I don't know how old Ava Gardner was when this film came out, but let me tell you, she didn't over-act, she could have blown everybody away. Jennifer Jones used too much body language. all Ava Gardner would have had to do was just stand there. Oh my god, that woman had a sexuality to her that beat everybody else. I wonder why she couldn't have been considered for the role. And I think her skin coloring wouldn't have had to be changed either.
shareYou're right. It's a pity she wasn't the one sleeping with David O. Sezlnick.
shareVery good choice!
shareI liked Jennifer Jones in Duel in the Sun, but yeah Ava Gardner (or Gail Russell) would have been great too!
"Now what kind of man are YOU dude?"
You're so right - Ava would've been perfect in this, imo. Not only was she gorgeous, but she had a fire w/in her when she's on screen, that I think would've been very natural to the character of Pearl.
Jones was okay, but her acting was pretty bad - all those weird faces she'd make while trying to act was almost laughable. I LOVED the movie, but it would've been so much better had a different actress played Pearl....
"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl
Ava would have been 23 at the time of filming (assuming it was filmed during 1946). She was born in December 1922.
And yes, I agree, she would have been perfect for the part. She wouldn't have saved the movie, but at least she would have been more credible as Pearl.
The above speculation is moot; David Selznick was obsessed with Phylis Isley whom he renamed Jennifer Jones and Jennifer Jones was top billed first billed was the only star David Selznick would have cast.
Didn't Jennifer Jones get an Oscar Nomination for this movie?
Years later Ava got two roles Jennifer coveted: The Sun Also Rises and The Barefoot Contessa. Ava was gorgeous and a good actress (On the Beach) but rather feckled about her career.
Jennifer Jones was simply awful in the film. The ridiculous dark make up they put on her looks ridiculous, but her overacting is just terrible!!
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