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1-8 of 8
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Berlin-born actress Kaaren Verne (sometimes billed as Karen) was born Ingeborg Catherine Marie Rose Klinkerfuss in 1918. Originally a stage actress and member of the Berlin State Theatre, she and her first husband, Arthur Young, fled their homeland in 1938. She began her career in England as a model and eventually signed with 20th Century-Fox for films. No movies came out of this agreement, however, but her screen test interested Fox, making her debut with the drama Missing Ten Days (1940) starring Rex Harrison.
Jumping on the popular foreign bandwagon during WWII along with other European hopefuls, this highly attractive blonde turned in strong lead and second lead roles throughout the early 1940s. An MGM contract led to a couple of films (Sky Murder (1940) and The Wild Man of Borneo (1941)). A freelance contract with Warner Bros. stabilized things a bit. The Teutonic actress initially intended to "Americanize" her stage name to the more acceptable Catherine Young, but her vehement anti-Nazi sentiment made for more publicity and stronger audience identification, so the name of Kaaren Verne quickly returned. She appeared frequently as mysterious ladies in both propaganda films such as Underground (1941) and whodunit mysteries, keeping Walter Pidgeon's Nick Carter and Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes on their toes. For the most part she remained in the "B" movie realm.
Kaaren had a couple of fine chances for stardom. She shared a touching scene with Robert Cummings in the classic soaper Kings Row (1942) and appeared opposite Humphrey Bogart as a romantic interest in All Through the Night (1942), a combination gangster/spy film. One of Bogie's lesser known movies, the best thing it did for Kaaren was introduce her to one of her co-stars Peter Lorre. Divorcing first husband Arthur Young, by whom she had a son, Alastair, she quickly married Lorre in 1945 and put her career on hold for a time. The turbulent union was rather brief, however, lasting only five years before separating in 1950 and finally divorcing two years later. During the course of that marriage, she attempted suicide more than once. Upon their divorce, she made herself available again for films but the wind had already been kicked out of her career sails. Kaaren found some sporadic TV work but they were minor and few and far between. Her looks grew hard and coarse over time and she moved wisely into small, drab character parts, usually as a world-weary matron. One of her last movie roles was the minor part of the hausfrau and mother to Gila Golan in the all-star epic picture Ship of Fools (1965).
Kaaren, who had married a third time, died quite suddenly in her Hollywood home during Christmas week in 1967, looking much older than her 49 years. Her death is somewhat of a mystery. Some sources say she committed suicide; others claim she died of a heart ailment. She was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Minnesota and was survived by her third husband, theatre and film critic/historian James Powers, and an adopted daughter.- Veronica Smith was born on 20 September 1895 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She was an actress, known for Injustice (1919). She was married to Leon Hereford and Joseph W. Bland. She died on 23 December 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Max Révol was born on 21 April 1894 in Grenoble, Isère, France. He was an actor, known for Twilight (1944), La belle aventure (1942) and Jusqu'au dernier (1957). He was married to Eulalie Imbert. He died on 23 December 1967 in Paris, France.
- George Middleton was born on 27 October 1880 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer, known for The Girl at Home (1917), The World Apart (1917) and Her Strange Wedding (1917). He was married to Flora Dodge La Follette. He died on 23 December 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- Emilie Urbanova was born on 6 May 1881 in Stará Hut, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Hlavni vyhra (1959), Poteryannaya fotografiya (1960) and Praha nultá hodina (1963). She died on 23 December 1967 in Cernosice u Prahy, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Additional Crew
- Director
- Actor
Mario Corte was born on 29 November 1878 in Cagliari, Italy. He was a director and actor, known for La serenata della morte (1914), Espiazione (1916) and L'inviolabile (1919). He died on 23 December 1967 in Rome, Italy.- Else Kündinger was born on 5 May 1885 in Mannheim, Germany. She was an actress, known for Der Katzensteg (1937), Ich hab mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren (1926) and Er weiß was er will (1935). She died on 23 December 1967 in Munich, Germany.
- Mary Russell was born in 1903 in the UK. She was an actress, known for BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Dixon of Dock Green (1955). She died on 23 December 1967 in St. Pancras, London, England, UK.