Ep 72: Yvonne De Carlo in Criss Cross (1949)

An executive in Universal studio turned down Yvonne De Carlo's request for the part of the waitress in A Double Life. He explained the way the system worked--Yvonne was rock candy, not dipped chocolates. They wanted to keep her in the stuff that sold and sold. Robert Siodmak felt otherwise and fought to keep her in the role for Criss Cross that producer Mark Hellinger had promised her before his tragic death. Siodmak doesn't ask Yvonne to play rock candy or a paint by numbers noir dame. In this picture, she proves she was a great actress--and wasted in those sand and sandals pictures.