Dana Andrews

Dana Andrews is a great actor. I first became a fan when I watched him as the PTSD (my term, not their’s) veteran Fred Derry in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). I then began to notice how prolific this amazing actor was. Even when he was reduced to small parts near the end of his career, his acting still shined.

Andrews was born on a farm in Covington County, Mississippi, near the town of Collins on January 1, 1909. His father was a Baptist minster and his mother God bless her mother 13 children. Dana was the third born. By the time child 12, actor Steve Forrest was born in 1925, the family was living in Texas.

Andrews attended Sam Houston State Teachers College but left in 1929 before graduating to work as bookkeeper for Gulf Oil. He left this job, in the middle of the Great Depression, to hitchhike to Hollywood in order to become an actor. He worked in a large variety of jobs, but none of them were actor, as none of the studios were interested in Andrews.

Andrews applied for the Pasadena Community Playhouse but was turned down. He took signing lessons and on his second try was admitted. He starred in numerous productions until he was signed to a movie contract by Samuel Goldwyn. In spite of this, it was two years before he was given a role.

He was given excellent roles beginning in 1940 and his performance was superb. These early films include The Westerner (1940), Tobacco Road (1941), Berlin Correspondent (1942), Crash Dive (1943), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) a norish western which may have been his greatest role, The North Star (1943), The Purple Heart (1944), Wing and a Prayer (1944), great Film-Noirs Laura (1944), and Fallen Angel (1945), State Fair (1945), A Walk in the Sun (1945), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) which is my personal favorite, Boomerang (1947), The Iron Curtain (1948), Deep Waters (1948), No Minor Vices (1948), The Forbidden Street (1949), and Film-Noir Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).

Andrews had quite a run in Film-Noir. In addition to those mentioned above are Daisy Kenyon (1947), While the City Sleeps (1956), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956), The Fearmakers (1958), and Brainstorm (1965).

By the 1960s, Andrews drinking was taking a toll on his career. He began to get only smaller roles. However, his work remained good. He also started investing in real estate at this time.

Andrews was elected President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in 1963. He remained in office until 1965. In 1965, he was in eight major productions. In five of these, he played military men even though he never served. The military films are The Satan Bug (1965), In Harm’s Way (1965), Berlin, Appointment for the Spies (1965), Battle of the Bulge (1965), and The Loved One (1965).

Andrews worked with his younger brother only once in Sealed Cargo (1951). Andrews also has a place in disaster films. He played a commercial pilot in the early disaster film The Crowded Sky (1960). He also played Lt. Ted Stryker in Zero Hour! (1957). This film was remade as a comedy Airplane! (1980) with Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty. Finally, he had a small role in Airport 1975 (1974).

He was hired for a soap opera called “Bright Promise.” The show was to revolve around him as a university president. He was unceremoniously fired after one year.

By 1972, he had his drinking under control and made PSAs speaking out about alcohol abuse. One of his bigger accomplishments was helping to stop the practice of having actresses perform nude to get roles.

It is interesting that he was mentioned in the opening song to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) “Science Fiction.” The line is “Dana Andrews said prunes Gave him the runes And passing them used lots of skills .” This is a reference to Curse of the Demon (1957) which was originally released as Night of the Demon. The movie is based on the book “The Runes” by M.R. James¹. So that explains part of the lyric.

Andrews died on December 17, 1992 at the age of 83. I

Selected Filmography

• The Westerner (1940) as Sergeant Dunn
• Tobacco Road (1941) as Captain Tim
• Berlin Correspondent (1942) as Bill Roberts
• Crash Dive (1943) as Lt. Cmdr. Dewey Connors
• The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Donald Martin
• The North Star (1943) as Kolya Simonov
• The Purple Heart (1944) as Capt. Harvey Ross
• Wing and a Prayer (1944) as Lt. Cmdr. Edward Moulton
• Laura (1944) as Det. Lt. Mark McPherson
• State Fair (1945) as Pat Gilbert
• Fallen Angel (1945) as Eric Stanton
• A Walk in the Sun (1945) as Sgt. Bill Tyne
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) as Fred Derry
• Boomerang (1947) as State’s Atty. Henry L. Harvey
• The Iron Curtain (1948) as Igor Gouzenko
• Deep Waters (1948) as Hod Stillwell
• No Minor Vices (1948) as Perry Ashwell
• The Forbidden Street (1949) as Henry Lambert / Gilbert Lauderdale
• Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) as Det. Mark Dixon
• Sealed Cargo (1951) as Pat Bannon
• The Frogmen (1951) as Jake Flannigan
• Assignment – Paris! (1952) as Jimmy Race
• Elephant Walk (1954) as Dick Carver
• Duel in the Jungle (1954) as Scott Walters
• Three Hours to Kill (1954) as Jim Guthrie
• Smoke Signal (1955) as Brett Halliday
• Comanche (1956) as Jim Read
• While the City Sleeps (1956) as Edward Mobley
• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) as Tom Garrett
• Night of the Demon (1957) as John Holden
• Zero Hour! (1957) as Lt. Ted Stryker
• The Fearmakers (1958) as Alan Eaton
• The Crowded Sky (1960) as Dick Barnett.
• The Satan Bug (1965) as Gen. Williams
• In Harm’s Way (1965) as Admiral Broderick
• Crack in the World (1965) as Dr. Stephen Sorenson
• Brainstorm (1965) as Cort Benson
• Berlin, Appointment for the Spies (1965) as Col. Lancaster
• Battle of the Bulge (1965) as Col. Pritchard
• Johnny Reno (1966) as Johnny Reno
• The Frozen Dead (1966) as Dr. Norberg
• The Devil’s Brigade (1968) as Brig. Gen. Walter Naylor
• Innocent Bystanders (1972) as Blake
• Airport 1975 (1974) as Scott Freeman
• Good Guys Wear Black (1978) as Edgar Harolds

¹ Lyrics