Carol Forman

Raven-haired Carol Forman's main claim to fame is the fact that she was one of the first villainesses in serials. There were a few during the silent era, but they were mainly of the regal, imperious type; Carol Forman was not afraid to use her considerable attractiveness to bamboozle the poor saps who tried to stop her nefarious plans for world domination, to steal atomic secrets, or whatever she had up her sleeve. Alabama born and raised, Carol had desperately wanted to become an actress since childhood, and took every dramatic class and appeared in every play she could while in school. Soon after graduating high school she set out for Hollywood, after her mother had made arrangements for her to board with a singing teacher and study with her. She also took drama lessons and took up with a theatrical company. It was while performing in one of the company's plays that she was spotted by director John Berry, who gave her a part in his RKO film From This Day Forward (1946). She did such a good job that the studio put her under contract, but she left after a year. It was in 1947 that she essayed the role that she is probably most famous for: The Spider Woman in Republic's The Black Widow (1947). She made a big splash in that part and Republic immediately assigned her to other "bad girl" parts, but she turned them down, not wanting to be pigeonholed in serials. She freelanced for a while, doing a few westerns and a Columbia serial, then returned to Republic for her turn as the villain Nila in 1949's Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949). After a few more westerns and another serial for Columbia, though, she basically retired from the screen and turned to work in TV series, theatrical plays and television commercials.