Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (, born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress known for her distinctive voice and sultry looks. She was named the 20th greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute, and received an Academy Honorary Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2009, "in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures". Bacall began her career as a model before making her film debut as a leading lady in "To Have and Have Not" (1944). She continued
1940s in film 1940s in film Hundreds of full-length films were produced during the decade of the 1940s. The great actor Humphrey Bogart made his most memorable films in this decade. Frank Capra's masterpiece "It's a Wonderful Life" and Orson Welles's masterpiece "Citizen Kane" were released. The film noir genre was at its height. Alfred Hitchcock made his American debut with the film "Rebecca", and made many classics throughout the 1940s. The most successful film of the decade was Samuel Goldwyn's "The Best Years of Our Lives"; the film was directed by William Wyler, and starred Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa