Photo shot last week in Paris, via People magazineHappy 100th birthday Olivia de Havilland! She's our oldest living Oscar winner and oldest living bonafide movie star (Kirk Douglas, also still with us, is five months younger) and her list of classics is long. She may not have gotten along with her movie star sister Joan Fontaine -- their contentious relationship stretches back to childhood (it didn't start when they were Oscar-nominated against each other and Joan won) wherein she supposedly made a will at nine years old stating:
I bequeath all my beauty to my younger sister Joan, since she has none"
...but that infamous feud aside she was beloved by many. The list includes legends like Erroll Flynn (8 pictures together) and Bette Davis (several pictures and a friend) and actors everywhere owe her for the freedom she wrangled in the 'de Havilland decision' in the 1940s which Tim discussed in his write-up of The Heiress. I hope she feels the love in France today where she lives. She recently told Vanity Fair that she plans to live to be 110.
We still have two more pieces coming up on individual performances (why cut the bday festivities short?) but let's look at the whole filmography in poster form after the jump. How many have you seen?
Early Films. Contract Player (1935-1937)
Midsummer Night's Dream was the first film she shot at a starting salary of $200 a week for a 5 year contract. Further Reading: It's Love I'm After (1937)
Warner Bros Stardom. (1938-1943)
Olivia becomes a major star with her Erroll Flynn pairings but even loan outs to other studios for classic roles don't lead her to the kind of leading roles she wants. She receives two Oscar nominations during this time frame for Gone With the Wind (1939) and Hold Back the Dawn (1941) but is frequently unhappy with her contract.
Further Reading: Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Gone With the Wind (1939)
Post Warner Bros Career Peak (1946-1955)
After winning her court battle with Warner Bros (after which the studios had shorter contracts with their stars) she won two Best Actress Oscars (To Each His Own and The Heiress) and did some of her best work in The Snake Pit.
Further Reading: The Dark Mirror (1946) and The Heiress (1949)
1955-1979 Final Films
Having moved to France in the early 50s she makes fewer and fewer films, eventually entering the horror and all star disaster genres where the Old Hollywood stars were frequently wanted. She retired from film in 1979. Only a handful more TV guest roles followed before she quit acting in 1988.
Further Reading: The Light in the Piazza (1962) and Airport '77 (1977)