Claire Trevor (1910–2000) is best remembered as the alluring blonde femme fatale in such iconic noir films as Murder, My Sweet (1944) and Raw Deal (1948). Yet she was a versatile performer who brought rare emotional depth to her art. She was effective in a range of diverse roles, from an outcast prostitute in John Ford’s classic Stagecoach (1939) to the ambitious tennis mother in Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951) to the embittered wife of a landowner in William Wellman’s overlooked gem My Man and I (1952). Nominated for three Oscars, she deservedly won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Gaye Dawn, a gangster’s broken-down moll in Key Largo (1948). The author covers her life and career in detail, recognizing her as one of the finest actresses of her generation.

Derek Sculthorpe, an archives assistant and researcher, has written plays, short stories and articles. He lives in Leeds, Yorkshire.

Derek Sculthorpe
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 198
Bibliographic Info: 67 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7193-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3069-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
1. Lady-in-Waiting 3
2. Broadway Sojourn 10
3. Hollywood “Vacation” 14
4. B-Movie Queen 25
5. Sophisticated Lady 41
6. The Queen Escapes from the “B” Hive 47
7. Radio Interlude 59
8. Stagecoach 64
9. “I’m not the Western type” 70
10. The War Years: Street of Chance 78
11. Femme Fatale 87
12. Queen of Noir 96
13. “Come on, Lady Bountiful!” 104
14. Hard, Fast and Beautiful 112
15. The High and the Mighty 125
16. The Small Screen 133
17. The Sixties 139
18. Swansong 145
Epilogue 150
Appendix: Appearances 153
Chapter Notes 163
Bibliography 179
Index 183

• “I enjoyed reading this book very much. The 65 photos are all excellent…. The title says it all Sculthorpe uses a myriad of sources to give the versatile performer her due…. 2019 Best Film Noir Book”—Classic Images
• “Well-researched…[a] welcome contribution to a movement documenting the life and career of stars who might otherwise remain neglected… valuable…a fascinating exploration of Trevor’s work”—Film International
• “Well written and entertaining…enlightening and fascinating biography…years of painstaking research…entertaining and informative”—James L. Neibaur, writer