Veronica Lake

Decay is an obvious reason why films are lost. Amnesia makes bigger damage. Yesterday's superstars are sometimes today's unknown.
In 1997 in Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential, Kim Basinger played the part of a prostitute made up to look like Veronica Lake to please her customers. An homage to the popularity of one of the most famous Paramount stars of the 40s who, comparatively, fell into oblivion today.

Veronica Lake was short (4' 11½), had a crooked smile betraying  her thoughts, but let's face it, like Jennifer Aniston when she first started, a big part of her fame is due to her hair.
Her "Peek-a-boo bang" which used to cover her right eye, so that publicists spread the rumor that she only had one, was her trademark.

Her first important role was in I Wanted Wings. Then she made one of Preston Surges' masterpieces Sullivan's Travels. And by 1942, she had top billing in This Gun For Hire, also starring the man she would be teaming up with in several movies, Alan Ladd.

During that year, she became one of the most famous stars in the world and made the cover of countless magazines. As expected, she launched a trend in hairdos. In the film The Major and the Minor starring Ginger Rogers, she does not appear in person but this short scene conveys the impression her hair had on women back then.

What works for the fans works just as well for the stars: some of them like Lizabeth Scott copied her style. Foreign stars like the French Madeleine Sologne also adopted her hairdo.
She came back with Alan Ladd in the remake The Glass Key. Then Veronica made one of her most famous films: I Married a Witch. This film capitalizes on the mysterious aura of the star, but it also presents an opportunity for her to show her talent as an actress, something she seldom could do. This story about a sexy blond witch falling in love with a mortal in spite of her father's commands is of course the main inspiration for famous TV series Bewitched.

Unfortunately the hair thing got so big that the defense department of war asked her if she would appear in a film saying that she would adopt her grand mother's hair style for the time of the war. Why? Because factory workers across the country were getting their long hair caught in machines, causing serious accidents. She eventually even cut her hair.

Some women sport it well. Veronica didn't.

The loss of her trademark, added to her financial and marital troubles, and her bad reputation on the set (apparently booze did not agree with her and her attitude could get pretty bad) made her loose both her popularity and her contract at Paramount.

She appears less and less frequently on the screen and by the 50s, she is all but gone. She's been resurfacing on video for a while now, but back in 1960, everyone had forgotten her and she ended up as a barmaid. Here she is in front of the gates of her old studio:

After a couple of low budget films brought on by the interest a little press coverage gave her, she died of hepatitis.

But her influence is still strong today and many models try and imitate her famous hair. Girls, if you wish to try, follow the advice of a professional.

I leave you with my favorite scene from This Gun For Hire where Veronica appears (literally) in an original concept: a singing magician. She is dubbed by talented Martha Mears. Maybe this is the part that got her the witch role. Anyway, Veronica Lake will always appear magical to me.

More pictures on my blog's Facebook page.
That's all for today folks!