RKO – as Dorothy Maloney Malone was signed by
RKO at age 18 as Dorothy Maloney. She made her film debut in
Gildersleeve on Broadway (1943). She was credited as Dorothy Maloney in
The Falcon and the Co-eds (1943), released shortly thereafter. RKO elected not to renew her contract. She made a brief uncredited appearance in
One Mysterious Night (1944), a
Boston Blackie film for Columbia.
Warner Bros. – as Dorothy Malone photo of Malone for
Yank, the Army Weekly in 1945 She then signed a contract with
Warner Bros. The studio, she said in 1985, changed her surname "from Maloney to Malone. They placed my picture in the newspaper and they gave me a raise." Her first lead was
Two Guys from Texas (1948) with Morgan and
Jack Carson; this film, in her words, established her onscreen persona as "the all-American girl watching the all-American boy do all sorts of things." She appeared in
One Sunday Afternoon (1948) with
Dennis Morgan and
Janis Paige for director
Raoul Walsh; this was a remake of
The Strawberry Blonde (1941), with Malone playing the part played by
Olivia de Havilland in the original. She was billed third in
Flaxy Martin (1949) with
Virginia Mayo and
Zachary Scott, then played a good girl in a Western with
Joel McCrea,
South of St Louis (1949). McCrea and Mayo were re-teamed with Malone in support in
Colorado Territory (1949), a remake of
High Sierra (1941), also for Walsh, her last film before she left the studio.
Filmink argued Warners gave "juicier roles during this period to its other contract stars like Viveca Lindfords, Virginia Mayo and Alexis Smith." and
John Ireland's love interest in
The Bushwackers (1951). She began acting on television while continuing to appear in films, guest-starring on shows such as
The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse ("
Education of a Fullback", 1951), and
Kraft Theatre ("
The Golden Slate", 1951). Malone appeared in a war film,
Torpedo Alley (1952) for Allied Artists. He cast her as the female lead in his directorial debut,
Five Guns West (1955). At Warner Bros., Malone made a Western with
Randolph Scott,
Tall Man Riding (1955), then was cast as
Liberace's love interest in the unsuccessful film
Sincerely Yours (1955). More successful was the Paramount musical comedy
Artists and Models (1955), a reunion with
Martin and Lewis, where she played the love interest of Martin's character. She then returned to Westerns:
At Gunpoint (1955), with MacMurray;
Tension at Table Rock (1956), with
Richard Egan; and
Pillars of the Sky (1956) with
Jeff Chandler.
Filmknk argued "the penny dropped in Hollywood how Malone could be used other than as a Girl in Westerns – namely, as a sexually active temptress who was still sympathetic, a sort of minor league Lana Turner." As a result, she was offered more substantial roles in such films as
Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), a biopic of
Lon Chaney with
James Cagney and
Tip on a Dead Jockey (1957) with
Robert Taylor.
Quantez (1957) was another "girl in a Western" part, supporting
Fred MacMurray, but
The Tarnished Angels (1957) reunited her successfully with Hudson, Sirk, Stack, and producer
Albert Zugsmith. Malone was given the important role of
Diana Barrymore in the biopic
Too Much, Too Soon (1958), but the film was not a success. Malone appeared in
Warlock (1959), but went back to guest starring on such television programs as
Cimarron City ("A Respectable Girl", 1958) and
Alcoa Theatre ("
The Last Flight Out", 1960). Malone made a third film with Stack,
The Last Voyage (1960), and a third with Hudson,
The Last Sunset (1961). However, she was working more and more in television:
Route 66 ("Fly Away Home", 1961),
Checkmate ("The Heat of Passion", 1961),
Death Valley Days ("The Watch", 1961),
The Dick Powell Theatre ("Open Season", 1961),
Dr Kildare ("The Administrator", 1962),
General Electric Theatre ("
Little White Lye", 1961, "Somebody Please Help Me", 1962),
The Untouchables with Stack ("The Floyd Gibbons Story", 1962), and
The Greatest Show on Earth ("Where the Wire Ends", 1963). She made an uncredited cameo appearance in
Fate Is the Hunter (1964). In 1968, she was written out of the show after complaining that she was given little to do. Malone sued
20th Century Fox for $1.6 million for breach of contract; it was settled out of court. She later returned to the role in the TV movies
Murder in Peyton Place (1977) and
Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985).
Later career After leaving
Peyton Place, Malone went to Italy to make a thriller
The Insatiables (1969). In Hollywood, she made a TV movie with
Sammy Davis Jr.,
The Pigeon (1969), then returned to guest-starring on TV series such as
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors ("Is This Operation Necessary?", 1972),
Ironside ("Confessions: From a Lady of the Night", 1973), and
Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of the Eccentric Engineer" 1975). She was seen on television in
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries ("The House on Possessed Hill" 1978),
Flying High ("A Hairy Yak Plays Musical Chairs Eagerly" 1978),
Vega$ ("Love, Laugh and Die" 1978), and the TV movie
Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978). She was suffering financial troubles at the time due to two expensive divorces and a life-threatening
pulmonary embolism. The producers of
Dallas approached her to step into the role of
Miss Ellie Ewing when
Barbara Bel Geddes vacated the part in 1984 due to illness, but Malone declined. Her later appearances included
The Littlest Hobo ("Guardian Angel" 1982),
Matt Houston ("Shark Bait" 1983),
The Being (1983),
Peyton Place: The Next Generation (1985), and
Rest in Pieces (1987). ==Personal life==