Veronica Lake gives quick dialogue an unusual steadiness: she lets a line land without asking for applause. We value her comic timing most, particularly in Sullivan's Travels, where she and Joel McCrea make clever writing sound unforced.
Fi1m perspective
In Sullivan's Travels (1941), Veronica Lake delivers quick dialogue without making every exchange a contest. Playing The Girl opposite Joel McCrea, she lets the lines do their work and keeps the romantic comedy steady. We enjoyed their company because neither actor pauses to ask for our approval of a clever remark. Preston Sturges can be earnest about the value of entertainment; Lake helps keep that earnestness from wearing us out.
The long blonde hair falling over one eye became her trademark in I Wanted Wings (1941), her breakthrough at Paramount. Sullivan's Travels arrived in the same year, which is useful to remember when the hairstyle threatens to become the entire subject. The comic skill was there as her stardom began. With McCrea, she gives the romance time to register even as the dialogue moves quickly, making their company a substantial part of the film's appeal.
The run from 1942 to 1946 put her repeatedly alongside Alan Ladd, beginning with This Gun for Hire (1942) and continuing through The Glass Key (1942) to The Blue Dahlia (1946). Their on-screen rapport helped establish the cool, knowing Lake of the noirs. That is an important part of her work, but it should not be allowed to stand for all of it. René Clair's fantasy comedy I Married a Witch (1942), in which she plays Jennifer, belongs to the same stretch. The comedies deserve attention beside those noirs, rather than being filed away as exceptions.
The limitation of Sullivan's Travels is that its defence of entertainment becomes a little too comfortable. Lake cannot answer that problem, but she gives us someone whose presence remains welcome while Sturges presses his case. Her contribution is precise enough that we need not make extravagant claims for what else she might have been able to play. Start with Sturges's comedy, and watch how readily she lets McCrea have his share of an exchange.
Biography
Veronica Lake was an American actor. Born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman, she trained at the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting in Hollywood after moving to California with her family. She began her film career with small roles in the late 1930s before gaining notice in I Wanted Wings (1941).
Lake appeared as The Girl in Sullivan's Travels (1941). She is also known for her roles in This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), I Married a Witch (1942), The Blue Dahlia (1946) and Ramrod (1947). She died in 1973.
