Miriam Hopkins

Attore

18 ottobre 1902 — 9 ottobre 1972 (69 anni)
Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930, working with Ernst Lubitsch and Joel McCrea, among many others. Her long-running feud with Bette Davis was publicized for effect. Later she became a pioneer of TV drama. Hopkins was a distinguished Hollywood hostess, who moved in intellectual and creative circles. At age 20, Hopkins became a chorus girl in New York City. In 1930, she signed with Paramount Pictures, and made her official film debut in Fast and Loose. Her first great success was in the 1931 horror drama film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which she portrayed the character Ivy Pearson, a prostitute who becomes entangled with Jekyll and Hyde. Hopkins received rave reviews, but because of the potential controversy of the film and her character, many of her scenes were cut before the official release, reducing her screen time to approximately five minutes.

Nevertheless, her career ascended swiftly thereafter and in 1932 she scored her breakthrough in Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise, where she proved her charm and wit as a beautiful and jealous pickpocket. During the pre-code Hollywood of the early 1930s, she appeared in The Smiling Lieutenant, The Story of Temple Drake and Design for Living, all of which were box office successes and critically acclaimed. Her pre-Code films were considered risqué at the time, with The Story of Temple Drake depicting a rape scene and Design for Living featuring a ménage à trois with Fredric March and Gary Cooper. She also had success during the remainder of the decade with the romantic comedy The Richest Girl in the World (1934), the historical drama Becky Sharp (1935), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Barbary Coast (1935), These Three (1936) (the first of four films with director William Wyler) and The Old Maid (1939).

Hopkins was one of the first actresses approached to play the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934). However, she rejected the part, and Claudette Colbert was cast instead. She did audition for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, having one advantage none of the other candidates had: she was a native Georgian. But the part went to Vivien Leigh. Both Colbert and Leigh won Oscars for their performances.

Hopkins had well-publicized fights with her arch-enemy Bette Davis (Hopkins believed Davis was having an affair with Hopkins' husband at the time), when they co-starred in their two films The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943). Davis admitted to enjoying very much a scene in Old Acquaintance in which she shakes Hopkins forcefully during a scene where Hopkins' character makes unfounded allegations against Davis's. There were even press photos taken with both divas in a boxing ring with gloves up and director Vincent Sherman between the two.

Hopkins was a television pioneer, performing in teleplays in three decades, spanning the late 1940s through the late 1960s, in such programs as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949), Lux Video Theatre (1951-1955) and even an episode of The Flying Nun in 1969.

She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures at 1701 Vine Street, and one for television at 1708 Vine Street.

Film e Serie su Plex

  • Oltre i limiti
    Oltre i limiti2 stagioni
  • Partita a quattro
    Partita a quattro1933
  • Carovana d'eroi
    Carovana d'eroi1940
  • La costa dei barbari
    La costa dei barbari1935
  • Route 66
    Route 664 stagioni
  • Becky Sharp
    Becky Sharp1935
  • Hollywood Horror House
    Hollywood Horror House1970
  • Tiranna deliziosa
    Tiranna deliziosa1937
  • La famiglia assassina di Ma' Barker
    La famiglia assassina di Ma' Barker1960

Famoso per

  • Il dottor Jekyll
    Il dottor Jekyll1931
  • Mancia competente
    Mancia competente1932
  • L'ereditiera
    L'ereditiera1949
  • Quelle due
    Quelle due1961
  • Partita a quattro
    Partita a quattro1933
  • La calunnia
    La calunnia1936
  • La costa dei barbari
    La costa dei barbari1935
  • Il grande amore
    Il grande amore1939
  • Perdizione
    Perdizione1933
  • La caccia
    La caccia1966
  • L'amica
    L'amica1943
  • Becky Sharp
    Becky Sharp1935
  • Carovana d'eroi
    Carovana d'eroi1940
  • L'allegro tenente
    L'allegro tenente1931
  • La ragazza più ricca del mondo
    La ragazza più ricca del mondo1934
  • Gli occhi che non sorrisero
    Gli occhi che non sorrisero1952
  • Hollywood Horror House
    Hollywood Horror House1970
  • Tiranna deliziosa
    Tiranna deliziosa1937
  • La madre dello sposo
    La madre dello sposo1951
  • La segretaria
    La segretaria1936

Filmografia

2008
2005
1970
Hollywood Horror House · as Katherine ParkerSu Plex
1967
The Flying Nun · as Gloria Davenport
1966
The Chase · as Mrs. Reeves
1964
Russ Meyer's Fanny Hill · as Maude Brown
1963
The Outer Limits · as Mary KrySu Plex
1961
The Children's Hour · as Lily Mortar
1960
Route 66Su Plex
1960
Ma Barker's Killer Brood · as Ma Barker (one Day Shooting)Su Plex
1959
The Play of the Week · as (the Indifferent Lover)
1955
1954
Climax! · as Amanda Hale
1954
The Whistler · as Harriet Eldridge
1953
1953
General Electric Theater · as Mrs. Cynthia Lockman
1952
Carrie · as Julie Hurstwood
1952
The Outcasts of Poker Flat · as Mrs. Shipton Aka 'the Duchess'
1951
The Mating Season · as Fran Carleton
1950
The Pulitzer Prize Playhouse · as Jennie Mccobb
1950
The Lux Video Theatre · as Bertha Jacks
1949
The Heiress · as Lavinia Penniman
1948
Studio One · as Theresa Durand
1948
1943
Old Acquaintance · as Millie Drake
1942
A Gentleman After Dark · as Flo Melton
1940
Lady with Red Hair · as Mrs. Leslie Carter
1940
Virginia City · as Julia HayneSu Plex
1939
The Old Maid · as Delia Lovell Ralston
1937
Wise Girl · as Susan Fletcher
1937
Woman Chases Man · as Virginia TravisSu Plex
1937
The Woman I Love · as Mme. Helene Maury
1936
Men Are Not Gods · as Ann Williams
1936
These Three · as Martha Dobie
1935
Barbary Coast · as Mary 'swan' RutledgeSu Plex
1935
Splendor · as Phyllis Manning Lorrimore
1935
Becky Sharp · as Becky SharpSu Plex
1934
The Richest Girl in the World · as Dorothy Hunter
1934
She Loves Me Not · as Curly Flagg
1934
All of Me · as Lydia Darrow
1933
Design for Living · as Gilda FarrellSu Plex
1933
1933
The Story of Temple Drake · as Temple Drake
1932
1932
The World and the Flesh · as Maria Yaskaya
1932
Two Kinds of Women · as Emma Krull
1932
Dancers in the Dark · as Gloria Bishop
1931
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde · as Ivy Pearson
1931
24 Hours · as Rosie Dugan
1931
The Smiling Lieutenant · as Princess Anna
1931
The House That Shadows Built · as (archive Footage)
1930
Fast and Loose · as Marion Lenox

2003
Complicated Women · as Self (archive Footage)
1948
The Milton Berle Show · as Self - Actress