Janice Rule, a stylish, intelligent actress who gave stellar performances in many films throughout her long career, and who later started a second profession as a psychoanalyst, died on October 17 in her Manhattan home of undisclosed causes. She was 72.

Born Mary Janice Rule in Norwood, Ohio, on August 15, 1931, she studied dance and acting as a child at the Chicago Professional School. By the time she was 15, she found work as a dancer in the Chicago nightclub circuit. Within two years, she made the move to New York City, where she was a chorus girl at the Copacabana, Riviera and on Broadway. She soon caught the attention of movie scouts in Hollywood and was given a contract by Warner Brothers in 1950. A quick buildup ensued, as exemplified by her making the cover of Life magazine when she was just 19; and starred along such stars as Joan Crawford, Robert Young and Frank Lovejoy in her film debut, Goodbye, My Fancy (1951).

Despite the promising start, Rule's "ingenue" period in the early '50s saw her star in some fairly forgettable pictures: Starlift (1951), Holiday for Sinners (1952), and Rogue's March (1953); such films showcased her beauty, but little else. Rule decided to expand her talents, and in 1953 made the move to Broadway, and had her lead debut in William Inge's Picnic. She drew critical raves for her performance as Madge Owens, the young beauty who hastily falls in love with Hal, an aimless drifter. From here, Rule began to show her true acting talent; she starred in some acclaimed early television shows such as Studio One and Playhouse 90, and landed her best role yet as the rival of Kim Novak for James Stewart's affection in the bewitching romantic comedy Bell, Book and Candle (1958). That same year, she starred in the Broadway drama Night Circus alongside Ben Gazzara, whom she later married (1961-1979).

Rule took some time out to take her of her family, but when she returned to the silver screen in the mid-'60s, she had a newfound maturity that propelled her finest performances: the drunken wife of Robert Duvall in The Chase (1966); her intense portrayal of a vengeful Irish widow seeking revenge on outlaw Aldo Ray in Welcome to Hard Times (1967); and Burt Lancaster's violent, neurotic mistress in The Swimmer (1968).

In the '70s, Rule became interested in psychoanalysis, eventually earning a doctorate in the field from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute in Los Angeles. She practiced in New York, although she continued to make occasional film appearances. The most notable of these was Robert Altman's fascinating drama Three Women (1977), where she portrayed a voiceless, pregnant artist who translates her paranoia of relationships into bizarre murals of Aztec tribesmen. Her last film role was as the dysfunctional mother of bicycling brothers (David Grant and Kevin Costner) in American Flyers (1985). She is survived by her daughters, Kate Thom Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gazzara.

by Michael T. Toole