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| Joan Rice promoting Innoxa in1954 |
Above is an advert dated by the Innoxa company to 1954, featuring the beautiful English actress Joan Rice (1930-1997).
Joan rose to fame as Maid Marian in Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). This site is dedicated to her memory.
Joan promoted Innoxa Fashion Cream, described by the company as:
... far more than ordinary cake make-up and ideal for all types of skin. Needs no water and keeps the skin soft and radiant.
Shades: Honey Blonde, Sun Glow, and Golden Sand.
The year that the Innoxa advert appeared witnessed a turning point in Joan's film career. During December 1953, Joan had given birth to a son Michael, then January 1954 saw the release of the lavish Technicolor adventure His Majesty O'Keefe. Joan played the beautiful island girl Dalabo Aki Dali alongside Burt Lancaster.
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| Joan Rice as Dalabo |
But, after the release of The Crowded Day in October 1954, Rank Organisation did not renew her contract. There is a lot of speculation as to why this happened. Some claim it was her struggle with asthma that curtailed her career. But I am not so sure.
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| Joan as Peggy French in The Crowded Day |
In January 1955, Joan appeared in Norman Wisdom's second movie One Good Turn. A month later, she was photographed by the press leaving London airport en route for Dublin to appear on stage in the play Welcome Stranger at the Gaiety Theatre. Sadly the magical whirlwind that had lifted her to the dizzy heights of Hollywood was waning.
To read more about the life of Joan Rice, please click on the label.
Joan Rice
ReplyDeleteInnoxa Fashion Cream
Nowadays any such sponsorship or advertising deal such as this one Joan had with Innoxa Face Cream would have been worth quite a lot of money but I wouldn't think that Joan would receive much by today's standards - at that time in the early fifties, I think that Dennis Compton the legendary Test Cricketer received about £ 10 for his Brylcreem advertisement. I think Robert Beatty also advertised Brylcreem. You mention Joan Rice having her contract ended in mid 1954 I just wonder if they could have given her another two years and a few more parts, she may have then developed the confidence to hold her own in the film world better than she was able to do. She was so very young after all. She was good in some of the later parts she got even though the films were of lesser quality than she had started with. Seems odd she started at the very top - and did well - but somehow was allowed to fall back - not her fault I think. Richard Todd and Ken Annakin did not help at all - shame on them
ReplyDeleteYes Neil, those later films were certainly of less quality. We will probably never know what happened to her promising career. But surely her agent must take part of the blame.His Majesty O Keefe was popular at the box office making $2.5 million at the US and Canada Box Office. Afterwards there was a sharp decline.
ReplyDeleteYou are right there Clement. It would or should have been the job of her agent to keep her name at the top. I seem to think a woman was her agent / manager
ReplyDelete