Before she became Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956, Grace Kelly was a prominent American film actress. She starred in numerous successful films in the 1950s, and she became a fashion icon for her modest, sophisticated style. Who hasn’t wanted to look just like Grace Kelly?
Kelly didn’t appear in too many movies during her brief film career, but her performances were always praised by critics and will forever be a part of Hollywood’s Golden Age of cinema and are still admired today.
The Swan (1956) – 6.5
In one of Kelly’s final film performances, the 1956 romance, The Swan, was perhaps looking ahead at the actress’s future as the Princess of Monaco. Prince Albert (Alec Guinness) is searching for a suitable wife when he travels to a small village where he encounters a family of second cousins.
The family’s matriarch, Beatrix (Jessie Royce Landis), insists that her daughter, Alexandra (Kelly), marries Albert to keep their family in the royal kingdom. Alexandra doesn’t want to marry Albert, but she must follow her mother’s orders. She flirts with her tutor, Dr. Agi (Louis Jourdan), to attract Albert’s attention. As she spends more time with Dr. Agi, she falls for him. Can she marry Albert after all?
The Bridges At Toko-Ri (1954) – 6.7
In the 1954 war action The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Kelly plays a military wife, Nancy, to William Holden’s character, Naval Reservist pilot Lieutenant Harry Brubaker. Set during the Korean War, Harry is tired of fighting in the war and all he wants to do is go back home to Nancy.
To accomplish this, Harry decides to lead a risky bombing mission over North Korea. It’s an intense drama that has viewers on the edge of their seats. While Kelly has a smaller role in the film, critics praised her performance, especially when Nancy decides to meet Harry on the shore, in a heartwarming scene you can watch over and over again.
Mogambo (1953) – 6.7
Kelly wasn’t always the leading lady in her films. In the 1953 romantic adventure Mogambo, Clark Gable and Ava Gardner steal the show. Victor Marswell (Gable) is on a Kenyan safari when he meets Eloise Kelly (Gardner), who was abandoned by her friend. The two team up and eventually fall in love.
That’s until they meet the Nordleys (Kelly and Donald Sinden). Linda Nordley is tired of her husband, so she starts showing affection for Marswell. They begin a love affair, and Eloise is (understandably) jealous. This is an intense love triangle you don’t expect to find on an average safari trip.
High Society (1956) – 7.0
Is there anything better than a movie with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra? The star-studded cast star in the 1956 musical comedy, High Society. The musical remake of The Philadelphia Story focuses on jazz musician C.K. Dexter Haven (Crosby), who is still in love with his ex-wife, Tracy Samantha Lord (Kelly).
However, Tracy has already moved on to another man, George Kittredge (John Lund). She’s engaged and they’re ready to get married. Problems arise when a magazine reporter, Macaulay Connor (Sinatra), covers the wedding, but he ends up also falling for Tracy. Who will Tracy end up with? She’s lucky to have three great choices. The movie is memorable as the final performance of Kelly’s career.
Fourteen Hours (1951) – 7.1
Kelly made her film debut in the 1951 film noir thriller, Fourteen Hours. In the movie, Robert Cosick (Richard Basehart) threatens to jump off a skyscraper when a police officer, Charlie Dunnigan (Paul Douglas), tries to talk him out of the suicide.
More characters are introduced, but they only make the situation more complicated. Kelly has a very small role in the movie, as an onlooker, but you can’t mistake her. It was a preview of her future work.
The Country Girl (1954) – 7.3
In the 1954 drama The Country Girl, Bing Crosby stars as a former Broadway star, Frank Elgin, who has turned to drinking when he’s depressed that he’s no longer a star. Director Bernie Dodd (William Holden) eventually casts Frank in his new musical, but there’s a catch: he must star opposite his wife, Georgie (Kelly).
Frank is confident that Georgie is the reason his Broadway career failed. Is this true? When Bernie spends more time with Georgie, he becomes confused about the whole situation. Who’s the real problem: Georgie or Frank?
To Catch A Thief (1955) – 7.4
Kelly worked with famed director Alfred Hitchcock numerous times in her film career, including the 1955 mystery thriller To Catch a Thief. Cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) was the best in the business until he decided to give it all up to work in vineyards on the French Riviera. He enjoys his new life, but everything changes when there are several robberies committed in the area and they’re performed just like his usual style.
John decides to follow one of the owners of the expensive jewels, Francie Stevens (Kelly), in order to keep her safe, but also to catch the thief. Of course, they grow closer. When the thief strikes and her jewels are stolen, Francie assumes it was John. As always, Kelly is picturesque, lively, and a treasure to watch.
High Noon (1952) – 7.9
You typically don’t associate Kelly with Westerns, but the 1952 film, High Noon, is the exception. The movie focuses on a former marshal, Will Kane (Gary Cooper), as he makes plans to leave town with his new wife, Amy (Kelly). However, he finds out that the local criminal, Frank Miller (Ian MacDonald), is on the loose and ready to seek revenge on Will.
Will knows he can’t leave home, so he recruits a team of deputies to stand up to Frank. This isn’t your average Western movie and Kelly doesn’t have a big role in it, but it’s a prominent film from her career.
Dial M For Murder (1954) – 8.2
The 1954 thriller Dial M for Murder keeps viewers on their toes with a mystery we need to solve. Former professional tennis player Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) is plotting to murder his wife, Margot (Kelly), in order to secure her inheritance. However, he doesn’t know how to kill her.
This changes when he finds out she is in an affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). He arranges for a clever, orchestrated murder, but he runs into problems when his plans don’t go as planned. While the movie isn’t the most memorable of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, Kelly delivered a suspenseful performance.
Rear Window (1954) – 8.4
One of Hitchcock’s most popular films, the 1954 thriller, Rear Window, is an intense rollercoaster. The movie focuses on a news photographer, L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies (James Stewart), who is restricted to a wheelchair. He’s bored, so he starts observing his neighbors. When he thinks he witnessed a murder, he’s engrossed in capturing his neighbors to figure out the truth.
Throughout the movie, Jeff’s socialite girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Kelly), visits him. She quickly becomes involved in the incidents and viewers wonder what’s actually happening. You can never get bored with the movie, as well as Kelly’s intense performance.