In the ‘40s, Anne Revere was one of Hollywood’s most memorable actresses. She wasn’t beautiful but she was a fine character actress who stole scenes from some of cinema’s prettiest faces!
She had a very plebeian face, so you believed her when she played a peasant. She earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for portraying the self-righteous mother of Best Actress Oscar winner, Jennifer Jones, in “The Song of Bernadette.”
Later in her career, she also played brittle, neurotic women to great acclaim. She was outstanding as Gregory Peck’s supportive mother in “Gentleman’s Agreement,” and as Montgomery Clift’s Salvation Army mother in “A Place in the Sun,” where she stole scenes from Elizabeth Taylor, no less.
Broadway debut
Anne was a descendant of the revolutionary war figure, Paul Revere. She may have looked simple, but the actress came from a rich family. Her father sent her to train at the American Laboratory Theater before she made her Broadway debut in 1931. And, three years later, she began acting in movies via “Double Door.”
In 1945, she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “National Velvet,” where she portrayed Liz Taylor’s mother. Unfortunately, Anne was later blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, after which she was unable to find work.
Before long, she returned to Broadway and won a Tony for “Toys in the Attic” in 1958. The unconventional Otto Preminger cast her in “Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon,” but her career’s momentum had already been broken. Anne made her last film appearance in 1976’s “Birch Interval.”