Jennifer Jones

Stardust: TCM’s Star of the Month

By Ed Garea

“Most interviewers probe and pry into your personal life, and I just don’t like it. I respect everyone’s right to privacy, and I feel mine should be respected, too.” – Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones somehow managed to survive the guilt of leaving her first husband and the smothering control exerted by her second to find happiness and become stronger in the process with her third husband. She was made of sterner stuff. She survived all three over the course of a long career that saw her personal life occasionally overshadow her professional life.

It could be said that Jones was destined to be a performer. Besides owning a few theaters, her parents, Flora Mae (nee Suber) and Phillip Ross Isley, owned and operated the Isley Stock Company, a traveling tent-show theatrical company that toured the Midwest. While the parents were starring in various productions, their only daughter, Phyllis Lee Isley (born March 12, 1919, in Tulsa, Oklahoma), spent her summers selling candy, taking tickets and occasionally acting in the company. 

Raised as a Roman Catholic, she attended Monte Cassino, a girls’ school in Tulsa. She then spent a year at Northwestern University before transferring to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1938. While starring as Elizabeth Barrett in the Academy’s production of The Barretts of Wimpole Street, she fell in love with the young actor who portrayed Robert Browning. His name was Robert Walker, and they married on January 2, 1939, spending their honeymoon in Hollywood, where they soon found bit roles. 

As Phyliss Isley she worked at Republic, appearing in a Three Mesquiteers oater titled New Frontier (39, George Sherman) and a Dick Tracy serial, Dick Tracy’s G-Men (39, John English, William Witney). 

Returning to New York with her husband, she appeared in a TV-movie for NBC, The Streets of New York (39, Anthony Mann), possibly the earliest American television drama. In 1940 she gave birth to Robert Walker Jr, and in 1941 to his brother, Michael.

It was also in 1941 that she auditioned for the role of Claudia (later given to Dorothy McGuire) at David Selznick’s New York office. Selznick saw the addition and called her out to Hollywood, where he placed her in a one-act play by William Saroyan, Hello Out There, being staged for a theatre festival in Santa Barbara.

Impressed, Selznick signed her to a contract, paid for further acting lessons, and changed her name to Jennifer Jones. Learning of her Catholic school education, Selznick sold Darryl Zanuck at 20th Century Fox on Jones’ talents, and after a screen test, she landed the role of Bernadette Soubirous in The Song of Bernadette (43, Henry King). Studio head Darryl Zanuck had bought the rights Franz Werfel’s best-selling novel and was looking for someone to play the role of the young present girl, whose visions of “a beautiful lady” in Lourdes was taken by the townspeople to be the Virgin Mary herself and created a nationwide sensation. The film was a hit, both critically and commercially, with Jones winning the Best Actress Oscar in 1944 for her efforts.

As time passed, the relationship between Jones and Selznick turned from professional to highly personal, and the two began an affair. He became a sort of Svengali to her Trilby, making virtually every decision in his wife’s career until his death in 1965 – from supervising her dramatic training to loaning her out and producing a few of her movies, including Since You Went Away (44, John Cromwell), Duel in the Sun (46, King Vidor), Portrait of Jennie (48, William Dieterle) and a lavish remake of Ernest Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms (57, Charles Vidor) that flopped with both critics and audiences and would be the last film Selznick produced.

The affair between Jones and Selzinck led to her separation from Walker in 1943 and Irene Selznick’s filing for divorce in 1945. Jones formally divorced Walker in 1945 and in 1949 married Selznick aboard a yacht of the coast of Italy. On August 12, 1954, she gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Mary Jennifer Selznick.

Although they had separated in 1943, Walker agreed to appear with Jones in Since You Went Away the next year, hoping for a reconciliation. However, no reconciliation was forthcoming, and when she divorced him in 1945 it crushed him emotionally, sending him into a drug and alcohol fueled downward spiral that culminated in his early death in 1951.

Not that she got off any better. Emotionally fragile and highly insecure herself, the guilt and anxiety she suffered over the divorce was augmented by Selznick’s overprotective and stifling control. She was overwhelmed by her husband as he made almost every decision, reducing her in the process to a state of helplessness. His death in 1965 left her with large debts, the care of their young daughter, a movie career in free fall, and the vacuum that naturally occurs when a force of nature abates. In 1967 she attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. She was saved from death when she was discovered lying in the surf at Malibu.

It took her awhile to get fully back on her feet. She all but retired from acting and in 1971 married her third and last husband, multi-millionaire industrialist Norton Simon aboard a yacht in the English Channel after a courtship of only three weeks. The marriage lasted until his death in 1993. 

Simon, who had taken a bankrupt orange juice bottling plant and turned it into into a conglomerate that included Hunt Foods and Canada Dry, had retired in 1969 at 62 to concentrate on collecting art. His collection, valued at over $100 million, was housed at the Norton Simon Museum. He brought his new wife into the family philanthropy business, which did wonders for her mental outlook. He not only valued her opinions, but actively sought them as well. With his help she was able to take control of her life and later became his caretaker after he was stricken with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing neurological disorder. She succeeded him as president of the museum and involved herself in the day-to-day business, including a gallery renovation by architect Frank Gehry.

The healing effect Simon had on her psyche was seen after daughter Mary committed suicide in 1976 by jumping from a 20th-floor window in Los Angeles. It led Jones to take an active interest in mental health issues. In 1980 she and Simon founded the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation For Mental Health and Education. One of its major functions was to earmark $400,000 for the exclusive use of the Mary Jennifer Selznick Workshop Program, named in honor of Jones' late daughter.

After Simon’s death, Jones continued to administer his charities and served as chairwoman of the Norton Simon Museum until 2003, after which she was given emeritus status. Her retirement was quiet; she gave no interviews and was rarely seen in public. For the last six years of her life she lived with son Robert Walker Jr. and family in Malibu. After she died of natural causes on December 17, 2009, at age of 90, she was cremated and her ashes interred in the Selznick private room at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.     

As an actress Jones never set her own course. Her screen image was always as molded by Selznick, who selected her roles and decided when and for what films she was to be lent. His judgment in that area was not always sterling. For instance, he turned down the starring role in 1944’s Laura, which went instead to Gene Tierney, ironically an actress with whom Jones is often confused. His control of her career was so exhaustive, frequently accompanied by his overly detailed memos, that she began to get a bad reputation. But with her acting there were no qualms. In addition to her win for Song of Bernadette, she was nominated four more times: three for Best Actress and once for Best Supporting Actress. 

Each Tuesday evening is dedicated to Jones – 17 films in total. (She only made 27.) It’s a shame that neither of the Republic features are included; those would have been interesting to watch. Another notable omission is Carrie (52, William Wyler). Following is a listing and brief summation of each film. Those in blue are highly recommended.

September 5 

8:00 pm – The Song of Bernadette (43, Henry King): Jennifer Jones, Charles Bickford. Jones won the Oscar for her portrayal of the French peasant girl whose visions of the Virgin Mary create controversy. Usually Hollywood botches movies with religious themes, so when we come upon one done correctly and with respect, we sit up and take notice. Jones is awe-inspiring as Bernadette, hitting all the right notes. She is backed by a good supporting cast, including Charles Bickford, Lee J. Cobb and Vincent Price. Alfred Newman’s wonderful Oscar-winning score heightens the viewing experience.

11:00 pm – Love Letters (45, William Dieterle): Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten. A soldier falls for the woman who may have killed his best friend. An obvious romantic melodrama with a screenplay by Ayn Rand, of all people. Jones is pitch perfect, backed by an equally moving performance by Joseph Cotten, but the contrived plot lets them down.

1:00 am – Cluny Brown (46, Ernst Lubitsch): Charles Boyer, Jennifer Jones. A servant girl's passion for plumbing shocks London society. Lubitsch’s last completed film lacks his typical “Lubitsch touch.” It’s harmless fluff, with a misfire of a performance by Jones, though it’s not all her fault here. Her falling for Richard Haydn’s twit character is the other side of unbelievable, and to further dampen the mood, there is zero chemistry between Jones and the male lead, Charles Boyer. 

3:00 am – Duel in the Sun (46, King Vidor): Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones & Lionel Barrymore. Rancher Barrymore’s sons, the good Jesse (Joseph Cotten) and the evil Lewt (Peck), are both in love with the same half-breed woman (Jones). Selznick overreaches himself with this one. Originally praised by most critics upon release, time has not been kind and the movie has often been sarcastically referred to as “Lust in the Dust.” King Vidor directed over half of the movie before he quit, irked to no end by Selznick’s constant orders for retakes and efforts to make Jennifer Jones look even more sexy. A bevy of directors filled the empty chair, including Josef Von Sternberg, William Cameron Menzies, and even Selznick himself, and it shows. One of the great howlers.

5:00 am – Since You Went Away (44, John Cromwell): Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, & Joseph Cotten. The trials and tribulations of wives at home while their husbands are away at war. Selznick’s version of Mrs. Miniver depicts a picture postcard town in the Midwest, with Claudette Colbert giving a fine performance as a woman whose husband (Neil Hamilton, who is only viewed in the movie as a framed picture) goes off to war, leaving her to carry on with her two daughters, Shirley Temple and Jennifer Jones. However, it’s too obvious for its own good and the script lets down some fine performances by the cast.

September 12

8:00 pm – Portrait of Jennie (49, William Dieterle): Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten. A beautiful ghost provides the inspiration for a young artist. A splendidly and skillfully told romantic ghost story with Joseph Cotten as a struggling artist who falls in love with and is inspired by a charming young girl he meets in Central Park.

9:45 pm – We Were Strangers (49, John Huston): Jennifer Jones, John Garfield. A Cuban-American returns to his homeland during the Revolution and becomes involved in an assassination attempt. Huston misfires with this film based on the corrupt regime of Cuban dictator Gerardo Machado y Morales. Jennifer Jones is seriously miscast as a Cuban revolutionary, but she wasn’t alone as the other American actors faltered with their Spanish accents. Garfield is wasted as the Cuban-American who has returned to lead the plot to assassinate the president and other top government officials.

11:45 pm – Madame Bovary (49, Vincente Minnelli): Jennifer Jones, Van Heflin. Flaubert’s classic about a romantic country girl who sacrifices her marriage when she thinks she’s found her true love. An excellent version of Flaubert’s novel about an unsatisfied wife whose need for luxury and romance saddle her dull doctor husband with a boatload of debts. Jones is perfect as the shallow Emma Bovary and Van Heflin is excellent as the doctor she marries. While he is deeply in love with her, she could care less about him; rather she is in love with his wallet. 

2:00 am – Ruby Gentry (52, King Vidor): Jennifer Jones, Charlton Heston. A tempestuous woman from the swamps ignites passions when she moves into the business world. A rather unappealing soap opera set in the Southern swampland with Jennifer Jones as a girl from the other side of the tracks who falls for the son (Charlton Heston) of the richest man in town and her plans for revenge on the family she sees as hypocrites. The 30-something Jones beggars belief as a teenager in tight pants at the beginning and the film only gets sillier as it goes on, with a strange plot twist later in the film. Heston, as usual, gives his typical wooden performance. He should have been insured by the studio for termites.

3:45 am – Beat the Devil (54, John Huston): Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Gina Lollobrigida, & Jennifer Jones. A group of con artists scheme to acquire uranium-rich land in East Africa. It flopped at the box office when released, but has since become a cult classic. The story involves a crowd of dissolute misfits waiting in a small Italian seaport until repairs on a crumbling ship that will take them to British East Africa are completed. Each has a scheme to strike it rich by finding uranium. The uneven script works against the movie, but the performances are all excellent and make it at least worth catching.

September 19

8:00 pm – Good Morning, Miss Dove (55, Henry Koster): Jennifer Jones, Robert Stack. A devoted teacher sacrifices personal happiness to stay with her students. An unabashedly sentimental story somewhat like others in its vein, such as The Corn is Green, or Goodbye Mr. Chips. Jones is a strict teacher who has infused her students with a sense of pride over the decades. When she suffers health problems that require surgery, her students return and buoy her spirit with their good memories of her. If you love the other films mentioned above, you will love this one.

10:00 pm – Love is a Many Splendored Thing (55, Henry King): William Holden, Jennifer Jones. A Eurasian doctor in Hong Kong falls in love with a war correspondent. If you can buy Jones as a Eurasian you will like this story of a passionate romance that is all too short. But if you can’t, the film will just be a completely ridiculous production that is badly directed and written, and not well acted.

12:00 am – The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (56, Nunnally Johnson): Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones. A PR man is haunted by the revelations of his wartime romance. Peck gives a powerful performance as an ex-army officer who gets a job at a major broadcasting network, where his assignment is to write speeches for the network’s president (Frederic March). During the course of his employment Peck is forced to look back on his life, as flashbacks reveal a wartime romance with an Italian woman that produced a child. He is torn between duties to both his illegitimate son and wife Jennifer Jones and their children. Realizing his current job leaves little time for family matters he is determined to find a job that will allow him to do so, even is it means a cut in salary. Although choppy and preachy at times, it’s one worth catching for Peck.

2:45 am – Indiscretion of an American Wife (54, Vittorio De Sica): Jennifer Jones, Montgomery Clift. An American woman tries to break off her relationship with her Italian lover. A poor attempt by De Sica to clone Brief Encounter further hampered by producer Selznick’s interference. Even at only 63 minutes, there’s not enough to go around. Things were further hampered by the fact that De Sica spoke no English, a bad move as the film was made in English.

September 26

8:00 pm – The Barretts of Wimpole Street (57, Sidney Franklin): Jennifer Jones, John Gielgud & Bill Travers. a mediocre remake of the 1934 opus about the Elizabeth Barrett-Robert Browning romance that starred Norma Shearer and Frederic March. John Gielgud is excellent as Elizabeth’s rotten father, but consider that Charles Laughton played the role in the ’34 version. Stick with the original.

10:00 pm – A Farewell to Arms (57, Charles Vidor): Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones. An American soldier on the Italian front in World War I falls for a spirited English nurse. Speaking of mediocre remakes, this dull and hammy version makes one pine for the original, even with all its flaws. Selznick’s last production, and he didn’t go out on a high note.

12:45 am – Tender is the Night (62, Henry King): Jennifer Jones, Jason Robards Jr. A psychiatrist marries a wealthy patient and succumbs to the lure of easy living. The best thing about this gooey adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is the lush scenery. Otherwise it’s a bore, with Jennifer Jones too old to play Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, whom the novel is about.