British postcard by Picturegoer, no. W177. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Italian postcard by Rotalfoto, Milano, no. 75. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Spanish postcard by Kores Carboplan.
Dutch postcard by MPEA, no. 41. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A candidate for Rebecca
Anne Baxter was born on the 7th of May 1923 in Michigan City, Indiana, U.S.A. Her maternal grandfather was the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
From an early age, she decided to be an actress and made her Broadway debut in 'Seen But Not Heard', which ran from September to November 1936.
At the end of the 1930s, David O’Selznick started a search to find the perfect actress to play the leading role in the movie Rebecca.
After some time, the selection was narrowed to five contenders: Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan, Anne Baxter and Joan Fontaine, who were subjected to further extensive screen tests.
Anne Baxter, who was only 16 years old at the time, was very good and made a strong impression but she looked too young for the part and Selznick finally choose Joan Fontaine at the end of August 1939.
American postcard by W.J. Gray, L.A.
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 2356. Photo: Paramount Films.
Spanish postcard. Anne Baxter and Tyrone Power in Crash Drive (Archie Mayo, 1943).
Vintage postcard, no. 112.
20th Century Fox star
Anne finally signed with 20th Century Fox and made her screen debut in 20 Mule Team (1940). She got her first star billing in Jean Renoir’s Swamp Water (1941), as a rural girl.
After Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, she was featured in seven films dealing with World War II: The Pied Piper (1942), Crash Drive (1943), Billy Wilder’s Five Graves to Cairo (1943), The North Star (1943), The Sullivans (1944), The Eve of St. Mark (1944) and Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944).
She also played an evil home wrecker in Guest in the House (1944), which was a departure from her usual roles at the time. In Otto Preminger’s A Royal Scandal, Anne’s role as a lady in waiting was overshadowed by Tallulah Bankhead’s domineering performance as Catherine the Great. She then co-starred with Fred MacMurray in the box office hit Smoky (1946) and with Paul Muni in Angel on My Shoulder (1946).
In 1946, she got the part of the ill-fated Sophie in Edmund Goulding’s The Razor’s Edge, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Films such as Blaze of Noon (1947), The Luck of the Irish (1948), Yellow Sky (1949) and You’re My Everything (1949) followed.
Then came the highlight of her professional career when she was cast as scheming Eve Harrington in Joseph Mankiewicz’s All About Eve (1950). She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, as was her co-star Bette Davis, but lost out to Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday (1950). Her 20th Century Fox contract ended with Follow the Sun (1951), The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952), O. Henry’s Full House (1952) and My Wife’s Best Friend (1952).
Spanish postcard. Anne Baxter and Cornel Wilde in The Walls of Jericho (John M. Stahl, 1948).
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 2589. Photo: Paramount Films.
British postcard by Picturegoer, no. D106. Photo: 20th Century Fox. Anne Baxter in All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950).
German postcard by J.F. Rüdel, Hamburg-Bergedorf. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A freelance actress
After her departure from Fox, she signed a two-picture contract with Warner Brothers. She was first directed by Alfred Hitchcock in I Confess (1953). The director’s first choice had been Swedish actress Anita Björk but she had had a daughter in 1951 without being married and Warner refused to give her the role by fear of scandal.
She then appeared in Fritz Lang’s The Blue Gardenia (1953), as a switchboard operator suspected of murder.
As a freelance actress, Anne Baxter worked steadily in movies until the beginning of the 1960s and played for example a destitute German girl turned circus artist in Carnival Story (1954), a saloon lady falling in love with Rock Hudson in One Desire (1955) or a Mexican cafe owner in Walk on the Wild Side (1962).
She also starred in two Britsh crime dramas, Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) and Mix Me a Person (1962). In Australia, she appeared in Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959).
Her most notable role from this period was probably as strong-willed Egyptian Princess Nefretiri in Cecil B De Mille’s star-studded The Ten Commandments (1956). After 1962, she only appeared in six movies, including the European Western Las 7 magnificas (1966) and a star vehicle for comedian Sid Caesar, The Busy Body (1967).
Spanish postcard, no. 3065.
Spanish postcard, no. 3126.
Spanish postcard.
French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 550. Photo: H.P.S.
Television work
Anne Baxter first worked for television in 1958 and it soon took prominence on her movie career. She appeared in popular series such as Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, The Big Valley, Ironside, Columbo, Mannix and The Love Boat.
She also played two villains in Batman: Zelda the Great in 1966 and Olga, Queen of Cossacks in 1967.
She was nominated for an Emmy Award for the episode The Bobby Currier Story (1969), from the series The Name of the Game.
After she had played hotel owner Laura Trent in the pilot episode of the series Hotel, Bette Davis had to withdraw for health reasons.
So, Anne was brought in as Victoria Cabot, Laura Trent’s sister-in-law, and starred in Hotel from 1983 onwards. The last episode she appeared in was aired on the 2nd of April 1986.
Spanish postcard. Anne Baxter and Montgomery Clift in I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock, 1953).
Spanish postcard. Anne Baxter and Richard Conte in The Blue Gardenia (Fritz Lang, 1953).
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 2882. Photo: Warner Bros.
Spanish postcard, no. 2569.
Back on stage
Anne Baxter made her return to Broadway in 'The Square Root of Wonderful', which closed after forty-five performances in 1957.
The following year, Baxter starred in 'The Joshua Tree' in London.
In July 1971, she replaced Lauren Bacall in the successful Broadway musical 'Applause'and performed in it until April 1972.
'Applause' was adapted from All About Eve but, this time, Anne played ageing star Margo Channing instead of cunning Eve Harrington.
Her last Broadway appearance was in 'Noël Coward in Two Keys' from February to June 1974.
British postcard in the Greetings series. Anne Baxter in Carnival Story (Kurt Neumann, 1954). The reference to 20th Century Fox on the card must be a mistake as it was an R.K.O. movie.
French postcard by Editions du Globe, no. 477. Photo: Metro Goldwyn Mayer.
Spanish postcard by Marte. Anne Baxter and Rock Hudson in One Desire (Jerry Hopper, 1955).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam, no. 5194. Anne Baxter in The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, 1956).
Her private life
Anne Baxter married actor John Hodiak in 1946. They had a daughter, Katrina, in 1951, and divorced in 1954.
She remarried in 1960 with the owner of a cattle station in Australia, Randolph Galt. They had two daughters, Melissa in 1962 and Maginel in 1963. They divorced in 1970.
Her third husband was stockbroker David Klee but he passed away in October 1977, several months after their marriage.
Anne Baxter died of a stroke on the 12th of December 1985 in New York.
Spanish promotional postcard. Anne Baxter in The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, 1956).
Spanish postcard, no. 3095.
Italian postcard by Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 3440. Photo: Paramount Films.
Text and postcards: Marlene Pilaete.
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