Janie Clarkson?
The part of the film that always makes me laugh is Fanny's constant cancelling of appointments with Janie Clarkson. We never even see the woman and she is mentioned numerous times.
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MovieChat Forums > Mr. Skeffington (1944) Discussion > Janie Clarkson?
I wondered if Janie Clarkson really existed or if Fanny just used that as another come-on--but it would have to have been an in-joke with the maid too.
"Well, for once the rich white man is in control!" C. M. Burns
I hoped there would be some trivia behind this name, some real life analogy... :(
share"I wondered if Janie Clarkson really existed."
I think you are spot on with this comment. There is comic and there is ridiculous, and the notion that Mrs. Skeffington ALWAYS has an appointment with her and always cancels is beyond ridiculous. My interpretation is that, the type of woman she is, she can never admit to having a free moment or chasing after a man, so she always has the ready-made "appointment" that she can cancel. That both makes the man she cancels it for feel important and saves her pride. Of course the maid would be aware of this.
Thank you. Not to mention that maids at that time (especially in movies) were ysed to keeping lots of confidences.
shareYou're welcome. Other posters mention evidence that Janie Clarkson existed. I cannot recall it, but that doesn't undermine our view. Even if Janie Clarkson were a real person, the appointments she keeps cancelling could still have been fictitious.
shareLOL:, i absolutely love this movie and i watch it alllllllll the time, uhm, i thought it was fairly clear and obvious that Janie Clarkson was a made up character that didnt exist, She just used that name to always make it seem like she had something better to do.........
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I believe there was one scene where Fanny was in bed and told the maid to cancel lunch with Janey. There was no one to impress that time, which made me think that Janey did exist.
Of course Janie Clarkson existed! We only know about the times Fanny had to break the lunch dates!
"Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke."
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I really think there's no doubt that Janie's real.
I know it would spoil the whole thing if she were seen, but wouldn't that be awesome if it was Joan Crawford?
Wasn't there a scene with Fanny talking to her on the phone? So she had to be real!
Songbird, you've got tales to tell...
I believe one of Fanny's "suitors" actually was engaged to marry Miss Janie Clarkson (who was robbed of an Oscar nod, by the way!) towards the end of the film.
Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...share