I remember watching Dana Andrews in The Best Years of Our Lives and thinking "why didn't he become a big star?" He seemed to have it all - looks, presence, charisma, a sense of masculinity, draft exempt status during the war, plus genuine acting talent. He did pretty well as a star but never made the top rank - this book helps explain why.
Partly it was his persona, which was never really strong in the way say Gable, Bogart, Flynn or even Raft could be (try doing a Dana Andrews impersonation and see how you go). Andrews could be too unobtrusive - he was an excellent second lead. Part of it was the fact he often seemed to coast in films, and needed a good director (e.g. Wyler, Wellman, Preminger) to get him going, when the truly great actors can surpass lousy direction.
Partly - and mostly - it was the alcoholism. Andrews was a big drinker, even by the standards of the day; for a while he could carry it off but you can't put it away consistently and have it not affect you. In the 50s and 60s it meant he became unprofessional and would have cost him work.
Still, it was an amazing career. He put in a long apprenticeship in stock (he trained as an opera singer), was fortunate enough to have some people who wanted to support him financially, but once he got a break it happened for him relatively quickly - signed by Goldwyn, who shared his contract with Fox, he got showy parts in some good movies, and the absence of leading men in war time saw him move to the forefront.
Look at the directors he worked with: Hawks, Ford, Wyler, Hathaway, Renoir, Preminger, Kazan, Lang. Even when his career declined in the 50s - with the fall of the studio system it was probably inevitable that it would dip (Goldwyn's faltering touch didn't help) - he still remained in demand: handsome, masculine actors always seem to find work, if only playing generals.
His personal life was marked with great tragedy: his first wife and son pre-deceased him, he grew up very poor, he died of Alzheimers. Bottling up all this is probably what contributed to his alcoholism - and made him so interesting on screen.
This is a very good biography, excellently researched. It's a little confusing that the author refers to Andrews as "Dana" and "Carver" (his real name) but there are some excellent sources (such as private letters including to his early girlfriends) and strong analysis of his best performances.
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