Anne Bryce, who won an Oscar nomination for her role as Joan Crawford’s devious and deceitful teenage daughter in the classic 1945 melodrama “Mildred Pierce,” and whose roles ranged from light to heavyweight roles during Hollywood’s Golden Age, died Wednesday at the age of 98, according to media reports.
Bryce, who trained as an opera singer and was comfortable appearing in musical films, dramas and even a farce in which she played a mermaid, died of natural causes, according to reports.
She made more than 30 films in a film career that lasted from 1944 to 1957. Bryce was only 16 years old when she gave her stunning performance in her most memorable film, Mildred Pierce. The film also brought Crawford, a mercurial film legend, her only career Academy Award.
Bryce is more than capable on screen as Veda, Crawford’s status-seeking daughter who competes with her mother for the same man, her stepfather, played by Zachary Scott. In one scene, Bryce slaps Crawford in the face, knocking him down.
“Get out of here before I kill you,” an angry Crawford tells Bryce.
The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, whose other works included the classics “Casablanca,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
“He had a lot of faith in me, and that helped me,” Bryce told the Los Angeles Times in 2013 about Curtis.
“She surprised everyone,” film historian Alan Lord told the Times, referring to Bryce. “This is certainly a Joan Crawford movie, but she’s really the backbone of the movie. She’s the epitome of the film noir girl from hell. It’s a great performance that stands the test of time.”
“Mildred Pierce” was a hit with the public and critics and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actress, while Bryce and co-star Eve Arden were nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but did not win.
Bryce’s career momentum was hampered after “Mildred Pierce” when she broke her hip in a tobogganing accident.
Her versatility allowed her to shine in musicals such as “Kismet” (1955) and “The Student Prince” (1954), spectacles such as “The Golden Horde” (1951), comedies such as “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaids” (1948) with William Powell, and dramas such as “One Minute to Zero” (1952) with Robert Mitchum.
The petite brunette actress co-starred with other top male stars, including Burt Lancaster in Brute Force (1947), Mickey Rooney in Killer McCoy (1947), Bing Crosby in Top of the Morning (1949), Mario Lanza in The Great Caruso (1951), and Gregory Peck in The World in My Arms. (1952) and The Helen Morgan Story (1957), starring Paul Newman, were her last films.
She has a beautiful soprano voice and performed on the opera stage early in her career.
Bryce was a natural for musical films, but for the songs in The Helen Morgan Story, the studio insisted that her vocals be dubbed with another singer.
She appeared in occasional television roles after his last film, from 1964’s The Twilight Zone to 1985’s Murder She Wrote.
Ann Marie Blythe was born on August 16, 1928 in Mount Kisco, New York.
She trained as a singer and actress since childhood. While touring in a Broadway play in Los Angeles as a teenager, she took the screen test that led to her career in Hollywood.
Bryce had five children with her husband, James McNulty, who passed away in 2007.
