Silver Screen Magic with Janet Leigh

American actress Janet Leigh was also a businesswoman and author. She was established as one of the earliest “scream queens” for starring in horror films. Her career spanned over five decades. She died in 2004 at the age of 77.

Director George Sidney directed the 1963 American musical romantic comedy “Bye Bye Birdie”. It featured songs by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. The film starred Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann Margaret, Maureen Stapleton, Paul Lying, Bobby Rydell, Jesse Pearson, and Ed Sullivan. The story was inspired by the enlistment into the US Army of Elvis Presley in 1958. Pearson portrayed the role of teen idol Conrad Birdie, a name based on country singer Conway Twitty.

The storyline revolves around draft-selected Conrad Birdie (Jesse Pearson). His fans are devastated, but none more than struggling songwriter Albert Peterson (Dick Van Dyke), whose song Birdie was just about to record. Albert's longtime girlfriend, Rosie (Janet Leigh), pushes Albert to write a new tune that Birdie will perform on television to a fan selected in a contest. The scheme works, with young Ohio teenager Kim McAfee (Ann-Margret) declared the winner, but no one has counted on the jealous wrath of her boyfriend.

Director John Carpenter directed the 1980 American independent supernatural horror film “The Fog”. It starred Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, and Hal Holbrook. One of the films in which mother Janet Leigh and daughter Jamie Lee Curtis are seen.

The storyline tells of a strange, glowing fog that sweeps over a small coastal town in Northern California.

Director Steve Miller directed the 1998 American slasher film “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later”. It starred Jamie Lee Curtis, Adam Arkin, Michelle Williams, Adam Hann-Byrd, Janet Leigh, and others. Another of the films in which mother Janet Leigh and daughter Jamie Lee Curtis are seen. This is the seventh installment in the Halloween franchise and a sequel to Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981).

The storyline follows post-traumatic Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who faked her death in order to go into hiding from her murderous brother, Michael Myers, who finds her working at a private boarding school in California.

Janet Leigh appears in "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" as a character named Norma, marking a meta homage to her iconic role as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." This cameo serves as a self-referential nod to her legacy in horror films.

Director Don Hartman directed the 1949 American Christmas comedy “Holiday Affair”. The film starred Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, and Wendell Corey. It was based on the story “Christmas Gift” by John D. Weaver.

The storyline revolves around a charming seasonal clerk, Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum), who catches beautiful Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) in a fraudulent shopping scheme during the busy Christmas rush. When Mason discovers that she is a war widow and single mother, he takes pity on her, only to be fired by his supervisor.

Director George Marshall directed the 1953 American biographical film “Houdini”. The film starred Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. It was based on the life of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini and on the book “Houdini” by Harold Kellock. This was one of the first collaborations between Tony Curtis and his wife Janet Leigh.

The storyline revolves around Harry Houdini (Tony Curtis), a magician and real-life escape artist who always took his acts a degree up from the previous one. In the film, young Houdini works as a Coney Island entertainer; one day, he meets Bess (Janet Leigh) and falls in love. Their relationship advances as Houdini's acts grow in scale, but Bess becomes worried when he starts to take on more dangerous stunts.

Director Mervyn LeRoy directed the 1949 American coming-of-age romantic drama “Little Women”. It was based on the two-volume novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. The film starred June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien, Janet Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Rossano Brazzi, and Mary Astor.

The storyline revolves around the March sisters, Meg (Janet Leigh), Jo (June Allyson), Beth (Margaret O'Brien), and Amy (Elizabeth Taylor). They struggle to make ends meet in their New England household while their father is away fighting in the Civil War. Despite harsh times, they cling to optimism, often with neighbor Laurie (Peter Lawford) as a companion. As they mature, they face burgeoning ambitions and relationships, as well as tragedy, all the while maintaining their unbreakable bond.

Director Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1960 American horror film “Psycho”. It was based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch. The film starred Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin and Martin Balsam.

The storyline revolves around Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who takes off on the run after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis (John Gavin). Overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm and traveling the back road to avoid the police, she stops at the Bates Motel and meets the highly strung proprietor Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Things go from bad to worse.

Director Compton Bennett directed the 1949 American romantic drama “That Forsyte Woman”. The film starred Greer Garson, Errol Flynn, Walter Pidgeon, Robert Young, and Janet Leigh. It was adapted from the 1906 novel “The Man of Property”, the first book in The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.

The storyline revolves around Irene (Greer Garson), the wife of the wealthy and materialistic Soames Forsyte (Errol Flynn), who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. Determined to find love, she falls for the handsome architect Philip Bosinney (Robert Young), but their affair is further complicated by his engagement to her friend June (Janet Leigh), an extended member of the Forsyte family.