Villain of the Month: Jane Alexander
Best known today for her work in Val Lewton horror films, Jane Alexander got her start as a contract player for Warner Brothers, where after a few bit parts was then signed to RKO where she made her first noir film, Highways by Night (1942).
From there she alternated between making Falcon films with Tom Conway, like The Falcon’s Brother (1942) and The Falcon Strikes Back (1943), and Val Lewton the horror films The Cat People (1943) and The Curse of the Cat People (1944). After her time at RKO she began freelancing, appearing in Republic’s noir thriller Jealousy (1945), The Bowery Boys comedy In Fast Company (1946), and the Hopalong Cassidy western Fool’s Gold (1947).
Her only serial was Universal’s Mysterious Mr. M (1946), playing one of the three villains after a new atomic submarine who get their orders from the title character via recordings where the mystery person only whispers. After playing an insurance investigator in one of Abbott and Costello’s best films, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Randolph married producer Jaime Del Amo and relocated with him to Spain. Years later director friend Terence Young coaxed the now popular European socialite to appear in That Lady (1955) during location filming in Spain.
Discussion Area - Leave a Comment