The Bennett Sisters

I guess that all of you who stopped by in here are quite concious of the fact I am a classic cinema lover. Once on my Polish blog FilmWeb I started some topics on the movie people that influenced and still influence me. Later I deleted all of these notes, but I guess that here it would look lovelier to have it, so I'm starting.

I would like to discuss the topic of siblings in movie industry. The most famous classic movie era female siblings are undoubtedly Olivia de Havilland and her younger sister, Joan Fontaine. They are truly famous even until now, as they are still the only siblings who won Oscars as best leading actresses. Until today! But as a family union, I must say I prefer another one, truly. Those siblings are Constance Bennett and Joan Bennett.

Constance is the older one. I always considered her the very sophisticated lady. I think she had a real poise and beauty, and a real class. The way she looked, acted, the clothes she wore, the hairsyle she had - all made her look like a real dame. I guess she was one.

As every real movie star, Constance's life was often connected with some scandals. She married several times and four of those unions ended in divorce. One of her liasons, this with famous latin lover Gilbert Roland, was quite forced to legalize because of the famous article "Unamrried wives and husbands". She lived with Roland like his wife, but when it became highlited by public attention, they became bride and groom. The union produced two daughters but it lasted only 5 years.

Constance was a star in every meaning of this word during her lifetime. She was the leading lady of many famous stars, including Clark Gable. But, as for today, she is little remembred, especially here, in Poland. It is a great pitty. Constance passed away while still being not old (60 years old, just after completeing "Madame X" as Lana Turner's mother-in-law). She had a total number of five husbands, and she also had a natural son born after she divorced her husband. She claimed she adopted the baby, because she did not want her ex to participate in any rights to the boy. Clever she was, she had to make the secret come true when she was divorcing another husband, who wanted to have rights for the little one. She had to tell how it was in the court.

Joan Bennett was on the other hand close to become a legend in every meaning of this word, only if Vivien Leigh did not appear to steal the Scarlett O'Hara part with her intense master portrayal. There are still some footage prints of screen tests for Scarlett, and Melanie as well, including those with Joan (there were also some with Lana Turner, 17 years old only during the time, also Jean Arthur and Paulette Goddard). Joan became a star after some appearances in early talkies though she was quite experienced as she graced the screen with her unusual beauty and talent some time ago before the sound era.

She started as an ingenue, a blonde one. In the 40s she transformed into a femme fatale, appearing with success as brunette. In 50s she was quite forced to become a simple housewife on screen, and, rather more regullary, on television, which was taking its first steps, just as a toddler who was once to be a giant.

The younger sister Bennett had an intense private life, as well as her older sister. She became mother for the first time 8 days before her 18th birthday, being married at the age of 16. The union lasted barely a part of a short lifetime, and as a mother who brings up a baby alone, she had to work, and she had many opportunities to do so, as she succeeded with a natural, birginial image. She played Amy opposite Katherine Hepburn and Frances Dee in "Little Women" (1933), directed by the master George Cukor. Her career was severed much by the incident in which her husband shot her agent and lover as well. As there was a lot of publicity surrounding the case, the image of then 40-year-old Joan suffered quite a lot and one of her last most memorable roles is the one of Ellie Banks in "Father of the Bride" (1950) and "Father's Little Dividend", made one year later. Both were Spencer Tracy's vehicle, giving him best lines and moments on-screen, though Joan, portraying his wife and the mother of Elizabeth Taylor as well, managed to show her high sense of comedy and talent combined with grace and charm. She later transferred her talents to the television.

The Bennett sister were both considered extremely beautiful women and very good actresses of their era, though their screen personas never found such praise as the sisters mentioned in the beginning. Maybe also because the rivalry between them was not so intense as in de Havilland's and Fontaine's case. Maybe their relationship was not intensly close, but they managed to stay in friendly and warm terms until Constance passed away in 1965.