The queen of romantic melodramas and the star of the golden times of Hollywood - all this is Deborah Kerr. Exceptional acting talent, femininity and warm, classic beauty brought her fame and success in world cinema. Films with her participation are remembered and loved to this day.
Deborah Kerr: biography
The future star was born in 1921 on September 30 in the town of Helensburg (Scotland). She was the oldest child and the only daughter in the family. She initially decided to connect her career in art with ballet and even performed for some time at the London Theater. However, later she was attracted to acting, in connection with which she entered the drama school of the city of Bristol.
The debut role on the movie screen was insignificant and inconspicuous, her name was not even mentioned in the credits - it was the 1940 film “Smuggling”. The attention to his person Deborah Kerr attracted by participating in the film "Black Daffodil", which was released in 1947. The psychological drama gained popularity not only in the UK, but also in the USA, in connection with which the Hollywood producers turned their attention to the actress. Aristocratic and strict appearance partly determined her role. It was she who became the embodiment of English restraint and intelligence on the screens in the form in which it was represented by American viewers. In 1949, she was first nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress of the Year for her role in the movie Edward My Son.
Deborah Kerr: personal life
The actress was married twice. The first time her chosen one was Anthony Bartley - commander of the Royal Air Force. They married in 1945, in the same year their first daughter Melanie was born, and two more later - the second, Francesca. However, the marriage was not successful. Frequent tours and constant shooting of his wife annoyed her husband, and eventually the couple divorced in 1959. But with her second chosen one, Deborah Kerr, she lived until her death. In 1960, she married writer Peter Wilter (pictured). The history of their family was not enough literally three years to half a century ago. The actress died in Suffolk at the age of 86 in 2007, and her husband passed away three weeks later.
We offer you a selection of films with the participation of D. Kerr, for roles in which she was nominated for an Academy Award. All of them are rightfully considered the pearls of not only her career, but also of world cinema in general.
"From now and forever and ever"
The tape is rightfully included in the hundred of the best American- made melodramas according to AFI and is a classic of "black and white" Hollywood. The film tells about the completely peaceful and calm everyday life of soldiers in Pearl Harbor Bay until the moment they were attacked by the Japanese. Deborah Kerr (photo from the movie above) performs one of the main roles with Bert Lancaster. The romantic scene on the Hawaiian beach is recognized as one of the best in the world of cinema.
"The King and Me"
The musical film of 1956, which is based on the musical of the same name, put on the book "Anna and the King of Siam" Margaret Landon. A touching romantic story of a simple teacher and monarch. She came to a tropical country in order to teach the children of the king, but the worldviews of two civilizations are often absolutely opposite and come into conflict. Teaching children, the Englishwoman Anna, whose role is played by Deborah Kerr, quietly becomes a pleasant conversationalist and partly an adviser to the King of Siam.
"God knows, Mr. Allison"
The film was shot in 1957 after the novel of the same name by American writer Charles Shaw. Events unfold on a Japanese island, where Corporal Allison sailed on a raft after a shipwreck. The secluded island, as it turned out, is not empty: he meets a nun there - sister Angela. In a hurry, before sailing, they simply forgot. Forced to live in isolation, meanwhile, they are quite happy with what is happening, until the moment when there is a threat to their life in connection with the invasion of the Japanese. And now they are hiding not only from enemies, but also from their feelings for each other.
"At individual tables"
Dramatic black and white film of 1958. All events unfold in a small hotel owned by a single woman. She tries to create comfortable conditions for each of her guests, including small tables designed for one person. All hotel guests share a common feature - loneliness. Days are measured and monotonous. However, everything has changed dramatically since the moment when a socialite appears in the hotel, and along with the wife of Major Pollock, who carefully conceals his past.
"At sunset"
A touching melodrama was released in 1960. A very successful film adaptation of the book, which caused much more interest from the audience than the original source. The plot focuses on the Robert Mitchem family. While working as a shepherd, he simultaneously desires freedom, which borders on vagrancy, and quiet family happiness with his wife and son.
Despite the fact that Deborah Kerr, whose filmography includes fifty-two paintings (not counting participation in the series), was nominated for the prestigious Oscar six times as the best actress of the year, she could not receive the coveted statuette. The reward eluded the star at the last moment.
However, after more than 30 years, the figurine was still presented. In 1998, for her great contribution to the history of not only American but also world cinema, D. Kerr received an honorary Oscar, and a little earlier, the Cannes Film Festival award (1984) and a special BAFTA award, which became a worthy end to a brilliant acting career. On the Hollywood Walk of Fame there is a star number 1709 with the name Deborah Kerr.