American actress Mamie Van Doren (born February 6, 1931) has been in 41 films from 1951 to 2012. Van Doren was discovered by Howard Hughes as Miss Eight Ball, and Hughes put Van Doren in 4 RKO movies, including Jet Pilot, His Kind of Woman, and Two Tickets to Broadway.[1] These movies would have Van Doren playing minor roles, where she was often uncredited or credited as Joan Olander.
In 1953, Van Doren signed to Universal, with Universal having hopes of Van Doren becoming their version of Marilyn Monroe. Her first major film role, The All American, helped to shape her distinctive role in the 1950s as a "bad girl". Van Doren rose to fame, starring in rebellious-teen films, exploitation films, teen dramas, and musicals. These films, such as Untamed Youth, Running Wild, Teacher's Pet and High School Confidential, made her different from Monroe's roles as a "dumb blonde". These films, which would sometimes be risque, would challenge the Hays Code.
In the 1960s, Van Doren starred in several independent B-movies due to her contract with Universal not being renewed in 1960. Her last film with Universal was the 1960 film The Private Lives of Adam and Eve. In 1964, she starred in 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt, a film directed by Tommy Noonan and inspired by the success of Promises! Promises! (1963), which Van Doren had turned down.
| Year | Film title | Role | Studio | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Footlight Varieties | Blonde in theater | RKO Radio Pictures | Credited as Joan Olander | ||
| His Kind of Woman | Lodge guest at bar | [2] | ||||
| Two Tickets to Broadway | Showgirl | |||||
| 1953 | Forbidden | Singer | Universal Pictures | Uncredited | [3] | |
| The All American | Susie Ward | First major film role | ||||
| 1954 | Hawaiian Nights | Glamour girl | UncreditedShort film | |||
| Yankee Pasha | Lilith, Harem slave | |||||
| Francis Joins the WACS | Cpl. Bunky Hilstrom | [4] | ||||
| 1955 | Ain't Misbehavin' | Jackie | ||||
| The Second Greatest Sex | Birdie Snyder | |||||
| Running Wild | Irma Bean | |||||
| 1956 | Star in the Dust | Ellen Ballard | Last film under contract with Universal. Van Doren stopped accepting roles from the studio, because they were not giving her the breakthrough roles she so desperately craved. | |||
| 1957 | Untamed Youth | Penny Lowe | Warner Brothers | In this film, Van Doren became the first actress to sing rock 'n roll in an American musical film. | ||
| The Girl in Black Stockings | Harriet Ames | United Artists | Van Doren's final film to be lined-up for her by Universal in 1956.a.k.a.: Wanton Murder and Wanton Murder Mystery | |||
| Jet Pilot | WAF | RKO Radio Pictures | Uncredited.Filmed from 1949 to 1953, but not released until 1959 | |||
| 1958 | Teacher's Pet | Peggy DeFore | Paramount Pictures | Van Doren's role was originally bigger, but was edited to be smaller because of the outfits she was required to wear in the film. | ||
| High School Confidential | Gwen Dulaine | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | ||||
| Born Reckless | Jackie Adams | Warner Brothers | ||||
| 1959 | Guns, Girls, and Gangsters | Vi Victor | United Artists | |||
| The Beat Generation | Georgia Altera | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | ||||
| The Beautiful Legs of Sabrina | Sabrina | Her first non-Hollywood motion picture release | ||||
| The Big Operator | Mary Gibson | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | ||||
| Girls Town | Silver Morgan | The first film to feature Van Doren nude. She appears nude through a fuzzy shower door. | ||||
| 1960 | Vice Raid | Carol Hudson | United Artists | |||
| College Confidential | Sally Blake | Universal Pictures | ||||
| Sex Kittens Go to College | Dr. Mathilda West | Allied Artists | ||||
| The Private Lives of Adam and Eve | Evie Simms/Eve | Universal Pictures | In this film, Van Doren wore only leaves for dream sequences. | |||
| 1961 | The Blonde from Buenos Aires | |||||
| 1964 | The Candidate | Samantha Ashley | ||||
| Freddy in the Wild West | Olivia | - | a.k.a.: The Sheriff Was a Lady (alternative title) | |||
| 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt | Saxie Symbol | Harlequin International Pictures | Filmed as a sequel/spinoff of Promises! Promises!, a film that Van Doren had turned down. | |||
| 1966 | The Las Vegas Hillbillys | Boots Malone | Woolner Brothers | Co-starred Jayne Mansfield. This is the only time that any of the "Three M's" appeared together in a motion picture. | ||
| The Navy vs. the Night Monsters | Nora Hall | Realart Pictures Inc. | The first of two science fiction films that Van Doren made. | |||
| 1967 | You've Got to Be Smart | Miss Hathaway | ||||
| 1968 | Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women | Moana | American-International Television | The last science fiction film of Van Doren's career. | ||
| 1970 | The Arizona Kid | Sharon Miller | ||||
| 1975 | That Girl from Boston | Princess Tassel | ||||
| 1986 | Free Ride | Debbie Stockwell | Galaxy International Releasing | |||
| 1999 | The Vegas Connection | Rita | ||||
| 2002 | Slackers | Miss Van Graaf | Screen Gems | |||
| 2012 | The American Tetralogy | Mazu or the Goddess of the Sea |