Gene Rogers ( born Jean Rogers ), birth name of Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren
| Gene Rogers | |
|---|---|
| Jean rogers | |
 Gene Rogers in the film War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) | |
| Birth name | Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren |
| Date of Birth | March 25, 1916 |
| Place of Birth | Belmont , Massachusetts , USA |
| Date of death | February 24, 1991 ( 74) |
| Place of death | Sherman Oaks , California , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Profession | actress |
| Career | 1933-1951 |
| IMDb | ID 0736939 |
Rogers is best known for playing the leading female role in the science fiction movie series Flash Gordon (1936) and Flash Gordon 's Journey to Mars (1938). Among other paintings with Rogers - “ Twenty Million Lovers ” (1934), “ Ace Drummond ” (1936), “The Secret Agent X-9 ” (1937), “The Sky with a Barbed Wire Fence ” (1939), “ A Man, who didn’t want to say "(1940)," The War against Mrs. Hadley "(1942)," Charlie Chen in Panama "(1940)," Stranger in the City "(1943)," Whistle in Brooklyn "(1943) and" Retaliation "(1948).
The Early Years and Early Careers
Gene Rogers, birth name of Elinor Dorothy Lovegren, was born March 25, 1916 in Belmont , Massachusetts , into a family of immigrants from Sweden [1] .
After leaving school, Elinor was going to study art in New York and Europe , but after winning the school beauty contest in 1933, she went to Hollywood [1] [2] .
Cinema career
In 1933, Elinor signed a contract with Warner Bros , playing episodic roles in several musical comedies without an indication in the credits. [2] In 1934, producer Charles R. Rogers invited her to her film, the melodrama Eight Girls in a Boat (1934) [1] , after which she took the producer's last name as her acting name, adding the name of her best school friend [ 2] .
In 1935, Rogers signed a contract with Universal Film Company, playing small roles in the political drama “ Fighting Youth ” (1935), the musical comedy “ Manhattan Moon ” (1935), followed by major female roles in the musical western “ Stormy ” (1935) and in the adventure movie series Tommy “Corkscrew and the Great Air Secret ” (1935) [2] [3] . A year later, Rogers played the lead female roles in two popular adventure movie series - Ace Drummond (1936) and The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936), as well as in the sports-romantic melodrama Conflict (1936) with John Wayne , and another year later - in the horror film "The Night Key " (1937) with Boris Karloff [4] [1] [5] .
In 1936, the 13-episode 245-minute science fiction movie series Flash Gordon was released, in which the title character (played by Buster Crab ), Dale Ardenne (Gene Rogers) and Dr. Zarkov ( Frank Shannon ) arrive on the planet Mongo to stop the diabolical plans of Emperor Ming the Merciless ( Charles Middleton ), who directed his planet to a course of collision with the Earth [1] . Rogers appeared in the image of "graceful blonde beauty in tight-fitting outfits, becoming the subject of passionate desire of archdecider Ming Ruthless (and most of the male audience)." At the same time, she competed with Princess Aura ( Priscilla Lawson ) for the attention of Flash Gordon. The heroine Rogers was miniature, fragile, and completely dependent on Flash Gordon, while her rival was powerful, independent, voluptuous, insidious and aimed at taking Flash for herself [2] . As movie historian Roy Kinnard noted, “A significant part of the film’s enduring charm lies in the chemistry of the actors, most notably Crab, Rogers, Middleton and Lawson. The stunningly beautiful 20-year-old actress Gene Rogers was perfect in the role of a “good” girl. Together with Lawson in the role of a “bad” girl, their freshness and beauty brings that sexual element, the absence of which suffers from the majority of such series ” [6] . As the movie historian Hal Erickson wrote, thanks to the role of “charmingly under-dressed, forever in danger of Dale Ardenne in this popular movie series,” Rogers “rose to the star level” [4] .
In the second series, Flash Gordon 's Journey to Mars (1938), Rogers took on a completely different look. According to movie historian Richard Lamparsky, she had dark hair and wore the same formal suit. She became more mature, and no sexual overtones remained in her image. According to Rogers, she didn’t want to play in the second series, and asked the studio to shoot in the third series, Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) [5] .
As a result, the Universal studio transferred it from the series to the main roles in the insignificant category B films , including the comedy Always in Trouble (1938), the detective Break for the Kill (1938) and the crime melodrama While New York Sleeps (1938) ) [2] [3] .
Unsatisfied with the development of her career at Universal , in 1939 Rogers went to 20th Century Fox Studios, where she played the main or second major roles in several good category B films, including the social drama Sky with a Barbed Wire Fence (1939), where her partner was Glenn Ford , the historical drama with Tyrone Power “ Brigham Young ” (1940), the crime comedy “ Charlie Chen in Panama ” (1940), and the crime drama “The Man Who Didn't Want to Speak ” (1940) [4] [ 2] [3] .
In 1941, Rogers switched to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , where she played a supporting role in the romantic comedy Scandal Plan (1941) with Rosalind Russell and Walter Pidgeon , the main role in the melodrama War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942), a romantic the comedy Sunday Blow (1942), the main female role in the crime-political melodrama The Stranger in the City (1943) and the supporting role of the crime comedy with Red Skelton 's Whistle in Brooklyn (1943) [4] .
After 1943, Rogers left MGM Studios, and worked as a freelancer for several years at independent film studios [4] . Among her most notable paintings of this period are the Noir “ Backlash ” films (1947), where she played a socialite whom a jealous husband-lawyer tries to substitute in her own murder, imitating her death [7] . In her last film, Another Woman (1950), Rogers again played the good socialite of a negative character, this time the executive director of a development company, but her role in this film was much more modest than in the previous one. After this picture, Rogers completed her acting career [1] .
Acting Role and Evaluation of Creativity
Gene Rogers, according to Erickson, was a “blonde with blue eyes” who “arrived in Hollywood after winning a beauty pageant” [4] . As noted in the New York Times , “one of Rogers’s main film works was his role in two adventure movie series about Flash Gordon ” [1] .
Personal life
In 1943, Rogers married Hollywood agent Dan Winkler. When MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer found out that she was about to get married, he forbade her to do so, but Rogers disobeyed the boss and was forced to leave the studio as a result. After working for several years at independent studios, in 1951 Rogers left the cinema. She lived with her husband in marriage until his death in 1970 [4] [2] .
Death
Gene Rogers died on February 24, 1991 in Sherman Oaks , California , after the operation, she was 74 years old [1] [2] .
Filmography
| Year | Russian name | original name | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | f | Parade in the ramp lights | Footlight parade | chorus girl (uncredited) |
| 1934 | f | Eight girls in a boat | Eight girls in a boat | schoolgirl (uncredited) |
| 1934 | f | Get up and sing! | Stand Up and Cheer! | dancer (uncredited) |
| 1934 | f | Twenty million lovers | Twenty Million Sweethearts | radio fan (not shown) |
| 1934 | f | Ladies | Dames | chorus girl (uncredited) |
| 1935 | f | His night in town | His night out | Information Service Officer (uncredited) |
| 1935 | f | Lady tabbs | Lady tubs | debutant (not shown) |
| 1935 | f | Manetten moon | Manhattan moon | Joan |
| 1935 | f | Stormy | Stormy | Kerry Dorn |
| 1935 | f | Tommy "Corkscrew" and the great aerial mystery | Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery | Betty Lou Barnes |
| 1935 | f | Fighting youth | Fighting youth | blonde student |
| 1936 | f | The Adventures of Frank Merriwell | The adventures of frank merriwell | Elsie Belwood |
| 1936 | f | Do not take on your own account | Don't get personal | blonde |
| 1936 | f | Flash gordon | Flash gordon | Dale Arden |
| 1936 | f | Ace drummond | Ace drummond | Peggy Trainor |
| 1936 | f | Conflict | Conflict | Maud Sangster |
| 1936 | f | Mysterious journey | Mysterious crossing | Yvonne Fontaine |
| 1936 | f | Crash Donovan | Crash donovan | blonde (uncredited) |
| 1936 | f | My servant Godfrey | My man godfrey | socialite (uncredited) |
| 1936 | f | Two in the crowd | Two in a crowd | (not indicated in credits) |
| 1937 | f | When love is young | When love is young | Irene Henry |
| 1937 | f | Secret Agent X-9 | Secret Agent X-9 | Shara Graustark |
| 1937 | f | Night key | Night key | Joan Mallory |
| 1937 | f | Speculator | The wildcatter | Helen Conlon |
| 1937 | f | Declared missing | Reported missing | Gene Clayton |
| 1938 | f | Flash Gordon's Journey to Mars | Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars | Dale Arden |
| 1938 | f | Kill break | Time out for murder | Helen Thomas |
| 1938 | f | Always in trouble | Always in trouble | Virginia darlington |
| 1938 | f | While New York is sleeping | While new york sleeps | Judy king |
| 1939 | f | Inner story | Inside story | June White |
| 1939 | f | Hotel for women | Hotel for women | Nancy Prescott |
| 1939 | f | Stop, look and love | Stop, Look and Love | Louise Heller |
| 1939 | f | Barbed wire sky | Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence | Anita |
| 1940 | f | The man who did not want to talk | The Man Who Wouldn't Talk | Ellis Stetson |
| 1940 | f | Charlie Chan in Panama | Charlie chan in panama | Katie Lenesh |
| 1940 | f | Long live Cisco Kid | Viva Cisco Kid | Joan Allen |
| 1940 | f | Brigham young | Brigham young | Clara Young |
| 1940 | f | Yesterday's heroes | Yesterday's Heroes | Lee Kellogg |
| 1941 | f | Let's make music | Let's make music | Abby adams |
| 1941 | f | Project for scandal | Design for scandal | Dotty |
| 1942 | f | Dr. Kildar's victory | Dr. Kildare's victory | Miss Annabelle Kirk |
| 1942 | f | Sunday hit | Sunday punch | Judy Gailstream |
| 1942 | f | Date in the Pacific | Pacific Rendezvous | Elaine Carter |
| 1942 | f | War Against Ms. Headley | The war against mrs. Hadley | Patricia Hadley |
| 1942 | core | People | Personalities | (not indicated in credits) |
| 1943 | f | Maisie's second shift | Swing Shift Maisie | Iris reed |
| 1943 | f | Whoosh in brooklyn | Whistling in brooklyn | Gene Pringle |
| 1943 | f | Stranger in the city | A stranger in town | Lucy Gelbert |
| 1945 | f | Rough, cool and ready | Rough, Tough and Ready | Joe Mateson |
| 1945 | f | Strange Mr. Gregory | The strange Mr. Gregory | Ellen Randall |
| 1946 | f | Fun people | Gay blades | Nancy Davis |
| 1946 | f | Hot load | Hot cargo | Jerry Walters |
| 1947 | f | Counter attack | Backlash | Katherine Morland |
| 1948 | f | Desperate speed | Speed to spare | Mary McGee |
| 1948 | f | Return battle | Fight back | June Sanders |
| 1950 | f | Another woman | The second woman | Dodo Ferris |
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AP. Obituary: Jean Rogers, Actress 74 . The New York Times (February 28, 1991). Date of treatment July 19, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Jean Rogers. Mini Bio Internet Movie Database. Date of treatment July 19, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Earliest Movies and TV Shows With Jean Rogers . Internet Movie Database. Date of treatment July 19, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hal Erickson. Jean Rogers. Biography AllMovie. Date of treatment July 19, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Lamparski, 1982 , p. 253.
- ↑ Kinnard, 2015 , p. 14.
- ↑ Selby, 1997 , p. 129.
Literature
- Roy Kinnard, Tony Crnkovich, RJ Vitone. The Flash Gordon Serials, 1936-1940: A Heavily Illustrated Guide . - McFarland, 2015 .-- ISBN 9780786455003 .
- Richard Lamparski. Whatever Became Of--?: Eight Series: the Best (updated) and Newest of the Famous Lamparski Profiles of Personalities of Yesteryear. Eighth Series . - Crown Publishers, 1982. - ISBN 9780517543467 .
Links
- Gene Rogers at IMDb
- Gene Rogers on AllMovie