Citations

There's a difference in the morality [of today]. I don't want to be embarrassed when I go to see something on the screen. I don't want to listen to foul language, watch a lot of violence or see something immoral. I prefer stories with sensitivity and family values; films that strive to lift you up to a higher place in life. Those types of films are few and far between today. As a result, I seldom go to the movies.

[Twentieth Century Fox] was a wonderful place. It was like a separate little world of its own. I remember the huge buildings full of antique cars, stagecoaches and varied pieces of architecture. It was just incredible, and so much fun to wander through. There were New York, Western and Midwestern streets, a Roman square, the countryside...it was huge, and an extraordinary place.

[on a sexy seduction scene with Ron Randell in Most Dangerous Man Alive (1961)] This was a very unusual part for me, you know, and that was one reason I did it. It was kind of a veer-off from what I usually did.

[on having to wear brown contact lenses for her part in Les dix commandements (1956)] I've worn contacts three different times in movies, but they're awful to work in because the Kleig lights heat them up. I have to keep taking them off about every half hour, but they make my eyes the right color for [Cecil B. DeMille]. If it hadn't been for the lenses I wouldn't have gotten the part.

I was pleased to learn a contemporary actress, Debra Winger, was named after me.

I had gone into the theatre at about 9-10 years old and worked professionally from 11 on. I signed a contract at 20th Century Fox at 14. My mother was my agent. She had a lot of contacts and through her connections, I was signed. It kind of took your breath away at first. I was awe-struck. It took a while to come down off that cloud. I had to have a parent and a schoolteacher with me at all times.

My brother Frank Griffin used the name Ruell Shayne in [Elvis: Love Me Tender (1956)]. He had a bit, but he did have a lead in Teen-Age Crime Wave (1955), He's done a western with Guy Madison [Bullwhip (1958)] and a cult science fiction film, The Giant Claw (1957). He's now a top make-up man.

[on working with James Stewart in La flèche brisée (1950)] I was so young that I was told, "Don't ever tell him your age. Lie and say you're 17." Well, I had a birthday on the set, and when Jimmy saw the number of candles, he screamed, "Oh my God, I'm a dirty old man!" We had a lot of bad weather - it would wash away the set! We got way behind schedule, and Jimmy's fiancée, Gloria [Gloria Stewart], came up there. A week after we finished, they were married.

[on religion] I used to have a show on Trinity Broadcasting; I once did a seminar with Jacqueline White that was fun. We talked about the picture days. I do things for the Lord Jesus Christ - I give speeches, I write gospel songs and poems that are used when I speak.

[on testing for La flèche brisée (1950)] [James Stewart] took the time to test with us, which was not usually done at that time by major stars, they'd have a contract player work with you. But he took all that time to work with Jeff Chandler and I which made a great deal of difference in our getting the parts. In a scene, if Jimmy thought Jeff, who was a gentle, quiet man, or I could do better, he would blow it and they'd have to cut. And he'd whisper to us, "You can do this better...focus in". He was just a beautiful human being. I want to cry, thinking about his recent passing. I loved that man, and I love that film. It was my first starring billing.

In 1982, I decided to go back to work. A newspaper reporter did a long story on me. Then I prayed about it, and decided not to do it. I did do a play, that was lots of fun, but I will never have a full-time acting career again.

[on Elvis Presley] Elvis and I did [Texaco Star Theatre Starring Milton Berle (1948)] three months before we did Elvis: Love Me Tender (1956). I didn't notice Elvis because I had a tough dance number; my mother was there when we did it. Elvis did have a scene with [Milton Berle] that had something to do about me...and I may have come on at the end, I don't recall. I was more concerned with that crazy dance - I kept throwing my hip out - they had a woman on the set who pushed it back in! I just did the job and tried to stay out of pain!

Three months later we did 'Love Me Tender.' Originally, it had no songs. Elvis didn't want to sing, but they wanted to cash in, so he did sing in the movie. I didn't know Elvis was to do the picture until it was time to do the film. I was very shy, very quiet and very immature for my age. I was in my very early twenties but I was emotionally more like a 16-year-old. Elvis and I just sort of came together like a couple of children really. Following the film, he did ask me to marry him, but my parents objected to my getting married. I cared about Elvis, but being one not to disobey my parents, that did not take place. He was a precious, humble, lovely person. Elvis had a lot of talent; there was a lot of depth they never used. He could have been a fine actor.

[on the contact lenses she had to wear for La flèche brisée (1950)] The contact lenses were a problem. They weren't like they are today - not plastic, but *glass*! They covered the entire eye! They dyed the color in them. The light would heat them up and they dried the eyeball. You would sometimes be shot in profile, so only one contact had to be in your eye. The heat would turn that eye to hamburger. They were supposed to stay in 15 minutes, but it would turn into four hours! I'd see rainbows for half an hour after taking them out. Once, when I put the contacts on a table by the shore, they fell into the river! The entire crew was on their knees feeling, trying to find the contact lenses. Finally, my mother had to send off for spares. I still have the originals - they are humdingers.

[on her sisters, Lisa Gaye and Teala Loring] I think Teala is the prettiest, then Lisa, then myself! Lisa has a quick, sharp wit about her, and a good sense of humor.

On L'oiseau de paradis (1951), there were 50 island girls hired to jump off a boat. They were not well-endowed, so the studio wanted to put pads or falsies in the sarongs. But the girls balked. They wouldn't let them be put in. Finally, they put them in themselves - and when the director called "Action," they jumped off the boat and the falsies came off! From island to island, the story preceded us! They later called it Falsie Bay.

I was at Fox for two weeks when I did Cry of the City (1948) with Richard Conte and Victor Mature. They had shot the small part of a young 18-year-old, who had an innocent look about her, with two different actresses. They didn't like the results and decided to test three more. When I did the part, they liked what they saw, and I was kept after the six-month option period! I worked with Victor Mature in that when I was about 14 years old. I was so shy, terrified and insecure. He would put me on all the time. I didn't know it was a put on. I thought he was really mad at me. I'd run to my dressing room and cry. He really wasn't being bad. I worked with him later and then I understood it was just a put on. But he knew how to get to you!

Of course, Cecil B. DeMille was a great director - I worked with him for a whole year on my personal favorite film, Les dix commandements (1956). That picture took two years to complete. Unfortunately, all my scenes were shot in Hollywood - only Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner had to go to Egypt. But it was an ordeal, just the same. I was wearing the same costume for 3 or 4 months! They wouldn't clean it, because it was supposed to look dirty! I like animals, but goats, camels, cows and dogs in the dust-blah! The goats would be chewing on my costume. DeMille personally chose me for the part. He told me he felt the hand of God was always on my career! I did Les amours d'Omar Khayyam (1957) later - but it was nothing like this.