Ann Dvorak by Christina Rice

Author:Christina Rice
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780813144399
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

Wearing a dress that looks as if it’s made of fish scales, Ann converses with John Litel in Midnight Court.

Of her lost litigation and ongoing issues with the studio, Ann would comment only that she was “just back at the Warner Brothers lot after an extended absence.” However, she took the opportunity to compliment her bosses by recounting the story of the last time she had returned to the studio after a lengthy time away, referring to her honeymoon trip of nearly four years earlier: “Instead of breaking my contract we discovered at the end of our long journey that Warners were going to be very considerate.”47 It seemed that Ann had finally conceded complete defeat and had every intention of making the remaining two and a half years of her contract as pleasant as possible.

In late November 1936, a little over a year since the battle royale had begun, Warner Bros. decided two things: Ann would be cast as Perry Mason’s loyal secretary Della Street in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop, the latest installment in the popular series, and it would be her last film at the studio. Della Street was not a stretch for Ann at this point, as it was the type of character she had played countless times during her tenure with Warner Bros. Donald Woods was enlisted to play the beloved lawyer, following in the footsteps of Ann’s former costar Warren William, who had been Mason in four previous films, and Ricardo Cortez, who had played the role once. As far as Ann Dvorak films at Warner Bros. go, this one had a higher budget than most and Della Street was a more generous role than one would have expected from the studio at this time. Ann genuinely seems to be enjoying herself in the film, especially when she’s exchanging quips with Donald Woods, and her wardrobe, designed by Howard Shoup, is extremely stylish, making up for the unflattering attire she wore in Midnight Court. Despite the events of the past year, Ann would be leaving Warner Bros. on a high note.

There are no existing records documenting why Warner Bros. chose to finally release Ann at this point. It had been a rocky relationship that lasted nearly five years, and it seems the studio had finally had enough of Ann Dvorak. She had been trying to get out of her contract for over a year, but Jack Warner would never have given in to any actor on that actor’s terms. After a lengthy and futile litigation followed by a couple of loan-outs and two Warner productions, perhaps Jack Warner felt he had proven his point and that he was letting her go on his own terms. After the failed court case, Ann had fired the Selznick agency, apparently unhappy with the advice it had given her during the proceedings, and moved over to William Morris. She was now being represented by Johnny Hyde, a legendary agent and future mentor of Marilyn Monroe, and Warner Bros.

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