Hollywood actress Kim Novak, age 92, has voiced objections concerning a forthcoming biographical film, Scandalous, in which actress Sydney Sweeney is set to portray her. The production revisits Ms. Novak’s relationship during the 1950s with fellow entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
In remarks provided to The Guardian, Ms. Novak indicated her disapproval of both the title of the film and the sensationalized narrative reportedly attached to it. She stated: ‘I don’t think the relationship was scandalous. He’s somebody I really cared about. We had so much in common, including that need to be accepted for who we are and what we do, rather than how we look.’ She further added her concern that the project may overemphasize sexual elements, remarking: ‘I’m concerned they’re going to make it all sexual reasons.’
Historically, Ms. Novak’s relationship with Mr. Davis came to an end following threats communicated by then–Columbia Pictures executive Harry Cohn, who is alleged to have warned of mob-related retaliation and asserted that the relationship was ‘bad for business’ due to its interracial nature.
The Guardian interviewed Ms. Novak remotely while she was attending the Venice Film Festival, where a documentary chronicling her life and career, Kim Novak’s Vertigo, premiered. Ms. Novak characterized the experience as a ‘full circle’ moment, stating: ‘It’s incredible to feel appreciated and to receive this gift before the end of my life. I think I’m being honored as much for being authentic as for my acting. It has sort of come full circle.’
In the same interview, Ms. Novak reflected upon the difficulties of retaining personal identity during her career in Hollywood, noting that while studios valued her individuality at the outset, they sought to alter her appearance to conform to industry standards. As she explained: ‘They hired you because they thought you have something special, and then the first thing they’d do is try to give you a new face. They’d want the mouth of Joan Crawford, the hair of Jean Harlow. So by the time you left the makeup chair, it wasn’t even you any more. I needed to fight to keep my own sense of who I was.’
In 2021, Ms. Kim Novak provided remarks to People magazine regarding her decision to permanently withdraw from Hollywood. She explained: ‘I had to leave to survive. I lost a sense of who I truly was and what I stood for. I fought all the time back in Hollywood to keep my identity, so you do whatever you have to do to hold on to who you are and what you stand for.’
One of her earliest disputes with the industry concerned the preservation of her name. In the introduction to her memoir, Kim Novak: Her Art and Life, Ms. Novak reflected: ‘I was both dazzled and disturbed to see me being packaged as a Hollywood sex symbol. However, I did win my fight over identity. I wouldn’t allow Harry Cohn to take my bohemian roots away by denying me my family name. Novak. I stood my ground and won my first major battle.’
Born Marilyn Pauline Novak, the actress-turned-painter emphasized that this victory over her professional identity was pivotal in maintaining her sense of self.#newsafro_
