Olivia de Havilland: still alive and in Vanity Fair

May 22, 2016 9:08 PM

“I loved her so much as a child,” Olivia says wistfully. Ever the lady, she has steadfastly refused to discuss her sister or their relationship since the 1950s. Not so Joan. In a 1978 interview with People—a forceful blast of sua culpa meant to publicize No Bed of Roses—Joan flatly contradicted Olivia’s recollection of sibling tenderness, saying, “I regret that I remember not one act of kindness from Olivia all through my childhood.”--Olivia de Havilland and the Most Notorious Sibling Rivalry in Hollywood
posted by MoonOrb (11 comments total)

This was a really great long form. I had no idea she was still alive, and had done all those magnificent things. She's my new hero.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 10:01 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Great read. I am such a big fan of both sisters, I can't choose between them :)
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 4:31 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Man, that first picture. And people wonder why I prefer Melanie to Scarlet.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:41 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Olivia De Havilland and Errol Flynn kiss from Robin Hood

(monday morning cheese)
posted by bukvich at 5:28 AM on May 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

In case you wondered why Errol Flynn had that dead look about him, here's another VF article from 2013 about the scandal at the end of his career. It's short (reduced to a series of bullet points, actually), but puts this final encounter with De Haviland into a little context.
posted by briank at 5:54 AM on May 23, 2016 [5 favorites]

Who to choose? The sisters were both capable of amazing tour de forces. Most of Olivia's roles were either too cold or too bland for my taste, but then again Joan often seemed mismatched to her roles (The Constant Nymph -- what were they thinking?), other than Rebecca and Suspicion, which were and are masterpieces. And of course Jane Eyre. Joan Fontaine is the perfect Jane Eyre.

The Heiress, for which Olivia won one of her Best Actress awards, is incredible. The picture is kind of slow-moving and overly talky in the way that costume dramas from the 1940s can be, but that transformation that "poor Catherine" makes at the end (the last ten minutes or so) is spellbinding, and Henry James himself would have applauded.

In any case, Olivia has the last word, no matter what else happens.
posted by blucevalo at 6:02 AM on May 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

What a great piece! Thanks for posting it.

Agree that The Heiress is incredible. It's one of those pictures I never, ever get tired of seeing.
posted by holborne at 7:19 AM on May 23, 2016

My understanding is that de Havilland got particularly screwed by the studio system: she was capable of great acting, but her studio mostly wanted her to be pretty and get rescued by Erroll Flynn, and she didn't have a lot of opportunities to show off her range.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:27 AM on May 23, 2016

The Heiress is amazing and OdH is stunning in it. Especially the last five minutes. Her expression as she's walking up the stairs! Absolutely blood-chilling.
posted by orrnyereg at 7:37 AM on May 23, 2016

She and Kirk Douglas are the last living links to the classic era no?
posted by The Whelk at 11:12 AM on May 23, 2016

Great article. Of the two sisters, I always liked Olivia's more understated acting style--Joan seemed a little overwrought to me.

It is unfortunate that the author didn't credit Ida Lupino as a director as well as an actor, though.
posted by agatha_magatha at 12:56 PM on May 23, 2016