Constance Bennett

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Constance Campbell Bennett (1937)

Constance Campbell Bennett (born October 22, 1904 in New York City , New York , † July 24, 1965 in Fort Dix , New Jersey ) was an American actress .

life and career

Bennett comes from a family of actors that can be traced back to the 18th century. Her father was the then famous stage star Richard Bennett , her mother Adrienne Morris also had a career in the theater. Together with her younger sisters Joan Bennett and Barbara Bennett, Constance often accompanied their parents on tours through the USA. All three sisters played extras alongside their father in the 1916 film The Valley of Decision .

Constance was educated in exclusive private schools in New York and Paris. Known early on for her impulsiveness and willpower, she ran away with a millionaire at 16, but the marriage was later annulled. She made her screen debut shortly thereafter and quickly became a popular silent film actress. She had her breakthrough in 1925 when she appeared in The Goose Women , alongside Jack Pickford and Sally, Irene and Mary , who starred her alongside Joan Crawford . During the shooting of this film, she made friends with Irving Thalberg , who would have liked to sign her for MGM even then . Another budding producer, David O. Selznick , was also one of her good friends since then. But as early as 1926, Bennett married a railroad heir and lived a luxurious life in the jet set. After the divorce in 1929 and a cash settlement of $ 500,000, Bennett returned to Hollywood, this time under contract with Pathé . Her slightly rough voice and image as an elegant lady of good company helped her to become the studio's biggest star within a year. Success in This Thing Called Love and especially Common Clay , coupled with an excellent business acumen, helped Bennett become the highest paid star of the time. Among other things, she negotiated that she could make films on her own account during her vacation. At the height of her career in 1931, Warner Brothers demanded and received a weekly salary of $ 30,000 with guaranteed six weeks of work for her participation in Bought , which she showed alongside her father Richard Bennett. The shooting was actually completed within just under two weeks. She negotiated similarly high salaries at MGM when she was in front of the camera for The Easiest Way . The young Clark Gable had a small supporting role in the financially very successful film. In 1932, her home studio made a total of $ 350,000, plus $ 150,000 negotiated for her role in Two Against the World from Warner Brothers.

Bennett's screen image was that of an elegant, resolute woman who did not let adverse circumstances get her down. She was often seen at the beginning of the films as an unmarried mother who got an attractive husband in the course of the plot. He was mostly portrayed by Joel McCrea , with whom she also had a private affair. She made her most famous film in 1932, directed by George Cukor : What Price Hollywood? , who tells the story of a waitress who is in a relationship with a former famous but then alcoholic film star. The story was remade under the title A Star Goes On in 1937 with Janet Gaynor in the lead role. At the same time, she was stylized by the studio audience as the best-dressed woman in the world, or as a slogan proclaimed: Constance Bennett is without a rival as the fashion arbiter of the civilized world.

After Pathé merged with other companies to form the RKO , Bennett's status was jeopardized by aspiring actresses such as Ann Harding , Irene Dunne and especially Katharine Hepburn . After Selznick left, her contract was therefore not extended in 1933. An attempt to remain a star at MGM for a long time failed because of Bennett's sometimes haughty manner. Neither the films Outcast Lady , a remake of A Woman of Affairs , nor Two Like Dogs and Cats , in which she was announced on the film posters after Clark Gable , helped her gain new popularity. For producer Hal Roach she directed the comedies Topper - Das blond Gespenst von 1937, in which she and Cary Grant appeared as a stylish couple who come back as ghosts after their accidental death, and How we live happily! from the following year. Although both films were successful with critics and audiences, these were only single successes that could not bring Bennett back to their old popularity. She had one of her last notable roles in 1941 as a supporting actress in The Woman with Two Faces , the film that ended Greta Garbo's screen career forever.

In later years, Bennett was only sporadically in front of the camera. In her last film role, she starred as the vicious mother-in-law of Lana Turner in the remake of Madame X , after Myrna Loy and Kay Francis turned down the role. The film was released posthumously.

Private life

Constance Bennett died on July 24, 1965 at the age of 60 of complications from a cerebral haemorrhage. Her final resting place is at Arlington National Cemetery . The actress' five husbands included Henri de La Falaise, Gloria Swanson's ex-husband , and fellow actor Gilbert Roland , with whom she had a tumultuous relationship for years.

Bennett was one of the very few stars in Hollywood who didn't put up with the coverage of the gossip reporter Hedda Hopper ; she regularly responded to false reports with complaints. Both women lived in disputes that lasted for decades.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1916: The Valley of Decision
  • 1922: Reckless Youth
  • 1922: Evidence
  • 1922: What's Wrong with the Women?
  • 1924: Cytherea
  • 1924: Into the Net
  • 1925: Wandering Fires
  • 1925: The Goose Hangs High
  • 1925: Code of the West
  • 1925: My Son
  • 1925: My Wife and I
  • 1925: The Goose Woman
  • 1925: Sally, Irene and Mary
  • 1925: The Pinch Hitter
  • 1926: Married?
  • 1929: Rich People
  • 1929: This Thing Called Love
  • 1930: Son of the Gods
  • 1930: Three Faces East
  • 1930: Common Clay
  • 1930: Sin Takes a Holiday
  • 1931: Heart at the Crossroads ( The Easiest Way )
  • 1931: Born to Love
  • 1931: The Common Law
  • 1931: Bought
  • 1932: Lady with a Past
  • 1932: What Price Hollywood?
  • 1932: Two Against the World
  • 1932: Rockabye
  • 1933: Bed of Roses
  • 1933: After Tonight
  • 1934: Moulin Rouge
  • 1934: The Affairs of Cellini
  • 1934: Outcast Lady
  • 1935: Two like dogs and cats ( After Office Hours )
  • 1936: Everything Is Thunder
  • 1936: Ladies in Love
  • 1937: Topper - The blonde ghost ( Topper )
  • 1938: We're fine ( Merrily We Live )
  • 1938: Service de Luxe
  • 1938: Topper goes on a trip ( Topper Takes a Trip )
  • 1939: Tail Spin
  • 1940: Escape to Glory
  • 1941: Escape to the Tropics ( Law of the Tropics )
  • 1941: The woman with two faces ( Two-Faced Woman )
  • 1942: The Wild Bill ( Wild Bill Hickok Rides )
  • 1942: Sin Town
  • 1942: Madame Spy
  • 1945: Paris Underground
  • 1946: Centennial Summer
  • 1947: The Unsuspected ( The unsuspected )
  • 1948: Smart Woman
  • 1948: Angel on the Amazon
  • 1951: As Young as You Feel
  • 1966: Madame X

Web links

Commons : Constance Bennett  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Bennett, Constance
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bennett, Constance Campbell (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH October 22, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH July 24, 1965
Place of death Fort Dix , New Jersey , United States