Olivia De Havilland is TCM Asia’s star of the month July 2011

One is hard-pressed to name stars in Hollywood’s golden age that are still among us. The fact that we can find two such stars in a single family, sisters Olivia De Havilland (b. 1916) and Joan Fontaine (b.1917), is pretty amazing. It might even be surmised that it is their long-standing and bitter feud that gives them a sense of purpose to go on. Whatever the reason for their longevity (their mother Lillian Fontaine lived to the age of 88), fans should be grateful that they still have a chance to get autographs, hear old Hollywood anecdotes from first-hand sources, and basically interact with these legends.

TCM Asia did good in naming De Havilland as star of the month this July, 2011. Most remembered for the supporting role of Melanie in ‘Gone with the wind,’ she’s had her share of acclaimed starrers. Her attainment of critical success, as most apparent in her two Academy Awards for best actress in a lead role, was not an easy task. Along the way, she had to battle film giant Warner Bros. to get out of an extended contract.

(As an aside, I think the outcome of the De Havilland court battle, wherein studio-talent contracts were limited to seven calendar years, was not a just one; the real issue at hand was the state of California siding with studios’ interpretation of contract terms, and imposition of penalties based on such interpretation, to the prejudice of ‘the little guy.’ Even without amending the law, future contracts could have eliminated the vagueness of provisions.)

Once free of Warner, she signed up with Paramount Pictures, and performed the roles that earned her the 1946 and 1949 Oscars, ‘To each his own’ and ‘The heiress,’ respectively.

‘To each his own’ is about a mother forced by circumstance to watch her son grow up from a distance, while in ‘The heiress,’ De Havilland plays a sheltered woman who gradually grows bitter of the fact that she has inherited her father’s wealth.

Also in the 1940s, she played a pair of twins with contrasting personalities in ‘The dark mirror,’ and a convalescing schizophrenic in ‘The snake pit,’ among other roles.

Later on, she would star in such movies as ‘My cousin Rachel,’ ‘Libel,’ ‘Light in the piazza’ and ‘Hush… hush, sweet Charlotte’ (her fourth and final movie with Bette Davis), and continued acting well into her 60s.

As great as her performances were through the years, especially during her ‘Oscar period,’ I personally prefer the movies where she was transitioning from mere leading lady (of Errol Flynn in particular), to a star in her own right. I’d say my three favorite De Havilland movies at the moment are ‘In this our life’ (her third movie with Davis, who plays her manipulative sister), ‘The male animal’ (co-starring Henry Fonda as her husband) and screwball comedy ‘Four’s a crowd.’

Then of course there’s her performance in ‘Gone with the wind,’ where she plays Vivien Leigh’s best friend, cousin and rival. They must have made her up different, because her appearance in the movie is so different, so much kinder, than in any of her other films. This ‘kindness’ was quite fitting for the role; there are few characters in cinema as sweet as Melanie Hamilton. My favorite line of hers: “I’m glad you killed him!” referring to a Yankee that Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara shoots.

You can catch Olivia De Havilland on TCM Asia every Friday this July.