There's something about Olivia de Havilland that has always set her apart from other actresses. Maybe it's the combination of warmth, sensitivity and intelligence she conveys, or the way her good looks have always been further enhanced by the ever-present twinkle in her eyes. Or the wisdom you sense behind those orbs. Whatever the reasons, she has made several generations of moviegoers understand completely why Errol Flynn was so eager to cart her off into Sherwood Forest in The Adventures of Robin Hood, why Ashley Wilkes preferred her to Scarlett O'Hara, despite Scarlett's flirty ways and almost stalker-like demeanor in Gone With the Wind.

On occasion, Olivia could hide her good looks (and that knowing twinkle) when necessary, as in The Heiress and The Snake Pit, but she never could hide the fact she was The Perfect Movie Heroine who evolved into a truly accomplished dramatic actress. (Two Academy Awards® sit in her home in Paris, both of which she won during an era when competition was extremely intense and winning an Oscar® was a true accomplishment.) What's amazing is how much of a fighter this "Ideal Gentlewoman" can be if she feels a wrong should be righted. A case in point is the time in 1943 when she flirted with career suicide by taking on her employers, Warner Bros., in a court battle over the length of time she owed the studio on a contract she'd signed seven years earlier. By her calculation, the contract had been fulfilled. Warners insisted she owed them six more months to cover periods in which she had been put on suspension for turning down roles. But Olivia had come upon a little-known California law which stated that employers could not hold an employee for longer than a seven-year period. Olivia interpreted this as referring to calendar years; Warners insisted it meant "accumulated time." So off to court she went. Had she lost, it's likely her Hollywood career would have been finished for good. (The Big Guys don't like troublemakers.) But, after two years, many headlines and a personal cost of $13,000, the court ruled in her favor and the de Havilland Decision is now in the law books, helping free employees from potential bondage.

As Bette Davis often said, "Every actor in the business owes a great debt of gratitude to Olivia for what she did." A fighter she is; a consistently welcome screen presence, too. For proof, should any be needed, check out the de Havilland treats we have in store for you on July 1st, only on Turner Classic Movies.

by Robert Osborne