I want to talk about a blonde actress of the Old Hollywood era who struggled, was professionally pigeonholed despite her own efforts to subvert her studio-imposed image, and died tragically young. No, I’m not talking about Marilyn Monroe. Or Jane Mansfield. Or any of the other tragic blondes whose names you probably know more than the woman I’m writing about today. I’m talking about Veronica Lake.
You’re Googling what she looks like right now, aren’t you? It’s one of many things I’m always sad to hear when I bring her up because she certainly has a case for Hollywood immortality as we’ve come to know it. Lake became the de facto image of the 1940s, with women across the globe imitating her famous peekaboo hairstyle. She starred in several dramatic features, like This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia. She also was in groundbreaking comedies, like Preston Sturges’ iconic Sullivan’s Travels, as well as Rene Clair’s I Married a Witch, which was said to have inspired the sitcom Bewitched.
And yet if you did Google “Veronica Lake” you’d more than likely find several articles talking about how her ashes ended up in a New York pawn shop (they probably aren’t hers) and that she was bartending to make ends meet. Many will say that she was mentally ill at best and a drunk at worst. Several label her “difficult to work with,” while praising her male co-stars, many of whom led long and lengthy careers. It’s with all this that I maintain a protectiveness to Lake. Her image has a place in several rooms of my home. I’ve written about her. I empathize with her. To me, she is my Marilyn Monroe, a star whose face makes me smile as I mourn the struggles she had to deal with.
But I also know she was a flawed person. I have no illusions about that, and I think many classic film lovers understand that about their favorite stars. Veronica was a difficult person; she had a fructuous relationship with one of her children and a non-existent one with her other two. She probably did struggle with drinking, and while I haven’t ever confirmed a bipolar diagnosis, if she did deal with that no doubt it was done in silence. If anything, I think in order to talk about Veronica Lake we have to talk about all classic film stars.
Veronica wasn’t a good mother. As we’ve seen, several Old Hollywood actresses struggled with motherhood, mainly because they felt that was required of them to be successful (it isn’t enough to be a successful actress; you need to be a successful woman). Veronica was labeled a pain in the ass, yes, because she probably endured rampant sexual harassment and discrimination as the #MeToo movement showed us. If anything, go read Lake’s autobiography and hear how terribly Fredric March treated her during I Married a Witch. It’s a testament to her acting that she was able to convey her character’s love for March’s.
Veronica always said she never left Hollywood, Hollywood left her. She seemed incredibly realistic about how the world of entertainment would leave her, and though she did exhibit bitterness about it in the end, she knew it could happen. I think part of why I love her is to disprove her belief that no one cared about her. Or that audiences would forget about her. I haven’t forgotten about her, and I hope on her centennial you don’t either.
Other Veronica Things to Check Out
Criterion’s “Starring Veronica Lake” series is a one-stop shop of her most popular titles. You can’t go wrong by watching any (or all) of these.
I joined my friend Karie Bible to make Veronica's meatloaf recipe and it definitely tasted like meat.
You can also hear Joel McCrea’s grandson, Wyatt, talk about what his grandfather thought of Veronica.
Other Things to Read and See
I argued why Fiona Dourif deserves an Emmy for her performance on Chucky.
The Serpent Queen was a surprising treat for me and Justin Haythe filled me in on his plans for Season 2.
In case you need a reason not to watch Showtime’s Spector doc I discussed why I’m sick of the Hollywood male redemption tour.
I’m a big Beautiful Creatures fan so I was so happy to talk to Alice Englert about another book adaptation series she’s in, Dangerous Liaisons.
And for all you Yellowstone buffs….I’m on the beat.
According to her mother, she was diagnosed as schizophrenic when she was 15 y.o. People with that condition usually show symptoms in mid to late teens so it sounds about right. (I was a therapist for many yrs is how I know that.) And yes, she was definitely an alcoholic, I've read personal stories from people who knew her. Very sad, since she was such a beautiful woman. Sadly, when she was older she really aged and was just about unrecognizable. Hollywood does seem to have a way of being really, really harsh with actors/actresses, so many of them had lots of difficulties in their lives.