Boyd's Bunch

In ruminating over the filmography of Stephen Boyd, as we are often wont to do, we've decided upon a rudimentary categorization of his oft-illustrious co-stars. Therefore, we hereby declare the following:

THE BEST LOOKING BOOKENDS: Dorothy Dandridge and Joan Collins
Island in the Sun (20th Century Fox, 1957)

 

THE BEST POUT: Brigitte Bardot
The Night Heaven Fell (Kingsley-International, 1958)

 



THE MOST FRIGHTENING: Joan Crawford
The Best of Everything (20th Century Fox, 1959)
 

THE TOUGHEST: Susan Hayward
Woman Obsessed (20th Century Fox, 1959)

THE MOST SUPERIOR: Dolores Hart
Lisa (20th Century Fox, 1962)



THE SUNNIEST: Doris Day
Billy Rose's Jumbo (MGM, 1962)



THE MOST REGAL: Sophia Loren
The Fall of the Roman Empire (Paramount, 1964)

THE CLASSIEST: Eleanor Parker
The Oscar (Embassy, 1966)

THE MOST LIKELY TO STEAL FOCUS FROM BOYD'S BULGE: Raquel Welch
Fantastic Voyage (20th Century Fox, 1966)



THE BEST WIGLET: Yvette Mimieux
Caper of the Golden Bulls (Embassy, 1967)

THE MOST CLUELESS: Charlton Heston
Ben Hur (MGM, 1959)

 

 

Siamese, If You Don't Please

Dorothy Dandridge in Tarzan's Peril (RKO, 1951)

"Scuttlebutt from Movieland has it that 20th Century Fox wants Dorothy Dandridge for The King and I, and will blow up the Tuptim role to starring size." -- Dorothy Kilgallen's column, May 7, 1955

"Following her current engagement at Lake Tahoe, Dorothy Dandridge will head back to Hollywood for her stint in The King and I, which will keep her busy until the end of the year..." -- Izzy Rowe's column, August 20, 1955

Dorothy Dandridge at The Empire Room at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, April 11, 1955

"Because Dorothy Dandridge missed seeing The King and I on Broadway, Walter Lang (who will direct the screen version) had her fly to Toronto to catch a road performance of the musical..." -- Dorothy Kilgallen's column, September 1, 1955

Dorothy Dandridge in Tamango (CEI Incom, 1958)

"Dorothy Dandridge's exit from The King and I doesn't mean an exit from the Fox lot. She's now being considered for Under Two Flags and The Blue Angel." -- Aline Mosby's column, October 4, 1955

"In order to assure Dorothy Dandridge's availability for a lavish new musical starring vehicle scheduled to roll in January, 20th Century Fox studio has shifted her film slate and has released her from a co-starring role with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr in The King and I...Although the title has not yet been announced, unofficial word at the studio is that it will be either The Blue Angel or Under Two Flags." -- The Pittsburgh Courier, October 8, 1955

May Britt and Curd Jürgens in The Blue Angel (20th Century Fox, 1959)

Curd Jürgens and Dorothy Dandridge in Tamango (CEI Incom, 1958)



"Miss Half-Caste -- Rita Moreno -- is Miss High Caste these days. She's playing Tuptim in the film musical version of The King and I and beaming over the switch from wildcat to nobility: 'It's a relief not to be gnashing my teeth and flaring my nostrils for a change.' Rita landed the film after Dorothy Dandridge walked out of the role." -- Erskine Johnson's column, November 19, 1955

 

"I haven't been able to get a clear reason from Dorothy Dandridge on her sudden decision to drop out of The King and I, but it is my candid opinion that the lovely first lady of the screen may have passed up one of the best roles in her career...The role of Tuptim in King (which was to have been played by Dorothy) is one of the highlights in what may well be a milestone in movie making." -- Sonny Murrain's column, January 28, 1956

Rita Moreno in The King and I (20th Century Fox, 1956)

"Time is just filled with contrasts -- last year this time, Dorothy Dandridge was the big deal, a nominee for an Academy Award [for Carmen Jones]. This year the story is sad and about the mediocrity of her nightclub act...Dandridge shouldn't even be in nightclubs, but making pictures since coming so close to winning an Oscar." -- Izzy Rowe's column, March 31, 1956

Dorothy Dandridge onstage at The Riviera, Las Vegas, December 15, 1955

"Surprising that Dorothy Dandridge has not made a film since Carmen Jones, in which she was so successful..." -- Louella Parsons' column, April 2, 1956

 

"This is how Rita Moreno won the role of Tuptim in the movie The King and I. Dorothy Dandridge had been signed for the part. The studio began to screen test actors to play her lover, Lun Tha. Miss Dandridge's commitments made it impossible for her to do these tests..." -- Leonard Lyon's column, May 1, 1956

Rita Moreno and Carlos Rivas in The King and I (20th Century Fox, 1956)

A Fish Tale

It Happened

Rosalind Russell and Celeste Holm

Maureen O'Hara and Dorothy Dandridge

Joan Crawford and Ginger Rogers

Lucille Ball and June Allyson

Betsy Palmer and Loretta Young

Sandra Dee and Hayley Mills

Beatrice Lillie and Gloria Swanson

Let Them Entertain You

And there's free beer at Irene Dunne's place! Served in a pretty glass, of course.

The Private World of Dorothy Dandridge

"Dorothy Dandridge, circa 1962, seems to be a woman who knows, not only where she has been, but precisely where she is going... Gone are most of the traits of nervousness and uncertainty that many observed in earlier years..."

Within a year of this lavishly illustrated, fawningly-written article, Dorothy Dandridge would be bankrupt, her beautiful home foreclosed upon, and her brain-damaged daughter placed in state care. In less than four years, increasingly despondent and addicted to both pills and alcohol, Dorothy Dandridge would be dead from an overdose of antidepressants. She was 42 years old.

We Had the Craziest Dream

It started off, innocently enough (and, frankly, as many of our dreams do), with Miss Arlene Francis...


...who is chatting with Miss Dorothy Kilgallen in the CBS commissary...


...when they spy, sitting a few tables away, Jeanne Crain...


...who is lunching with Eva Bartok...


...except that Jeanne and Eva are dressed as pioneer women. They're whisked away from the commissary by wagon train, through the wildnerness, where they encounter Daniel Boone...


...who, in our dream, is portrayed not by Fess Parker, but Matthew McConnaughey.


Suddenly, we are wandering through the historical home of Daniel Boone, including a room where, a plaque tells us, he consummated an affair with Dorothy Dandridge.


Struck by nature's call, we search the museum for a public restroom, finally finding one and then realizing that we are barefoot! Of course, we don't want to pull a Britney Spears...


...so we leave. In the courtyard of the museum, we realize we left our pink cosmetic case (which we don't actually own in real life!)...


...and our Louis Vuitton Baikal bag (which we do) sitting on a bench.


Frantically, we search them to make sure nothing's missing, and discover a litany of missed calls on our iPhone...


...from our boss, wondering where the hell we are, and why we are late for work.

We blame it all on Arlene Francis, who started the whole bizarre mess.