Judith Wood

Judith Wood

Born: August 1, 1906
Died: April 6, 2002
in New York City, New York, USA
Judith Wood (born Helen Johnson, August 1, 1906 – April 6, 2002) was an American film actress.

Wood's first role was in the 1929 film Gold Diggers of Broadway. In this first film, as well as in the four in which she would star during 1930, Wood was credited under her birth name.

Her first film of 1931 was It Pays to Advertise, which starred Carole Lombard. It was the last film in which she was billed as Helen Johnson, and thereafter all of her film credits were under the name Judith Wood. In 1931, she was selected as one of 13 girls to be WAMPAS Baby Stars, along with actresses Marian Marsh, Karen Morley, Marion Shilling, and Barbara Weeks. Wood starred in six films in 1931, and then her career slowed and eventually faded. Also in 1931, she was injured in an automobile accident and spent months recuperating.

She starred as Kitty Packard in the original Broadway production of Dinner at Eight, but the film version went to Jean Harlow. In 1934, she only received three film roles, one of which was uncredited. In 1936 and 1937, she had small but credited roles in two films, then did not receive another until 1941, which was uncredited. Her last film was in 1950 when she had an uncredited role in The Asphalt Jungle (1950).

On March 17, 1939, Wood married Percival Christopher Wren Jr. in Tokyo, Japan. Following her marriage she retired from acting, but remained in Los Angeles. She died there in 2002 of natural causes, aged 95.

Movies for Judith Wood...

The Asphalt Jungle
Title: The Asphalt Jungle
Character: Woman (uncredited)
Released: May 12, 1950
Type: Movie
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
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Beyond the Forest
Title: Beyond the Forest
Character: Waitress
Released: October 21, 1949
Type: Movie
Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead. Soon she demonstrates she is capable of rather deplorable acts -- including murder.
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Rhythm Racketeer
Title: Rhythm Racketeer
Character: Lola
Released: October 1, 1937
Type: Movie
A Chicago gangster steals jewels and frames his band leader double.
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Riffraff
Title: Riffraff
Character: Mabel
Released: January 3, 1936
Type: Movie
Fisherman Dutch marries cannery worker Hattie. After he is kicked out of his union and fired from his job he leaves Hattie who steals money for him and goes to jail. He gets a new job, foils a plot to dynamite the ship, and promises to wait for Hattie.
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Looking for Trouble
Title: Looking for Trouble
Character: Pearl La Tour
Released: March 28, 1934
Type: Movie
Joe and Casey trouble-shoot for the phone company. They try to prove that Joes's girl Ethel's boss Dan is a crook but are trapped by criminals and left in a burning building.
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The Crime Doctor
Title: The Crime Doctor
Character: Blanche Flynn
Released: March 14, 1934
Type: Movie
When he finds out that his wife is having an affair, a criminologist commits the perfect murder--and pins the crime on his wife's boyfriend so well that the man is convicted of the murder.
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The Divorce Racket
Title: The Divorce Racket
Character: Helen Travers / Paula Murdock
Released: October 25, 1932
Type: Movie
Assigned to investigate a lawyer's murder, a detective finds that his chief suspect is his own secretary--who is also the woman he loves.
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Working Girls
Title: Working Girls
Character: June Thorpe
Released: December 12, 1931
Type: Movie
Two sisters from Indiana, the wide-eyed and innocent Mae Thorpe, and her more streetwise sister June, move into the Rolf House for Homeless Girls in New York. With June's help, Mae obtains a job as a stenographer for the scientist Joseph von Schraeder, while June gets work as a telegraph operator at Western Union.
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Girls About Town
Title: Girls About Town
Character: Winnie
Released: November 7, 1931
Type: Movie
A dynamic duo in silk and ermine entertain hick businessmen looking for a good time while in Manhattan.
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The Road to Reno
Title: The Road to Reno
Character: Elsie Kenton
Released: September 25, 1931
Type: Movie
Jackie is the perpetually adolescent mother of two grown children - daughter Lee and son Jeff - who are in their early 20's. In spite of the fact that fourth husband Robert is a good provider, good step-dad, and all-around good sport about Jackie's rather wild ways, Jackie is intent on divorcing him although she seems to bear the man no resentment. It just seems that her only reason is that it's time for a change, much like an impulse to buy a new hat. Both children are upset about her decision since they have great affection for Robert. However, daughter Lee has just arrived home from school and decides to accompany her mother to Reno to look after her. On the train west, Lee meets a young mining engineer, Tom, who is headed to a job interview in California. The two hit it off and a romance buds.
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The Vice Squad
Title: The Vice Squad
Character: Madeleine Hunt
Released: May 29, 1931
Type: Movie
A diplomat is blackmailed by crooked vice cops into helping them frame prostitutes.
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It Pays to Advertise
Title: It Pays to Advertise
Character: Countess de Beaurien (as Helen Johnson)
Released: February 18, 1931
Type: Movie
To prove his thesis that any product--even one that doesn't exist--can be merchandized if it is advertised properly, a young man gets together with his father's savvy secretary to market a non-existent laundry soap. Complications ensue when his "product" turns out to be more successful than even he imagined--and now he has to deliver.
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Soldiers and Women
Title: Soldiers and Women
Character: Helen Arnold
Released: April 30, 1930
Type: Movie
Captain Clive Branch, United States Marine Corps, is stationed at a Marine base in Haiti, and is having affairs with two women, Brenda Ritchie and Helen Arnold, each of whom is married to a Marine Captain. One of the husbands is murdered, and Branch, Helen and Brenda each find themselves high on the list of suspects.
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Children of Pleasure
Title: Children of Pleasure
Character: Pat Thayer
Released: April 26, 1930
Type: Movie
A successful songwriter, dazzled by high society, falls for a society girl who is just playing around.
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The Divorcee
Title: The Divorcee
Character: Dorothy
Released: April 19, 1930
Type: Movie
When a woman discovers that her husband has been unfaithful, she decides to pay him back in kind.