved into that of a glamorous seductress and she began to attract attention. During the search to find an actress to play ] in '']'', Bennett was tested and impressed producer ]. She was briefly considered to be a front runner for this part but Selznick eventually turned his attention to ], who was then rejected in favour of ].


==Early life==
In the early 1940s Bennett appeared in four films directed by ]. Three of them ('']'' (]), '']'' (]), and '']'') established her as a ] ]. She also played the wife of ] in '']'' (]) and its ], '']'' (]).
] with his three daughters (from left), ], Joan, and ] (c. 1913)]]


Joan Geraldine Bennett was born in the Palisade section of ], on February 27, 1910, the youngest of three daughters of actor ] and actress/literary agent ].<ref>, ], December 10, 1990. Accessed December 12, 2013. "The actress, born in Fort Lee, N.J., made her 1928 debut in the Broadway play ''Jarnegan.''"</ref> Her elder sisters were actress ] and actress/dancer ], who was the first wife of singer ] and the mother of ] Part of a famous theatrical family, Bennett's maternal grandfather was Jamaica-born ] actor ], who embarked on a stage career in the late 1860s. On the side of her maternal grandmother, actress Rose Wood, the profession dated back to traveling ]s in 18th-century England.
In 1951 Wanger shot and injured Bennett's agent, who was also her lover, and the resulting ] damaged her career. She continued to work steadily in theatre and television and was a cast member of the ] '']'' for its entire five year run, from ] until ], receiving an ] nomination for her role.


Bennett first appeared in a silent movie as a child with her parents and sisters in her father's drama ''The Valley of Decision'' (1916), which he adapted for the screen. She attended Miss Hopkins School for Girls in Manhattan, then St. Margaret's, a ] in Waterbury, Connecticut, and L'Hermitage, a ] in Versailles, France.
Bennett died from a ] in ] at the age of 80, and was buried in ], ], ].


On September 15, 1926, 16-year-old Bennett married John M. Fox in London. They divorced in Los Angeles on July 30, 1928, based on charges of his alcoholism.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daughter Of Actor Divorced: Joan Bennett Fox Wins Decree on Charges of Mate's Intoxication |url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/search/#query=Daughter+Of+Actor+Divorced+---+Joan+Bennett+Fox+Wins+Decree+on+Charges+of+Mate%27s+Intoxication |url-access=subscription |newspaper=] |date=July 31, 1928 |page=A20}}</ref> They had one child, Adrienne Ralston Fox (born February 20, 1928), for whom Bennett fought successfully in court to rename Diana Bennett Markey when the child was eight years old.<ref>"Wins Fight Over Daughter's Surname: Child Given New Name, Young Daughter Becomes Diana Markey Under Court Decision", ''Los Angeles Times'', August 22, 1936, p. 3.</ref> Her name changed to Diana Bennett Wanger in 1944.<ref>"Wanger Moves to Adopt Child of Joan Bennett", ''Los Angeles Times'', April 18, 1944, p. 2.</ref>
She has a star on the ] for services to Motion Pictures, at 6310 Hollywood Boulevard.


==External links== ==Career==
]'' (1929)]]
Bennett's stage debut was at age 18, acting with her father in ''Jarnegan'' (1928), which ran on Broadway for 136 performances and for which she received good reviews. By the time she turned 20 she had become a movie star through such roles as Phyllis Benton in '']'' starring ], which was her first important role, and Lady Clarissa Pevensey opposite ] in '']'' (both 1929).


She moved quickly from movie to movie throughout the 1930s. Bennett appeared as a blonde (her natural hair color) for several years. She starred in the role of Dolores Fenton in the ] musical '']'' (1930) opposite ] and as Faith Mapple, his beloved, opposite ] in an early sound version of '']'' (1930) at ].
*{{imdb name|id=0000910|name=Joan Bennett}}

Under contract to ], she appeared in several movies. She played the role of Jane Miller opposite ] in '']'' (1932), receiving top billing. She was billed second, after Tracy, for her role as Helen Riley, a personable waitress who trades wisecracks, in '']'' (1932).

On March 16, 1932, she married screenwriter/film producer ] in Los Angeles,<ref>"Bennett Sister Weds Here: Actress Becomes Scenarist's Bride", ''Los Angeles Times'', March 17, 1932, p.A 2.</ref> but the couple divorced in Los Angeles on June 3, 1937.<ref>"Actress' Marital Tie Cut: Joan Bennett Granted Divorce From Gene Markey, Writer", ''Los Angeles Times'', June 4, 1937, p.3.</ref> They had one child, Melinda Markey (born February 27, 1934, on Bennett's 24th birthday).

]'' (1933)]]
Bennett left Fox to play Amy, a pert sister competing with ]'s Jo in '']'' (1933), which was directed by ] for ]. This movie brought Bennett to the attention of independent film producer ], who signed her to a contract and began managing her career. She played the role of Sally MacGregor, a psychiatrist's young wife slipping into insanity, in '']'' (1935) with ]. Bennett starred in the film '']'' (1937), including the title sequence, in which she donned a diamond-and-platinum bracelet set with the ] ruby.<ref>{{cite book |last=Markowitz |first=Yvonne J. |title=The Jewels of Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p51FngEACAAJ |publisher=] |location=Boston |year=2014 |access-date=October 9, 2016 |lccn=2013957243 |isbn=978-0-87846-811-9}}</ref>{{rp|page=15}} Wanger and director ] persuaded her to change her hair from blonde to brunette as part of the plot for her role as Kay Kerrigan in the scenic '']'' (1938) opposite ].

With her change in appearance, Bennett began an entirely new screen career as her persona evolved into that of a glamorous, seductive femme fatale. She played the role of Princess Maria Theresa in '']'' (1939) opposite ], and the role of the Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg in '']'' (1940) opposite Hayward.

{{Citation needed span|text=During the search for an actress to play ] in '']'', Bennett was given a screen test and impressed producer ] to such an extent that she was one of the final four actresses, along with ], ], and ].|date=November 2024}}

]'' (1944)]]
On January 12, 1940, Bennett and producer Walter Wanger were married in Phoenix, Arizona.<ref>"Joan Bennett and Wanger Marry in Phoenix Elopement – Actress and Producer Make Trip by Auto; Announce They'll Return to Hollywood Today", ''Los Angeles Times'', January 13, 1940, p.1.</ref> They were divorced in September 1965 in Mexico.<ref>. '']'', September 21, 1965, p. SU 3.</ref> The couple had two children together, Stephanie Wanger (born June 26, 1943) and Shelley Wanger (born July 4, 1948). The following year, on March 13, 1949, Bennett became a grandmother at age 39.

Combined with her sultry eyes and husky voice, Bennett's new brunette look gave her an earthier, more arresting persona. She won praise for her performances as Brenda Bentley in '']'' (1940), also featuring ], and as Carol Hoffman in the anti-] drama '']'', a film in which ] also starred.

She then appeared in a sequence of highly regarded film noir thrillers directed by ], with whom she and Wanger formed their own production company. Bennett appeared in four movies under Lang's direction, including as Cockney Jerry Stokes in '']'' (1941) opposite ], as mysterious model Alice Reed in '']'' (1944) with ], and as vulgar blackmailer Katharine "Kitty" March in '']'' (1945), another film with Robinson.

]'' (1945)]]
Bennett was the shrewish, cuckolding wife, Margaret Macomber, in ]'s '']'' (1947) opposite ], as deceitful wife Peggy, in ]'s '']'' (also 1947) opposite ] and ], and as tormented Lucia Harper in ]' '']'' (1949) as the victim of a blackmailer played by ]. Then, easily shifting images again, she changed her screen persona to that of an elegant, witty and nurturing wife and mother in two comedies directed by ].

Playing the role of Ellie Banks, the wife of ] and mother of ], Bennett appeared in both '']'' (1950) and '']'' (1951).

She made a number of radio appearances from the 1930s to the 1950s, performing on such programs as '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'' and the anthology series '']'' and '']''.

With the increasing popularity of television, Bennett made five guest appearances in 1951, including an episode of ] and ]'s '']''.{{clear|left}}

==Political views==
She was a very active member of both the Hollywood Democratic Committee and The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including ], ], ], ], ], and ]) during her lifetime.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

==Scandal==
For 12 years Bennett was represented by agent ], the onetime vice-president of the ], who then headed ]'s ] television operations. She and Lang met on the afternoon of December 13, 1951, to talk over an upcoming TV show.<ref name=LAT121451>
* {{cite news| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| date=December 14, 1951| title=Joan Bennett Sees Mate Shoot Agent: 'Thought He Was Breaking Up My Home,' Says Wanger| url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/image/381314414/?terms=Joan%2BBennett%2BSees%2BMate%2BShoot%2BAgent| url-access=subscription | page=1| access-date=July 22, 2020}}
* {{cite news |title=Hollywood Actors' Agent Is Shot; Joan Bennett's Husband Questioned; Hollywood Actors' Agent Is Shot; Joan Bennett's Husband Questioned Producer in Financial Trouble |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/14/archives/hollywood-actors-agent-is-shot-joan-bennetts-husband-questioned.html |access-date=2 April 2022 |work=] | url-access=subscription |date=14 December 1951}}
</ref>

Bennett parked her Cadillac convertible in the lot at the back of the MCA offices, at Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive, across the street from the Beverly Hills Police Department, and she and Lang drove off in his car. Meanwhile, her husband ] drove past about 2:30&nbsp;p.m. and noticed his wife's car parked there. Half an hour later, he again saw her car there and stopped to wait. Bennett and Lang drove into the parking lot a few hours later and he walked her to her convertible. As she started the engine, turned on the headlights, and prepared to drive away, Lang leaned on the car, with both hands raised to his shoulders, and talked to her.

In a fit of jealousy, Wanger walked up and twice shot and wounded the unsuspecting agent. One bullet hit Jennings in the right thigh, near the hip, and the other penetrated his groin.<ref name="LAPL-LAHE-Uhde-Pinker-indicating">{{cite web |title=Police Sgt. Erwin F. Uhde & Ray Pinker, director of the crime scientific laboratory, indicating .38 caliber bullet holes in Shetland grey suit worn by Agent Jennings when shot by Walter Wanger |url=https://calisphere.org/item/4ab006694e855a01c42e1fc26fedbc2e/ |department=] |publisher=Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection |access-date=2 April 2022 |date=1951}}</ref> Bennett said she did not see Wanger at first. She said she suddenly saw two vivid flashes, then Lang slumped to the ground. As soon as she recognized who had fired the shots, she told Wanger, "Get away and leave us alone."<ref name=":0">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ta9mDwAAQBAJ&q=jennings+lang+shooting&pg=PA175| title=The Lives of Justine Johnstone: Follies Star, Research Scientist, Social Activist| last=Vestuto| first=Kathleen| date=July 13, 2018| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-1476672762}}</ref> He tossed the pistol into his wife's car.

She and the parking lot's service station manager took Lang to the agent's doctor. He was then taken to a hospital, where he recovered. The police station was located across the lot, officers had heard the shots, and came to the scene and found the gun in Bennett's car when they took Wanger into custody. Wanger was booked and fingerprinted, and underwent lengthy questioning.<ref name=":0" />

"I shot him because I thought he was breaking up my home," Wanger told the police chief of Beverly Hills. He was booked on suspicion of assault with intent to commit murder. Bennett denied a romance. "But if Walter thinks the relationships between Mr. Lang and myself are romantic or anything but strictly business, he is wrong," she declared. She blamed the trouble on financial setbacks involving film productions Wanger was involved with, and said he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.<ref name=LAT121451 /> The following day Wanger, out on bond, returned to their Holmby Hills home, collected his belongings and moved out. Bennett, however, said there would not be a divorce.<ref>"Detectives Shadowed Joan for Months, Says Wanger: Film Producer Tells Reasons for Jealousy; Divorce Discussed". ''Los Angeles Times'', December 15, 1951, p. 1.</ref>

On December 14, Bennett issued a statement in which she said she hoped her husband "will not be blamed too much" for wounding her agent. She read the prepared statement in the bedroom of her home to a group of newspapermen while TV cameras recorded the scene.<ref>"Joan Bennett Hopes Wanger 'Won't Be Blamed Too Much'; Statement Cites Film Producer's Money Worries". ''Los Angeles Times'', December 15, 1951, p. A</ref>

Wanger's attorney ] mounted a "]" defense. He then decided to waive his right to a jury, and threw himself on the mercy of the court.<ref>"Wanger Fate Will Rest On Transcript: Producer to Escape Open Trial by Letting Judge Decide Case on Grand Jury Evidence". ''Los Angeles Times'', April 15, 1952, p. 1.</ref> Wanger served a four-month sentence in the County Honor Farm at Castaic, California, 39 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, quickly returning to his career to make a series of successful films.<ref>"Wanger to Be Released from County Jail Today". ''Los Angeles Times'', September 13, 1952, p. A 1.</ref>

Meanwhile, Bennett went to Chicago to appear on the stage in the role as the young witch Gillian Holroyd in '']'', then went on national tour with the production.<ref>"Joan Bennett to Play Witch if Wanger Trial Is on Time". ''Los Angeles Times'', April 3, 1952, p. 4.</ref>

She made only five movies in the decade that followed the 1951 shooting incident, and only two films in the 1970s, for the incident was a stain on her career and she became virtually blacklisted. Blaming the scandal that occurred for destroying her career in the motion picture industry, Bennett once said, "I might as well have pulled the trigger myself." Although ], a longtime friend, pleaded with ] on her behalf to keep her after her role as Amelie Ducotel in '']'' (1955), the studio refused.

As the movie offers dwindled after the scandal, Bennett continued touring in stage successes, such as ''Susan and God'', ''Once More, with Feeling'', ''The Pleasure of His Company'' and '']''. Her next TV appearance was in the role of Bettina Blane in an episode of '']'' in 1954. Other roles included Honora in '']'' (1955) and Vickie Maxwell in '']'' (1957). In 1958, she appeared as the mother in the short-lived television comedy/drama ''Too Young to Go Steady'' to teenagers played by ] and Martin Huston.

She starred on Broadway in the comedy ''Love Me Little'' (1958), which ran for only eight performances.

Of the scandal, in a 1981 interview, Bennett contrasted the judgmental 1950s with the sensation-crazed 1970s and 1980s. "It would never happen that way today," she said, laughing. "If it happened today, I'd be a sensation. I'd be wanted by all studios for all pictures."<ref name=":1"/>

==Later years==
Despite the shooting scandal and the damage it caused Bennett's film career, she and Wanger remained married until 1965. She continued to work steadily on the stage and in television, including a guest role as Denise Mitchell in an episode of TV's '']'' (1965).

]'']]

Bennett received star billing in the gothic soap opera '']'' for its entire five-year run, 1966 to 1971, receiving an ] nomination in 1968 for her performance as ], mistress of the haunted ]. Her other roles in ''Dark Shadows'' were Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard PT (parallel time, as the show described its alternate reality), Flora Collins, and Flora Collins PT. In 1970, she appeared as Elizabeth in '']'', the feature film adaptation of the series. However, she declined to appear in the sequel '']'', and her character Elizabeth was mentioned therein as being recently deceased.

Her autobiography ''The Bennett Playbill'', written with ], was published in 1970.<ref>{{cite news| last=Higham| first=Charles| title=Her Father's Daughter| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/11/29/archives/her-fathers-daughter-the-bennett-playbill.html| date=November 29, 1970| url-access=subscription| page=322}}</ref>

Her other TV guest appearances include Bennett's roles as Joan Darlene Delaney in an episode of '']'' (1970) and as Edith in an episode of '']'' (1971). She starred in five made-for-TV movies between 1972 and 1982.

Bennett also appeared in one more feature film, as Madame Blanc in director ]'s horror film '']'' (1977), for which she received a 1978 Saturn Award nomination for ].

Bennett and retired publisher/movie critic David Wilde were married on February 14, 1978, 13 days before her 68th birthday, in White Plains, New York.<ref>{{cite news| title=Notes on People| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/02/16/archives/notes-on-people.html| newspaper=The New York Times| date=February 16, 1978| page=C2}}</ref> Their marriage lasted until her death in 1990.

] at 6300 Hollywood Blvd]]
Celebrated for not taking herself too seriously, Bennett said in a 1986 interview, "I don't think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much."<ref name=":1">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/09/obituaries/joan-bennett-whose-roles-ripened-from-sweet-to-siren-dies-at-80.html| title=Joan Bennett, Whose Roles Ripened From Sweet to Siren, Dies at 80| last=Flint| first=Peter B.| date=December 9, 1990| newspaper=The New York Times| page=A52|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525194017/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/09/obituaries/joan-bennett-whose-roles-ripened-from-sweet-to-siren-dies-at-80.html |archive-date=May 25, 2015}}</ref>

Bennett has a motion pictures star on the ] for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/joan-bennett |title=Hollywood Walk of Fame - Joan Bennett |website=walkoffame.com |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce |access-date=November 16, 2017}}</ref> a short distance from the star of her sister ].

==Death==
Bennett died of heart failure on Friday evening, December 7, 1990, aged 80, at her home in Scarsdale, New York.<ref name=":1"/>

==Filmography==
Bennett appeared in many movies and television productions, listed below in their entirety.

===Film===
]'' (1951)]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1916
| ''{{sortname|The|Valley of Decision|nolink=1}}''
| unborn soul
|
|-
| 1923
| ''{{sortname|The|Eternal City|The Eternal City (1923 film)}}''
| Page
| uncredited
|-
| 1928
| '']''
| a dame
|
|-
| 1929
| ''{{sortname|The|Divine Lady}}''
| extra
| uncredited
|-
| 1929
| '']''
| Phyllis Benton
|
|-
| 1929
| '']''
| Rose Gordon
|
|-
| 1929
| '']''
| Lady Clarissa Pevensey
|
|-
| 1929
| '']''
| Lucy Blackburn
|
|-
| 1930
| '']''
| Delores Fenton
|
|-
| 1930
| '']''
| Ann Jordan
|
|-
| 1930
| '']''
| Faith Mapple, his beloved
|
|-
| 1930
| ''] (a.k.a. Eleven Men and a Girl)''
| Nan Sheffield
|
|-
| 1930
| '']''
| Xandra, Lady Lasher
|
|-
| 1931
| '']''
| Pat Coster
|
|-
| 1931
| '']''
| Nina Wyndram
|
|-
| 1931
| '']''
| Joan Gordon
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Jane Miller
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Sally Brown
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Vivienne Ware
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Venetia Carr
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Salomy Jane
|
|-
| 1932
| '']''
| Helen Riley
|
|-
| 1933
| '']''
| Lynn Martin
|
|-
| 1933
| '']''
| Amy March
|
|-
| 1934
| '']''
| Prudence Kirkland
|
|-
| 1934
| '']''
| Adele Verin
|
|-
| 1935
| '']''
| Sally MacGregor
|
|-
| 1935
| '']''
| Lucy Rumford
|
|-
| 1935
| '']''
| Bobbie Lockwood
|
|-
| 1935
| '']''
| Carol Van Dyke
|
|-
| 1935
| '']''
| Helen Berkeley
|
|-
| 1936
| '']''
| Eve Fallon
|
|-
| 1936
| '']''
| Felice Rollins
|
|-
| 1936
| '']''
| Julia Wayne
|
|-
| 1936
| '']''
| Monica "Rusty" Fleming
|
|-
| 1937
| '']''
| Wendy Van Klettering
|
|-
| 1938
|'']''
|Julie Weir Shaw
|
|-
| 1938
| ''{{sortname|The|Texans}}''
| Ivy Preston
|
|-
| 1938
| '']''
| Patricia Harper
|
|-
| 1938
| '']''
| Kay Kerrigan
|
|-
| 1939
| ''{{sortname|The|Man in the Iron Mask|The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)}}''
| Princess ]
|
|-
| 1939
| ''{{sortname|The|Housekeeper's Daughter}}''
| Hilda
|
|-
| 1940
| '']''
| Stephanie Richardson
|
|-
| 1940
| ''{{sortname|The|House Across the Bay}}''
| Brenda Bentley
|
|-
| 1940
| ''{{sortname|The|Man I Married}}''
| Carol Hoffman
|
|-
| 1940
| ''{{sortname|The|Son of Monte Cristo}}''
| Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg
|
|-
| 1941
| '']''
| Gloria Winters
|
|-
| 1941
| '']''
| Jerry Stokes
|
|-
| 1941
| '']''
| Sally Murdock
|
|-
| 1941
| '']''
| Jennifer Carson
|
|-
| 1942
| ''{{sortname|The|Wife Takes a Flyer}}''
|Anita Woverman
|
|-
| 1942
| '']''
| Julie Abbott
|
|-
| 1942
| '']''
| June Delaney
|
|-
| 1943
| '']''
| Sophia Baumer
|
|-
| 1944
| ''{{sortname|The|Woman in the Window|The Woman in the Window (1944 film)}}''
| Alice Reed
|
|-
| 1945
| '']''
| Harriet Carruthers
|
|-
| 1945
| '']''
| Katharine "Kitty" March
|
|-
| 1946
| '']''
| Ella Sue Dozier
|
|-
| 1947
| ''{{sortname|The|Macomber Affair}}''
| Margaret Macomber
|
|-
| 1947
| ''{{sortname|The|Woman on the Beach}}''
|Peggy Butler
|
|-
| 1947
| '']''
| Celia Lamphere
|
|-1948 The Scar
| 1948
| '']'' (aka ''The Scar'')
| Evelyn Hahn
|
|-
| 1949
| ''{{sortname|The|Reckless Moment}}''
| Lucia Harper
|
|-
| 1950
| '']''
| Ellie Banks
|
|-
| 1950
| '']''
| Lydia Bolton
|
|-
| 1951
| '']''
| Ellie Banks
|
|-
| 1951
| ''{{sortname|The|Guy Who Came Back}}''
| Kathy Joplin
|
|-
| 1954
| '']''
| Mrs. Cummings
|
|-
| 1955
| '']''
| Amelie Ducotel
|
|-
| 1956
| '']''
| Marion Groves
|
|-
| 1956
| '']''
| Peg Blain
|
|-
| 1960
| '']''
| Mrs. Marquand
|
|-
| 1970
| '']''
| ]
|
|-
| 1977
| '']''
| Madame Blanc
|
|-
|}

===Television===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*'']'' (1951) episode: ''Peggy''
*'']'' (1951) 1 episode
*'']'' (1951) episode: ''A Clear Case of Suicide''
*'']'' (1951) episode: ''Smith Serves''
*''Somerset Maugham TV Theatre'' (1951) episode: ''The Dream''
*'']'' (1954) episode: ''You Are Young Only Once'', as Bettina Blane
*'']'' (1954) episode: ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'', as Lorraine Sheldon
*'']'' (1955) episode: ''The Dark Fleece'', as Honora
*'']'' (1955) episode: ''Letters Marked Personal'', as Marcia Manners
*''The Ford Television Theatre'' (1956) episode: ''Dear Diane'', as Marion
*'']'' (1957) episode: ''The Thundering Wave'', as Vickie Maxwell
*'']'' (1957) episode: ''Junior Miss'', as Grace Graves
*'']'' (1958) episode: ''Epitaph for a Golden Girl''
*'']'' (1959) (own series), as Mary Blake
*'']'' (1965) episode: ''Who Killed Mr. Colby in Ladies' Lingerie?'', as Denise Mitchell
*'']'' (1966–1971) (series regular, 386 episodes), as ] / Naomi Collins / Judith Collins Trask / Flora Collins / Flora Collins (PT) / Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (PT)
*'']'' (1970) episode: ''Check the Check'', as Joan Darlene Delaney
*'']'' (1971) episode segment: ''Love and the Second Time'', as Edith
*'']'' (1972) episode: ''The Cortessa Rose'', as Cortessa
{{div col end}}

===Made-for-TV movies===
*'']'' (1972) as Claire Ramsey
*''The Eyes of Charles Sand'' (1972) as Aunt Alexandra
*'']'' (1978) as Mrs. Graham
*'']'' (1981) as Rag Lady
*'']'' (1982) as Adele Burgess

===As herself===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''Screen Actors'' (1950) (uncredited)
*'']'' (1951) 1 episode
*'']'' (1951) 1 episode
*'']'' (1951) 1 episode
*'']'' (1951)
*'']'' (1953)
*'']'' (1956) episode: ''The Louella Parsons Story''
*'']'' (1958) 1 episode
*'']'' (1964, 1967, 1970, 1970, 1977) 5 episodes
*'']'' (1967) 1 episode
*''Personality'' (1968) 1 episode
*'']'' (1970) 1 episode
*''The Virginia Graham Show'' (1970) 1 episode
*'']'' (1977) 2 episodes: ''Humphrey Bogart''; ''Spencer Tracy''
*'']'' (1982) 1 episode
*''The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn'' (1986)
{{div col end}}

===Short subject===
*''Screen Snapshots'' (1932)
*''Hollywood on Parade No. A-12'' (1933)
*''The Fashion Side of Hollywood'' (1935)
*''Hollywood Party'' (1937)
*''Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 9: Sports in Hollywood'' (1940)
*''Hedda Hopper's Hollywood'', No. 6 (1942)
*''Screen Actors'' (1950) (uncredited)

===Radio appearances===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Program !! Episode/source
|-
| 1941|| '']'' || '']''<ref>{{cite news| title=WHP Radio Programs for the Entire Week Starting November 16, 1941| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2888123/harrisburg_telegraph/| newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph| date=November 15, 1941| page=29| via=]| access-date=July 26, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| 1946|| '']'' || '']''<ref>{{cite news| title=Bennett, Brent, Menjou Star on "Screen Guild"| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3334731/harrisburg_telegraph/| newspaper=Harrisburg Telegraph| date=October 12, 1946| page=17| via=Newspapers.com| access-date=October 1, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|-
| 1947|| '']'' || "Overture in Two Keys"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.escape-suspense.com/2012/02/suspense-overture-in-two-keys.html|title=Suspense - Overture in Two Keys|website=Escape and Suspense!|access-date=Aug 11, 2019}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book| last=Bennett| first=Joan| year=1943| title=How to Be Attractive| location=New York| publisher=]| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkkSAQAAMAAJ&q=how+to+be+attractive}}
* {{cite book |title=The Bennett Playbill |first=Joan |last=Bennett |author2=Lois Kibbee |author2-link=Lois Kibbee |year=1970 |location=New York |publisher=] |isbn=978-0030818400 |url=https://archive.org/details/bennettplaybill00benn |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book| last1=Hamrick| first1=Craig| author2=R. J. Jamison| title=Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows| edition=Revised| year=2012| pages=41–53| publisher=iUniverse| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEL22AIPqKAC&q=joan+bennett| isbn=978-1-4759-1034-6}}
* {{cite book| last=Kellow| first=Brian| date=November 26, 2004| title=The Bennetts: An Acting Family| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcoS2DglYzgC&q=The+Bennetts%3A+An+Acting+Family| location=Lexington, KY| publisher=]| isbn=978-0813123295}}
* {{cite podcast
| url= https://feeds.megaphone.fm/loveisacrime
| title=Love Is a Crime
| website=]
| publisher=] and ]
| host1= ]
| host2= Vanessa Hope
| others= ] as Joan Bennett, ] as ], and ] as ]
| date=
| time=
| access-date=2 April 2022
}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons}}
* {{IMDb name|0000910}}
* {{Find a Grave|20184}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226233043/https://www.thenedscottarchive.com/hollywood/films/trade-winds-movie.html |date=2018-12-26 }} by ]
*
*


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Latest revision as of 00:59, 5 January 2025

American actress (1910–1990) For other people named Joan Bennett, see Joan Bennett (disambiguation).
Joan Bennett
Bennett in Photoplay, December 1932
BornJoan Geraldine Bennett
(1910-02-27)February 27, 1910
Fort Lee, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 1990(1990-12-07) (aged 80)
Scarsdale, New York, U.S.
Resting placePleasant View Cemetery, Lyme, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1916–1982
Spouses
John Marion Fox ​ ​(m. 1926; div. 1928)​
Gene Markey ​ ​(m. 1932; div. 1937)​
Walter Wanger ​ ​(m. 1940; div. 1965)​
David Wilde
​ ​(m. 1978)​
Children4
Parent(s)Richard Bennett
Adrienne Morrison
RelativesLewis Morrison (grandfather)
Constance Bennett (sister)
Barbara Bennett (sister)
Morton Downey Jr. (nephew)

Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress, one of three acting sisters from a show-business family. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 films from the era of silent films, well into the sound era. She is best remembered for her film noir femme fatale roles in director Fritz Lang's films—including Man Hunt (1941), The Woman in the Window (1944), and Scarlet Street (1945)—and for her television role as matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (and ancestors Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, and Flora Collins in various timelines) in the gothic 1960s soap opera Dark Shadows, for which she received an Emmy nomination in 1968.

Bennett's career had three distinct phases: first as a winsome blonde ingenue, then as a sensuous brunette femme fatale (with looks that movie magazines often compared to those of Hedy Lamarr), and finally as a warmhearted wife-and-mother figure.

In 1951, Bennett's screen career was marred by scandal after her third husband, film producer Walter Wanger, shot and injured her agent Jennings Lang. Wanger suspected that she and Lang were having an affair, a charge which she adamantly denied. She married four times.

For her final film role, as Madame Blanc in Dario Argento's cult horror film Suspiria (1977), she received a Saturn Award nomination.

Early life

Richard Bennett with his three daughters (from left), Constance, Joan, and Barbara (c. 1913)

Joan Geraldine Bennett was born in the Palisade section of Fort Lee, New Jersey, on February 27, 1910, the youngest of three daughters of actor Richard Bennett and actress/literary agent Adrienne Morrison. Her elder sisters were actress Constance Bennett and actress/dancer Barbara Bennett, who was the first wife of singer Morton Downey and the mother of Morton Downey Jr. Part of a famous theatrical family, Bennett's maternal grandfather was Jamaica-born Shakespearean actor Lewis Morrison, who embarked on a stage career in the late 1860s. On the side of her maternal grandmother, actress Rose Wood, the profession dated back to traveling minstrels in 18th-century England.

Bennett first appeared in a silent movie as a child with her parents and sisters in her father's drama The Valley of Decision (1916), which he adapted for the screen. She attended Miss Hopkins School for Girls in Manhattan, then St. Margaret's, a boarding school in Waterbury, Connecticut, and L'Hermitage, a finishing school in Versailles, France.

On September 15, 1926, 16-year-old Bennett married John M. Fox in London. They divorced in Los Angeles on July 30, 1928, based on charges of his alcoholism. They had one child, Adrienne Ralston Fox (born February 20, 1928), for whom Bennett fought successfully in court to rename Diana Bennett Markey when the child was eight years old. Her name changed to Diana Bennett Wanger in 1944.

Career

Bennett in the trailer for Disraeli (1929)

Bennett's stage debut was at age 18, acting with her father in Jarnegan (1928), which ran on Broadway for 136 performances and for which she received good reviews. By the time she turned 20 she had become a movie star through such roles as Phyllis Benton in Bulldog Drummond starring Ronald Colman, which was her first important role, and Lady Clarissa Pevensey opposite George Arliss in Disraeli (both 1929).

She moved quickly from movie to movie throughout the 1930s. Bennett appeared as a blonde (her natural hair color) for several years. She starred in the role of Dolores Fenton in the United Artists musical Puttin' On The Ritz (1930) opposite Harry Richman and as Faith Mapple, his beloved, opposite John Barrymore in an early sound version of Moby Dick (1930) at Warner Brothers.

Under contract to Fox Film Corporation, she appeared in several movies. She played the role of Jane Miller opposite Spencer Tracy in She Wanted a Millionaire (1932), receiving top billing. She was billed second, after Tracy, for her role as Helen Riley, a personable waitress who trades wisecracks, in Me and My Gal (1932).

On March 16, 1932, she married screenwriter/film producer Gene Markey in Los Angeles, but the couple divorced in Los Angeles on June 3, 1937. They had one child, Melinda Markey (born February 27, 1934, on Bennett's 24th birthday).

Bennett in the trailer for Little Women (1933)

Bennett left Fox to play Amy, a pert sister competing with Katharine Hepburn's Jo in Little Women (1933), which was directed by George Cukor for RKO. This movie brought Bennett to the attention of independent film producer Walter Wanger, who signed her to a contract and began managing her career. She played the role of Sally MacGregor, a psychiatrist's young wife slipping into insanity, in Private Worlds (1935) with Joel McCrea. Bennett starred in the film Vogues of 1938 (1937), including the title sequence, in which she donned a diamond-and-platinum bracelet set with the Star of Burma ruby. Wanger and director Tay Garnett persuaded her to change her hair from blonde to brunette as part of the plot for her role as Kay Kerrigan in the scenic Trade Winds (1938) opposite Fredric March.

With her change in appearance, Bennett began an entirely new screen career as her persona evolved into that of a glamorous, seductive femme fatale. She played the role of Princess Maria Theresa in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) opposite Louis Hayward, and the role of the Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg in The Son of Monte Cristo (1940) opposite Hayward.

During the search for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, Bennett was given a screen test and impressed producer David O. Selznick to such an extent that she was one of the final four actresses, along with Jean Arthur, Vivien Leigh, and Paulette Goddard.

Bennett in the trailer for The Woman in the Window (1944)

On January 12, 1940, Bennett and producer Walter Wanger were married in Phoenix, Arizona. They were divorced in September 1965 in Mexico. The couple had two children together, Stephanie Wanger (born June 26, 1943) and Shelley Wanger (born July 4, 1948). The following year, on March 13, 1949, Bennett became a grandmother at age 39.

Combined with her sultry eyes and husky voice, Bennett's new brunette look gave her an earthier, more arresting persona. She won praise for her performances as Brenda Bentley in The House Across the Bay (1940), also featuring George Raft, and as Carol Hoffman in the anti-Nazi drama The Man I Married, a film in which Francis Lederer also starred.

She then appeared in a sequence of highly regarded film noir thrillers directed by Fritz Lang, with whom she and Wanger formed their own production company. Bennett appeared in four movies under Lang's direction, including as Cockney Jerry Stokes in Man Hunt (1941) opposite Walter Pidgeon, as mysterious model Alice Reed in The Woman in the Window (1944) with Edward G. Robinson, and as vulgar blackmailer Katharine "Kitty" March in Scarlet Street (1945), another film with Robinson.

Bennett in Scarlet Street (1945)

Bennett was the shrewish, cuckolding wife, Margaret Macomber, in Zoltan Korda's The Macomber Affair (1947) opposite Gregory Peck, as deceitful wife Peggy, in Jean Renoir's The Woman on the Beach (also 1947) opposite Robert Ryan and Charles Bickford, and as tormented Lucia Harper in Max Ophüls' The Reckless Moment (1949) as the victim of a blackmailer played by James Mason. Then, easily shifting images again, she changed her screen persona to that of an elegant, witty and nurturing wife and mother in two comedies directed by Vincente Minnelli.

Playing the role of Ellie Banks, the wife of Spencer Tracy and mother of Elizabeth Taylor, Bennett appeared in both Father of the Bride (1950) and Father's Little Dividend (1951).

She made a number of radio appearances from the 1930s to the 1950s, performing on such programs as The Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show, Duffy's Tavern, The Jack Benny Program, Ford Theater, Suspense and the anthology series Lux Radio Theater and Screen Guild Theater.

With the increasing popularity of television, Bennett made five guest appearances in 1951, including an episode of Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's Your Show of Shows.

Political views

She was a very active member of both the Hollywood Democratic Committee and The Hollywood Anti-Nazi League and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry A. Wallace, Adlai Stevenson II, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter) during her lifetime.

Scandal

For 12 years Bennett was represented by agent Jennings Lang, the onetime vice-president of the Sam Jaffe Agency, who then headed MCA's West Coast television operations. She and Lang met on the afternoon of December 13, 1951, to talk over an upcoming TV show.

Bennett parked her Cadillac convertible in the lot at the back of the MCA offices, at Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive, across the street from the Beverly Hills Police Department, and she and Lang drove off in his car. Meanwhile, her husband Walter Wanger drove past about 2:30 p.m. and noticed his wife's car parked there. Half an hour later, he again saw her car there and stopped to wait. Bennett and Lang drove into the parking lot a few hours later and he walked her to her convertible. As she started the engine, turned on the headlights, and prepared to drive away, Lang leaned on the car, with both hands raised to his shoulders, and talked to her.

In a fit of jealousy, Wanger walked up and twice shot and wounded the unsuspecting agent. One bullet hit Jennings in the right thigh, near the hip, and the other penetrated his groin. Bennett said she did not see Wanger at first. She said she suddenly saw two vivid flashes, then Lang slumped to the ground. As soon as she recognized who had fired the shots, she told Wanger, "Get away and leave us alone." He tossed the pistol into his wife's car.

She and the parking lot's service station manager took Lang to the agent's doctor. He was then taken to a hospital, where he recovered. The police station was located across the lot, officers had heard the shots, and came to the scene and found the gun in Bennett's car when they took Wanger into custody. Wanger was booked and fingerprinted, and underwent lengthy questioning.

"I shot him because I thought he was breaking up my home," Wanger told the police chief of Beverly Hills. He was booked on suspicion of assault with intent to commit murder. Bennett denied a romance. "But if Walter thinks the relationships between Mr. Lang and myself are romantic or anything but strictly business, he is wrong," she declared. She blamed the trouble on financial setbacks involving film productions Wanger was involved with, and said he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The following day Wanger, out on bond, returned to their Holmby Hills home, collected his belongings and moved out. Bennett, however, said there would not be a divorce.

On December 14, Bennett issued a statement in which she said she hoped her husband "will not be blamed too much" for wounding her agent. She read the prepared statement in the bedroom of her home to a group of newspapermen while TV cameras recorded the scene.

Wanger's attorney Jerry Giesler mounted a "temporary insanity" defense. He then decided to waive his right to a jury, and threw himself on the mercy of the court. Wanger served a four-month sentence in the County Honor Farm at Castaic, California, 39 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, quickly returning to his career to make a series of successful films.

Meanwhile, Bennett went to Chicago to appear on the stage in the role as the young witch Gillian Holroyd in Bell, Book, and Candle, then went on national tour with the production.

She made only five movies in the decade that followed the 1951 shooting incident, and only two films in the 1970s, for the incident was a stain on her career and she became virtually blacklisted. Blaming the scandal that occurred for destroying her career in the motion picture industry, Bennett once said, "I might as well have pulled the trigger myself." Although Humphrey Bogart, a longtime friend, pleaded with Paramount Pictures on her behalf to keep her after her role as Amelie Ducotel in We're No Angels (1955), the studio refused.

As the movie offers dwindled after the scandal, Bennett continued touring in stage successes, such as Susan and God, Once More, with Feeling, The Pleasure of His Company and Never Too Late. Her next TV appearance was in the role of Bettina Blane in an episode of General Electric Theater in 1954. Other roles included Honora in Climax! (1955) and Vickie Maxwell in Playhouse 90 (1957). In 1958, she appeared as the mother in the short-lived television comedy/drama Too Young to Go Steady to teenagers played by Brigid Bazlen and Martin Huston.

She starred on Broadway in the comedy Love Me Little (1958), which ran for only eight performances.

Of the scandal, in a 1981 interview, Bennett contrasted the judgmental 1950s with the sensation-crazed 1970s and 1980s. "It would never happen that way today," she said, laughing. "If it happened today, I'd be a sensation. I'd be wanted by all studios for all pictures."

Later years

Despite the shooting scandal and the damage it caused Bennett's film career, she and Wanger remained married until 1965. She continued to work steadily on the stage and in television, including a guest role as Denise Mitchell in an episode of TV's Burke's Law (1965).

Bennett in the TV series Dark Shadows

Bennett received star billing in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows for its entire five-year run, 1966 to 1971, receiving an Emmy Award nomination in 1968 for her performance as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, mistress of the haunted Collinwood Mansion. Her other roles in Dark Shadows were Naomi Collins, Judith Collins Trask, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard PT (parallel time, as the show described its alternate reality), Flora Collins, and Flora Collins PT. In 1970, she appeared as Elizabeth in House of Dark Shadows, the feature film adaptation of the series. However, she declined to appear in the sequel Night of Dark Shadows, and her character Elizabeth was mentioned therein as being recently deceased.

Her autobiography The Bennett Playbill, written with Lois Kibbee, was published in 1970.

Her other TV guest appearances include Bennett's roles as Joan Darlene Delaney in an episode of The Governor & J.J. (1970) and as Edith in an episode of Love, American Style (1971). She starred in five made-for-TV movies between 1972 and 1982.

Bennett also appeared in one more feature film, as Madame Blanc in director Dario Argento's horror film Suspiria (1977), for which she received a 1978 Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Bennett and retired publisher/movie critic David Wilde were married on February 14, 1978, 13 days before her 68th birthday, in White Plains, New York. Their marriage lasted until her death in 1990.

Bennett's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6300 Hollywood Blvd

Celebrated for not taking herself too seriously, Bennett said in a 1986 interview, "I don't think much of most of the films I made, but being a movie star was something I liked very much."

Bennett has a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry. Her star is located at 6300 Hollywood Boulevard, a short distance from the star of her sister Constance.

Death

Bennett died of heart failure on Friday evening, December 7, 1990, aged 80, at her home in Scarsdale, New York.

Filmography

Bennett appeared in many movies and television productions, listed below in their entirety.

Film

Bennett in the trailer for Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Year Title Role Notes
1916 The Valley of Decision unborn soul
1923 The Eternal City Page uncredited
1928 Power a dame
1929 The Divine Lady extra uncredited
1929 Bulldog Drummond Phyllis Benton
1929 Three Live Ghosts Rose Gordon
1929 Disraeli Lady Clarissa Pevensey
1929 The Mississippi Gambler Lucy Blackburn
1930 Puttin' On the Ritz Delores Fenton
1930 Crazy That Way Ann Jordan
1930 Moby Dick Faith Mapple, his beloved
1930 Maybe It's Love (a.k.a. Eleven Men and a Girl) Nan Sheffield
1930 Scotland Yard Xandra, Lady Lasher
1931 Many a Slip Pat Coster
1931 Doctors' Wives Nina Wyndram
1931 Hush Money Joan Gordon
1932 She Wanted a Millionaire Jane Miller
1932 Careless Lady Sally Brown
1932 The Trial of Vivienne Ware Vivienne Ware
1932 Week Ends Only Venetia Carr
1932 Wild Girl Salomy Jane
1932 Me and My Gal Helen Riley
1933 Arizona to Broadway Lynn Martin
1933 Little Women Amy March
1934 The Pursuit of Happiness Prudence Kirkland
1934 The Man Who Reclaimed His Head Adele Verin
1935 Private Worlds Sally MacGregor
1935 Mississippi Lucy Rumford
1935 Two for Tonight Bobbie Lockwood
1935 She Couldn't Take It Carol Van Dyke
1935 The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo Helen Berkeley
1936 Big Brown Eyes Eve Fallon
1936 Thirteen Hours by Air Felice Rollins
1936 Two in a Crowd Julia Wayne
1936 Wedding Present Monica "Rusty" Fleming
1937 Vogues of 1938 Wendy Van Klettering
1938 I Met My Love Again Julie Weir Shaw
1938 The Texans Ivy Preston
1938 Artists and Models Abroad Patricia Harper
1938 Trade Winds Kay Kerrigan
1939 The Man in the Iron Mask Princess Maria Theresa
1939 The Housekeeper's Daughter Hilda
1940 Green Hell Stephanie Richardson
1940 The House Across the Bay Brenda Bentley
1940 The Man I Married Carol Hoffman
1940 The Son of Monte Cristo Grand Duchess Zona of Lichtenburg
1941 She Knew All the Answers Gloria Winters
1941 Man Hunt Jerry Stokes
1941 Wild Geese Calling Sally Murdock
1941 Confirm or Deny Jennifer Carson
1942 The Wife Takes a Flyer Anita Woverman
1942 Twin Beds Julie Abbott
1942 Girl Trouble June Delaney
1943 Margin for Error Sophia Baumer
1944 The Woman in the Window Alice Reed
1945 Nob Hill Harriet Carruthers
1945 Scarlet Street Katharine "Kitty" March
1946 Colonel Effingham's Raid Ella Sue Dozier
1947 The Macomber Affair Margaret Macomber
1947 The Woman on the Beach Peggy Butler
1947 Secret Beyond the Door... Celia Lamphere
1948 Hollow Triumph (aka The Scar) Evelyn Hahn
1949 The Reckless Moment Lucia Harper
1950 Father of the Bride Ellie Banks
1950 For Heaven's Sake Lydia Bolton
1951 Father's Little Dividend Ellie Banks
1951 The Guy Who Came Back Kathy Joplin
1954 Highway Dragnet Mrs. Cummings
1955 We're No Angels Amelie Ducotel
1956 There's Always Tomorrow Marion Groves
1956 Navy Wife Peg Blain
1960 Desire in the Dust Mrs. Marquand
1970 House of Dark Shadows Elizabeth Collins Stoddard
1977 Suspiria Madame Blanc

Television

Made-for-TV movies

As herself

Short subject

  • Screen Snapshots (1932)
  • Hollywood on Parade No. A-12 (1933)
  • The Fashion Side of Hollywood (1935)
  • Hollywood Party (1937)
  • Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 9: Sports in Hollywood (1940)
  • Hedda Hopper's Hollywood, No. 6 (1942)
  • Screen Actors (1950) (uncredited)

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1941 Philip Morris Playhouse Girl in the News
1946 Screen Guild Players Experiment Perilous
1947 Suspense "Overture in Two Keys"

References

  1. Lesher, David (9 December 1990). "Joan Bennett, Movie, Stage, TV Star, Dies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  2. https://www.emmys.com/bios/joan-bennett
  3. Erickson, Hal. Joan Bennett: Biography AllMovie.
  4. ^
  5. "Actress Joan Bennett Dead At 80", Associated Press, December 10, 1990. Accessed December 12, 2013. "The actress, born in Fort Lee, N.J., made her 1928 debut in the Broadway play Jarnegan."
  6. "Daughter Of Actor Divorced: Joan Bennett Fox Wins Decree on Charges of Mate's Intoxication". Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1928. p. A20.
  7. "Wins Fight Over Daughter's Surname: Child Given New Name, Young Daughter Becomes Diana Markey Under Court Decision", Los Angeles Times, August 22, 1936, p. 3.
  8. "Wanger Moves to Adopt Child of Joan Bennett", Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1944, p. 2.
  9. "Bennett Sister Weds Here: Actress Becomes Scenarist's Bride", Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1932, p.A 2.
  10. "Actress' Marital Tie Cut: Joan Bennett Granted Divorce From Gene Markey, Writer", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1937, p.3.
  11. Markowitz, Yvonne J. (2014). The Jewels of Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin. Boston: MFA Publications. ISBN 978-0-87846-811-9. LCCN 2013957243. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  12. "Joan Bennett and Wanger Marry in Phoenix Elopement – Actress and Producer Make Trip by Auto; Announce They'll Return to Hollywood Today", Los Angeles Times, January 13, 1940, p.1.
  13. "Joan Bennett Divorced". The New York Times, September 21, 1965, p. SU 3.
  14. "Police Sgt. Erwin F. Uhde & Ray Pinker, director of the crime scientific laboratory, indicating .38 caliber bullet holes in Shetland grey suit worn by Agent Jennings when shot by Walter Wanger". calisphere. Los Angeles Public Library, Los Angeles Herald Examiner Collection. 1951. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  15. ^ Vestuto, Kathleen (July 13, 2018). The Lives of Justine Johnstone: Follies Star, Research Scientist, Social Activist. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476672762.
  16. "Detectives Shadowed Joan for Months, Says Wanger: Film Producer Tells Reasons for Jealousy; Divorce Discussed". Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1951, p. 1.
  17. "Joan Bennett Hopes Wanger 'Won't Be Blamed Too Much'; Statement Cites Film Producer's Money Worries". Los Angeles Times, December 15, 1951, p. A
  18. "Wanger Fate Will Rest On Transcript: Producer to Escape Open Trial by Letting Judge Decide Case on Grand Jury Evidence". Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1952, p. 1.
  19. "Wanger to Be Released from County Jail Today". Los Angeles Times, September 13, 1952, p. A 1.
  20. "Joan Bennett to Play Witch if Wanger Trial Is on Time". Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1952, p. 4.
  21. ^ Flint, Peter B. (December 9, 1990). "Joan Bennett, Whose Roles Ripened From Sweet to Siren, Dies at 80". The New York Times. p. A52. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015.
  22. Higham, Charles (November 29, 1970). "Her Father's Daughter". The New York Times. p. 322.
  23. "Notes on People". The New York Times. February 16, 1978. p. C2.
  24. "Hollywood Walk of Fame - Joan Bennett". walkoffame.com. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  25. "WHP Radio Programs for the Entire Week Starting November 16, 1941". Harrisburg Telegraph. November 15, 1941. p. 29. Retrieved July 26, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  26. "Bennett, Brent, Menjou Star on "Screen Guild"". Harrisburg Telegraph. October 12, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved October 1, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  27. "Suspense - Overture in Two Keys". Escape and Suspense!. Retrieved Aug 11, 2019.

Further reading

External links

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