Bitches and Blaggards: Gloria Grahame and Vincent Price

This is the sixth in the "Bitches and Blaggards" series; monthly posts devoted to my favorite movie bad girls and rogues.  A bitch is a selfish, malicious woman. A blaggard is a villain, a rogue and a black-hearted man. Both are bad, both are devastatingly alluring.

Gloria Grahame

Gloria Grahame was a gal who embraced her inner floozy. No blushing heroine, she; not even a nice girl forced into unfortunate circumstances. No, little Gloria, the "girl with the Novocaine lip," was a cinematic bad girl and trollop deluxe. Her motives are rarely pure, but somehow you find yourself rooting for this gal. You can gown her, fox-fur her and bejewel her and still she is NOT the girl you want to bring home to mother. Bless her crooked little heart. Two of Gloria's great bitch roles are "Sudden Fear" and "The Big Heat."

Sudden Fear

Gloria was a very bad girl here. Star Joan Crawford plays Myra Hudson (a relative of Blanche, perhaps?), who marries hunky Jack Palace. She marries for love and he marries for money. Once he learns that Myra plans to leave the bulk of her estate to charity, Jack and girlfriend Gloria plot to bump her off before the ink hits the paper. As usual, things go badly for Gloria and she winds up dead. She is flawless here, bad but just a victim of love and a louse.

The Big Heat

This is the one where Gloria's face gets scarred when old flame Lee Marvin throws hot coffee at her. Where was Kramer and Jackie Chiles when she needed them? Gloria is by far the best thing about this movie. While not exactly a bitch (she does have a good heart in the end), she has played so long with the rough boys that she is a pretty tough cookie herself. If you want to wear the mink, you gotta slink the slink.

Off-screen, Gloria was equally scandalous. Married to director Nicholas Ray, she began an affair with her 13-year old step-son, Tony Ray. She and daddy Nick subsequently divorced and after another husband thrown in for good measure, Gloria and Tony (who had 2 children together) finally tied the knot. Well, that didn't last either (surprised?).

And about that Novocaine lip: this was a case of plastic surgery gone bad. Apparently, she stuffed her upper lip with cotton rather than own up to the surgery.

Still, we love Gloria Grahame, the little trollop that could.

Vincent Price

Now, I just love Vincent Price. He was so much more than a blaggard, but he could be a mighty good (bad) one if asked. Before drifting into semi-humorous horror roles, he displayed a discomforting ability to torture the fairer sex. Two of Vincent's best appearances as a blaggard are in "Laura" and "Dragonwyck."

Laura

"Laura" is a special film because it features two blaggards and a bitch (Judith Anderson). Clifton Webb's Waldo Lydecker is the chief villain, but Vincent Price's Shelby Carpenter is no prize, either. He is charming, he is weak, and he is a cheat. As the film unfolds, it is not really clear why Shelby wants to marry Laura, since Ann seems to give him everything he needs and wants. Of course, Laura is beautiful, but the lure of Ann's easy money is too great. Plus Ann looks the other way when he cheats with Diane Redfern (the girl who is actually murdered). He lies to the police, he lies to Laura (though he does try to defend her when he suspects her of the murder) and he cheats like a devil. Laura eventually comes to her senses (with the help of hunky Dana Andrews), but Shelby was a charmer in his smarmy way.

Dragonwyck

In "Dragonwyck," Price again gets to torment beautiful Gene Tierney. As the master of the foreboding estate, Dragonwyck, Price's Nicholas presides over his kingdom like a Rochester wannabe. But, the story demands that lovey Gene find him irresistible. Soon we find out that, besides being a beast that crushes the little people beneath his boot, Nicholas has poisoned his first wife and plan's to do the same to current wife, Gene. Watch out for guys who tend to their oleander plants!

Price also menaced in some neat noirs, notable "The Bribe," before hitting the horror trail. In real life he was a bit of a Renaissance man in a world where such men are a rarity. Besides being an actor of great ability, we was a connoisseur and collector of fine art, a raconteur and a man of great humor. And, a damn good blaggard, I might add.


Coming Soon: The Bitch and Blaggard of July are Jack Palance and Lizbeth Scott