The ever-great Jean Simmons, at her most disturbingly beautiful in Preminger’s perverse thriller Angel Face, 1952. The actress, a paragon of refinement and grace, died yesterday, age 80.
Farewell, Angel Face
You May Also Like
Lux Interior is dead...
Lux Interior is dead...
...and I'm over here wasting my time with Joe Fu**ing Swanberg. What is it, exactly,…
Glenn KennyFebruary 5, 2009
An e-mail I got this morning
An e-mail I got this morning
"I have designed a new web page for you. I have not altered your existing…
Glenn KennySeptember 3, 2009
Ray Collins, 1936-2012
Ray Collins, 1936-2012
Collins, Jimmy Carl Black, Pamela "Suzy Creamcheese" Zarubica, Frank Zappa, and Don Preston, London, circa…
Glenn KennyDecember 26, 2012
The look she gives Mitchum just before you-know-what, at the end of ANGEL FACE, is the primary reason that’s one of my favorite movies. RIP.
A radiant beauty, indeed.
Jean Simmons, May God bless you and may your sweet soul forever rest in peace.
I once had a meeting with Jean Simmons at her house in Los Angeles. She insisted we drink white wine and I could not have been more starstruck. Sorry to hear that she’s gone.
Just saw Elmer Gantry recently, and she was every bit as good as Burt Lancaster. Such a diverse and underrated career.
A shame that AMPAS never got around to giving her a Lifetime Achievement Award; especially when they just handed one out to Lauren Bacall.
The scene in Angel Face where she walks alone through her empty, newly-inherited mansion is one of my all time favorites. Rest in peace, angel face!
Loved her in Spartacus. A much under-rated actress.
Quite provocative in her dance scene in BLACK NARCISSUS.
My partner actually saw Jean Simmons in the national tour of “A Little Night Music” as Desiree in the early 70’s. And Margaret Hamilton (!) as Madame Armfeldt. He said Simmons was radiant and Hamilton was sublime. I am envious.
Great call on Black Narcissus – she’s utterly mesmerizing in it.
Without a doubt, Jean Simmons is my all-time classic movie crush. Heart-stoppingly beautiful in Great Expectations, Angel Face, and pretty much everything else she ever did. I’ve always loved her in Guys and Dolls, too, despite the movie’s failings and even if she didn’t sing it. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to her wonderfully earthy performance in The Big Country, which I’ve always felt really grounds the film. May she rest in peace indeed, but thank God she’ll always live on film.
Greg, you lucky bastard.