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=== 1945β1952: Vindication and recognition === [[File:Olivia de Havilland at the Academy Awards 1946.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Smiling softly|De Havilland with the first of her two [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Oscars]], [[19th Academy Awards|this one]] for ''[[To Each His Own (1946 film)|To Each His Own]]'', March 13, 1947]] After the California Court of Appeal<ref>67 Cal.App.2d 225 (1944)</ref> ruling freed her from her Warner Bros. contract, de{{nbsp}}Havilland signed a two-picture deal with Paramount Pictures.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=204}} In June 1945, she began filming Mitchell Leisen's drama ''[[To Each His Own (1946 film)|To Each His Own]]'',{{sfn|Kass|1976|pp=80, 86}} (1946) about an unwed mother who gives up her child for adoption and then spends the rest of her life trying to undo that decision.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=209}} De{{nbsp}}Havilland insisted on bringing in Leisen as director, trusting his eye for detail, his empathy for actors, and the way he controlled sentiment in their previous collaboration, ''Hold Back the Dawn''.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=209}} The role required de{{nbsp}}Havilland to age nearly 30 years over the course of the film{{nsmdns}}from an innocent, small-town girl to a shrewd, ruthless businesswoman devoted to her cosmetics company. While de{{nbsp}}Havilland never formally studied acting, she did read [[Stanislavsky]]'s autobiography ''[[My Life in Art]]'' and applied one of his "[[Method acting|methods]]" for this role.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=86}} To help her define her character during the four periods of the story, she used a different perfume for each period. She also lowered the pitch of her voice incrementally in each period until it became a mature woman's voice.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=211}} Her performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress for 1946{{nsmdns}}her first Oscar.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=89}} According to film historian Tony Thomas, the award represented a vindication of her long struggle with Warner Bros. and confirmation of her abilities as an actress.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=211}} Her next two roles were challenging. In [[Robert Siodmak]]'s [[psychological thriller]] ''[[The Dark Mirror (1946 film)|The Dark Mirror]]'' (also 1946), de{{nbsp}}Havilland played twin sisters Ruth and Terry Collins{{nsmdns}}one loving and normal, the other [[psychotic]].{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=212}} In addition to the technical problems of showing her as two characters interacting with each other on screen at the same time, de{{nbsp}}Havilland needed to portray two separate and psychologically opposite people.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=90}} While the film was not well received by critics{{nsmdns}}''Variety'' said the film "gets lost in a maze of psychological gadgets and speculation"<ref name="variety-dm"/>{{nsmdns}}de{{nbsp}}Havilland's performance was praised by Tony Thomas, who called her final scene in the film "an almost frighteningly convincing piece of acting".{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=213}} In his review in ''[[The Nation]]'', [[James Agee]] wrote that "her playing is thoughtful, quiet, detailed, and well sustained, and since it is founded, as some more talented playing is not, in an unusually healthful-seeming and likable temperament, it is an undivided pleasure to see".<ref name="nation-agee"/>{{sfn|Shipman|1970|p=151}} Later that year while appearing in a [[summer stock]] production of ''[[What Every Woman Knows (play)|What Every Woman Knows]]'' in [[Westport, Connecticut]], her second professional stage appearance, de{{nbsp}}Havilland began dating [[Marcus Goodrich]], a [[U.S. Navy]] veteran, journalist, and author of the novel ''[[Delilah (novel)|Delilah]]'' (1941). The couple married on August 26, 1946.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=38}} De Havilland was praised for her performance as Virginia Cunningham in [[Anatole Litvak]]'s drama ''[[The Snake Pit]]'' (1948), one of the first films to attempt a realistic portrayal of [[mental illness]] and an important exposΓ© of the harsh conditions in state mental hospitals, according to film critic [[Philip French]].<ref name="guardian-french"/> Based on a novel by [[Mary Jane Ward]] and produced by [[Darryl F. Zanuck]], the film is about a woman placed in a mental institution by her husband to help her recover from a nervous breakdown.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|pp=214β215}} Virginia Cunningham was one of the most difficult of all her film roles, requiring significant preparation both mentally and physically{{nsmdns}}she deliberately lost weight to help create her gaunt appearance on screen.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=214}} She consulted regularly with psychiatrists hired as consultants for the film, and visited [[Camarillo State Mental Hospital]] to research her role and observe the patients. The extreme physical discomfort of the [[hydrotherapy]] and simulated electric shock therapy scenes were especially challenging for the slight {{convert|5|ft|3|in|cm|adj=on}} actress.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=218}} In her performance, she conveyed her mental anguish by physically transforming her face with furrowed brow, wild staring eyes, and grimacing mouth.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=97}} {{Quote box|align=right|width=45%|salign=right|quote=I met a young woman who was very much like Virginia, about the same age and physical description, as well as being a [[schizophrenic]] with guilt problems. ... What struck me most of all was the fact that she was rather likable and appealing. It hadn't occurred to me before that a mental patient could be appealing, and it was that that gave me the key to the performance.|source=β Olivia de Havilland{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=218}}}} According to author Judith Kass, de{{nbsp}}Havilland delivered a performance both "restrained and electric", portraying varied and extreme aspects of her character{{nsmdns}}from a shy young woman to a tormented and disorientated woman.{{sfn|Kass|1976|pp=96β97}} For her performance in ''The Snake Pit'', de{{nbsp}}Havilland received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, the [[New York Film Critics Circle]] Award for Best Actress, and the [[Venice Film Festival]] Volpi Cup.<ref name="allmovie-olivia-awards"/> De{{nbsp}}Havilland appeared in [[William Wyler]]'s period drama ''[[The Heiress]]'' (1949), the fourth in a string of critically acclaimed performances.{{sfnm|1a1=Kass|1y=1976|1p=219|2a1=Matzen|2y=2010|2p=186}} After seeing the play on Broadway, de{{nbsp}}Havilland called Wyler and urged him to fly to New York to see what she felt would be a perfect role for her. Wyler obliged, loved the play, and with de{{nbsp}}Havilland's help arranged for Paramount to secure the film rights.{{sfn|Herman|1995|pp=306β307}} Adapted for the screen by [[Ruth Goetz|Ruth]] and Augustus Goetz and based on the 1880 novel ''[[Washington Square (novel)|Washington Square]]'' by [[Henry James]], the film is about a dull, guileless young woman who falls in love with a handsome, ingenuous young man ([[Montgomery Clift]]), over the objections of her cruel and emotionally abusive father, who suspects the young man of being a fortune seeker.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=97}} As she had done in ''Hold Back the Dawn'', de{{nbsp}}Havilland portrayed her character's transformation from a shy, trusting innocent to a guarded, mature woman over a period of years.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=219}} Her delineation of Catherine Sloper is developed through carefully crafted movements, gestures, and facial expressions that convey a submissive and inhibited young woman. Her timid voice, nervous hands, downcast eyes, and careful movements all communicate what the character is too shy to verbalize.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=97}} Throughout the production, Wyler pressed de{{nbsp}}Havilland hard to elicit the requisite visual points of the character. When Catherine returns home after being jilted, the director had the actress carry a suitcase filled with heavy books up the stairs to convey the weight of Catherine's trauma physically instead of using a planned speech in the original script.{{sfn|Herman|1995|pp=310β311}} ''The Heiress'' was released in October 1949 and was well received by critics. For her performance, she received the New York Film Critics Award, the [[Golden Globe Award]], and the Academy Award for Best Actress, {{nsmdns}}her second Oscar.<ref name="tcm-h-miller"/> After giving birth to her first child, Benjamin, on September 27, 1949, de{{nbsp}}Havilland took time off from making films to be with her infant son.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} She turned down the role of [[Blanche DuBois]] in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', later explaining that becoming a mother was a "transforming experience" and that she could not relate to the character.<ref name="wsj-meroney"/> In 1950, her family moved to New York City, where she began rehearsals for a major new stage production of Shakespeare's ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''; it was her life-long ambition to play Juliet on the stage.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} The play opened at the [[Broadhurst Theater]] on March 11, 1951, to mixed reviews, with some critics believing the 35-year-old actress was too old for the role.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} The play closed after 45 performances.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} Undaunted, de{{nbsp}}Havilland accepted the title role in the stage production of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s comedy ''[[Candida (play)|Candida]]'', which opened at the [[Nederlander Theatre|National Theater]] on [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] in April 1952.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} While reviews of the play were mixed, de{{nbsp}}Havilland's performance was well received, and following the scheduled 32 performances, she went on tour with the company and delivered 323 additional performances, many to sold-out audiences.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=40}} While de{{nbsp}}Havilland achieved major accomplishments during this period of her career, her marriage to Goodrich, 18 years her senior, had grown strained because of his unstable temperament.{{sfn|Kass|1976|p=83}} In August 1952, she filed for divorce, which became final the following year.{{sfn|Thomas|1983|p=41}}
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