Maureen O'Sullivan. She Jane!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 5:30PM 10|25|50|75|100 in celebration of major film anniversaries
One hundred years ago on this very day, Maureen O'Sullivan was born in Ireland. She went on to become Hollywood's first major female Irish movie star. Though she appeared in The Thin Man (1934) and an early version of Pride and Prejudice (1940) she is best remembered as Jane from six Tarzan adventures. Tomorrow on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" we'll be looking at Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). The Weismuller and O'Sullivan pairing is basically what people think of when they think of Tarzan at the movies though the character had plentiful interpretations before and since.
Here she is talking about how the controversies that swirled around "Jane" for her skimpy wardrobe.
O'Sullivan retired for most of the 1940s (her thirtysomething years) and in that time she gave us what might have been her greatest gift to the cinema, the incomparable Mia Farrow.
Before her death in 1998 she was even graced with a wonderful elegiac exit from the movies 25 years ago playing both Kathleen Turner's dearly departed grandmother in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and Mia's screen mother (art imitating life) in Woody Allen's masterpiece Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).
Maureen & Mia
So here's to Maureen O'Sullivan on her 100th birthday!
Reader Comments (3)
If only the Academy had introduced the supporting categories first, Maureen could have been a potential nominee thanks to her perf in THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET, in which she played Norman Shearer's sister
and concerning her duet with Mia in HANNA, I'll always be curious to know what the two ladies could have delivered with SEPTEMBER: unfortunately Maureen was replaced by Elaine Stritch. Though Stritch is excellent in the movie (actually here in Italy someone spoke about an oscar snub when she didn't receive the nomination for her work), maybe Maureen & Mia together could have add again an "art imitating life" vibe to that film
Maureen being Mia's mother is one of those facts that I've known for years but keep having to be re-reminded of, as if it were new information every time I stumble across it. (Which may say more about my brain than anything else.) I have to confess that I don't think I've seen a single one of her performances except some of the old Tarzan movies on TV eons ago when I was a kid. This post and mirko's comments show there's much more to her oeuvre than that, and I really should investigate.
Thank you very much, Janine. I really appreciated :)