A Jane Fonda Line In 'The Morning After'
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Vera Miles
littlemartinarocena — 19 years ago(April 10, 2007 01:09 PM)
Jane plays a failed actress in Lumet's "The Morning After" At one point she complaints that she had been groomed to be the new Vera Miles "Imagine, I was suppose to replace an actress nobody knew was missing" I always wonder what was with that and why Jane agreed to say it.
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gtaylor0 — 18 years ago(April 13, 2007 02:39 PM)
Well, why would Jane care, exactly? Jeff Bridges worked with Miles, so they both could be asked that question. But it's a good line, actually, representing what she's afraid of in the movie, i.e., getting enough leading roles to be there but not becoming a big enough star to miss later on. Kind of cruel, yes, but as they say - a knock or a plug, all publicity is good.
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richard.fuller1 — 18 years ago(May 10, 2007 08:15 AM)
I think they all realize it in the entertainment business. A box office success or an Oscar win doesn't guarantee you will be remembered or revered as a performer.
They want to be 'artists' and be good at their craft, but what good is good if no one holds you in high regards?
I remembered the line and at that time, wasn't sure who the actress was Jane mentioned, but it may have been almost tongue-in-cheek to peg Vera Miles like that, plus they had to get an actress Jane seemed similar to.
I guess she could have said Kim Novak. She certainly couldn't have said Doris Day.
I half get the impression they were wanting her to be the next Marilyn Monroe or something, the character in the movie, that is, not Jane herself.
Or from that time again, they may have wanted her to be the next Grace Kelly.
Strange, actually. For Jane's age, let's suppose she was an up and coming actress in the 1970s (tho Jane started a decade earlier).
There really wasnt much need for another Vera Miles in the 1970s. -
richard.fuller1 — 18 years ago(May 10, 2007 08:09 AM)
Only seen the movie once, and later on, I kept wondering what actress she mentioned.
I kept thinking it was Eva Marie Saint, who was an Oscar-winning actress, if nothing else, but I thought the actress might be more in present-day obscurity than that.
It is surprising that it would be an actress from a pinnacle film like Psycho who really was an important piece to that story.
Here's a theory. How off was Jane's character in 'The Morning After' to Vera's character in 'Psycho'?
I think both characters were rescued by the killer at the end there, weren't they?
And Jane's character wasn't the most thoughtful figure either. -
montegomx1 — 18 years ago(February 01, 2008 11:55 PM)
At the time The Morning After came out, even though it was the eightys, Vera Miles would have been measured against stars like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and even Janet Leigh. Who all had been big stars when they were young. Vera Miles was a working actress not a big star. She did lots of T.V. along with supporting roles in films. Time has worked in her favor as films like The Wrong Man and especialy Psycho are such classics and her perfomances in them so good.
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SimplemindedSociety — 13 years ago(November 08, 2012 06:07 AM)
Since THA came out in 1988, I figured Jane's character was about 40, had been around as an actress for approx 20 yrs. That would bring it back to 1968,but even 1968 is not a time for a 'new Vera Miles'
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pouncemo — 13 years ago(November 19, 2012 07:30 PM)
Hi - I remember you from our discussions on Earl Holliman.
You're right that Jane would have been talking about being "the new Vera Miles" circa 1968. But in 1968 studio execs might have said such a thing to Jane's character since Vera was, by that time, off the silver screen and pretty much doing all t.v.
I really liked "The Morning After" but thought that line was a low blow. At that time I only knew Vera Miles from one performance I had seen on "Medical Center". But it was a hell of a memorable performance and one that could only have come from a consummate actress. It has taken me this long to rediscover her and learn just how versatile, talented and consummate she really was. -
beapot — 12 years ago(August 13, 2013 11:03 PM)
I think it has to do with Vera's rather undistinguished looks and acing style. I always forget what she looks like. She was a very pretty lady in her younger days, but strangely, there's something about her looks that are forgettable. Or it could be that the film make-up and hair people were always messing with her hairstyle and color from role to role, and her make-up, so she could look quite different from film to film. She certainly didn't have a strong "look" in the way that a Doris Day or Joan Crawford did. She could disappear into a role and when she appears onscreen in a movie or TV role and you didn't know she was in it, it could take a moment to figure out who it is. That's the opposite of what you expect from a true "star." She was more of a character actress.
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pouncemo — 12 years ago(August 17, 2013 11:41 PM)
You probably hit the nail on the head with that assessment. She was pretty and waspy like almost every other starlet offered up by Hollywood.
And yes, the lack of a "strong look" ala Doris/Joan/Liz etc. That probably did have something to do with her never becoming the full blown movie star.
But Vera's lack of a "look" and her ability to "look quite different from film to film" is one of my favorite things about her.
Ever since re-discovering her on Youtube, I've seen her in several movies and t.v. series and her talent for becoming the character is astonishing. Her ability to lose herself and become someone so different that you don't recognize her is the essence of acting.
Not that Doris Day couldn't act. I'm one of her biggest fans. But when watching one of her films, I'm always abundantly aware that I'm watching Doris Day (or Liz, Audrey, Katharine, Bette, etc.). And that is a limiting factor.
Having a "strong look" may be essential to being a movie star, but a liability to being an actor.
As to Vera's "undistinguished looks or acting style", no less than the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford obviously did not agree.
Vera did develop a unique look as she got older. IMO, she reached the peak of her beauty from age 35 on. Very rare for a woman. However, check her in 1959's "A Touch of Larceny" when she was maybe late 20's. Gorgeous - it just doesn't get any better than that. No doubt that James Mason would have done anything to get her.
So yeah, Jane Fonda's line was kind of right on. Vera was an amazing actress whose looks and talents were just too subtle and sophisticated for the general public to appreciate.