Extremely rare vintage 8x10-inch black and white portrait with thin borders, boldly signed with her name alone in black fountain pen in the 1930s. Some spotting in the back background, which may actually be part of the image itself; otherwise, in fine condition for its age. Lovely, refined leading lady Barbara O'Neil's brief film career began with her portrayal of Anne Shirley’s kindhearted “second” mother in Stella Dallas (1937).  The following year, she starred in the Basil Rathbone/Boris Karloff horror classic Tower of London and landed the career-changing role of Scarlett O’Hara’s mother in Gone with the Wind (1939), when it was turned down by Lillian Gish. O’Neil was nominated for an Academy Award in 1940-- the year this autograph was given-- for her mesmerizing performance as the jealous, domineering Duchesse de Preslin in All This, and Heaven Too, and was also memorable in Shining Victory (1941), I Remember Mama (1948), Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool (1949), and The Nun’s Story (1959). O'Neil retired from acting at the age of 49, after only 17 onscreen appearances, and her autograph is extremely uncommon in any format.

• Tweet