Jennifer Jones: From A FAREWELL TO ARMS to THE TOWERING INFERNO
Jennifer Jones I: THE SONG OF BERNADETTE
Jennifer Jones II: DUEL IN THE SUN
Jennifer Jones‘ two 1957 vehicles were big productions: A Farewell to Arms, opposite Rock Hudson, and The Barretts of Wimpole Street, made in England, with John Gielgud and Bill Travers.
A Farewell to Arms had started with John Huston as director, but Selznick’s maddening demands and interminable memos sent Huston packing. Charles Vidor was the replacement. Jones reportedly insisted that Ernest Hemingway should get a percentage of any eventual profits, but the writer retorted that considering how miscast (too old for the role) Jones was that there probably wouldn’t be any. He was wrong. Though hardly a success among critics, the way overlong A Farewell to Arms became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street, on the other hand, deserved better reviews and stronger returns, as Jones is excellent as the invalid Elizabeth Barrett, whose tyrannical father (Gielgud) loves her a little too much — and more than a little incestuously. For his part, director Sidney Franklin (who also handled the quite different but just as good 1934 original, starring Norma Shearer) keeps the proceedings moving at a steady dramatic pace. (Admittedly, both Travers — as Robert Browning — and Gielgud are problematic.)
After a four-year break, Jones returned to the big screen in Henry King’s filmization of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night, with the 42-year-old actress playing a character 20 years her junior. Jason Robards (instead of Selznick’s suggestions Cary Grant or Montgomery Clift) was her (inadequate) leading man. Although too long at 146 minutes, Tender Is the Night is perfectly watchable — and if one forgets how old Jones is supposed to be, she’s actually thoroughly believable in the part.
What followed after Selznick’s death in 1965 was way below par (not that Selznick had been such a great advisor to begin with): Jones replaced Kim Stanley in the slow-moving, British-made The Idol (1966), in which she herself is fine as a woman having an affair with her son’s friend (a year later, Jones was found unconscious on a Malibu beach following an overdose of sleeping pills); the over-the-top Angel Angel Down We Go (right, 1969), an unwatchable mess in which she’s totally wasted (most memorable line from the former St. Bernadette: "I made thirty stag films and never faked an orgasm"); and her last film, the tedious mega-blockbuster The Towering Inferno, in which she’s the film’s highlight as a kind middle-aged woman who eventually drops to her death (and when she dies, so does the movie).
Later on, she was mentioned in connection to Terms of Endearment — she owned the film rights to the novel — but the potential Jones comeback led nowhere (director James L. Brooks reportedly told her she was too old). Her role went to Shirley MacLaine, who went on to win an Academy Award.
Jones also expressed interested in playing convicted murderess Jean Harris, but gave up on the idea after the 1981 showing of the television movie The People vs. Jean Harris, starring Ellen Burstyn.
One of my biggest disappointments while working on my Ramon Novarro biography was to have been unable to talk to Jennifer Jones (right, in Gone to Earth), in whose We Were Strangers Novarro had a brief role. I did write to her, but she never responded. I was later told by a fellow film researcher that Jones was unwilling to grant interviews, supposedly (as per an actress friend) to create an "inapproachable allure" akin to Greta Garbo’s.
That could be, but it’s much more likely that Jones — whose shyness has frequently been mentioned in articles — has never felt very comfortable giving interviews. In fact, in the late 1940s the Women’s Press Association voted her Hollywood’s most uncooperative actress. Also, her shyness was palpable at the 1987 Oscar ceremony, in which a visibly terrified Jones stuttered and trembled her way while presenting the best cinematography award. I wonder how well she fared while receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the German Film Academy in 1997, or when taking part in American Film Institute tributes to Lillian Gish and Gregory Peck.
Jones married multimillionaire Norton Simon in 1971, and later in the decade was elected chair of the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art after Simon’s controversial takeover of that institution (renamed the Norton Simon Museum). She became a widow once again in 1993, and currently holds the title of Trustee Emeritus at the museum.
Mary Jennifer, Jones’ daughter with Selznick, jumped off a twenty-two story building in Los Angeles in 1976. Four years later, Jones donated $1 million to establish the Jennifer Jones Simon Foundation for Mental Health and Education. She also had two sons with Robert Walker, actors Michael Walker (who died in 2007) and Robert Walker, Jr. (winner of a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer — for The Ceremony — in 1963).
Jennifer Jones still lives in Beverly Hills (or Malibu, or both), though according to one source she has been in poor health of late.
For more on Jennifer Jones’ life and career (plus loads of photos), check out the excellent Jennifer Jones Tribute.
Clip by jktropics43
Jennifer Jones II: DUEL IN THE SUN
THE SINGING REVOLUTION: Q&A with Filmmakers James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty
Oscar Correspondent Contest Winners 2009
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7 Responses to “Jennifer Jones: From A FAREWELL TO ARMS to THE TOWERING INFERNO”
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I found The Towering Inferno one of the best disaster movies of the 1970s. It had great special effects, yes, but it also had a good story, and some excellent actors. In addition to Jennifer Jones, there were Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Fred Astaire, Robert Wagner, Faye Dunaway, and William Holden.
All in all, a great spectacle. The film even received a well-deserved Oscar nomination.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street never shows in Uruguay, but I have seen A Farewell to Arms. Its a long movie, but I like it.
Jennifer Jones was a really good actress. Even when you see her dubbed in another language she’s still good.
I also like Fred Astaire in The Towering Inferno.
An excellent article on my favorite actress. I’m the creator of the Jones website. You must see “Cluny Brown”! It is one of her best performances. She has a gift for comedy but it was sadly not used (due to Selznick of course).
I am a long time contributor to Philip Oliver’s tribute website devoted to Jennifer Jones.I would urge all film fans of hers to inspect the blogs on this site, especially the “message board” which has much more informed, critical comments from long time admirers rather than the guestbook section which mainly contains repetitive paens of praise.
I am a great fan of the actress Jennifer Jones.
I have seen almost all of her films, she’s a very special actress, very beautiful and talented.
My best dream would be getting to write a letter to her, having her reading it personally and getting an answer directly by her, I know it’s impossible, but it would be a dream come true if dreams can still exist.
What would her e-mail address be? Otherwise, could I try to write to her at the address of the Norton Simon Museum?
The Norton Simon Museum would be your best bet.
Good luck!