Editing Joan Collins (section)

=== 1960s ===
In 1960, Collins became increasingly disillusioned with 20th Century Fox when, having been the original choice to play the title role in ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'', the part went instead to [[Elizabeth Taylor]]. Collins withdrew from the studio's production of ''[[Sons and Lovers (film)|Sons and Lovers]]'', and requested a release from her contract, but agreed to star in one last film for Fox, top-billed again in the biblical epic ''[[Esther and the King]]'' (1960).

In 1961, she returned to London to star opposite [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Bob Hope]] in the last of that film duo's "road" pictures, ''[[The Road to Hong Kong]]'' (1962). Former "road" leading lady [[Dorothy Lamour]] was relegated to a guest appearance in the film. In Italy, Collins starred in ''[[Hard Time for Princes]]'' (1965); back in the US she played [[David Janssen]]'s wife in the detective thriller ''[[Warning Shot (1967 film)|Warning Shot]]'' (1967); in the UK she was the leading lady in the spy caper ''[[Subterfuge (1968 film)|Subterfuge]]'' (1968); and made a cameo appearance in the comedy ''[[If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium]]'' (1969).

In the US, Collins starred opposite her husband [[Anthony Newley]] in his autobiographical musical ''[[Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?]]'' (1969), a decision she later regretted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/do-not-attempt-sober/Content?oid=2167788|title = Do Not Attempt Sober}}</ref> Then came the female lead in the Italian drama ''L'amore brave'' (1969), ''[[The Executioner (1970 film)|The Executioner]]'' (1970), a thriller with George Peppard, and ''[[Up in the Cellar]]'' (1970), a quasisequel to ''[[Three in the Attic]]''. Although she had made several appearances on interview and game shows in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Collins began her television dramatic career with a guest role in ''[[The Human Jungle (TV series)|The Human Jungle]]'' in 1963. Her notable appearances on American television during the 1960s included playing the villainous Siren in ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'', ''[[Run for Your Life (TV series)|Run For Your Life]]'', ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'', ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'', ''[[The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]]'', and in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', she played Edith Keeler in the episode, "[[The City on the Edge of Forever]]" (1967), an episode, noted by many critics and fans as the best Star Trek episode of the whole franchise <ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title='The City on the Edge of Forever' is Remembered as One of Star Trek's Best |url=https://www.startrek.com/news/city-edge-forever-remembered-one-treks-best |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=www.startrek.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Elvy |first=Craig |date=2021-04-01 |title=Why The Best Star Trek: TOS Episode Is Also The Most Controversial |url=https://screenrant.com/star-trek-tos-city-edge-forever-best-controversy-gene-roddenberry/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref>