In 1953 Baxter lightened her hair and was loaned to Warner Bros. to appear opposite Montgomery Clift in Alfred Hitchcock's I CONFESS about a priest who hears a murderer's confession and is himself accused of the crime.  Although Hitchcock reportedly favored Swedish actress Anita Bjork for her part, Baxter did the role justice.

After winning release from her Fox contract, Baxter remained at Warners for Fritz Lang's noir murder drama THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953) featuring Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, Raymond Burr, and Nat 'King' Cole (as himself) singing the title song:

"I lived for an hour. 
What more can I tell?
Love bloomed like a flower, 
Then the petals fell.
Blue Gardenia -- 
Thrown to a passing breeze,
But pressed in my book of memories."

"Blue Gardenia" (clip) sung by Nat 'King' Cole (a .MP3 file).

(For help opening the above file, visit the plug-ins page.)

Baxter peeking out from behind a door in THE BLUE GARDENIA (1953), in which she plays a single working girl who gets drunk one night and is later suspected of murder, though she herself doesn't know if she's guilty.  Besides an interesting story, the film also features an intriguing character well-acted by Baxter, as well as some interesting, atmospheric, film-noir photography.

Memorable Quotations:

• "I can't say you seem to be so terribly pleased to see me." --as Sophie MacDonald in THE RAZOR'S EDGE.
• "That's the problem with you modern men -- you can't hold your liquor." --as Norah Larkin in THE BLUE GARDENIA.
• "You will be king of Egypt and I will be your footstool!" --as Nefretiri in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
• "Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool!" --as Nefretiri in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
• "Allow them to worship any god they choose, as long as I can worship you." --as Nefretiri in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

After another string of lack-luster films as well as some bad notices, Baxter revived her career briefly when she played the alluring Nefretiri in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956), Cecil B. DeMille's Biblical special-effects sensation also starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner.

"Prelude" (clip) by Elmer Bernstein (a .MP3 file).
"Overture" (clip) by Elmer Bernstein (a .MP3 file).
"The Exodus" (clip) by Elmer Bernstein (a .MP3 file).

Further Reading:

• Anne Baxter: a bio-bibliography by Karin J. Fowler (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991).
• Intermission: a true story by Anne Baxter (New York : Putnam, c1976).
• The Fox Girls by James Robert Parrish (Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books, 1971).

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