She is almost never discussed among the greats, or even heard of by most, but she had a charm and awkwardness that was magical every time she was on screen. What’s your favourite role of hers?
Upvoted for Portrait of Jennie.
Completely agree. Also, though it suffers from poor structure and flow, Gone To Earth is another favourite just for her performance.
Cluny Brown.
Love it. The story synopsis seems lame on the surface, but Charles Boyer is so darn good in it, and I like to think that Ms. Jones is playing herself more than most other roles she has done. The Lubitsch touch also goes a long way. I can’t imagine anyone watching it without smiling all the way through
I absolutely love Cluny Brown. It's sort of ahead of it's time in terms of women's desires to not just be in the kitchen fixing dinner but in the kitchen fixing the plumbing.
Squirrels to nuts ..................or is it nuts to the squirrels?
I wasn't totally sold on it when they get her drunk during her earliest scene (they expect us to believe Jennifer Jones has never met a cocktail before, she melts into a suggestible puddle, it's a bit infantilizing) but Boyer redeems himself by being a perfect gentleman the rest of this film
By the end, he doesn't even seem like the type to NEED to get a woman tipsy when he shows endless patience and planning. He's much less sleazy than the early liquoring suggests, and it's a much sunnier version of him than most would remember him for, in Gaslight
But man, I was wrong about my early suspicions, and I didn't give the script enough credit for having heart and soul until it ambushed me with its design. Great example - the snoring mother of the chemist, initially seems like a cheap and obvious gag. But Cluny admires and cherishes the snoring because she grew up without a mother - it's excellent stuff
She almost turned me Catholic when I saw her in The Song of Bernadette.
Agreed. The film is quite layered in its themes and far deeper than one might initially surmise. As far as breakthrough roles perfectly suited to the actor, it’s pretty hard to beat
I disliked that movie. I guess I read to much about the real account - but everyone to their own liking.
I loved that movie, and her performance was incredible
Personal favorite performances are Portrait of Jennie and Since You Went Away. I have yet to view Duel in the Sun but plan to rectify that soon.
It’s definitely worth watching, but it tried really hard to be the next Gone With The Wind, unsuccessfully. Some of the casting choice seem odd, but it does have a super badass scene near the end with Ms. Jones that’s well worth it.
That train scene in Since You Went Away is one of the best of its kind ever filmed, and her increasing hysteria as the train departs with her soldier lover is phenomenal.
She starred in Good Morning Miss Dove, 1955. Great movie!
She is the incredible lead in one of my favorite movies of all time, Gone to Earth, an underseen masterpiece!
It might be her most daring performance. As far as characters go, it’s criminally underrated and about as charming as they come. I’m a big fan of the Archers and super glad that she made it into their catalogue, though not without the drama of the Selznick recut.
David Fararr is very underrated
I appreciate her a lot. The Song of Bernadette is my favorite movie of her and one of my all time favorite movies period. :) great actress.
As others have said, Portrait of Jennie was probably one of her best. There's something magical about that entire movie. I also enjoyed her performances in Love Letters, which once again paired her up with Joseph Cotton and a lesser known film called Ruby Gentry. She was a solid actress.
The photo may be simple but it immortalised her youth and beauty in it
Never seen this woman before but how beautiful!
She was very beautiful.
Love Jennifer Jones! My favorite films of hers are "Madame Bovary" and "Carrie."
Ohh good call on Carrie. It might also be one of the best performances by Lawrence Olivier. Heartbreaking at times but a very well told story
He was wonderful in this role.
Song of Bernadette!
I’ve not heard of her before , I will have a look for her movies
Well played, Norton Simon!
I know right? He just wanted the portrait and ended up with the prize. Lucky guy….
Jennifer Jones was also a mental health advocate. She would have been pleased right now to see how much mental health is now talked about and normalised in this day and age
Cluny Brown
Since You Went Away
These are both so good. I like Shirley Temple in Since You Went Away aa well.❤️
Portrait of Jennie is stunning. She is stunning.
Amazing film. The first ever art house movie
Massively influential
Sorry. I can’t appreciate her. The way she treated her husband Robert Walker was atrocious. All for stardom. If you ever read the biography Starcrossed, you will never look at her the same way again.
In the later Beat the Devil, wearing a blonde wig, acting with the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, directed by John Huston, she is sly and wonderfully duplicitous, very different from her other roles. I believe her husband Selznick made her a nervous wreck in controlling her every move, but this atypical role seems like a break for her. The movie was a notorious failure, but its reputation has soared over the years.
Horrible actress but photogenic.
I'll have risk being downvoted as you have been but I sort of agree. She would have gone nowhere if she hadn't married David O. Selznick. He was much older than she was so it was a Svengali relationship with him deciding her career choices for her and this was happening even before he married her. He put her in "A Duel in the Sun" which he invisioned as the Gone With the Wind of Westerns movies and kept throwing money at it but in the end it fizzled and was panned by the critics.
The best thing that Jennifer Jones did was probably Cluny Brown but it was so wonderful because it the writing and dialogue was fantastic and she was a little more suited to the role.
I’m glad someone said it. She dumped her first husband Robert Walker in a most heartless fashion for D O Selznick. And if not for Selznick, she would not have become as “famous” as she had. Her acting was flat. And uninspiring. Great roles. Bad actress.
I admit I’ve never seen Cluny Brown, so I may try it. The couple of movies I have seen her in really repelled me from trying more. Thanks for the validation.
Watching it now on YouTube and I’m greatly amused. Thanks for the guidance, she nails the character.
Portrait of Jennie, which is built around her and incredibly daring, is hands down my favorite of hers. After that I'd say Cluny Brown and Since You Went Away.