The problem was not that Patricia Neal was a beauty — she was. The problem was that nobody actually saw her beauty because she was an electrifying actress. (Never forget that it was her performance as Olivia Walton in an otherwise-forgettable movie that spawned the popular TV series The Waltons.) Here she is:
Elegant and graceful, she was the thinking man’s alternative to the otherwise-forgettable stars of the 1950s.
Coop tore it up in Fountainhead.
She was great in The Fountainhead.
Wow. You hit this one dead center, Kim.
The first movie I remember seeing Patricia Neal in was “In Harms Way”, with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. I was a kid then and I know her acting career predated that picture, but I have an aunt who looked just like her, so my young self took note.
But when I saw her in “The Homecoming”, (The made for TV movie that spawned “The Walton’s”) I fell in love. She not only looked like my aunt, but she sounded just like her too! (Patricia Neal was born in the mountains of eastern KY, so the accent she portrayed as Olivia Walton probably came natural.)
If you look at her filmography and TV career, she was quite the prolific actress.
Saw her in “In Harms Way” also.She looked a lot like my mom!
I probably first saw her in a TV showing of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. “Hud” and “A Face in the Crowd” were two more big roles. I definitely agree that she was an electrifying actress. Her longtime husband Roald Dahl was a weird guy, but he had good taste in women.
Oh heck yeah. Klaatu barada nikto.
Are Jacqueline Bisset and Liz Hurley not classic enough for you? Or do they have to be either underground or in a care facility to rank as classic?