Jane Wyman

Jane Wyman just died. I don't really have much to say about her. She'll be remembered as an Oscar winner for Johnny Belinda, as well as Ronald Reagan's first wife. She also did a lot of television, such as her work on Falcon Crest, but I can't recall actually ever seeing her on the small screen.

I remember her best in two roles, Helen in The Lost Weekend and another Helen in Magnificent Obsession. In both roles, she's the woman the troubled protagonist has to prove himself worthy of. Alas, this was the kind of role Wyman usually had to work with. She had to stand by and support her man, or wait for him to come to his senses. Perhaps that's why she won the Oscar for Johnny Belinda--as the deaf mute who's pregnant after being raped, she finally got a part that allowed her to show off a bit.

Just by chance, I watched her in a movie yesterday--one of Frank Capra's most forgettable films, Here Comes The Groom. She's charming as Bing Crosby's ex-girlfriend, but not much more. But there was one scene where she gets to open up--she and Alexis Smith have a knock-down drag-out fight. Of course, that was mostly done by stuntwomen, but it was a rare moment where she got to do a little extra.