Fans of the 1962 mad scientist classic, The Brain that Wouldn't Die, are familiar with the wonderful performance of Virginia Leith. If you've seen it, it's hard to get the image of her decapitated talking head out of your mind. And in looking at her whole career as an actor, one will find a talented performer who should be remembered more for her whole body of her work, rather than just her head.
Virginia Leith really had two separate acting careers. Her most prolific, and memorable work was between 1953 and 1962, before she took a break from acting. She returned to her profession in 1977 where she mostly showed up in television shows that ranged from Starsky and Hutch to the The White Shadow. It's her early work, though, that stands the test of time and really showcases her talent.
She didn't talk in her first film, Fear and Desire, but her featured role as the girl captured by soldiers who don't know what to do with her is haunting. This lead to bigger parts in equally powerful films such as Violent Saturday and A Kiss Before Dying. But it's her work in the first episode of the anthology series, One Step Beyond, where she plays a woman possessed by the ghost of a murder victim, is where this wonderful actor really gets the opportunity to shine.
A lot of odd but good movies came out of the 1950's and early 1960's, and Virginia Leith happened to star in quite of few of them. By today's standards, many of her films might be considered B movies, but the quality of her work in these films is something any actor could be proud of, making Virginia Leith my pick for today for being Not Very Famous...but should be.
Virginia Leith is a splendid choice for your blog. She was under contract to Fox for a spell in the Fifties, and as you mention, she did good work in some solid films. (The very entertaining A KISS BEFORE DYING, although full of Fox talent, was an indie production.) Leith had the requisite willowy good looks, as well as a marvelous edge that expressed itself through her intelligent way with dialog, and her distinctively low, vaguely throaty voice. She's strong and compassionate in Richard Fleischer's superior VIOLENT SATURDAY, as a nurse who is 1) having an affair with a married, miserably alcoholic business owner, and 2) the obsession of the local Peeping Tom. Leith should have had a major career; what exactly derailed her is unclear. And why she accepted the "Jan in a Pan" role in THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (shot in NY in 1959) is beyond me. The irony is that in that weird and wonky horror thriller, Leith is really effective. Acting: what a business!
ReplyDeleteSo true, David. So true. Thanks for you comments.
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