Lana Turner, actress: biography, filmography

Actress Lana Turner remembered the viewer as the owner of a beautiful chiseled figure, arrogant features and blond curls, that is, it was a typical standard of the traditional appearance of movie stars of that era. She was not endowed with a unique actor's talent, and is more known for an endless number of novels and marriages. About her constantly changing lovers and husbands wrote the press, making her so famous for three and a half decades.

Biography of the legend

Lana Turner is the pseudonym that the actress took for a creative career. Relatives and relatives knew her as Julia Gin Mildred Francis Turner. She was born in a small mining town in Wallis, Idaho, on February 8, 1921. Her parents, Mildred and John Turner, were ordinary workers. The veins of the future world star blended Irish, Danish, English and Scottish blood.

Lana Turner, whose biography is set out in the article, did not always live in prosperity. The carefree childhood of a little girl was overshadowed by the death of her father. John was an avid poker player, and one day during the game there was a robbery in which he was killed. Lana's mother, after her father's death, moved the whole family to California, where there were more prospects for employment.

Lucky case

By a lucky coincidence and due to expressive appearance, the girl was spotted by the producers in one of the city cafes. Thanks to this fateful meeting, at the age of 17, Lana Turner signed her first contract with the film studio.

An amazing story about how a young beauty was accidentally seen in a cafe and called to act in films, for a long time a legend went among Hollywood actors and was an inspiration for the same young girls who dreamed of a movie star career.

The first film

It was behind the counter of the cafe, sipping soda through a tube, Turner was first seen on the screens by the audience. She debuted in 1937 in the film "Star was born." However, the film "They Will Not Forget" Melvin Le Roy, released in the same year, made a greater impression on the audience. With her heroine very cruelly applied, and at the end of the film she was killed. In this film, the public first saw the naked body of Turner, which added to the conversation. Very flattering statements about the young star were published in the "Hollywood Reporter." After the premiere of this film, everyone called her "Girl in a Sweater", as her heroine walked in a narrow blue sweater.

Rapid success

After the movie "They will not forget" the proposals simply fell on the "girl in a sweater". Turner gave the role, allowing you to fully enjoy her beautiful figure and slender legs. Every year, her new hit came out: 1938 - The Adventures of a Venetian (The Adventures of Marco Polo), 1939 - The Dancing Student, 1940 - Two Girls on Broadway, 1941 - The Girl of Siegfield and many other.

For the role in the film "The Dancing Blonde" Turner had to repaint herself in a blonde and radically change her image. After this role, Lana was called the queen of nightclubs. The rapid rise of her popularity began after the death of Gene Horlough, who for a long time was called "the most charming blonde Hollywood."

The role of frivolous and windy blondes was given to her perfectly, but when it came to the dramatic role, it became clear that Lana Turner could not cope with it. This became clear on the film "Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", which was published in 1941.

However, this did not affect the popularity of Turner. During the war, her fame increased especially, and as it became clear, not because of the talented acting skills, but because of the "blue sweater", well fitting the chest. During the Second World War, Lana Turner became the most famous actress, posing for "pin-up gals". Her posters hung the walls of the barracks. At this time, she began to engage in public work and sell military bonds while traveling around the country. Lana wrote the call-up speeches for her speeches herself, and promised everyone who bought the bond face value of 50,000 dollars and higher to give her a kiss. The strategy worked, and, as she claimed, it helped to replenish the country's budget by several million.

A worthy role

Despite the fact that by 1946 Lana Turner had already shot a lot of films, real recognition came to her only after the role of Cora Smith, which she played in the movie "The Postman Always Rings Twice," a screen version of the novel by James Cain directed by Teem Garnet.

Her life shape of a cold arrogant woman could not be better suited to the image of the protagonist, who could force her lover to kill her own husband. Her heroine manages to escape punishment, but not divine retribution. The calling card and the main role of the actress is the image of the femme fatale Cory, it was played by Lana Turner. "The Postman Always Rings Twice" is the most famous film in which the actress starred.

Variety of images

The most successful role at the turn of the decade, according to film critics, is Milady Winter in the movie "Three Musketeers", filmed in 1948. However, the career of the actress in those years was not so smooth, a large number of roles Turner and remained without attention. However, her role as Georgia Lorrison in the film "Evil and Beautiful", shot by Vincent Minnely, is considered the most successful.

Already in the mid-40's, she was among the ten most highly paid actresses. In the 50s, Lana Turner became the queen of MGM. Her filmography has dozens of roles in gangster, adventure films and melodramas, but her acting skills did not improve from it. She played girlfriends of gangsters in films "Slightly Dangerous", "Johnny Iger", "Priton" and refined ladies in the films "Three Musketeers" and "Dubarry was a Lady". The lack of acting skills in films was striking more than in musicals, where they decided to return it. Then follows the roles in the musicals "Merry Widow" and "Mr. Empire."

Lana and her men

The personal life of the actress was more like a love story or one of her roles as a "fatal woman." In a legitimate marriage, she was eight times, and the number of lovers and count is difficult. Lana's husbands also became celebrities: Lex Barker (courageous Tarzan), Artie Shaw, millionaire Bob Topping, and lesser-known, but very rich personalities. The windy actress often joked that in her childhood she dreamed of having one husband and seven children, but it turned out the opposite.

During the time of numerous love relationships and marriages she had only one child. The daughter of Lana Turner, Cheryl, was born from the husband of Stephen Crane, for whom the actress twice officially married.

Love and death

Every marriage or love affair was held by Lana loudly and with scandals. Some men, she brought so much that they pushed her from the stairs, others poured in public champagne or slapped. All the stories were greeted in awe of newspapers and well-known magazines. Lana's name was constantly on hearing.

But this is not the most scandalous story that happened to her. The life of heroines from gangster novels was to her liking, and she sought communication with such people. This later played a cruel joke on Turner. One of her lovers was the famous gangster Johnny Stompanato. He was the unofficial standard of male sexuality and valor, and was also able to completely subordinate the actress. Their novel was particularly stormy, with constant scandals and quarrels. Johnny considered Lana completely his property and was terribly jealous. During one of such violent quarrels, he wanted to spoil her face, so that she did not get after it to anyone. The witness of their quarrel was fourteen-year-old Cheryl, who in fear seized the cutting knife and inflicted a mortal wound on her lover's lover.

Around the story for a long time there were rumors that everything happened not quite as it was presented in court, but despite the large amount of dirt poured onto the film star, its popularity from this only increased.

After this turning point, Lana Turner began to play only in the melodrama of the role of mothers who lived for their daughters. Lana Turner in old age, when she left the big movie, was shot on television and published a book about her memories called "Lana - Lady, Legend, Truth".