The Hollywood of 1950s was the glamorous yet cutthroat industry where very often studios more or less decided about a career of actors and actresses.
Of all these talented stars of the time, there was one actress who was very beautiful, and amazingly talented, and whose career was suddenly shattered.
After all, she was a sure bet, until one day she was outlawed by one of the largest studios and many were left to think of what must have happened.
At the beginning of the 1950s, Lee Grant actress was regarded as the most beautiful woman in Hollywood.
Her traditional features, elegant bearing and her screen work, won her instant notice in the big studios. She was viewed as the next big thing by the producers and thus she featured in several films which highlighted her charm and versatility.
Her first role in film was in the 1951 film adaptation of Detective Story, with Kirk Douglas in the lead, and it brought her an Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress) and Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Viewers and critics both loved her and raved about her work. It was all going along so as planned- when everything had gone wrong.
Arcane descension paradigm
Grant was entering the world of cinema and had become a very successful actress but her career took a twist in a very startling turn of events when she was exiled without any warning by one of the most successful studios in Hollywood. It was a rapid decision that left many amazed. How could an up-and-coming star who had it all be denied entry in the business that once welcomed her?
Rumors started going round. Others argued that she had gone against dominant executives, who wanted her to comply with their dictations. The causes given by others were that her personal life had become an issue to the studio; Hollywood was recognized to be very watchful of the representations of its stars. Some of them even thought she had been blacklisted because it was out of her control. Maybe it was of the hard politics of show business.
In 1951, CBS described how Grant, at the funeral of the actor J. Edward Bromberg, had delivered a passionate eulogy in which she suggested that he had died as a result of the pressures of appearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
Henceforth, the next 12 years in her career would never be the same.
The Price of Power Wars in Hollywood
The power of studios over actors in the Golden Age of Hollywood was massive. Should one of the stars break the unwritten laws of the industry, he /she might be blacklisted, his or her contract cancelled and his or career ruined in just a night. There were numerous talented performers whose dreams were demolished merely on the basis that they did not fit the form imposed by the studios.
Grant who was on the way to becoming a superstar was another victim of the studio system.
Although she later featured in such works as Valley of the Dolls, Columbo, Shampoo and Mulholland Drive, and rose to win an American Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress section, Grant had a hard time securing roles in the 50s and early 60s. The offers ceased, and her name slowly disappeared out of the headlines.
Into The History It Lives On
Her beauty, talent, and films that she was starring in are some of the main points to what could have been but her career was prematurely taken away unfairly. Hollywood has long forgotten about her, but real cinematographic enthusiasts know that she was one of the most striking and not appreciated in her time actresses.
Her life is a recollection of how uncertain the fame is and how even the most prominent stars might be cut down by the powers they could not control.
In the age of an actor with greater freedom than ever in the past, her tribulations point out the underside of the old Hollywood which is a place where talent was sadly not always sufficient to live.
