A look at the 50 Foot Woman: Star Allison Hayes' early Hollywood years
From humble beginnings to gargantuan stature!
A few years before she was the title star in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, Allison Hayes was just another actress in Los Angeles. She was featured in pictures like Sign of the Pagan, Francis Joins the WAC's, and the musical So This is Paris.
What set her apart from her competition was her ambition. Hayes wasn't content with being a contracted starlet fighting for billing in each new movie. So, she obtained her release from Universal-International, and freelanced as an actress not assigned to any studio.
While she was free from her restless and unrewarding shackles at Universal, Hayes struggled for a few years to find meaningful work that paid well. In a 1955 interview with Omaha World-Herald Magazine, Hayes spoke at length about her routine, and how it might not line up with what moviegoers would expect from a Hollywood poster image.
"When I'm working," she said, "the job takes up to about 17 hours of the day. Actual shooting on the set won't start until around 9:30 in the morning, but to be ready by that time, I have to get up at 4 o'clock.
"After getting breakfast, I drive to the studio, and the rest of the time is taken up in make-up, dressing for the role, and being ready to speak my lines. Often, I'm not back home until 9:30 in the evening, and this routine goes on six days a week."
While movies like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman would bring Hayes some recognizability, at the time, she lived modestly.
"I live in a guest house over the garage on a beautiful private estate in Laurel Canyon near North Hollywood," said Hayes. "I don't have a maid, so I have Sunday chores which keep me busy on my day off.
"I scrub my own floors, and I get down on hands and knees to do it. Then there's the rest of the housecleaning, generally some personal sewing to do, some laundering and meals to get for myself. It's the only time I have to do these things."
While Allison Hayes lived just near enough to the epicenter of American show business, she chose to forgo the party lifestyle enjoyed by many of her peers.
"I live alone," she said. "I don't like to go out much. I don't like nightclubs, and on a date, I much prefer a quiet dinner in a good restaurant. I want to buy a small house when I'm able to."
The article reports that Hayes was spotted by Mrs. Earl Warren, wife of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, at a party in Washington D.C. Her date introduced the actress to a Universal talent scout, and before long, she was bound for Hollywood.
"Girls who want to get into the movies can use all the acting experience they can get," she said. "And it helps to have a boyfriend who knows a studio talent scout."
