Cat. #0003703211: DANA ANDREWS

Vintage inscribed signature in black fountain pen on a 4x5-inch tan autograph album page, acquired in-person by noted collector Howard Davis at Boston's Colonial Theater in the early 1940s. In good condition for its age, with the writing coming close to the right edge. Former stage actor Dana Andrews entered films in the late 1930s, biding his time in supporting roles until the wartime shortage of leading men promoted him to stardom. His matter-of-fact, deadpan style was ideally suited for such roles as the innocent lynching victim in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and laconic city detective Mark McPherson in Laura (1944).  For reasons unknown, Andrews often found himself cast as aviators: He was the downed bomber pilot in The Purple Heart (1944), the ex-flyboy who has trouble adjusting to civilian life in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and the foredoomed airliner skipper in Zero Hour (1957), The Crowded Sky (1960), and Airport 1975 (1974). With the gradual passing of the war movie genre, Andrews' limited acting range proved a drawback, and, by the end of the 1950s, he was largely confined to character roles. A highlight of this period was his starring role in the horror classic Night of the Demon (1957), released as Curse of the Demon in the United States.