Thank you for your nice email. I will email you soon.
I corrected the email situation on your post but had to change the date of your post. Welcome to the message board, Christina!

Hi Ginger,
I have been on a Susan Hayward roll lately. I just can't get enough of her. She steals every movie she's in. I just watched I Want To Live again. She is brilliant in that. I've been renting all her early movies too. She was such a beauty and an amazing talent. Did you ever see Deadline at Dawn?
Thanks for the awesome website.
Christina

You probably know this already, but the special features disc on the latest release of Valley of the Dolls has an interview with Susan. It is so cool to see her being her charming self and she looks beautiful.

Christina, No, I didn't know that about the interview on the Valley of the Dolls disc... thank you for letting us know about that! There are very few filmed or televised interviews of Susan Hayward, so this will be a treat.

Deadline At Dawn - Yes, I have seen Deadline at Dawn many times. This film was made just after she had given birth to the twins. She is drop dead gorgeous in this film. She wears one outfit for the film with her hair up which is very flattering. There is a brief scene in the beginning of the film where her hair is down and she wears an evening dress.

I just mentioned on the 'films on dvd' that Ginger started, that VALLEY OF THE DOLLS was now on DVD,..BUT
I too am excited, since I didn't know there was an interview with Susan on it.

This...of course, is not one of my favorite films of our
great star...but I always thought it wonderful, that when 20th Century Fox was in 'trouble' with JUDY GARLAND
and knew they would have to replace her, that they had to 'beg' Susan back, to work for them again! They knew she could do that role with her eyes closed and they needed a STAR WITH A NAME..to help pull that film off, since the publicity, on the making of it, had already put it in to so much trouble. THey watned it to be a HIT...but without a STAR to take over for GARLAND, they knew they would be in for a BOMB of a film!

Susan had worked hard for them and they had pushed her into doing a few films that she knew were not going to be anything..but she had always given her ALL in every role she had done. Since she was under contract, she was, like all other stars who were signed to binding contracts,...she was bound to their rules, which meant making films that they sometimes didn't want to do, knowing that it was wrong for them..as an actor/actress.

Susan was 'suspended' at one point, for refushing to do an awful film called...HILDA CRANE..which would have done her more harm than good, because she was ON TOP..and one of the best actresses 20th had. The script and story were 'lousy' and so she finally REFUSED to do this piece that would have been a B-double bill showing, when it came out. It cost her some time off the screen, but she was right.

The film was done...(as a B film in more ways than one) and it starred JEAN SIMMONS in the role Susan refused to play. The leading male was GUY MADISON, who had never done anything but B films, although he probally could have been a good actor, given the right roles and agent, to push him further in the business.

WELL..what I am getting at..is when Fox NEEDED the talents...of our Lady...she got a way to pay them back for her treatment, in all those years at Fox. She said
'sure..she would play the role, (although it was not a flattering role but she knew she could 'shine' by her final scene)...ONLY ONE CONDITION..did SUSAN MAKE TO 20TH CENTURY FOX..."I'll do it...providing that YOU PAY JUDY GARLAND..HER FULL SALARY". (Goes to show you
that Susan KNEW what Judy must be going through..with all of her personal demons/problems..and now they were
going to FIRE HER..leaving her with more depression than she was already in at the time) From the story I was told, in Hollywood, Fox had no other way out! So they paid JUDY her full salary and in turn had to pay
SUSAN her full salary too!

So...I have always looked at this situation as a way Susan could have the last word on all she took from this studio until her contract was done and she could work free lance...and in doing so...was nominated for I'LL CRY TOMORROW at MGM..and WON the Oscar for I WANT TO LIVE! from little-studio...ALLIED ARTISTS and her dear producer/friend..WALTER WANGER.

GOOD FOR YOU...SUSAN...

AND THANK YOU, CHRISTINA, FOR SHARING THIS WONDERFUL INFO ABOUT THE INTERVIEW ON THE DVD. NOW I WILL HAVE TO BUY THIS (FILM?) (yeah..I have to admit, I already hae it in VHS..but was going to let that be enough. Afterall SUSAN is the only reason I ever watch it)

I agree that Valley of the Dolls is pretty bad, but those few scenes with Susan are classic. I think she is great in that movie. The only good thing in it.

Hi,Also enjoyed the interview with Susan.Vallery Of The Dolls comes alive in her scenes.Kirk