Could Donna Reed have been "de-glammed"?

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My rewatch of Season 8 (DVD) had now reached the dreaded arrival of Donna Reed as Miss Ellie, and it pretty much confirms my original impression.
Her greatest hurdle, of course, is simply the fact that she's not Barbara Bel Geddes, but I don't think anyone could have overcome that.
In my view, her acting is competent, she seems to strike the right balance of steel and velvet, she even speaks in the same slow, measured way.
The one glaring mistake, be it her choice or not, is that she's just too glamorous.
If they'd just taken the perm out of her hair and put her in the simple frocks that Miss Ellie had favoured hitherto, would that have made the transition more palatable, or is there just something innate about her that makes her seem too aristocratic for the role?
 

stevew

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My rewatch of Season 8 (DVD) had now reached the dreaded arrival of Donna Reed as Miss Ellie, and it pretty much confirms my original impression.
Her greatest hurdle, of course, is simply the fact that she's not Barbara Bel Geddes, but I don't think anyone could have overcome that.
In my view, her acting is competent, she seems to strike the right balance of steel and velvet, she even speaks in the same slow, measured way.
The one glaring mistake, be it her choice or not, is that she's just too glamorous.
If they'd just taken the perm out of her hair and put her in the simple frocks that Miss Ellie had favoured hitherto, would that have made the transition more palatable, or is there just something innate about her that makes her seem too aristocratic for the role?
I think they could have done a better job as you suggest, but they didn't want that. They wanted the glamour it appears. But in my opinion I don't think there was anything innate in her as an actress which couldn't be worked out as a farm girl turned wife of an oil baron.
 

the-lost-son

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As stated in the other thread - iconic roles can't be recasted. When PD left the series it was the right call to not recast the character. If JR had been recast (assuming Larry's negotiations backfired) Dallas would have been mortally wounded at least.

I don't think the costumes would have made a difference. Even Ray was wearing a suit for the majority of his scenes during that time. BBG was more elegant in dream season (eg Oil Barons' ball).

Somehow Ellie reminds me of chancellor Angela Merkel was was dressed quite casual at the beginning of her career. Through the years her costumes got more glamorous. But to reach the level of Nolan Miller... there is still a gap.
 

Snarky Oracle!

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It was 1984 -- everything was glammed out by then. But Howard Keel later said that when Reed emerged from make-up with the huge bouffant, he knew they were in trouble.
 

Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

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It really wouldn't have mattered if they had de-glammed Donna Reed to make her resemble Barbara's Miss Ellie.

The very fact the role was re-cast was just a bad move. It wouldn't have mattered what actress they got to play the role, even if it had been someone of the calibre of Miss Piggy! Barbara Bel Geddes was just so well loved in the role that whoever they got to replace her was just going to be second best. Some of the audience probably liked her but for the most part the die hard fans of Dallas probably didn't like her in the role. It was a similar situation a few seasons later when it leaked Steve Forrest would be playing the new Jock Ewing, although in this case the original actor Jim Davis had been sadly dead for about five years. Bringing back Barbara was the only logical thing to do, she WAS Miss Ellie. Sadly both Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed were both casualties of poor decisions by Lorimar top brass. They didn't want to pay Barbara more money but with a reduced workload so they re-cast the role. They should've come to some sort of an arrangement with Barbara. Then when they felt Donna wasn't working they courted Barbara again, behind Donna's back. Donna tried to stop production on the following season to try & get herself re-instated but of course when that didn't work she sued Lorimar for breach of contract (she had been signed for three years) which she won but tragically she succumbed to cancer and died not long after winning it. Donna was treated appallingly by Lorimar.

May both of these wonderful actresses rest in peace.

The two Miss Ellies.jpg
 
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Toni

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It really wouldn't have mattered if they had de-glammed Donna Reed to make her resemble Barbara's Miss Ellie.

The very fact the role was re-cast was just a bad move. It wouldn't have mattered what actress they got to play the role, even if it had been someone of the calibre of Miss Piggy! Barbara Bel Geddes was just so well loved in the role that whoever they got to replace her was just going to be second best. Some of the audience probably liked her but for the most part the die hard fans of Dallas probably didn't like her in the role. It was a similar situation a few seasons later when it leaked Steve Forrest would be playing the new Jock Ewing, although in this case the original actor Jim Davis had been sadly dead for about five years. Bringing back Barbara was the only logical thing to do, she WAS Miss Ellie. Sadly both Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed were both casualties of poor decisions by Lorimar top brass. They didn't want to pay Barbara more money but with a reduced workload so they re-cast the role. They should've come to some sort of an arrangement with Barbara. Then when they felt Donna wasn't working they courted Barbara again, behind Donna's back. Donna tried to stop production on the following season to try & get herself re-instated but of course when that didn't work she sued Lorimar for breach of contract (she had been signed for three years) which she won but tragically she succumbed to cancer and died not long after winning it. Donna was treated appallingly by Lorimar.

May both of these wonderful actresses rest in peace.

View attachment 27562

 

Justine

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Like most have said, I don't think any actress would have been fully accepted as Miss Ellie other than BBG.

Maybe it would have helped to have Donna Reed wear less of the fashionable outfits since it completely opposed BBG's Miss Ellie but I doubt it. I've always felt like Donna Reed would have fallen better into a role of a character like Patricia Shepard, her screen presence fits a lot more with that type than Miss Ellie's earth-mother, lover-of-the-land persona. I'm curious as to why they cast Donna Reed in the first place as opposed to an actress with a bit more grit? On the other hand, maybe the producers chose Donna Reed to contrast BBG on purpose because it seemed like a better idea than another actress playing BBG playing Miss Ellie.
 

Chris2

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I think it was more about casting a name. Dynasty did a lot of stunt casting back then. Dallas had mostly avoided it, the two significant exceptions being Chris Atkins and Priscilla Presley. I’m sure they knew it would be a tough sell to get viewers to accept a new actress in the role, so they went for a popular actress who’d had significant success in both movies and TV.
 

Angela Channing

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I take the opposite view because I think Barbara Bel Geddes should have been glammed up to play Ellie. The Ewings were a family who would dressed up to the nines just to have dinner at home yet Ellie was always dowdy and looked out of place, like the poor relative, alongside Pam and Sue Ellen. Acting ability and personal preferences aside, Donna Reed looked more the part than did Barbara Bel Geddes.
 

MenaceTheDennis

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Donna would’ve looked ridiculous in one of Barbara’s sack dresses. Donna was always more of a glamorous movie actress than Barbara anyway, who was mainly a Broadway actress. Donnas widower said they wanted to change the character up. I’m guessing not only wardrobe, but more of an integral part of the storylines. The ironic part is Miss Ellie isn’t really needed much this season, but the producers felt it was best to have the matriarch there with Jock gone. Donna would’ve been ever more crucified if she copied Barbaras hair and makeup. Barbara will always own the role, as she saw the show through its glory years, but if Barbara couldn’t have been persuaded to return, I think Donna would’ve improved. It was what is was. I still enjoy this season thoroughly. It was the last season where it really felt like Dallas to me before the ridiculous dream and bad writing crept in. I’ll take her Miss Ellie over Callie any day.
 
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Angela Channing

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Donna would’ve looked ridiculous in one of Barbara’s sack dresses. Donna was always more of a glamorous movie actress than Barbara anyway, who was mainly a Broadway actress. Donnas widower said they wanted to change the character up. I’m guessing not only wardrobe, but more of an integral part of the storylines. The ironic part is Miss Ellie isn’t really needed much this season, but the producers felt it was best to have the matriarch there with Jock gone. Donna would’ve been ever more crucified if she copied Barbaras hair and makeup. Barbara will always own the role, as she saw the show through its glory years, but if Barbara couldn’t have been persuaded to return, I think Donna would’ve improved. It was what is was. I still enjoy this season thoroughly. It was the last season where it really felt like Dallas to me before the ridiculous dream and bad writing crept in. I’ll take her Miss Ellie over Callie any day.
:gp:
I always think it's a bit unfair to compare Barbara and Donna's versions of Miss Ellie because Barbara had the part during Dallas's most popular period and Donna had it when the show was in decline. Also Barbara had many years to make the role her own whereas Donna only had a short period to establish herself in the part. Had they given Donna more meaty storylines and stuck with her for a few more seasons I think more viewers would have eventually come to accept her in the role. She was never really given a chance.
 

darkshadows38

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i've always thought Donna Reed was a pretty solid actress but she's i think freaking terrible as Miss Ellie she's not Barbra Geddes and that went against her i think. and by awful i mean her acting was awful in the role and it's the only role well that i have seen anyways with her in it that i think her acting was awful.
 

Mustard

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I take the opposite view because I think Barbara Bel Geddes should have been glammed up to play Ellie. The Ewings were a family who would dressed up to the nines just to have dinner at home yet Ellie was always dowdy and looked out of place, like the poor relative, alongside Pam and Sue Ellen. Acting ability and personal preferences aside, Donna Reed looked more the part than did Barbara Bel Geddes.

I disagree. The point is that Miss Ellie's Southworth traditions held strong, particularly at Southfork. If you go the Donna Reed glam route, Miss Ellie becomes a different character altogether, one who changed herself a lot after her husband got rich.
 

darkshadows38

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i disagree as well glamming her up as Miss Ellie when the show started would really have backfired i think. that was a house she suppose to have grown up in if i recall & i think the idea of how they dressed her and everyone else at least in the beginning anyways was that rich people are just like anyone else. it made sense for JR to be wearing suits since he was always at work or Bobby too. i dunno if i'm right but that's what i'm guessing anyways & when they had shows like Dynasty for example where everyone was glammed up they put that in Dallas of course
 
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