In Hollywood Canteen, Robert Hutton's Corporal "Slim" Green becomes the millionth man to be entertained at the famous WWII nightspot. To commemorate the event, the movie community grants him a night on the town with any
actress in Hollywood. Who will it be? Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, or "Oomph Girl" Ann Sheridan? Of course not! For what he wants more than anything is a date with Joan Leslie. Joan Who? Born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel on Jan 26, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan, Joan Leslie was a fan favorite during her tenure at Warner Bros. from 1941-6. Voted National Buddy Poppy Girl in 1941, she was especially popular with servicemen (Cpl. Green pressumably spoke for millions when
he nervously uttered her name to Canteen chairperson Bette Davis in the movie). On stage before her third birthday, Joan made her professional debut at nine, singing and dancing with her older sisters as The Three Brodels [1]. As a child she modeled for John Robert Powers, and in 1936 went to Hollywood after an MGM talent scout caught
the sisters in a New York nightclub. Attending studio school with Mickey Rooney and Deanna Durbin, Joan appeared in only one Metro production, but that was Greta Garbo's
Camille. Billed as Joan Brodel, the youngster continued to play child roles and bits for various studios through 1940, when Warner Bros. signed her to term contract. The Motion Picture Publicists Association named her one of its Baby Stars of 1940 [2]. Her big break came when
Warners cast her in a key role in an upcoming Humphrey Bogart film. Now billed as Joan Leslie, the newcomer debuted sensationally in the gangster classic High Sierra. For the next five years, she continued to appear in major Warner Bros. productions, often being cast with more established,
and much older, leading men. Two of her leading men, Gary Cooper (in Sergeant York) and James Cagney (in
Yankee Doodle Dandy), won Oscars for their performances opposite her. In 1943, she became Fred Astaire's
youngest dance partner, celebrating her 18th birthday on the set of The Sky's the Limit[3]. The studio's acknowledged heiress apparent, Joan Leslie was featured on the cover of Life magazine
for her part in The Hard Way. A photo caption called her "a fresh-faced girl who looks like anybody's girl-next-door." And she was, for several years, every American boy's ideal prom date, and fantasy girlfriend. More good movies were to follow: Hollywood Canteen, Thank Your Lucky Stars, and Rhapsody in Blue. Joan emerged from her teens with an impressive list of screen credits. Looking more beautiful than ever, the now grownup Joan was still invariably cast in ingenue roles. Joan was developing as an actress, though, and longed to test her wings in heavy dramatics. She had tried for, but didn't get, the role of Bessie in The Corn is Green. She lost other good roles because of years of typecasting. To make matters worse, after the war ended, Warner Bros. began to put Joan in what were decidedly second-rate pictures: Janie
Gets Married, Two Guys from Milwaukee, and so forth. In 1946, Joan Leslie sought and obtained her release from her studio commitment, arguing through her lawyer that she had been underage when the contract
was signed. Ironically, in the very year she left Warners, the twenty-one-year-old actress received the highest ranking in Quigley's "Future Star" poll of motion picture exhibitors [4]. Yet it would be more than a year before she appeared in another movie. Joan Leslie's first venture as a freelancer was an interesting dramatic piece called Repeat Performance. Well-scripted and sporting a superb cast, the movie looked promising. The film was not a commercial success, and Joan was finding it difficult to land first-rate roles in the first-rate pictures in leaner postwar Hollywood. Years later, Joan speculated that she was being blacklisted for breaking with Warners. Joan's tv credits in the '50s included episodes of Fireside Theatre and Ford Theatre.
But while she continued to offer fine characterizations when called upon to play in movies, she would never again enjoy the tremendous popular success she had while under contract to a major Hollywood studio. Married in 1950 to Dr. William Caldwell, Joan made her last movie for theatrical release in 1957 (The Revolt of Mamie Stover, made at Twentieth Century-Fox). She continued to appear occasionally on televison, but increasingly, her time was being devoted to raising her identical twin daughters, Patrice and Ellen. A devout Roman Catholic, Joan's creative energy found outlets in Catholic charities and dress designing. In later years, when her daughters were grown up, Joan acted intermittently on television, but never often enough to suit her following. She did tv commercials, pilots, and in the '80s a delightful guest spot in Murder, She Wrote with another '40s favorite and Gary Cooper co-star, Teresa Wright. Lovely still, Joan Leslie hasn't made a movie for the big screens in more than 40 years. But her film legacy remains, to kindle the memories of old fans, and win a generation of new ones.
In answer to my letter, Joan Leslie provided the following additional information:
Notes: [1] Both of Joan's sisters also appeared in movies. Here's Mary Brodel's entry in the 1938-9 International Motion Picture Almanac: Actress. b. Detroit, Sept. 27, 1917; h. 5 ft. 4 in.; w. 118 lbs.; hazel eyes and red hair; p. John Brodel, bank auditor, and Agnes Brodel, non-prof.; e. public schools, St. Benedicts School, Detroit. In 1938: "Goodbye, Broadway," U.Joan and Mary acted in the same movie, Men With Wings, playing the same character, Patricia Falconer, at different ages. And Betty and Joan were both in Hollywood Canteen. In October 1941, "Photoplay" devoted an article to the girls called "The Love of Three Sisters." [2] Wampas (the Western Association of Motion Pictures Advertisers) had in 1922 established the practice of selecting every year a number of starlets "who during the past year [had] shown the most talent and promise for eventual stardom." These became the famous Wampas Baby Stars. After Wampas disbanded in 1934, several organizations attempted to keep the Baby Stars concept alive. In 1940, the Motion Picture Publicists Association named the following young women "The Baby Stars of 1940":
[3] The approximate ages of Fred Astaire's principle leading ladies (click the performer's name to go to a representative fan site):
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