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Back in the mid 1940's a trend had arisen whereby iconic film actors and actresses were often represented "cast" in metal and adorned with stones to be worn about the bodices of the women of the day.
As the fates would have it ... I have such a ornament. It is a brooch. It's about three inches high. It is made of gilded metal and rhinestones. And it is in the form of a sculptured head of ...?
Well ... here's the rub of it all. I can't tell you. The fun would be gone. But I will tell you a bit about our maiden and you go look at her face ... and you me who she is. For those of you who guess right ... you will have the incredible gift of being able to out-smug all of those who guess wrong. And what greater joy is there on this earth than the satisfaction that comes with the gift of justifiable smugness ... I ask you?
She was born in 1913 in Darjeeling, India and became one of the most celebrated actresses ever known. World War I forced her parents to stay in India longer than they had expected. At the end of the war they returned to England where her mother wanted her to have a convent education. She befriended a classmate while in school by the name of Maureen O'Sullivan.
She married in 1932 ... had a child in 1933 ... and appeared in British motion pictures as Rose Venables in 1935. Now ... here is where we have a problem. If each and every one of you guesses correctly ... I will know you went on to Google to look up Rose Venables. This of course will immediately remove any and all entitlements to adorn yourselves with the gift of Justifiable Smugness. It ain't worth it folks ... trust me.
In her most renowned film ... she beat out some top names only to enter into an antipathetic oppositional stance with her co-star during the shoot. They did not get along.
She became a huge star ... but by 1945 her life began to go astray. She suffered two miscarriages ... contracted tuberculosis ... and was diagnosed as a manic depressive. She died at the age of 53. Never-the-less ... her public remained entranced with her. In
1965--here comes another hint folks--she appeared in her last film: Ship of Fools. I saw it. I do not remember seeing her.So there it is. A small snippet of one of the great beauties and talents of Hollywood. Wanna look at her iconic representation in gilded metal. Then go. Go. Look. And tell me who she is. This last part is restricted only to those who did not cheat and who truly covet the Justifiable Gift of Smugness.
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