A marvelous actress with a long long LONG career has just died. Barbara Bel Geddes passed away. Look at her face in those photos. Isn’t it a nice face? She got more attractive as she got older – with those smile lines. A twinkly face, a smart face. I love the quote in the obituary: “”They’re always making me play well-bred ladies. I’m not very well bred, and I’m not much of a lady.”
She was very loved by some of the biggest directors of her day: Hitchcock, Elia Kazan. She also had a major stage career (she was much more successful on Broadway than she ever was in Hollywood – she was the original Maggie the Cat). And, very rare for actresses (more so than for actors) – she kept working after her youth was gone. Her biggest success (in fact, probably the most money she ever made) was when she was on Dallas – which was, of course, a huge cash cow. Just goes to show you: you can never give up. You are never “done”. Acting is not just for the young and beautiful. Barbara Bel Geddes just kept going.
My personal favorite of her performances is Midge in Vertigo – which I raved about here. She’s just so LOVable in that part. I want her to be my friend. She plays it perfectly: the down to earth woman, the friend of Jimmy Stewart … but you know … you just know … that in her deepest heart, she is in love with him. It will not work out for her. She must accept his friendship. But … even though there are no LINES to support this … Barbara Bel Geddes lets us know: “This is the man for me.” Her love for him is not fickle, or passionate, or adolescent. If she can’t have him, then probably she will not be able to have anybody. She’s a one-man woman. Again though: there are NO LINES that say any of this. It’s all in Barbara Bel Geddes’ face. But it’s subtle. She’s so good, she never hits you over the head with it. For the most part, she is just the good friend, the one who listens to him, the one who mixes him a drink … who doesn’t judge him … who is there for him. Midge: a marvelous character. I fall in love with her every time I see that movie.
Rest in peace, Barbara Bel Geddes.
Her Miss Ellie was the perfect blend of steel and velvet, the quintessential southern momma.
RIP, ma’am.
Lisa – totally. That is a great comment, Lisa – perfectly put.
I always believed that Midge got her man after the movie was over… ‘course I also always thought that Scottie was an idiot going after the Novak character anyway; I’d have settled down with Midge in a heart beat!!
Oh, JFH – I love that theory. I hope it’s true!
BTW, don’t know if others agree with me, but I find Kim Novak the LEAST appealing of all the “Hitchcock blondes”.
Grace Kelly seems to really epitomize what Hitchcock really wanted. She, to me, was THE Hitchcock blonde.
Bel Geddes was so sweet in “I Remember Mama” as Katrin. Irene Dunne as the mother was amazing, a lovely portrayal of a turn-of-the-century New York immigrant whose determination and cleverness keep her family together, fed and clothed. Bel Geddes does a charming job narating the story and playing the eldest daughter who admires her mother yet seeks a world bigger and more challenging, the world that was given to her when her mother emmigrated.
Funny that you would put a quote from Vertigo in your movie quiz earlier this week, Red, and that the next day would come the announcement of Barbara Bel Geddes’s passing. You said her Midge was the best friend everyone deserves to have, and you were so right.
The first time I saw her was in The Five Pennies. She held her own with Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong. I loved that movie. I’m going to have to TiVo it now.
that was lovely Sheila – I agree with all of the Vertigo comments!
She did have a wonderful face: friendly, warm, and sweet. I’ll miss her.
As usual, I liked the way you described acting. Particularly Geddes’ love for Jimmy Stewart in Vertigo. It reminded me of the scene in Gone With The Wind when Rhett is talking to Belle and Belle has this look on her face, and you kind of think: my goodness, she loves him! She’s always loved him. I love that subtleness. It’so rarely done correctly anymore – by anyone.
I enjoyed seeing Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie
on Dallas.
Barbara had more that a sweet face. She possessed an auro or glow. I, like many others, was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She must have been a very special person. I will miss her.