Kim Novak(1933

     The voluptuous Kim Novak combined her curvaceous body with a husky whisper of a voice into a dazzling screen package. Platinum blonde hair screamed for attention atop the kittenish mannerisms. Dazzling liquid green eyes, larger than seemed  possible, were highlighted against translucent  bone skin.  Novak was a breath-taker from her very first credited role in Pushover, a noir starring Fred McMurray. 
    She was unlike any of the other sex bombs of the fifties and sixties. Kim had a wounded deer vulnerability. She didn't advertise her sensuality; she battled with it. That set her apart from the Monroes or Mansfields. 
    The slight awkwardness in the way she held herself worked to emphasize a shyness that belied the flashy assault of her striking appearance. Novak was a good performer, yet, she was a meticulously crafted  clock with an extra tick. it worked for her and against her. It emphasized her fragile side. It also tended to withdraw her performances. When she tried to go big, like in The Legend of Lylah Clare, it seemed forced. In Picnic, the innocence worked beautifully. Even in Pal Joey, playing opposite Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth, Novak's innocence overpowered her show girl status. Musicals were not her forte. Listening to her sing made audiences pine for silent films. 
    Vertigo is arguably Novak's most memorable film.  She's perfectly cast as Judy/Madelaine, the mysterious femme fatale of Alfred Hitchcock's concoction.. The San Francisco fog hung over the blonde as a seductive veil. Hitchcock emphasized the mystery and the film dressed her in a dual role, emphasizing the hint of strangeness about the actress.  
    Director Richard Quine found the best in Novak, guiding her through four films including Pushover.  In Bell, Book, and Candle, Quine combined her screen qualities into a sensual package. Again working with James Stewart, the charming comedy was a bit of romantic fluff  about practicing witches in New York City. The stunning beauty, the mystery, the off-kilter innocence were perfect for Gillian the witch. After a solid turn in Middle of the Night with Frederic March, Novak again worked with Quine in the lusty melodrama Strangers When We Meet. Douglas's screen fire ignited Novak's sexuality and burned away some of the innocence. Novak's last film with Quine was the mildly successful off-beat comedy The Notorious Landlady. 
    Novak's star burned white hot for a brief time, platinum hair and huge green eyes turning male movie goers to panting adolescents. The highlight of the sixties was Boys Night Out, a lecherous comedy that made the most of Novak's statuesque beauty. By the end of the decade, the beautiful and fragile star had all but disappeared. There was sporadic television work, a couple of German films in the late eighties and in 1991, an interesting supporting role in the film Liebestraum, but the fifties was the memorable decade for Novak. 

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