Gene Tierney - Film Noir Movie Star

Introduction to Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney was born Jeanne Marie Dunn in Brooklyn, New York, in 1921, the daughter of an insurance salesman. Her mother was also an actress, born Lucile Morris, who followed her own mother’s advice to name herself after her profession. Gene Tierney studied ballet, music, and drama as a child, and became a child model. She wanted to be a concert pianist and had a concert pianist friend to accompany her. She posed for a chocolate ad when she was 10 years old, using her mother’s name, and was offered a contract as a child actor by Fox at the age of 13. Although she made her film debut in 1935, in the movie “One in a Million,” Gene Tierney’s Hollywood career didn’t take off until the late 1930s. In 1939, she was voted the “most beautiful girl in the world” by a poll of radio listeners. Her movie career was interrupted by World War II when she worked in intelligence at the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Washington, D.C. between 1943 and 1944. Tierney returned to Hollywood in 1945 and resumed her movie career. She married her agent, Oscar Bernad, and made a name for herself as an independent film star in post-war Hollywood.

Gene Tierney’s Hollywood Career

Gene Tierney’s Hollywood career spanned the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, during a time when the old studio system was at its peak. Tierney made her first film appearance in 1935 but didn’t break through until the end of the 1930s. Her first major film was “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936) and also appeared in “Hollywood Hotel” (1937), “Wild Company” (1938), and “Dreadful Hollow” (1938). She appeared in many films for Fox during 1939, including “Boom Town,” “Rockets Galore,” “Pursued” (with Robert Taylor), and “Dodge City” (with Errol Flynn). Tierney was cast as the female lead in the film “Private Secretary,” which was promoted as the “picture with the most beautiful girl in the world.” Tierney was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar in 1945 for her role in the film “Leave Her to Heaven.” She didn’t win, but the film was critically acclaimed, and Tierney’s performance was outstanding. “Leave Her to Heaven” was a classic film noir, and featured Tierney as a calculating, obsessive woman who murders to prevent her husband from leaving her. Tierney’s best-remembered roles, besides that in “Leave Her to Heaven,” were in “In This Our Life” (1942), “ roof” (1956), “The Big Country” (1958), and “The Young Doctors” (1962).

The War Years

Gene Tierney joined the war effort between 1943 and 1944, first as a volunteer worker for the Red Cross and then for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). She went to Washington, D.C. where she became an intelligence officer and worked in censorship. When she returned to Hollywood in 1945, she wasn’t offered a contract by any of the major studios. Tierney’s career and finances were in the hands of her agent, Oscar Bernad. The war had ended, and there was competition from a new generation of glamorous young actresses like Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and more. Gene Tierney’s career was at a standstill, and she had to work as a bit player, sometimes accepting as little as $50 per day. Tierney also had to work at being cheerful and cooperative, and not being critical of other actresses who got the starring roles she hoped for. But it was during this period of waiting for her career to return that Tierney met the man she would marry, Oscar Bernad.

After the War—Independent Films and Marriage to a Casting Agent

The first post-war movie that Gene Tierney appeared in was “Leave Her to Heaven,” which was re-released in 1946. This was followed by the movies “Suspense” (1946), “The Brute Man” (1946), “The Unknown” (1946), “The Beginning or the End” (1947), and “Whirlpool” (1949). These were all low-budget B-movies, but they helped to re-establish Tierney’s career and get her back on track. In 1946, Gene Tierney also married her agent, Oscar Bernad, and her career leaped forward. Up until then, Bernad had been a casting agent, representing Tierney and perhaps a few other actors, but no one else. Once he became Tierney’s husband, he took on the role of producer and worked with her to get out of the old studio system and get into independent film productions. This was a significant achievement for Gene Tierney, who had been part of the establishment for most of her early career. Tierney broke away from the old studio system and took control of her career. She produced her movies, and became an independent film star, during a time when the old studio system was still fighting the breakup, and fading away.

Tierney Leaves Hollywood Again

Gene Tierney left Hollywood again in 1953, and her marriage ended in divorce in 1955. She returned to New York, where she had been born and was seen in a new light. Her career had been in decline during the 1950s, and she had turned down many parts. But after she left Hollywood again, in a different era, she was seen again as a glamorous, golden-age actress of old Hollywood. Tierney appeared in the hit Broadway musical “Silk Stockings” in 1956, and played Aunt Josephine in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961). She also appeared in “The Longest Day” (1962), and “The Great Imposter” (1962). These were all prestigious films, but they weren’t box-office hits. Tierney’s final film appearance was in “Hollywood or Bust” (1965), a spoof of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Conclusion

Gene Tierney’s Hollywood career spanned the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, and she was one of the last actresses to make her name under the old studio system. Tierney also broke away from that system and became an independent film star. She ended her career with a role in the Hollywood spoof “Hollywood or Bust,” but her acting was already winding down. Tierney’s later career was in the theater, where she appeared on Broadway and in several Broadway musicals. Gene Tierney died in 1991, aged 70, after suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder and being confined to a wheelchair for the last 15 years of her life.