Marilyn Harris

Marilyn Harris

Born: July 17, 1924
Died: December 1, 1999
in San Fernando, California, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marilyn Harris (July 17, 1924 – December 1, 1999) was an American child actress who appeared in several Hollywood productions in the 1930s and 1940s. She is best remembered for her role as "Little Maria" in the 1931 horror film Frankenstein. Harris was born in San Fernando, California and placed in a Los Angeles orphanage shortly after her birth. She was adopted by an area couple when she was a month old. Shortly after her adoption, she appeared in a Rin Tin Tin film. In her later years, Harris revealed that her adoptive mother forced her to pursue a screen career because of her own failed attempts to become an actress. Harris also claimed that her mother was physically and emotionally abusive.

In 1931, Harris won the role of "Little Maria" in the horror film Frankenstein. In arguably the film's most memorable scene, Maria meets the fugitive monster (played by Boris Karloff) beside a lakeside and charms the monster with her innocence, humanity and friendship, something which he had not experienced with previously hostile, mistrusting adults. A children's game is however tragically misinterpreted by the monster, and he ends up throwing Little Maria into the lake, unintentionally drowning her and turning the surrounding village's population into a lynch mob, baying for revenge after the child's body is found. The shot of Maria being thrown into the water was cut from original prints and only restored in the 1980s.

After appearing in Frankenstein, Harris continued her career in small roles in films. She left acting at the age of 19 shortly after marrying Wally Watkins, a bouncer she met while working as a cashier at the Hollywood Palladium. The couple had a son the following year. After Harris' husband died in 1981, she remarried. Harris' second husband, Carl, died in 1988. In 1983, 52 years after the film, Harris resumed a friendship with Frankenstein actress Mae Clarke who resided at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital. Clarke had put out a televised effort to locate Marilyn Harris during an interview with LA movie host Tom Hatton.

Movies for Marilyn Harris...

The Road Back
Title: The Road Back
Character: Maria - Ernst's Sister
Released: June 1, 1937
Type: Movie
After the First World War a group of German soldiers try to readjust to civilian life. A sequel to 'All Quiet on the Western Front'.
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Show Boat
Title: Show Boat
Released: May 17, 1936
Type: Movie
Despite her mother's objections, the naive young daughter of a show boat captain is thrust into the limelight as the company's new leading lady.
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Bride of Frankenstein
Title: Bride of Frankenstein
Character: Girl (uncredited)
Released: April 20, 1935
Type: Movie
Dr. Frankenstein and his monster both turn out to be alive, not killed as previously believed. Dr. Frankenstein wants to get out of the evil experiment business, but when a mad scientist, Dr. Pretorius, kidnaps his wife, Dr. Frankenstein agrees to help him create a new creature.
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A Wicked Woman
Title: A Wicked Woman
Character: Rosanne as a Child
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.
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Wild Girl
Title: Wild Girl
Character: Anna May (uncredited)
Released: November 9, 1932
Type: Movie
Salomy Jane, a California mountain girl, is sought after by a number of men in the nearby small town of Redwood City. She is affected when two criminals are pursued by authorities: one for killing a hypocritical mayoral candidate, the other for robbing the stagecoach.
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6 Hours to Live
Title: 6 Hours to Live
Character: Flower Girl
Released: October 15, 1932
Type: Movie
A murder victim is brought back to life by a scientific experiment. However, the effects only last for six hours, and he must find his killer in that time.
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The Unexpected Father
Title: The Unexpected Father
Character: Child (uncredited)
Released: January 3, 1932
Type: Movie
A wealthy bachelor hires a pretty young nanny to look after his adopted daughter. Sparks quickly fly between the two, much to the dismay of the man's calculating, money-hungry fiancée.
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Over the Hill
Title: Over the Hill
Character: Susan Shelby in Prologue
Released: November 29, 1931
Type: Movie
In their farm house in a New York village, Ma Shelby prepares breakfast for her four children, Isaac, Tommy, Johnny and Susan, and then awakens them. The racket the boys make as they play and fight awakens their father, who spanks the eldest, Isaac. When a visitor chides Pa for not working, Ma sticks up for her husband, saying that he has a weak back and that he is waiting for a promised government job.
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Frankenstein
Title: Frankenstein
Character: Maria
Released: November 21, 1931
Type: Movie
Tampering with life and death, Henry Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to bring a human monster to life; the mad scientist's dreams are shattered by his creation's violent rage as the monster awakens to a world in which he is unwelcome.