Constance Smith

Constance Smith (born January 22, 1928 in Limerick , Ireland , † June 30, 2003 in London - Islington , United Kingdom ) was an Irish film actress and singer .

Live and act

The oldest daughter of an Irish professional soldier had ten other siblings, all of whom were younger than her. Constance Smith became a half-orphan as early as 1944. Since her mother found herself unable to raise all the children by herself, Constance was sent to St. Louis Convent. In 1946, the girl, barely of legal age, went to Dublin and took part in a beauty contest organized by a film magazine, which primarily focused on the resemblance to the Austrian Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr . Constance Smith won this event. Her mother then sent a photo of Constance to a British film studio. Smith was invited to screen tests and followed her mother's urge to try her hand at film actress. She received artistic training in London and initially played small roles in various B-films by Gainsborough Pictures such as Gypsy Blood, Toto-Glück and Brighton Rock . She also appeared as a singer in some of her early productions.

After she played an Irish housemaid in the star-studded historical film The Dirty Sparrow and the Queen in 1950 and thus gained attention in Hollywood, she received a film contract from 20th Century Fox . Constance Smith was given the lead roles of spirited women alongside established stars such as Jeffrey Hunter , Richard Widmark and Cornel Wilde , but could not really establish himself in Hollywood and returned to London after only three years. An abortion allegedly demanded by the film studio, weak film roles on both sides of the Atlantic and the first - from 1951 to 1955 the actor and director Bryan Forbes was her husband - of a total of three marriages they soon abandoned alcohol and other drugs . The attempt to get better role material in adventure or period films in Italy from 1955 onwards also failed, and so Constance Smith, who had led the evening at the Academy Awards in 1952 at the side of Sally Forrest and Claire Luce , dragged on , completely back from the celluloid industry.

Since then, it has only made negative headlines. During her stay in Rome , she made the first attempt at suicide in 1958. In 1962, Smith was sentenced to three months in prison after she stabbed her then significant other , documentary filmmaker Paul Rotha . On February 4, 1968, Constance Smith stabbed Rotha again and was charged with attempted murder. Nevertheless, the couple married in 1974. During all these years she made further suicide attempts and was hospitalized several times. In moments of complete clarity, the former actress made a living as a cleaning lady.

Filmography

• 1947: Gypsy blood (Jassy)
• 1947: Brighton Rock
• 1948: Toto-Glück (Easy Money)
• 1948: Victory and Place (The Calendar)
• 1949: Made-to-measure lovers (The Perfect Woman)
• 1949: Now Barabbas Was a Robber
• 1949: The Tingeltangelgräfin (Trottie True)
• 1950: The Dirty Sparrow and the Queen (The Mudlark)
• 1950: Crimes Without Guilt (Blackmailed)
• 1950: Secret Service Strikes (I'll Get You for This)
• 1951: The 13th Letter
• 1951: The Fire Jumpers of Montana (Red Skies of Montana)
• 1952: Lure of the Wilderness
• 1952: Treasure of the Golden Condor
• 1953: taxi
• 1953: Man in the Attic
• 1954: Trapped (Impulse)
• 1954: A Fall for Johnny Denton (The Big Tip Off)
• 1955: Reunion on Capri (Un po 'di cielo)
• 1956: The Black Knights of Borgoforte (Giovanni dalle bande nera)
• 1958: Addio per semper!
• 1959: La congiura the Borgia
• 1959: Il cavaliere senza terra

literature

• Do You Remember Constance Smith ?. Article in The Oakland Tribune, March 18, 1962, p. 25
• International Motion Picture Almanac 1965, Quigley Publishing Company, New York 1964, p. 271

Web links

Commons : Constance Smith  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Report in limerickslife.com
• Obituary on independent.ie
• Constance Smith in the Internet Movie Database (English)