Kim Novak

===1958: ''Vertigo''===

===1958: ''Vertigo''===

Director [[Alfred Hitchcock]] was working on his next film, ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' (1958), when his leading actress, [[Vera Miles]], became pregnant and had to withdraw from the complex role of Judy Barton.<ref name="obsessed">"Obsessed with ''Vertigo''" (1996), directed by Harrison Engle, documentary included on many DVD releases</ref> Hitchcock approached [[Harry Cohn]] to offer Novak the female lead without even requesting a screen test. Though Cohn hated the script, he allowed Novak to read it because he considered Hitchcock to be a great director.<ref name="Rebello">{{cite news|url=http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/kim_novak_c.html |title=Interview with Kim Novak |last=Rebello |first=Stephen |work=labyrinth.net.au |date=April 17, 2004 |access-date=February 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707165745/http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/kim_novak_c.html |archive-date=July 7, 2014 }}</ref> Novak loved it, as she could identify with the character and agreed to take part in the film without meeting Hitchcock. At the same time, she was striking for more money from Columbia and refused to show up for work on the ''Vertigo'' set to protest against her salary of $1,250 a week. Novak hired new agents to represent her and demanded an adjustment in her contract. Cohn, who was paid $250,000 for Novak to do ''Vertigo'', suspended her, but after a few weeks of negotiations, he relented and offered her a new contract worthy of a major star.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uiYzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4607,4793787 |title= Kim Novak Explains Her Sit-Down Strike |last= Thomas |first= Bob |work= [[The Miami News]] |date= November 27, 1957 |access-date= February 28, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> She was now receiving $3,000 a week and explained to the press, "I don't like to have anyone take advantage of me."

Director [[Alfred Hitchcock]] was working on his next film, ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' (1958), when his leading actress, [[Vera Miles]], became pregnant and had to withdraw from the complex role of Judy Barton.<ref name="obsessed">"Obsessed with ''Vertigo''" (1996), directed by Harrison Engle, documentary included on many DVD releases</ref> Hitchcock approached [[Harry Cohn]] to offer Novak the female lead without even requesting a screen test. Though Cohn hated the script, he allowed Novak to read it because he considered Hitchcock to be a great director.<ref name="Rebello">{{cite news|url=http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/kim_novak_c.html |title=Interview with Kim Novak |last=Rebello |first=Stephen |work=labyrinth.net.au |date=April 17, 2004 |access-date=February 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707165745/http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/kim_novak_c.html |archive-date=July 7, 2014 }}</ref> Novak loved it, as she could identify with the character and agreed to take part in the film without meeting Hitchcock. At the same time, she was striking for more money from Columbia and refused to show up for work on the set to protest her salary of $1,250 a week. Novak hired new agents to represent her and demanded an adjustment in her contract. Cohn, who was paid $250,000 for Novak to do ''Vertigo'', suspended her, but after a few weeks of negotiations, he relented and offered her a new contract.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uiYzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4607,4793787 |title= Kim Novak Explains Her Sit-Down Strike |last= Thomas |first= Bob |work= [[The Miami News]] |date= November 27, 1957 |access-date= February 28, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> She received a raise to $3,000 a week and told the press, "I don't like to have anyone take advantage of me."

[[File:Hitchcock Novak Vertigo Publicity.jpg|thumb|right|[[Alfred Hitchcock]] with Novak on the set of ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' (1958)]]

[[File:Hitchcock Novak Vertigo Publicity.jpg|thumb|right|[[Alfred Hitchcock]] with Novak on the set of ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' (1958)]]

Novak finally reported for work, and according to Hitchcock, she had "all sorts of preconceived notions" about her character, including what she would and would not wear.<ref name="Truffaut">{{cite book|last=Truffaut|first=François|title=Hitchcock / Truffaut (Édition définitive)|publisher= Éditions Gallimard|year=1993|page=277|isbn=978-2-07-073574-7}}</ref> Before shooting began, she told the director she did not like the grey suit and black shoes she was slated to wear, thinking them too heavy and stiff for her character. Novak later recalled, "I didn't think it would matter to him what kind of shoes I wore. I had never had a director who was particular about the costumes, the way they were designed, the specific colors. The two things he wanted the most were those shoes and that gray suit."<ref name="Rebello"/> Indeed, Hitchcock explained to Novak that the visual aspect of the film was even more important to him than the story, and insisted on her wearing the suit and the shoes that he had been planning for several months.<ref name="Truffaut"/> Novak learned to make it work for her, as she saw it as a symbol of her character.<ref name="Rebello"/> Nonetheless, Hitchcock allowed Novak the freedom to develop the character herself. As she later recalled: "It excites me to work on dual personalities because I think I have many myself. And I think that I was able to use so much of me in that movie. At first I was feeling insecure because I kept saying, "Is this right? How do you want me to play this character?" Hitchcock said: "I hired you and that's who I want, what you bring to this role. But what I do expect from you is to stand where I want you to, wear what I want you to and speak in the rhythm that I want you to." And he worked a long time with me to try to get the right rhythm."<ref name="obsessed"/> The role took on a personal significance for her, as she felt she went through the same thing as her character when she arrived in Hollywood:

Novak finally reported for work, and according to Hitchcock, she had "all sorts of preconceived notions" about her character, including what she would and would not wear.<ref name="Truffaut">{{cite book|last=Truffaut|first=François|title=Hitchcock / Truffaut (Édition définitive)|publisher= Éditions Gallimard|year=1993|page=277|isbn=978-2-07-073574-7}}</ref> Before shooting began, she told the director she did not like the grey suit and black shoes she was slated to wear, thinking them too heavy and stiff for her character. Novak later recalled, "I didn't think it would matter to him what kind of shoes I wore. I had never had a director who was particular about the costumes, the way they were designed, the specific colors. The two things he wanted the most were those shoes and that gray suit."<ref name="Rebello"/> Indeed, Hitchcock explained to Novak that the visual aspect of the film was even more important to him than the story, and insisted on her wearing the suit and the shoes that he had been planning for several months.<ref name="Truffaut"/> Novak learned to make it work for her, as she saw it as a symbol of her character.<ref name="Rebello"/> Nonetheless, Hitchcock allowed Novak the freedom to develop the character herself. As she later recalled: "It excites me to work on dual personalities because I think I have many myself. And I think that I was able to use so much of me in that movie. At first I was feeling insecure because I kept saying, "Is this right? How do you want me to play this character?" Hitchcock said: "I hired you and that's who I want, what you bring to this role. But what I do expect from you is to stand where I want you to, wear what I want you to and speak in the rhythm that I want you to." And he worked a long time with me to try to get the right rhythm."<ref name="obsessed"/> The role took on a personal significance for her, as she felt she went through the same thing as her character when she arrived in Hollywood:

[[File:Kim Novak James Stewart Vertigo Still.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Novak and Stewart in publicity photo for ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' (1958)]]

<blockquote>From my point of view, when I first read those lines where she says, "I want you to love me for me," and all the talking in that scene, I just identified with it so much because going to Hollywood as a young girl and suddenly finding they want to make you over totally, it's such a total change and it was like I was always fighting to show some of myself, feeling that I wanted to be there as well. It was like they'd do my hair and go and redo a bunch of things. So I really identified with the fact of someone that was being made over with the resentment, with wanting to. Needing approval and wanting to be loved and willing, eventually, to go to any lengths to get that by changing her hair and all of these different things. And then when Judy appears, it's another story and then when she has to go through that change. I really identified with the movie because it was saying, "Please, see who I am. Fall in love with me."<ref name="obsessed"/></blockquote>

<blockquote>From my point of view, when I first read those lines where she says, "I want you to love me for me," and all the talking in that scene, I just identified with it so much because going to Hollywood as a young girl and suddenly finding they want to make you over totally, it's such a total change and it was like I was always fighting to show some of myself, feeling that I wanted to be there as well. It was like they'd do my hair and go and redo a bunch of things. So I really identified with the fact of someone that was being made over with the resentment, with wanting to. Needing approval and wanting to be loved and willing, eventually, to go to any lengths to get that by changing her hair and all of these different things. And then when Judy appears, it's another story and then when she has to go through that change. I really identified with the movie because it was saying, "Please, see who I am. Fall in love with me."<ref name="obsessed"/></blockquote>

Novak made an independent five-picture deal, with producer [[Martin Ransohoff]] and [[Filmways Pictures]] to co-produce, but it proved to be a bad choice owing to clashes with personalities over scripts. Their first endeavor, the comedy ''[[Boys' Night Out (film)|Boys' Night Out]]'' (1962), was unsuccessful.<ref>Ben Mankiewicz, ''Turner Classic Movies,'' aired July 26, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69539/boys-night-out#articles-reviews |title= Boys' Night Out (1962) |last= Nixon|first= Rob|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> After her Hollywood house survived the big [[Bel Air Fire]] of 1961, it was finally lost a few years later when it was swept away with most of her belongings in a mudslide in 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/312695/newsmakers-vertigo-star-s-home-burns?page=all|title=NEWSMAKERS: 'Vertigo' Star's Home Burns|last=Ryfle|first=Steve|work=Hollywood.com|date=March 19, 2001|access-date=May 1, 2014}}</ref> During the interim, she made [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s drama ''[[Of Human Bondage (1964 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1964) with [[Laurence Harvey]] in Ireland.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=757&dat=19631012&id=ID1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=6569,2994980 |title= Hollywood Today |last= Graham|first= Sheila|work=[[The Virgin Islands Daily News]] |date= October 12, 1963 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19641023&id=33dQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4715,3389873 |title= Ho, Hum, Kim Is In Love Again |last= Wilson |first= Earl |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |date= October 23, 1964 |access-date= March 1, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This third film adaptation of the famous story went over schedule and budget, and it also failed.

Novak made an independent five-picture deal, with producer [[Martin Ransohoff]] and [[Filmways Pictures]] to co-produce, but it proved to be a bad choice owing to clashes with personalities over scripts. Their first endeavor, the comedy ''[[Boys' Night Out (film)|Boys' Night Out]]'' (1962), was unsuccessful.<ref>Ben Mankiewicz, ''Turner Classic Movies,'' aired July 26, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69539/boys-night-out#articles-reviews |title= Boys' Night Out (1962) |last= Nixon|first= Rob|work=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> After her Hollywood house survived the big [[Bel Air Fire]] of 1961, it was finally lost a few years later when it was swept away with most of her belongings in a mudslide in 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/brief/312695/newsmakers-vertigo-star-s-home-burns?page=all|title=NEWSMAKERS: 'Vertigo' Star's Home Burns|last=Ryfle|first=Steve|work=Hollywood.com|date=March 19, 2001|access-date=May 1, 2014}}</ref> During the interim, she made [[W. Somerset Maugham]]'s drama ''[[Of Human Bondage (1964 film)|Of Human Bondage]]'' (1964) with [[Laurence Harvey]] in Ireland.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=757&dat=19631012&id=ID1OAAAAIBAJ&pg=6569,2994980 |title= Hollywood Today |last= Graham|first= Sheila|work=[[The Virgin Islands Daily News]] |date= October 12, 1963 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1368&dat=19641023&id=33dQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4715,3389873 |title= Ho, Hum, Kim Is In Love Again |last= Wilson |first= Earl |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |date= October 23, 1964 |access-date= March 1, 2014 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> This third film adaptation of the famous story went over schedule and budget, and it also failed.

[[File:Kim Novak 1962.jpg|thumb|170px|Novak in Madrid, 1962]]

The sex comedy ''[[Kiss Me, Stupid]]'' (1964) with [[Dean Martin]] followed for director [[Billy Wilder]]. Actor [[Peter Sellers]] had originally been selected and begun filming, but he had suffered a heart attack, so [[Ray Walston]] substituted at the last minute. The film had problems getting released because of conflicts with the [[Legion of Decency]]. The film opened to scathing reviews and while it made money, it did not help Novak's career. Years later it was rediscovered and acclaimed for its forward thinking and got rave reviews, particularly for Novak's performance as "Polly the Pistol".

The sex comedy ''[[Kiss Me, Stupid]]'' (1964) with [[Dean Martin]] followed for director [[Billy Wilder]]. Actor [[Peter Sellers]] had originally been selected and begun filming, but he had suffered a heart attack, so [[Ray Walston]] substituted at the last minute. The film had problems getting released because of conflicts with the [[Legion of Decency]]. The film opened to scathing reviews and while it made money, it did not help Novak's career. Years later it was rediscovered and acclaimed for its forward thinking and got rave reviews, particularly for Novak's performance as "Polly the Pistol".

After nearly four years that she described as a "self-imposed vacation", Novak agreed to take part in two projects. She returned to the screen with a role in the horror [[anthology]] film ''[[Tales That Witness Madness]]'' (1973). Novak also starred as Las Vegas chorus girl Gloria Joyce, a character with whom she could identify, in the made-for-TV movie, ''[[The Third Girl From the Left]]'' (1973), with her real-life boyfriend at the time, [[Michael Brandon]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qLlFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6131,4103537 |title= Screenplay Lures Kim Novak |work=[[The Robesonian]] |date= October 14, 1973 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> Novak admitted a preference for TV films as she thought they were faster to shoot than features. She described movie scripts of that time as offensive, saying she disliked the unnecessary sex she found in most of them. In 1975, Novak took part in the ABC movie ''[[Satan's Triangle]]'' because she was intrigued by the story, which dealt in the supernatural.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IqMgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1315,1089261 |title= Kim Novak Spends Most Of Her Time Away From Hollywood |last= Thomas|first= Bob|work= Lewiston Evening Journal |date= January 9, 1975 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> Novak had a small role in ''[[The White Buffalo]]'' (1977), a Western starring [[Charles Bronson]], and she ended the decade by playing Helga in ''[[Just a Gigolo (1978 film)|Just a Gigolo]]'' (1979), opposite [[David Bowie]]. Both films were flops, but Novak was not blamed due to her minor roles in them.

After nearly four years that she described as a "self-imposed vacation", Novak agreed to take part in two projects. She returned to the screen with a role in the horror [[anthology]] film ''[[Tales That Witness Madness]]'' (1973). Novak also starred as Las Vegas chorus girl Gloria Joyce, a character with whom she could identify, in the made-for-TV movie, ''[[The Third Girl From the Left]]'' (1973), with her real-life boyfriend at the time, [[Michael Brandon]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qLlFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6131,4103537 |title= Screenplay Lures Kim Novak |work=[[The Robesonian]] |date= October 14, 1973 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> Novak admitted a preference for TV films as she thought they were faster to shoot than features. She described movie scripts of that time as offensive, saying she disliked the unnecessary sex she found in most of them. In 1975, Novak took part in the ABC movie ''[[Satan's Triangle]]'' because she was intrigued by the story, which dealt in the supernatural.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IqMgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1315,1089261 |title= Kim Novak Spends Most Of Her Time Away From Hollywood |last= Thomas|first= Bob|work= Lewiston Evening Journal |date= January 9, 1975 |access-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> Novak had a small role in ''[[The White Buffalo]]'' (1977), a Western starring [[Charles Bronson]], and she ended the decade by playing Helga in ''[[Just a Gigolo (1978 film)|Just a Gigolo]]'' (1979), opposite [[David Bowie]]. Both films were flops, but Novak was not blamed due to her minor roles in them.

[[File:Kim Novak 01.jpg|thumb|left|160px|Novak, c. 1983]]

In 1980, Novak played fictional actress Lola Brewster in the British mystery-thriller ''[[The Mirror Crack'd]]'', based on the story by [[Agatha Christie]]. She co-starred alongside [[Angela Lansbury]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Rock Hudson]], and [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. She enjoyed making the film and got along with her co-stars and the film was moderately successful. Novak did not appear in any feature films during the remainder of the 1980s. Her acting credits during the decade included the ensemble television movie ''[[Malibu (film)|Malibu]]''<ref name="NYT">{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=TV: 'MALIBU,' FOUR HOURS, TWO PARTS|first=Walter|last=Goodman|date=January 23, 1983|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/23/arts/tv-malibu-four-hours-two-parts.html}}</ref> (1983) and the pilot episode of ''[[The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1985). Producers of the successful primetime soap opera ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' offered Novak a role in their series similar to her character in ''Vertigo''.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GEBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=5432,4544835 |title= Actress Kim Novak Ponders Her Future On TV's Falcon Crest |work=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Toledo Blade]] |date= June 16, 1987 |access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> She appeared as the secretive "[[Falcon Crest#Kit Marlowe|Kit Marlowe]]" in 19 episodes from 1986 to 1987. It was Novak's idea to name her character Kit Marlowe, as it was the stage name that Columbia had wanted her to use when she started in the business.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EuJNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1538,1673203 |title= Kim Novak name on 'Falcon Crest' has a trivia story |work=[[The Free Lance–Star]] |date= June 16, 1987 |access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> The former Marilyn Pauline Novak wryly described this turn of events as effectively being Cohn's revenge on her from beyond the grave.

In 1980, Novak played fictional actress Lola Brewster in the British mystery-thriller ''[[The Mirror Crack'd]]'', based on the story by [[Agatha Christie]]. She co-starred alongside [[Angela Lansbury]], [[Tony Curtis]], [[Rock Hudson]], and [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. She enjoyed making the film and got along with her co-stars and the film was moderately successful. Novak did not appear in any feature films during the remainder of the 1980s. Her acting credits during the decade included the ensemble television movie ''[[Malibu (film)|Malibu]]''<ref name="NYT">{{cite web|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=TV: 'MALIBU,' FOUR HOURS, TWO PARTS|first=Walter|last=Goodman|date=January 23, 1983|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/23/arts/tv-malibu-four-hours-two-parts.html}}</ref> (1983) and the pilot episode of ''[[The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' (1985). Producers of the successful primetime soap opera ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' offered Novak a role in their series similar to her character in ''Vertigo''.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GEBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=5432,4544835 |title= Actress Kim Novak Ponders Her Future On TV's Falcon Crest |work=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Toledo Blade]] |date= June 16, 1987 |access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> She appeared as the secretive "[[Falcon Crest#Kit Marlowe|Kit Marlowe]]" in 19 episodes from 1986 to 1987. It was Novak's idea to name her character Kit Marlowe, as it was the stage name that Columbia had wanted her to use when she started in the business.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EuJNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1538,1673203 |title= Kim Novak name on 'Falcon Crest' has a trivia story |work=[[The Free Lance–Star]] |date= June 16, 1987 |access-date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> The former Marilyn Pauline Novak wryly described this turn of events as effectively being Cohn's revenge on her from beyond the grave.