The only time I am ever recognized is when the old crone across the hallway spots me and begins shouting “Thief! Thief of Hearts!” Ah, misrepresentation at its finest!
Similarly (or not), even though she popularized the prison flick (Caged) and the animals-gone-wild-adventure (The Naked Jungle), the elegant Eleanor Parker was never as heralded as such screen gem divas as Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that Parker seems to simply disappear into her roles.
This was especially true, when like Davis and Crawford, Parker let her incandescent talent light up a couple tales of television terror.
In 1972’s fun seasonal slasher, Home for the Holidays, Parker lets the fur fly but with a regal calm and controlled measure. But, this pitchfork flying mini-epic, co-starring such glorious femmes as Jessica Walter, Sally Field and Julie Harris, really hits its sticky nadir when Parker reveals the true psychosis lurking behind her concerned Alex Morgan.
Walter and Parker reunited in the ridiculously fun She’s Dressed to Kill in 1979. As drunken designer Regine Danton, Parker is shaky with former glory. Flighty, manipulative and glowering with shaded magnificence, Parker’s Danton maintains a head thrusting dignity even as her favorite models are creatively murdered at her mountaintop retreat.
These two magnificent portrayals prove, beyond a doubt, that Parker always gave better than she got.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan