Anne Gwynne's First Week in the Motion Picture Industry

Dated September 30, 1939, PICTURE GOER and Film Weekly announced
the fastest signing of an actress in Hollywood History!  Anne Gwynne!!
Before 60 seconds elapsed, a long-term contract hit the desk and Universal
Studios signed Ms. Gwynne, featured on the magazine page shown below.

A true star from the word go,
Anne Gwynne appeared on the same
page of the magazine as superstar Humphrey Bogart, pictured here with his
then wife, Mayo Methot. Coincidentally the date of this magazine piece is the
same month/day as the birth of Ms. Gwynne's son,
Greg Gilford, and the same month/day as her anniversary
with husband, Max M. Gilford.  THAT merits
a Ripley's Believe It Or Not !!
 

Anne's First Year at Universal Pictures

Anne Gwynne's work has touched the lives of so many people.
Here she is portraying Sonya in Flash Gordon with a depth of feeling
in her performance that jumps off the screen. 

Even then, at 20 years of age,
Anne Gwynne gave to her work a sense of her uniqueness,
and that may be why Ms. Gwynne has, and still has, so many fans.

Anne Gwynne plays bad girl Sonya,
Princess and henchwoman to
 Ming the Merciless.
 Ms. Gwynne appears in episodes 2 through 12. Be sure to view our special pictorial of Anne Gwynne as Sonja on our page for

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe

World-renowned Swimsuit Model

Anne Gwynne was one of the most sought-after swimsuit models in the world. Here, above, she graces the cover of LOOK Magazine, an iconic American magazine for nearly a century.

Above, Anne models (circa 1941) for Filmjournalen, published in Stockholm, the most-read film magazine in Sweden.  So famous was Anne Gwynne for swimsuit modeling that, while covering Anne's then-current motion picture, Filmjournalen magazine had Anne Gwynne shoot their cover in the latest Catalina swimsuit fashion.

Here, in one picture, The Black Cat, Anne Gwynne
played with Basil Rathbone, Broderick Crawford, the infamous
Bela Lugosi, the always redoubtable Gale Sondergaard, the
consummate professional Gladys Cooper, and in one of his
first parts, Alan Ladd. Never underestimating the star power of their actors, the Universal
Marketing machine placed Anne Gwynne squarely in the forefront of the film's poster.
 

No. 1 World War II pin-up



As voted by Yank Magazine in 1943 and 1944
Anne Gwynne was the number 1 pinup girl of WWII servicemen.
A tremendous achievement for a 24 year old actress of lesser fame than her competitors.
This picture is from a 1944 article about Anne's career, her achievements and her goals.

The full shot

Anne Gwynne responding in print to
Yank Magazine honor

Actress Anne Gwynne:
Her Films Were Seen All Around The World
Anne Gwynne's motion pictures were released in all
film markets globally.  She was popular everywhere.
Here's Ms. Gwynne on the cover of Switzerland's leading
film magazine, Cine Suisse, in the early 1940s.

A poster image from Argentina. 
Ms. Gwynne receives fan mail
from all over the world.

The Strange Case of Dr. RX (1942)

 

1943



Anne Gwynne with husband Max Gilford
on the town at The Macombo
Hollywood  (1943)
(photo from the John Harding Collection)