Editing Grace Kelly (section)

=== 1951–1953: Early films and breakthrough ===
[[File:GraceKellyHighNoonTrailerScreenshot1952.jpg|thumb|left|Kelly in ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952), her first major film role]]
Kelly was performing at Colorado's [[Elitch Theatre]] when producer [[Stanley Kramer]] offered her a role co-starring opposite Cooper in [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952), a Western filmed in [[Columbia, California]]. She accepted the role, and the film was shot in the late summer and early fall of 1951 over a 28-day shooting schedule in hot weather conditions. She was cast as a "young Quaker bride to Gary Cooper's stoic marshal", and wore a "suitably demure vaguely Victorian dress".{{Sfn|Haugland|2006|p=954}} ''High Noon'' garnered four [[Academy Awards]], and has since been ranked by some reviewers among the best films of all time.<ref name="Mcclure2012">{{cite book|last=Mcclure|first=Hal Hays|title=Adventuring: My Life as a Pilot, Foreign Correspondent and Travel Adventure Filmmaker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QCjiD1gtW1EC&pg=PA91|access-date=June 3, 2013|date=July 30, 2012|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4685-9812-4|page=91}}</ref>

Biographer H. Haughland stated: "Miss Kelly's acting did not excite the critics, or live up to her own expectations."{{Sfn|Haugland|2006|p=954}} Some critics scoffed at the conclusion of the film in which Cooper's character has to be saved by Kelly's.<ref name="DiMare2011">{{cite book|last=DiMare|first=Philip C.|title=Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qUJ-JuSPdQC&pg=PA411|access-date=June 3, 2013|date=June 17, 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-297-5|page=411}}</ref> One critic argued that her pacifist character, killing a man who is about to shoot her husband, was cold and abstract. [[Alfred Hitchcock]] described her performance as "rather mousey", and stated that it lacked animation. He said that it was only in her later films that she "really blossomed" and showed her quality.<ref name="Mcclure2012" /><ref name="Fawell2004">{{cite book|last=Fawell|first=John|title=Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-made Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spGXHQUHmLUC&pg=PA142|access-date=June 3, 2013|year=2004|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-8970-4|page=142|archive-date=September 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928223852/https://books.google.com/books?id=spGXHQUHmLUC&pg=PA142#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Grace Kelly - Studio portrait (1953).png|thumb|upright|Studio portrait (1953)]]

After filming ''High Noon'', Kelly returned to New York City and took private acting lessons, wanting to be taken seriously as an actress.{{Sfn|Haugland|2006|p = 954}} She performed in a few dramas in the theater, and in TV serials.{{sfn|Spoto|2010|pages = 79–85}} She appeared in several television plays,<ref name="Bio" /> and screen-tested for the film ''[[Taxi (1953 film)|Taxi]]'' in the spring of 1952. Director [[John Ford]] noticed Kelly in the screen test, and his studio flew her out to Los Angeles to audition in September 1952. Ford said that Kelly showed "breeding, quality, and class". She was given the role, along with a seven-year contract at the relatively low salary of $850 a week ({{Inflation|US|850|1952|fmt=eq}}).{{Sfn|Haugland|2006|p = 956}} Kelly signed the deal under two conditions: first, that one out of every two years, she had time off to work in the theatre; and second, that she be able to live in New York City at her residence in [[Manhattan House]], at 200 E. 66th Street, now a landmark.{{r|jacobs201005}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Barbanel |first=Josh |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/realestate/28deal1.html |title=The Kelly Connection |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 28, 2007 |access-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123110253/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/realestate/28deal1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 1952, Kelly and the cast arrived in [[Nairobi]] to begin the production of the film ''[[Mogambo]]'', replacing [[Gene Tierney]], who dropped out at the last minute due to personal issues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/267/Gene+Tierney/index.html |title=The Private Life and Times of Gene Tierney |publisher=Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com |access-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-date=May 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506214455/http://www.glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com/show/267/Gene+Tierney/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Tierney|author2=Herskowitz|date=1978|publisher=Wyden Books|title=Self-Portrait|pages=150–151}}</ref> Kelly later told Hollywood columnist [[Hedda Hopper]], "''Mogambo'' had three things that interested me: John Ford, [[Clark Gable]], and a trip to [[Kenya|Africa]], with expenses paid. If ''Mogambo'' had been made in Arizona, I wouldn't have done it."<ref name="Hedda Hopper Collection">{{cite book |title= Hedda Hopper Collection|publisher=Maraget Herrick Library, Los Angeles}}</ref> Kelly played Linda Nordley, a contemplative English wife with a romantic interest in Clark Gable's character. Filming took place over the course of three months. The costumes were designed by [[Helen Rose]]. A break in the filming schedule afforded her and ''Mogambo'' co-star [[Ava Gardner]] a visit to Rome.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kaplan |first= James |title= Frank: The Voice|url= https://archive.org/details/frankvoice00kapla |url-access= registration |publisher=Doubleday|year= 2010 |isbn= 978-0-385-51804-8 |page= [https://archive.org/details/frankvoice00kapla/page/586 586]}}</ref> The film was released in 1953, and had a successful run at the box office.{{Sfn|Haugland|2006|p=956}} Kelly won a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress]], and received her first Academy Award nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for her performance.{{Sfn|Haugland|2006}}