A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing: The Life of Marie Windsor

A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing tells the full story of Marie Windsor, the actress often called “The Queen of the B’s.” Denise Noe discusses Marie’s humble beginnings as a child in a small Utah town and her struggles as a Hollywood newcomer. The biography reveals how Marie’s skills in horse riding helped her make her mark in Westerns and how her unusual beauty led to femme fatale roles in such movies as Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin, and The Killing. Noe shows how Marie’s acting skills allowed her to portray with equal believability villainesses and princesses, female gangsters and the molls of male gangsters, conniving adulteresses and loving mothers and to easily glide from Westerns to dramas to such campy comedies as Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Although best known for playing “bad ladies,” this biography shows Marie Windsor as a caring and deeply ethical person. The reader learns how Marie Windsor combined a demanding professional life with marriage and motherhood, and how she managed to be as adept in her home’s kitchen as she was on a movie set. The woman known as Marie Windsor comes to fresh life in the pages of A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.

“As Marie Windsor’s son, even I learned many things I never knew about my mother’s career. A lot of her film work was before my time, but learning the detailed history of the popular and not so popular films my mom was involved with drew me closer to her. Marie at home was a far cry from the characters she played, so it was engaging to learn the backstory of who she was before she was “mom,” and how she was an inspiration to some and a sinner to others. With her gone for so many years, to see her life through Denise’s well researched historical lens gave me more appreciation for the struggles and opportunities my mother had to navigate to become who she was. I thank Denise for putting so much time and attention into preserving her legacy, and for expanding my recognition of how special my mother was.”

– Rick Hupp, son of Marie Windsor