Why wasn't this lady, who plays the mistress who gets murdered, more famous? Her looks, her bearing, her characterization - I can think of 5 or 6 big stars of the time who weren't this good at all.
The whole cast is good - great ensemble direction by John Farrow - and as someone already said, this film succeeds partly because of the well-played supporting roles.
Rita Johnson Festival, please.
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Yes, very sad. I just wish she'd become more famous before that.
shareRita plays the love interest to Robt Montgomery in "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (remade by Warren Beatty as "Heaven Can Wait"). She's really good in that one - it's a wonderful film.
shareUh-uh. Sorry. Rita Johnson is, in fact, terrific in the film, but she plays Robert Montgomery's scheming, murderous wife in "Here Comes Mr. Jordan". (The love interest is played by Evelyn Keyes.) Anyone who appreciates the marvellous and underrated work of this talented and beautiful woman should also check Johnson out in 1939's "Honolulu" in which she plays one of the love interests (though secondary to Eleanor Powell) to Robert Young's two lookalikes. She's also fun as Ruth Hussey's badgirl friend in "Within the Law", a B picture from the same year. Unfortunately, Rita Johnson never managed to rise above those secondary characters or B pictures; my personal belief is she was better than the parts she was offered...
shareNot sure if you found this out already, but Rita Johnson died at the age of 52. The same year that The Big Clock was released, she had a freak accident; a hair dryer fell on her head. Subsequently, she suffered with mobility and other problems. A tragic story ...
Totally unrelated but another actress who didn't get a chance to make more movies (but for a different reason: she was forced to trade in drama for royalty) -- Grace Kelly -- died at 52 and of a freak accident. And from all I have read about Princess Grace of Monaco, she remained an actress at heart long after her last film, High Society.
I liked her a lot, as well, as the long-suffering wife of philanderer Robert Young in "They Won't Believe Me" and as Ray Milland's manipulative fiancee in "The Major and the Minor". A real shame about her accident.
shareI too took notice of Rita Johnson.
I saw her in "The Big Clock" and thought she stole all the scenes she was in.
She outshone the dull Maureen O'Sullivan, who was the female star of the movie!
Rita Johnson was superb in this. She has gone right to my top ten of film noir femme-fatales after watching this movie last night. Wish she had been given longer screen time, though.
Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop