Ann and Joan Crawford
Year of Ann Dvorak: Day 55
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Over the years, some sources have credited Joan Crawford with helping Ann launch her acting career. This is not exactly accurate, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Joan’s part. Ann met Joan while the pair were both under contract to MGM. Dvorak was a lowly chorus girl, while Crawford was well on her way to becoming one of the studios biggest stars. Despite this gap in the studio system hierarchy and a perceived resemblance between them, (people on the lot would frequently refer to Ann as “the dancer who looks like Crawford”), Joan took a shine to the young aspiring actress and became an early mentor. She tried her damnedest to get Ann parts outside the chorus, but the best she managed were extra roles in her own films This Modern Age and Our Blushing Brides. Fortunately for Ann, there was another actress at MGM who saw the same amount of potential that Joan Crawford did, but was able to help her land the biggest role of her career…
Years ago when I started my search for a specific Ann Dvorak film I seem to remember reading “somewhere†that Ann caught the attention of a producer while at a Hollywood party where Joan Crawford had brought Ann as a guest. Supposedly, during the party Ann and George Raft (who was an accomplished dancer) put on a show that absolutely wowed the guests. And the result was that, because of her “sultry†presentation, Ann was propelled into the Scarface cast. Is this Hollywood myth or is there some truth to the story?
There’s some truth to it. It was actually a party at Howard Hawks’ house who was already signed on to direct Scarface. Karen Morley was the one who brought Ann to the party, not Joan. Morley had already been cast as Poppy and deliberately brought Ann in hopes that an introduction to Hawks would lead to a role in Scarface. Guess it worked!
Thanks Christina, Great information!!!
There will be more details in the book about all of this, of course! 😀
I KNOW..I KNOW!! BOOK!! BOOK!!! GOTTA HAVE THE BOOK !!!!!
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE PLEASE PROVIDE DATE AND LOCATION OF YOUR FIRST BOOK SIGNING. I WANT TO CAMP OUT OVERNIGHT SO I’LL BEAT THE RUSH AND BE THE FIRST PERSON IN THE DOOR IN THE MORNING!!!!!
(This ploy works for the iPad/iPhone uses; why can’t it work here…)
THIS WAIT IS MADDENING!!!!!!
I think the Ann-D book will be a but easier to get than a new iPad. I will tell you that the launch party is going to probably be at Central Library in Downtown L.A., so be prepared to book a plane ticket!