Constance Smith (7 February 1929 – 30 June 2003) was an Irish film actress, and contract player of

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

in the 1950s.

Early life

Smith was born into a family as the first of 11 children.''

The Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the decline ...

'', 18 March 1962, Oakland, California. p.25: ''Do You Remember Constance Smith?'' Her father was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

man, working for the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

, and he died when Constance was a child. Her mother was not able to support all her children and Constance was sent to a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. When Smith won a

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

at age 16 to find the girl who looked most like

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American film actress and inventor. A film star during Hollywood's golden age, Lamarr has been described as one of the greatest movie actresse ...

, Smith's mother sent the photo to a film studio. As a result, Smith won a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a came ...

, and although reluctant to seize the opportunity, she was pushed into the film industry by her mother, according to the actress.

Career

Smith moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where she briefly joined the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

. Studio executives were unamused by Smith's attitude, and she was eventually sacked before she made her breakthrough. She moved back to London, studied acting and played bit parts in several British

B film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

s. She had an uncredited role as a singer in the 1948 film noir '' Brighton Rock''. In 1950, she was first noticed after playing an Irish maid in ''

The Mudlark ''The Mudlark'' is a 1950 film made in Britain by 20th Century Fox. It is a fictional account of how Queen Victoria was eventually brought out of her mourning for her dead husband, Prince Albert. It was directed by Jean Negulesco, written and ...

''. Impressed with her performance,

offered her a contract. Upon her arrival in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, producer

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

cast her opposite

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...

in '' I'll Never Forget You'' (1951). However, he soon decided Smith was not experienced enough and replaced her with

Ann Blyth Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film ''Mildred Pierce'', Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of ...

. She was most active in the 1950s, appearing in

features such as ''

Man in the Attic ''Man in the Attic'' is a 1953 mystery film directed by Hugo Fregonese. It was released in the United States on December 23 by Twentieth Century Fox. The movie is based on the 1913 novel '' The Lodger'' by Marie Belloc Lowndes, which fictionaliz ...

'' and ''

Treasure of the Golden Condor ''Treasure of the Golden Condor'' is a 1953 American Technicolor adventure film directed by Delmer Daves, starring Cornel Wilde and Constance Smith, and released by Twentieth Century Fox. The film is a remake of the 1942 film '' Son of Fury: Th ...

'' (1953) and ''

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

'' (1954). Smith was a presenter at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

ceremony in 1952. By the time her contract expired in 1953, Smith had undergone an abortion and the first of her three marriages was on the ropes. As the years went on and Smith failed to get the parts she felt were commensurate with her abilities, she began an embittered descent into a life of drugs and alcohol. Constance last acted in a run of minor films made in Italy between 1955 and 1959, including a role as

Lucretia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

in ''

La congiura dei Borgia LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' (1959). None of these did anything to resuscitate her failing career. During her time in Rome, she first attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates. She made her last film appearance in 1959.

Personal life

Smith married English film director

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 an ...

in 1951; they divorced in 1955. In 1962 she was sentenced to three months in prison for stabbing her boyfriend, the documentary maker and film historian

Paul Rotha Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Career ...

. On 4 February 1968, she stabbed Rotha for the second time and was charged with attempted murder. She and Rotha married in 1974, and broke up in 1978. Smith tried several times again to kill herself. Her last decades were spent, dissipated, in and out of hospitals. When able to get herself together for brief periods, she worked as a cleaner.

Death

Smith died in June 2003 in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, London. She was 74.

Partial filmography

* '' Jassy'' (1947) – Young Lady (uncredited) * '' Brighton Rock'' (1947) – Singer (uncredited) * ''

Easy Money A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...

'' (1948) – Wilson's Secretary (segment The Atkins Story) (uncredited) * '' The Calendar'' (1948) – Airport Attendant (uncredited) * ''

To the Public Danger ''To the Public Danger'' is a 1948 British drama short film directed by Terence Fisher and produced by John Croydon. It stars Dermot Walsh, Susan Shaw, Barry Letts, and Frederick Piper. The film was made at Highbury Studios as a second featur ...

'' (1948, Short) – Girl in pub watching billiards game (uncredited) * ''

Murder at the Windmill ''Murder at the Windmill'', titled ''Mystery at the Burlesque'' in the United States, is a 1949 British crime film directed by Val Guest and featuring Garry Marsh, Jon Pertwee, and Peter Butterworth. It was shot at Walton Studios and was the ...

'' (1949) – Cloakroom Girl * '' The Perfect Woman'' (1949) – Receptionist * ''

Now Barabbas ''Now Barabbas'' is a 1949 British drama film directed by Gordon Parry and starring Richard Greene, Cedric Hardwicke and Kathleen Harrison. It is sometimes known as ''Now Barabbas Was a Robber''. It was based on a 1947 play of the same title by ...

'' (1949) – Jean * ''

Trottie True ''Trottie True'' is a 1949 British musical comedy film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Jean Kent, James Donald and Hugh Sinclair. It was known as ''The Gay Lady'' in the US, and is an infrequent British Technicolor film of the per ...

'' (1949) – Gaiety Girl (uncredited) * '' Room to Let'' (1950) – Molly Nusgrave * ''

'' (1950) – Kate Noonan * ''

Don't Say Die ''Don't Say Die'' is a 1950 British comedy film directed by Vivian Milroy and starring Charles Heslop, Sandra Dorne and Constance Smith.Quinlan p.168 It is also known by the alternative title of ''Never Say Die''. Cast * Charles Heslop as Char ...

'' (1950) – Red Biddy * '' The 13th Letter'' (1951) – Cora Laurent * ''

Blackmailed Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

'' (1951) – Nurse Anne * ''

I'll Get You for This ''I'll Get You for This'' (released in the US as ''Lucky Nick Cain'') is a 1951 British thriller film, thriller film by Joseph M. Newman starring George Raft, Coleen Gray, and Enzo Staiola. It was made from an adaptation by George Callahan and ...

'' (1951) – Nina * '' Red Skies of Montana'' (1952) – Peg Mason * ''

Lure of the Wilderness ''Lure of the Wilderness'' is a 1952 romantic adventure Technicolor film directed by Jean Negulesco and based on the 1941 novel ''Swamp Water'' by Vereen Bell. The film is a remake of Jean Renoir's 1941 adaption of the novel. Walter Brennan ...

'' (1952) – Noreen McGowan * ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

'' (1953) – Mary Turner * ''

'' (1953) – Clara MacDougal * ''

'' (1953) – Lily Bonner * '' Tiger by the Tail'' (1954) – Jane Claymore * ''

'' (1954) – Lila * ''

The Big Tip Off ''The Big Tip Off'' is a 1955 American crime drama film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Richard Conte. Summary Richard Conte plays two-bit newspaper columnist Johnny Denton, who gains notoriety by printing tips on upcoming gangland acti ...

'' (1955) – Penny Conroy * ''

Un po' di cielo ''Un po' di cielo'' is a 1955 Italian film. It stars actor Gabriele Ferzetti. Its name is Italian for "A bit of heaven". Cast * Gabriele Ferzetti as Frank Lo Giudice * Constance Smith as Nora * Fausto Tozzi as Roberto Maltoni * Aldo Fabrizi as ...

'' (1955) – Nora * ''

The Violent Patriot ''The Violent Patriot'' ( it, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere) is a 1956 Italian adventure film directed by Sergio Grieco. It is loosely based on real life events of the Italian condottiero Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. Cast *Vittorio Gassman as Giov ...

'' (1956) – Emma Caldana * '' Addio per sempre!'' (1958) – Lucia * '' Conspiracy of the Borgias'' (1959) – Lucrezia Borgia * ''

Knight Without a Country ''Knight Without a Country'' ( it, Il cavaliere senza terra, also known as ''The Faceless Rider'') is a 1959 Italian adventure film directed by Giacomo Gentilomo and starring Gérard Landry and Constance Smith. Plot Cast * Gérard Landry as ...

'' (1959) – Laura (final film role)

Radio appearances

References

External links

*
Constance Smith in 'Actors' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Constance 1929 births 2003 deaths 20th Century Studios contract players Expatriate actresses in the United States Irish expatriates in the United States Irish film actresses Actresses from Limerick (city)