From: ToddDominion
Susan Hayward won a Best Actress Osca... Susan Hayward won a Best Actress Oscar for her astounding portrayal of prostitute/petty criminal condemned to death row for murder.
In 1994, Dorian Lord faced death by lethal injection for the murder of Victoria Lord's father and Dorian's former husband, Victor Lord. It wasn't the first time Dorian was imprisoned; years earlier, she was also convicted of murdering the Reverend Mitchell Laurence. We have since learned that neither man died and Dorian was eventually cleared of both convictions and set free. Still, it was great viewing in those days and Ms. Strasser admits to enjoying her time spent behind bars since she is a fan of movies from the 40s, 50s with the dramatic divas, who exuded strength and vulnerability in their performances. Names that come to mind include Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity" (1944) and Susan Hayward in "I Want To Live" (1958). Susan Hayward won an Academy Award® for her performance as Barbara Graham, who in real-life was a party girl convicted of murder and sentenced to death. She proclaimed her innocence until the day she died in the San Quentin gas chamber.
On OLTL it looked to be a witchhunt by Viki and her romantic partner at the time Sloan Carpenter, who doggedly pursued Dorian being prosecuted for Victor's death. It was painful to watch, yet riveting. Similarly, I watched as Lindsay Rappaport was charged with killing Spencer Truman. Dorian visited Lindsay recently and pledged her support. It was ironic to me that Lindsay allowed Dorian to be jailed for Spencer's murder; years ago Dorian allowed Lindsay to be accused of accidentally killing Lindsay's unborn grandchild, Megan, when Dorian ran over her mother, Jessica, in a hit and run. Still, who in Llanview knows better what it's like to be repeatedly accused of heinous crimes and have their life hang in the balance or at the brink of death? And as this continues with Lindsay's tale, I again wonder what writer Ron Carlivati intended with Dorian's recent reveal to Viki that she (Dorian) killed Victor Lord. Have we heard the last of it?
Ms. Stanwyck, who starred in "Double Indemnity" with Fred McMurray, was concerned about playing a killer. The following (along with the picture on the left) is from moderntimes.com: In an interview for Movie Digest in 1972, Barbara, recalled, “when Billy Wilder sent me the script of Double Indemnity, and I read it, I realized that I had never played an out–and–out killer. I had played medium heavies, but never an out–and–out killer. And because it was an unsympathetic character, I was a little frightened of it. I went to his office, and I said to him, I love the script and I love you, but I’m a little afraid, after all these years of playing heroines to play the part of an out–and–out cold– blooded killer… Mr. Wilder looked at me and resolutely declared, “Are you an actress or a mouse?” Well, I hope I’m an actress I lamented. To which he bluntly replied, Then take the part.”, I did, and I have been grateful to him since”. Ms. Stanwyck was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the movie classic.
