When I first saw The Shining many, many years ago, I really hated Shelley Duvall’s performance. I had known her mostly as Olive Oyl in the live-adaptation musical Popeye. At 5-foot-8, she was slightly taller than other actresses and her thin waifish body made her the best to play the role.
She had rose to prominence during the 1970s as Twiggy had made the look more popular among women. Some may have thought Duvall wasn’t the model type as Twiggy the 1970s was a different year when women with more natural beauty and looks became popular. Meryl Streep, Cher and many other young entertainers who didn’t fit the traditional Hollywood look were becoming more popular. There was some truth that Maya Rudolph’s casting director in Licorice Pizza told Alaina Haim’s character.
Porno chic was in full bloom during the decade and it was the era of the Sexual Revolution. Duvall in her early 20s was a young beautiful woman and it’s why Robert Altman cast her in Brewster McCloud. She would become a favorite of his appearing in a lot of his movies including his masterpiece Nashville and 3 Women, for which she received rave reviews.
Adding to that a role in the Oscar-winning Annie Hall meant she was headed for stardom. Then, came the production of The Shining in England. So much has been written and said about this movie and its troublesome production, I’m not going to reiterate it.
I will say I appreciate it more and more decades later. Depending on your interpretation, Wendy Torrance is either a desperate woman trying to salvage her family during a difficult time, or she may be the problem. On YouTube, Rob Navarro theorizes that Wendy is suffering from Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. He also theorizes that Wendy has mental issues and hallucinations. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRr_0W-9hWg&t=20s
It’s led to so many debates and criticisms. However, I believe Stanley Kubrick made the film that it’s open to many interpretations. One of my good friends who is a movie buff too says that every time she watches it, she discovers something new.
Originally, Duvall earned a Golden Raspberry nomination for her role. However, upon learning in recent years on how Duvall actually was stressed out during the production and had mental issues in real life, it was rescinded. She reportedly would lose her hair due to the stress. If her and Kubrick never got along during filming, his daughter, Vivian, defended and empathized with Duvall years later when she had retired to her native Texas in the 2000s.
I’m not going to post a picture of Duvall from recent years because I think it’s exploitation. I’m sure a lot of us don’t look the same as we did in our 20s. I sure as hell don’t. In 2016, she did an interview on Dr. Phil that Vivian Kubrick and Mia Farrow, among others, chastised the show’s producers and Phil McGraw for exploiting her. And Duvall expressed regret in a rare 2021 interview.
Following The Shining, she appeared in a handful of movies, most notably Tim Burton’s short Frankenweenie. She was in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits which she later joked he tricked her into by making her think she would appear with Sean Connery, who appears in a supporting role. However, they do not appear on screen together.
After appearing in Roxanne, a modern more light-hearted adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac written by Steve Martin who also starred, she would appear in other movies in the 1990s such as the black comedy Home Fries, written by Vince Gilligan. But following the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake, she decided to move back to Texas where she would until her death on July 11, reportedly due to diabetes complications.
It’s been reported that even from her early 20s, she was hesitant on becoming an actress. That might explain why she appeared mostly in Altman’s movies. Her role in 3 Women garnered her a Best Actress award at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. She would also win a Best Actress award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
But one of her biggest (and probably least known) accomplishments was the Peabody Award in 1984 for the creation of Fareie Tale Theatre, an anthology series that aired on Showtime, which she produced and presented.
Whether or not the production on The Shining had a lasting effect on her or not, it should remain a textbook example of how women are treated in the film and TV industry. Sadly, I feel people will look more at her appearance in recent years with criticism the same way they have criticized Bridget Fonda and Kelly McGillis. Yet they don’t criticize Alec Baldwin nor Russell Crowe for putting on a little weight around and looking scruffier. Also, while they continually praise Rick Moranis for turning his back on Hollywood in the 1990s, they seemed to shun Duvall.
What was your favorite movie or role of hers? Please comment.
Zane Says 