This page is sponsored by:
Veronica Lake
1919-1973
Updated 4/14/2008 with more films available on DVD!
biography
Born Constance Ockleman (later Keane) in Brooklyn in 1919 (some sources list 1922 as her date of birth), diminutive Veronica Lake relocated to California with her mother and stepfather as a teenager. Pushed by a typical stage mother, Lake was enrolled in acting classes. In 1939, she was signed by RKO Studios, sometimes appearing in small roles before the studio dropped her contract. A few bit parts at MGM and 20th Century-Fox followed, and soon after marrying first husband John Detlie, Lake signed with Paramount. With her cool manner and 'peekaboo' hairstyle she created a sensation; millions of women copied her peekaboo bang.
Beautiful 1940s shots of Veronica Lake, mostly from Paramount
Lake's biggest year in films was 1942, when she starred in a string of hit films for Paramount, including Sullivan's Travels, This Gun for Hire, and I Married a Witch. Pregnancy with her second child sidelined her for much of 1943; sadly, the child lived just a few days. She and Detlie divorced shortly thereafter, and Lake then married prominent director André De Toth in late 1944. Although Lake proved to be a good actress, especially in comedy and film noir, her career began to fade soon after the end of World War II. She gave birth to her son with De Toth late in 1945. Several more films followed, and Lake gave birth to another daughter, born in late 1948. By then, however, Paramount had dropped her contract following the release of the comedy Isn't It Romantic? (1948).
the films of veronica lake
The Glass Key (1942)
With Brian Donlevy and Alan Ladd in Paramount's film noir thriller The Glass Key
I Married a Witch (1942)
With Fredric March in I Married a Witch
Sullivan's Travels (1942)
From Sullivan's Travels. LEFT: With Joel McCrea and Franklin Pangborn. CENTER and RIGHT: With Joel McCrea
So Proudly We Hail! (1943)
From So Proudly We Hail! with Paulette Goddard and Claudette Colbert
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
With frequent co-star Alan Ladd in Paramount's film-noir thriller The Blue Dahlia
Ramrod (1947)
With Joel McCrea in Ramrod, directed by Andre De Toth
Variety Girl (1947)
With fellow Paramount contract player Sterling Hayden in a cameo from the 1947 comedy Variety Girl
Saigon (1948)
From the Paramount drama Saigon, the final film in which Lake costarred with Alan Ladd
Slattery's Hurricane (1949)
With Richard Widmark in Slattery's Hurricane, directed by Andre De Toth
later years
Veronica Lake's film career came to a halt in the late 1940s; she made just three films afterward. Lake divorced De Toth in 1952, and she left California to settle in New York, where she did quite a bit of stage work and made a number of appearances on early television. However, mental illness and her increasing use of alcohol chipped away at her career, and by the late 1950s or early 1960s Lake was working as a bar maid. By chance she was rediscovered, and in the early 1960s Lake was offered a job working in Baltimore as a TV host. She made two more films: Footsteps in the Snow (made in Canada and released in 1966) and Flesh Feast (shot in Miami in 1967; not released until 1970), a film which she also produced. Lake wrote a sensational autobiography, which made waves when it was published in 1969. Sadly, she passed away in 1973 from hepatitis. She was survived by two daughters, a son, and her mother.
Sullivan's Travels [DVD](1941) DVD
Preston Sturges' gem of Hollywood self-satire stars Joel McCrea as a filmmaker who tires of comedies and light entertainment and wants to make "meaningful" tales of human suffering. To this end, he disguises himself as a bum and sets out across America to experience suffering first-hand. Veronica Lake co-stars. 90 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby mono; audio commentaries; documentary on Sturges; interviews; publicity materials; audio recording of Sturges; photo gallery; trailer.
Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection [DVD] DVD
Preston Sturges' directorial debut was the marvelously wicked political comedy "The Great McGinty" (1940), about a bum who works his way into the governor's office. Brian Donlevy stars. Next, "Christmas in July" (1940) follows an office worker (Dick Powell) who, thinking he's won a contest, goes on a wild shopping binge with hilarious complications. Ellen Drew co-stars. Then, Joel McCrea stars as William Morton, the Boston dentist who invented anesthesia, in the historical drama "The Great Moment" (1944). Also includes "The Lady Eve," "Sullivan's Travels," "The Palm Beach Story," and "Hail the Conquering Hero." 10 hrs. total on seven discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, French.
This Gun For Hire [DVD](1942) DVD
The movie that made Alan Ladd a star. He's a cold-blooded killer out to get back at a double-crossing nightclub owner. Secret formulas, Nazis and vicious chauffeurs pop up in this "film noir" classic based on Graham Greene's thriller. Veronica Lake is the beautiful femme fatale; with Laird Cregar, Robert Preston. 81 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
My Favorite Blonde (1942)/Star Spangled Rhythm [DVD](1942) DVD
Rip-roaring comic yarn starring Bob Hope as a wise-cracking entertainer who becomes involved with beautiful British agent Madeleine Carroll, who is carrying secret military plans the Nazis are after, and joins her in dodging the bad guys in a cross-country chase. Gale Sondergaard and George Zucco co-star. Then, a parade of Hollywood's biggest names appear in a tuneful comedy starring Eddie Bracken as a sailor who brings his pals to the Paramount Studios lot. Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Alan Ladd, Mary Martin and Dick Powell are all featured; songs include "Hit the Road to Dreamland." 178 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono.
So Proudly We Hail! [DVD](1943) DVD
A trio of Army nurses (Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, Veronica Lake) is followed from Pearl Harbor to Bataan and the Pacific Front in this unusual, moving WWII flagwaver that mixes action and pathos with comedy and romance. George Reeves, Walter Abel and Sonny Tufts (in his film debut) also star. 126 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French; theatrical trailer.
Tales Of Tomorrow: Collection One [DVD](1951) DVD
Fourteen first-season episodes--including "All the Time in the World," "Flight Overdue," "Ice from Space" (with Paul Newman), "Frankenstein" (guest starring Lon Chaney, Jr.), and "The Little Black Bag"--are featured in a two-disc set. 6 1/4 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
Stronghold [DVD](1951) DVD
Set amid Revolutionary Mexico in the mid-1860s, this lush historical drama (filmed simultaneously with a Mexican leading cast as "Furia Roja") stars Veronica Lake as a U.S. silver mine heiress who is abducted by anti-imperial rebel Arturo de Cordova. The two fall in love, and Lake joins de Cordova's fight for the rights of his people. With Zachary Scott, Alfonso Bedoya. 72 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; biographies.
veronica lake out-of-print vhs available from amazon.com
From Movie Goods
From AllPosters
filmography
Flesh Feast (1970) with Phil Philbin and Yanka Mann
Footsteps in the Snow (1966) with Meredith MacRae
Stronghold (1951) with Zachary Scott
Slattery's Hurricane (1949) with Richard Widmark and Linda Darnell
Isn't It Romantic? (1948) with Mona Freeman
The Sainted Sisters (1948) with George Reeves
Saigon (1948) with Alan Ladd
Variety Girl (1947)
Ramrod (1947) with Joel McCrea and Don DeFore
The Blue Dahlia (1946) with Alan Ladd, William Bendix, and Hugh Beaumont
Miss Susie Slagle's (1946) with Sonny Tufts and Lloyd Bridges
Duffy's Tavern (1945) with Eddie Bracken
Out of This World (1945) with Eddie Bracken
Hold That Blonde (1945) with Eddie Bracken and Albert Dekker
Bring on the Girls (1945) with Sonny Tufts, Eddie Bracken, and Yvonne De Carlo
The Hour Before the Dawn (1944) with Franchot Tone
So Proudly We Hail! (1943) with Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard, George Reeves, Barbara Britton, and Sonny Tufts
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
I Married a Witch (1942) with Fredric March and Susan Hayward
The Glass Key (1942) with Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd, Richard Denning, Bonita Granville, William Bendix, and Frances Gifford
This Gun for Hire (1942) with Alan Ladd and Robert Preston
Sullivan's Travels (1942) with Joel McCrea and Franklin Pangborn
I Wanted Wings (1941) with Ray Milland, Brian Donlevy, and William Holden
Young as You Feel (1940) with Spring Byington and Jack Carson
Forty Little Mothers (1940) with Eddie Cantor
All Women Have Secrets (1939) with Virginia Dale, Jeanne Cagney, Peter Lind Hayes, Wanda McKay, Janet Waldo, and Joyce Mathews
TELEVISION
To Tell The Truth, episode originally aired 1969 or 1970
Lux Video Theatre, episode Thanks For a Lovely Evening, originally aired January 12, 1953
The Name's the Same, 1951-1955 ABC game show hosted by Robert Q. Lewis. Lake appeared on a 1953 episode
I've Got a Secret, episode originally aired 1952
Goodyear Television Playhouse, episode Better than Walking, originally aired October 26, 1952
Tales of Tomorrow, episode Flight Overdue, originally aired March 28, 1952
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre, episode The Facts of Life, originally aired May 14, 1951
Lights Out, episode Beware This Woman, originally aired December 4, 1950
Lux Video Theatre, episode Shadow On the Heart, originally aired October 16, 1950
Click on the logo to go back to Brian's Drive-In Theater
This page premiered August 9, 2002.
Copyright and Disclaimer Information
