Elegance and femininity are fitting descriptions for Arlene Dahl. She
is considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced
the screen during the postwar period. Audiences were captivated by her
breathtaking beauty and the way she used to it to her advantage,
progressing from claimer to character roles.
Of Norwegian extraction, Miss Dahl was born in Minneapolis. Following
high school she joined a local drama group, supporting herself with a
variety of jobs, including modeling for a number of department stores.
Arriving in Hollywood in 1946, she signed a brief contract with Warner
Brothers, but she is best remembered for her work at MGM.
The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
was her first work at Metro. It was an odd but rather humorous love
story, which starred Van Johnson and
June Allyson.
Although her beauty captivated audiences, it ultimately limited her to
smaller roles, and the mark she made at MGM was small. Some of her best
films were
Das schwarze Buch (1949), which
actually required some acting and she acquitted herself quite
well, Drei kleine Worte (1950),
Die Welt gehört der Frau (1954),
Straße des Verbrechens (1956) and
Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Erde (1959).
Leaving films behind her in 1959, her typecasting would pay off
financially as she became a beauty columnist and writer. She later
established herself as a businesswoman, founding Arlene Dahl
Enterprises which marketed lingerie and cosmetics.
She was married six times, two of whom were actors,
Lex Barker and
Fernando Lamas. She is the mother of
actor / action star Lorenzo Lamas, and
actually made a guest appearance in his film
Kickboxer USA - Die Nacht des Fighters (1991).
