It's funny how little information there is out there about May (pronounced My) Britt. There is plenty on those few American films and even more on her famous marriage. Notably missing were those early years in Sweden (born 1934) or her life after 1960. She is still alive as of this writing so it seems apparent she likes her privacy since we know virtually nothing about her for the last 60 years.
Good for her. She's entitled. It's amazing she's been able to pull it off. In this tell-all world how has she avoided the nosy press? Swedes are not big attention-seekers and she was deeply hurt by the things people said about her so she just departed and that was that.
When she was 18 living in Stockholm and working for a photographer, producer Carlo Ponti and director Mario Soldati stopped by to look at pictures of blonde models. They needed one for a new film and the photogenic Britt was hired and whisked off to Rome.
In two years she made 10 fairly forgettable Italian films. In 1956 she was offered the role of Audrey Hepburn's sister-in-law in the mammoth King Vidor-Dino DiLaurentiis production of War and Peace. While not a great success, it was at least shown in the states and someone at Fox saw Britt and offered her a contract.
First up was Irwin Shaw's WWII story, The Young Lions (1958), about the military and personal lives of three soldiers, two Americans and one German. A blond Marlon Brando gives a bravura performance as the German. Britt plays Brando's superior's wife who has designs on him. It is a sexy role and she was fortunate to have scenes with him.
The Hunters (1958) stars Robert Mitchium, Robert Wagner, Richard Egan and Lee Philips and is another war film. This time it's the Korean War and Britt has a larger role as a 1st lieutenant's (Philips) wife who is having an affair with a major (Mitchum), causing problems at home and with the military. Dick Powell directed a movie I liked more than I thought I would. The Mitchum-Britt affair is surprisingly tender (she's a bit wooden perhaps) and the aerial scenes are exciting.
The Blue Angel (1959) is Britt's best film and I thoroughly enjoyed the story of a puritanical professor (Curt Jurgens) who falls for a sexy chanteuse who works at Germany's Blue Angel cabaret. Ill-matched as they are, they marry anyway. She is thrilled to be the respectable wife of a professor. He, however, loses his job due to the marriage and is unable to secure other employment. The results are not pretty.
I have no doubt whatsoever that this version is inferior to the 1930 film that brought Marlene Dietrich worldwide fame or that Britt lacks the magic that marked nearly everything that Dietrich did. But I've not seen the older version and I was entertained by this one. Nonetheless, I am among the first to say remakes of classic films is dangerous territory.
Murder, Inc. (1960) was the name of a crime syndicate the Feds were determined to take down. Stuart Whitman plays a frightened crooner and Britt plays his dangerously outspoken wife who are being intimidated by the mob. The fairly routine story features an outstanding performance by Peter Falk as one of the thugs and the story comes alive when he's on screen.
In 1959 Britt got a divorce from her student-husband of 19 months and later that year began a whirlwind romance with Sammy Davis Jr. He alone and they together would be heckled and insulted over and over again. Sometimes it would occur during his stage shows.
In November of 1960 Britt and Davis were married and instantly became lawbreakers in 31 states. In the months and even years to come they were part of at least the weekly news and it was some pretty awful stuff. Confidential Magazine had its own exposé, of course, and more than once. It salivated over stories of interracial romance. If anyone expressed approval, it must have been in very small print. I remember seeing a respected TV anchor report some story about them and roll his eyes.
Davis had some singing engagements canceled and the pair, though married, he could not stay in some of the same hotels or hotel rooms as she did. Fox, when asked if it were true that Britt's contract would not be renewed, said let's put it this way. Her picture The Blue Angel didn't set any records at the box office. We don't believe we have any further properties that would suit her. Studio chieftain Buddy Adler got involved and said all the speculation was wrong. She still was under contract. Funny thing though... she had made her last Fox film.
In 1967 the Supreme Court ruled that any man and woman of any race could marry anyone they wanted and be accorded full rights in any state of the union. That didn't go down well in all quarters but I think Mr. and Mrs. Davis are owed some large debt of gratitude. They turned on a spotlight and got conversations moving along.
She said she did it for love and that definitely gets a big aw from me. I love a good love story. Apparently, however, it wasn't as good as it once was because they divorced in 1968 after eight years and three children. I think his cheating was the culprit. Member of the Rat Pack cheated? No.
Britt did guest shots on five television shows from 1968 to 1988. In 1976, sixteen years after making her last film, she appeared in Haunts for a studio called American General. It made a few horror films that usually starred actors who had seen better times. Britt's costars were Cameron Mitchell and Aldo Ray. It would once and for all be her final film.
In 1993, she married an entertainment executive and thoroughbred horse owner/breeder and they remain married until his passing in 2017. She took up painting with a vengeance. To my knowledge, she still resides in Los Angeles.
I had heard nothing of her since she divorced Davis. (She is apparently reluctant to discuss her marriage to him.) I couldn't even find a photo of her in her later years. Her flame was hot and brief but I can tell you I enjoyed those four movies this beauty made at Fox.
Next posting:
The Directors
May Britt showed true grit.
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