Watching Classic Movies Podcast: The Turbulent, Remarkable Life of Veronica Lake with Brian Brown

While the actress Veronica Lake dealt with her share of trauma, her life was not quite the tragedy that it has long been rumored to be. Before she hit her mid-twenties she had appeared in six bonafide classic films, including Sullivan’s Travels, three noirs with Alan Ladd starting with This Gun for Hire, I Married a Witch and So Proudly We Hail. She left Hollywood behind, but never stopped working on the stage and in television, while pursuing the life she was unable to have as a young star. I spoke with UCLA Cinema and Media Studies Program Manager and Lake enthusiast and researcher Brian Brown about the highs and lows of this remarkable actress. 

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Titles discussed: 

Sullivan’s Travels (1941) 

This Gun for Hire (1942) 

The Glass Key (1942) 

I Married a Witch (1942) 

So Proudly We Hail (1943) 

The Blue Dahlia (1946) 

Ramrod (1947) 

The Sainted Sisters (1948)

Slattery’s Hurricane (1949) 

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