Helene Chadwick

Helene Chadwick

Born: November 24, 1897
Died: September 4, 1940
in Chadwicks, New York, USA
From Wikipedia

Helene Chadwick (November 25, 1897 – September 4, 1940) was an American actress in Silent and early sound films.

Chadwick was born in the small town of Chadwicks, New York, which was named for her grandfather. Her mother was a singer who performed on the stage and her father was a businessman.

She began making films for Pathe Pictures in Manhattan, New York. A director was impressed by Chadwick's talent as an equestrian, thus she began acting as a western star, but this did not continue with the exodus of film production from the east to the west coast. Signed by Samuel Goldwyn, Chadwick went to California in 1913 and entered silent movies in 1916. She was a star from 1920 through 1925. At the pinnacle of her acting career, she earned a salary estimated to have been $2,000 per week. From 1929 until 1935, she found success as a character actress when sound was being introduced to films.

In the final five years of her life she was reduced to taking roles as an extra, playing "atmospheric parts". She was always optimistic that her fortunes would turn for the better. Helene made movies with Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, and other studios.

Her most noteworthy performances came in The Long Arm of Mannister (1919), The Cup of Fury (1920), Heartsease (1919), The Sin Flood (1922), Dangerous Curve Ahead (1921), From The Ground Up (1921), The Glorious Fool (1922), Yellow Men and Gold (1922), Dust Flower (1922), Godless Men (1920), and Quicksands (1923).

In January 1919, Chadwick became engaged to Lieutenant William A. Wellman, an American pilot with the Lafayette Flying Corps. He had just returned from France and was cited for bravery for his valour in World War I. The couple had met at a party at the house of a friend. Wellman was signed to play a prominent role in an upcoming movie with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. The couple wed in July 1921, but in the summer of 1923 Chadwick sued Wellman for divorce on grounds of desertion and non-support. At the time of their separation William was directing movies for Fox Film. Wellman directed Wings, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as many other notable films.

Helene Chadwick died at St. Vincent's Hospital, Los Angeles, California, aged 42, in 1940. Her death was indirectly the result of an accident she suffered in June 1939.

Movies for Helene Chadwick...

The Perfect Set-Up
Title: The Perfect Set-Up
Character: Mary (uncredited)
Released: February 1, 1936
Type: Movie
In this MGM "Crime Does Not Pay" series short, a radio and television engineer falls into a life of crime by dismantling alarms for robberies.
bee
Frisco Kid
Title: Frisco Kid
Character: Saloon Girl (uncredited)
Released: November 30, 1935
Type: Movie
After a roustabout sailor avoids being shanghaied in 1850s San Francisco, his audacity helps him rise to a position of power in the vice industry of the infamous Barbary Coast.
bee
Mary Burns, Fugitive
Title: Mary Burns, Fugitive
Character: Prison Matron (uncredited)
Released: November 15, 1935
Type: Movie
A young woman who owns a coffee shop falls for a handsome young customer, unaware that he is a gangster.
bee
A Wicked Woman
Title: A Wicked Woman
Character: Mother (uncredited)
Released: December 7, 1934
Type: Movie
A woman and her children escape severe poverty and abuse. She successfully betters her family's condition while living with the secret that she killed her abusive husband in order to protect her children from him.
bee
School for Girls
Title: School for Girls
Character: Larson
Released: March 22, 1934
Type: Movie
After being convicted of stealing some jewels, Annette Eldrige is sent to a reformatory administered by a sadistic and corrupt female warder. However, one of the board of trustees takes an interest in the new arrival and begins to investigate the management of the institution.
bee
Good Dame
Title: Good Dame
Character: Mrs. Crosby
Released: March 16, 1934
Type: Movie
A chorus girl gets stranded in a small midwestern town. Against her better judgement, she hooks up with a smooth-talking con artist who says he can help her get out of town.
bee
Managed Money
Title: Managed Money
Character: Mrs. George Myers
Released: February 22, 1934
Type: Movie
Young Mary Lou tries to help her brother Sonny raise money so that he can attend a military academy.
bee
Merrily Yours
Title: Merrily Yours
Character: Mrs. Rogers
Released: October 5, 1933
Type: Movie
Sonny falls for the pretty new girl next door and decides to take her to a part. First, however, he has to get his sister Mary Lou to go to sleep, which is proving to be a harder task than he anticipated.
bee
Employees' Entrance
Title: Employees' Entrance
Character: Attendee at Meeting of Department Heads (uncredited)
Released: February 11, 1933
Type: Movie
Kurt Anderson is the tyrannical manager of a New York department store in financial straits. He thinks nothing of firing an employee of more than 20 years or of toying with the affections of every woman he meets. One such victim is Madeline, a beautiful young woman in need of a job. Anderson hires her as a salesgirl, but not before the two spend the night together. Madeline is ashamed, especially after she falls for Martin West, a rising young star at the store. Her biggest fear is that Martin finds out the truth about her "career move."
bee
Night World
Title: Night World
Character: Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Released: May 4, 1932
Type: Movie
"Happy" MacDonald and his unfaithful wife own a Prohibition era night club. On this eventful night, he is threatened by bootleggers, and the club's star dancer falls in love with a young socialite who drinks to forget a personal tragedy, among other incidents.
bee
So Big!
Title: So Big!
Character: Townsperson (uncredited)
Released: April 30, 1932
Type: Movie
A farmer's widow takes on the land and her late husband's tempestuous son.
bee
Hell Bound
Title: Hell Bound
Character: Sanford's Sister
Released: May 1, 1931
Type: Movie
Lane and Diane are a young married couple living in a coastal town whose lives are about to be torn apart by an old book of magic.
bee
The Bad Sister
Title: The Bad Sister
Character: Amy, Sam's Wife (uncredited)
Released: March 29, 1931
Type: Movie
Marianne falls in love with con man Valentine who uses their relation to get her father's endorsement on a money-raising scheme. He runs off with the money and Marianne, later dumping her. Her sister Laura loves Dr. Lindley although she knows he loves Marianne. Marianne returns and marries a wealthy young man, and Lindley turns his love toward Laura.
bee
Men Are Like That
Title: Men Are Like That
Character: Clara Hyland
Released: March 22, 1930
Type: Movie
A loud-mouthed lout alienates everyone except his patient wife.
bee
Father and Son
Title: Father and Son
Character: Miss White
Released: May 13, 1929
Type: Movie
A phonograph recorder provides incriminating evidence in this mystery that centers upon a widower and his 10-year old child who receives it as a birthday present.
bee
Say It with Sables
Title: Say It with Sables
Character: Helen Caswell
Released: July 13, 1928
Type: Movie
In this silent film, now considered lost, Doug Caswell falls for Irene, his wealthy father's mistress. It's up to Doug's stepmother Helen to put things right.
bee
Women Who Dare
Title: Women Who Dare
Character: Stella Mowbray
Released: March 31, 1928
Type: Movie
Film directed by Burton L. King
bee
The Bachelor's Baby
Title: The Bachelor's Baby
Character: Eleanor Carter
Released: February 20, 1927
Type: Movie
Directed by Frank R. Strayer. With Helene Chadwick, Harry Myers, Midget Gustav, Edith Murgatroyd.
bee
Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes
Title: Wise Guys Prefer Brunettes
Character: Helene
Released: October 2, 1926
Type: Movie
The crotchety dean of Pinkham University blames the "bad behavior of the school's female students on a dress shop owned by Helene, and informs her he's shutting her shop down. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Napoleon has invented a plaster that restores youth. The dean accidentally sits on the plaster and reverts back to his younger days when he himself used to chase college girls. Complications ensue.
bee
Dancing Days
Title: Dancing Days
Character: Alice Hedman
Released: September 27, 1926
Type: Movie
Despite the fact that he has a beautiful wife who loves him and a good home, gold-digger Lillian Loring discovers that Ralph Hedman is a pushover for her winsome wiles and ways. Ralph's wife, Alice, becomes suspicious when she sees them together at lunch one day. He asks for a divorce but Alice says she wants to keep the marriage going for at least a year, for appearances sake, and says she will agree to a divorce then if he still wants it. Alive stays home alone for three months while Ralph is living it up as a full member of the Jazz Age. He gets sick and Alice invites Lillian to come over and help get him well. Lillian decides that lots of saxophone playing and wild dancing is the best cure. Alice takes all she can stand, leaves a note for Ralph and departs the premises. Ralph also takes his own departure, after leaving a note for Alice. Lillian keeps on partying. Alice and Ralph, driving their respective cars into an intersection, have a collision.
bee
Hard Boiled
Title: Hard Boiled
Character: Marjorie Gregg
Released: June 6, 1926
Type: Movie
Tom Mix plays an Eastern dandy who finds himself banished to a Western ranch in this silent Western
bee
The Golden Cocoon
Title: The Golden Cocoon
Character: Molly Shannon
Released: December 14, 1925
Type: Movie
The story of a much put-upon woman who becomes involved with a professor of political economy only to be thrown over by him for the daughter of a wealthy businessman.
bee
The Woman Hater
Title: The Woman Hater
Released: July 12, 1925
Type: Movie
A famous international actress wants to marry the love of her life, a millionaire but is blocked by a renowned woman-hater who actually ants her for himself.
bee
The Dark Swan
Title: The Dark Swan
Character: Cornelia Quinn
Released: November 26, 1924
Type: Movie
An American drama based on a novel
bee
The Border Legion
Title: The Border Legion
Character: Joan Randle
Released: October 19, 1924
Type: Movie
Cowhand Jim Cleve is wrongly accused of murder and rescued by Jack Kells, leader of a band of Idaho outlaws known as the Border Legion. But when the Legion takes Joan Randall prisoner and leaves Cleve to guard her, he realizes that he cannot remain part of an outlaw band and decides to rescue Joan.
bee
Trouping with Ellen
Title: Trouping with Ellen
Character: Ellen Llewellyn
Released: October 5, 1924
Type: Movie
Ellen Llewellyn is a chorus girl who is loved by orchestra leader Andy Owens, a genuinely nice guy. When Ellen meets the aristocratic Tony Winterslip, she's impressed by his family tree and vast wealth. When Winterslip's car breaks down during a rainstorm, Ellen gets drenched and contracts pneumonia. It takes much persuasion, but finally Ellen agrees to recuperate at the Winterslip country home.
bee
Why Men Leave Home
Title: Why Men Leave Home
Character: Irene Emerson
Released: March 3, 1924
Type: Movie
John and Irene Emerson's marriage begins well enough, but it is not long before John becomes less attentive. Feeling neglected, Irene spends more time with her girl friends, and John, consequently, falls prey to the vamping wiles of his secretary, Jean Ralston. When John comes home from the theater smelling of Jean's perfume, Irene procures a divorce; John then marries Jean.
bee
Reno
Title: Reno
Character: Mrs. Emily Dysart Tappan
Released: December 9, 1923
Type: Movie
After obtaining a divorce from his second wife Emily, Roy Tappan marries Dora Carson, who has just divorced her husband. Left poor with two children, Emily marries Walter Heath, a former suitor, then discovers that she cannot live with her new husband because the divorce is not legal in her home state. Tappan and his new wife soon run out of money, each having thought the other was wealthy. His aunt promises to support him in exchange for his two children. He kidnaps the children and hides them from Emily in his aunt's home. After Emily and Walter find them, they go to Yellowstone Park, where they are considered legally married. Tappan follows and is killed after a fight with Walter when a boiling geyser throws him into the air and throws him onto the rocks below.
bee
Quicksands
Title: Quicksands
Character: The Girl
Released: February 28, 1923
Type: Movie
Stationed at the Mexican border, a young lieutenant whose job is to capture a ring of narcotics smugglers, spies his sweetheart, the daughter of a U. S. Customs official, in a cantina suspected of being the headquarters of the dope ring.
bee
Gimme
Title: Gimme
Character: Fanny Daniels
Released: January 14, 1923
Type: Movie
A young woman borrows money from her boss for her wedding dress. After the marriage he asks to be repaid, and she--not liking to ask her husband for money--writes a check on her husband's account. When he discovers that his wife has written a check to another man and not told him, complications ensue.
bee
The Sin Flood
Title: The Sin Flood
Character: Poppy
Released: November 12, 1922
Type: Movie
Stratton's café is a popular place with the people of Cottonia, a wealthy cotton town on the banks of the Mississippi, installs flood-proof doors as a safeguard against an overflow of the river; when a flood comes, it appears that the entire town will be submerged. Trapped in Stratton's cafe, amongst others, are Billy Bear, a young broker, and Poppy, a chorus girl with whom he has been in love.
bee
Yellow Men and Gold
Title: Yellow Men and Gold
Character: Bessie
Released: May 20, 1922
Type: Movie
Parrish, a young author, leaves his study during a storm to answer a call for help. He discovers a dying man and is rewarded with a treasure map, which he shows to Carroll, a retired sea captain. They plan a quest for the treasure; but before Carroll's ship sails, Parrish is drugged, relieved of the map, and thrown from the dock.
bee
The Glorious Fool
Title: The Glorious Fool
Character: Jane Brown
Released: January 1, 1922
Type: Movie
Billy Grant, a wealthy young playboy, drunkenly crashes his car and appears near death. Afraid that his greedy and unpleasant relatives will get his estate, he convinces his nurse, Jane Brown, to marry him. When Billy regains his health, Jane finds herself in a situation she never imagined nor intended.
bee
Dangerous Curve Ahead
Title: Dangerous Curve Ahead
Character: Phoebe (Mabee) Jones
Released: October 2, 1921
Type: Movie
Engaged to Harley Jones, fickle Phoebe Mabee flirts with Anson Newton. She and Harley, as a result, break their engagement, but within six months they are reconciled and married. Phoebe becomes a mother, and when Harley is sent abroad by his business firm she and her two children go to a summer resort where she renews her romance with Newton.
bee
The Old Nest
Title: The Old Nest
Character: Emily at 22
Released: June 28, 1921
Type: Movie
A mother raises her six children and one by one lets them go out into the world. Their failures and successes fill her life, but she grows lonely without them. Then when one of the children has a surprise to announce, they all return home to be with their mother.
bee
Made in Heaven
Title: Made in Heaven
Character: Claudia Royce
Released: May 1, 1921
Type: Movie
William Lowry rescues Claudia Royce from a burning building, and upon hearing that her parents are trying to force her to accept millionaire Leland, whom she does not love, he proposes a marriage of convenience to himself. She accepts, and Bill arranges a fake ceremony; but when she falls in love with Davidge, Bill refuses her a "divorce." Later, Bill gets rich in the manufacture of a patented fireman's pole, and when he buys a house for Claudia she realizes her love for him and they are legally married.
bee
Godless Men
Title: Godless Men
Character: Ruth Lytton
Released: November 6, 1920
Type: Movie
On board his trading schooner in the South Pacific, tough sea captain Black Pawl confronts his own son, who has grown up in his father's shadow and reflects only his dark side.
bee
Cupid the Cowpuncher
Title: Cupid the Cowpuncher
Character: Macie Sewell
Released: July 25, 1920
Type: Movie
Alec Lloyd, the foreman of the Sewell ranch, is nicknamed "Cupid" because of his propensity for matchmaking. When Macie Sewell returns from boarding school, Cupid himself falls victim to love, but Macie has aspirations to go to New York and become an opera singer, and so ignores his advances. However, Leroy Simpson, a poor doctor who is enamored of Macie's father's money, encourages her ambitions....
bee
The Cup of Fury
Title: The Cup of Fury
Character: Marie Louise - 'Mamise'
Released: January 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Sir Joseph and Lady Webbing are the foster parents of Marie-Louise. The couple are also in league with Verrinder, a German spy. When their work against England is discovered, they commit suicide. Marie-Louise, who has been an unwitting part of their schemes, is allowed to go to the U.S. if she promises to keep everything a secret.
bee
The Long Arm of Mannister
Title: The Long Arm of Mannister
Character: Sylvia De La Mere
Released: November 15, 1919
Type: Movie
Walking aimlessly in the desert, crazed by thirst and hunger, Lucy Mannister and Gaston Sinclair are overtaken by her husband George, who has pursued them around the world.
bee
The Solitary Sin
Title: The Solitary Sin
Character: Mary
Released: July 1, 1919
Type: Movie
Bob, John, and Edward--three young boys growing up in the same neighborhood--have vastly-different experiences with sex. Bob's father patiently explains "the birds and the bees" to him, and even takes him to a hospital to see the effects of venereal disease.
bee
Go-Get-Em Garringer
Title: Go-Get-Em Garringer
Character: Wilma Wharton
Released: March 23, 1919
Type: Movie
The Parsons Land Reclamation Company hires "Drive" Garringer to rid the Arizona-Mexican border area of the Triple Arrow gang, who have been attacking their workmen. In Puma City, he discovers that the sheriff and leading citizens protect the outlaws. Meanwhile, Wilma Wharton, the daughter of an aged prospector, hoping to put an end to the advances of the gang leader, agrees to go through a fake marriage ceremony with another gang member, but later discovers that the marriage was performed by a authentic minister.
bee
The Honest Thief
Title: The Honest Thief
Character: Edith Marbury
Released: September 15, 1918
Type: Movie
Edith Marbury is cashier of the Greenville Junction's only bank. A stranger comes to town, and Edith promptly falls in love with him. Her father forbids her to see him, but determined she leaves town in the night and going to a deserted cabin in the country, finds her lover in company with a band of crooks.
bee
The Yellow Ticket
Title: The Yellow Ticket
Character: Miss Seaton
Released: May 26, 1918
Type: Movie
Anna Mirrel, a young Jewish girl in Czarist Russia, is forced to degrade herself in order to visit her father, whom she believes to be ill. She obtains a yellow passport, signifying that she is a prostitute.
bee
The Naulahka
Title: The Naulahka
Character: Kate Sheriff
Released: February 14, 1918
Type: Movie
Trying to win the Three C's railroad line for his home town of Topaz, Colorado, Nicholas "Nick" Tarvin journeys to India to secure the famed jewel known as the Naulahka, which he plans to present to Mrs. Mutrie, the railroad president's wife.
bee
The House of Hate
Title: The House of Hate
Character: Queenie Kate
Released: January 2, 1918
Type: Movie
A young heiress of an American gun factory is threatened by a masked man after her father was murdered. This criminal might be a member of her family or a German agent, who wants to get information about the factory's products, perhaps his mystery has a combined solution - we will probably never know...
bee
The Angel Factory
Title: The Angel Factory
Character: Florence Lamont
Released: September 15, 1917
Type: Movie
In the slums of New York, David Darrow runs a settlement house called "The Angel Factory" in which he tries to help those oppressed by tenement life. In the course of his work, Darrow meets Florence, an innocent young girl of the slums, and is attracted to her sweetness. Betty, Darrow's snobbish fiancée, becomes jealous and invites Florence to a reception, hoping to embarrass the girl. Florence comports herself admirably, however, and wins the respect of all present. The next day, on his way to the settlement house, Darrow is followed by gangster Tony Podessa, a jealous man from Florence's past. As Florence watches the two men confront each other, Tony is killed by a mysterious shot. The police arrive and arrest Darrow for the murder.
bee
The Last of the Carnabys
Title: The Last of the Carnabys
Character: The Kept Woman
Released: July 22, 1917
Type: Movie
The affluent Carnabys have now dwindled in fortune and family, leaving just Lucy and her brother, Gordon in financial straits. Situations escalate as they struggle to pay their bills and deal with Gordon's gambling debts.
bee
The Mystery of the Double Cross
Title: The Mystery of the Double Cross
Released: March 17, 1917
Type: Movie
Originally written for Pearl White, this silent serial is a great action-packed adventure starring Molly King and Leon Bary. This serial had fifteen chapters, each one two reels in length. The chapters were: 1. The Lady in Number '7' 2. The Masked Stranger 3. An Hour to Live 4. Kidnapped 5. The Life Current 6. The Dead Come Back 7. Into Thin Air 8. The Stranger Disposes 9. When Jail Birds Fly 10. The Hole-in-the-Wall 11. Love's Sacrifice 12. Riddle of the Double Cross 13. The Face of the Stranger 14. The Hidden Brand 15. Mystery of the Double Cross.