Help identify actress in picture...

Wow, thanks Topbilled!

I've never seen that movie before, so I had no idea that was Jeanne Crain! Has "GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES" ever aired yet on Turner Classic Movies or else any other movie channel?  Judging by the title, it seems as though it's a sequel to "GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES" from a few years prior to this one.

It's really strange seeing Jeanne Crain playing a sexy role, especially since I've long regarded her to be cast as more "proper" and "good-natured" young women in so many films.

Who would ever think this sweet and adorable young woman...



...would take a chance to gain such an arousing "sex-symbol" image for one movie?  As you may notice in that picture with Jane Russell, Jeanne is wearing a black wrist sweatband.  It seems as though that cute little thing was becoming more "tough girl-like" around this time in her career.  She could have been perspiring on the set and needed to keep her makeup from running.  The black sweatband, her short dark hairdo, and her seemingly seductive raspy voice all gave Jeanne a newfound "butch" appearance.  I guess if Jane considered reinventing her image, then why shouldn't Jeanne take that chance, as well.

Jeanne Crain definitely came to Hollywood as the often typecast "good girl" of the silver screen. By the mid-1950s, I'm guessing she allowed herself the chance to become more like these other spotlight-stealing starlets, such as Jane Russell. I think Jane's sexual image was beginning to fade out by this part of the decade, so Jeanne probably felt she may have had the chance to fill out Jane's racy wardrobes. It's sort of a surprise that Jeanne would be cast to play Jane's sister in "GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES", since the two really don't look much alike (Jeanne's arguably much prettier than Jane to be honest), although I'm guessing Jane was kind enough to allow Jeanne to be regarded as the attention grabbing of the two while Jane was likely stepping down from that title.  When you look at Jeanne Crain in a movie like, say "STATE FAIR", or "A LETTER TO THREE WIVES" and then compare her to that picture above with Jane Russell, you can see the how her transition had successfully taken off as we see Jeanne's undisputed evolution.  I still think Jeanne was also trying to look more fierce and butch by wearing that black sweatband in that picture, in order to break away from the cutesy darling next door to the more sophisticated and less feminine tough chick.  Still, other actresses, based off pictures I have, wore the same kind of sweatband.  Rhonda Fleming, whom I had recently mentioned in another discussion, often wore black sweatbands, especially since she was somewhat athletic and played tennis and worked out regularly.

The black sweatband Jeanne is wearing in that picture wasn't exactly meant to represent part of a roaring 20s fashion article.  I guess she just happened to be wearing it on the set the time that picture was taken when she and Jane are wearing matching nightshirts.  I just assumed Jeanne was trying out for a "tough girl" image like how certain woman (or men) would wear heavy black wristbands when presenting themselves as looking fierce and strong.  Jeanne does come off as rather outspoken and sarcastic speaking with a steel tongue in this movie, so maybe she wanted to be represented as the opposite of Jane's character. I just thought it was out of place for the frequently "good girl" Jeanne Crain to be portrayed in such a way.  I've seen pictures of Jane Russell engaged in sports such as tennis, for instance, where she is wearing the same kind of sweatband, so maybe she lent hers for Jeanne to wear.  Jeanne could have been nervously perspiring on set since this was her first chance to try and give her all as a possible newfound sex symbol.  The example I gave regarding Rhonda Fleming can be seen in a picture of her reclining poolside in a topic of mine asking about a movie I wanted identified based off a described scene.

Incidentally, when did Jeanne Crain join Jane Russell in a Las Vegas singing act?  Is there by chance any photos or footage of any such event?  I'd sure like to see that!  Except for the Oscar-winning "It Might as Well be Spring" song from "STATE FAIR" (and not counting any songs from "GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES" since her voice was likely dubbed), I don't know of Jeanne Crain to have performed any songs on her own.

I Love Melvin -

That's all VERY interesting information about Jane Russell and Jeanne Crain! I believe I had known that Jane and Rhonda were both teamed up with two other female singers in the 1950s as a singing act. That would be great if they were both cast in a movie together at the time.

I also could've sworn that was REALLY Jeanne Crain singing in "STATE FAIR", since the "dubbed" voice honestly sounded an awful lot like her own natural speaking voice. You claim that picture of Jeanne and Jane I had posted is not all clear. Have you tried enlarging the picture after clicking on it? You could get the picture to be more enhanced and clearer that way. The "sweatband" I was referring to that Jeanne's wearing is not on her head like a headband, but instead on her right wrist, like the kind people would wear when exercising or playing sports.

Sort of like what Jane's wearing in this picture after having played a game of tennis -



Or this picture of a swimsuit-clad Rhonda at the pool catching some hot summer sun -



I appreciate you showing enough interest in these pictures of mine.  These pictures are mostly intended as a form of visual aid in order to help give others a better understanding of a certain topic or identifying a specific unknown star or else a movie/scene.