Marilyn Knowlden

Marilyn Knowlden

Born: May 12, 1923
in Oakland, CA
In 1931, a one-day effort by Marilyn Knowlden's attorney father led to an interview, a next-day screen test and a large part for four-year-old Marilyn in one of the early "talkies", Women Love Once (1931). A ten-year movie career followed, where she played the daughter of such stars as Claudette Colbert, Katharine Hepburn, Allan Jones and Norma Shearer.

She appeared in some of the screen's great classics, including Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), David Copperfield (1935) and Les Misérables (1935), in which she played the child Cosette. She appeared in six films nominated by the Academy for Best Production of the Year and performed with such distinguished actors as Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Greta Garbo and Bette Davis.

College, marriage and four children followed. A composer and playwright as well as an actress, she wrote the music and lyrics for ten produced musicals, including three for which she also wrote the scripts. The latter included her musical, "I'm Gonna Get You in the Movies!" for which she drew heavily on her own early experience.

After a 50-year hiatus, Marilyn returned to acting in 1994. She appeared in over 20 plays and musicals in San Diego County, including the role of Aunt Abby in "Arsenic and Old Lace," the leads in "Sorry, Wrong Number" and "Quilters," and Prof. Higgins' mother in "My Fair Lady." In 2011 Bear Manor published Marilyn Knowlden's autobiography "Little Girl in Big Pictures."

Movies for Marilyn Knowlden...

Broadway Rhythm
Title: Broadway Rhythm
Character: Co-ed in Drugstore (uncredited)
Released: January 19, 1944
Type: Movie
Broadway producer Johnny Demming is only interested in big-name talent and scoffs that his sister, father and other small-time talent could be used in a successful show.
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The Way of All Flesh
Title: The Way of All Flesh
Character: Julie Kriza
Released: July 5, 1940
Type: Movie
Paul Kriza is a cashier of a bank in a small town, and the happy husband of Anna and the father of four children. He is sent to New York to deliver some securities for the bank. There, he is tagged as easy-pickings by a con-game gang and Mary Brown, gang accomplice, proves he is. Waking up in the morning he discovers he has been robbed of the securities and, when he confronts the gang, he is hit on the head and taken out to be left on a railroad track. He comes to, struggles with the henchman and the man is killed when a train comes roaring by. Paul escapes but his watch is found and he is reported as the dead man. But he can't go home again.
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All This, and Heaven Too
Title: All This, and Heaven Too
Character: Marianna Van Horn (uncredited)
Released: July 5, 1940
Type: Movie
When lovely and virtuous governess Henriette Deluzy comes to educate the children of the debonair Duc de Praslin, a royal subject to King Louis-Philippe and the husband of the volatile and obsessive Duchesse de Praslin, she instantly incurs the wrath of her mistress, who is insanely jealous of anyone who comes near her estranged husband. Though she saves the duchess's little son from a near-death illness and warms herself to all the children, she is nevertheless dismissed by the vengeful duchess. Meanwhile, the attraction between the duke and Henriette continues to grow, eventually leading to tragedy.
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Hidden Power
Title: Hidden Power
Character: Imogene
Released: September 7, 1939
Type: Movie
Dr. Garfield gets so involved in his research for an antitoxin for severe burns that he completely neglects his wife, Virginian, and their young son, Steve. Virginia divorces him and takes the son with her. Their paths cross again in a life-or-death situation.
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Angels with Dirty Faces
Title: Angels with Dirty Faces
Character: Laury - as a Child
Released: November 26, 1938
Type: Movie
Childhood chums Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly grow up on opposite sides of the fence: Rocky matures into a prominent gangster, while Jerry becomes a priest, tending to the needs of his old tenement neighborhood.
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Just Around the Corner
Title: Just Around the Corner
Character: Gwendolyn (uncredited)
Released: November 11, 1938
Type: Movie
Penny helps her idealistic architect father get his dream of a slum clearance project; The little miss dances with Corporal Jones.
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Marie Antoinette
Title: Marie Antoinette
Character: Princesse Therese
Released: August 26, 1938
Type: Movie
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
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Barefoot Boy
Title: Barefoot Boy
Character: Julia Blaine
Released: August 3, 1938
Type: Movie
A spoiled boy sent to the country to grow-up. He has to deal with life, friends and crooks.
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An Evening with Edgar Guest
Title: An Evening with Edgar Guest
Character: Ann
Released: January 1, 1938
Type: Movie
The Household Finance Corporation presents An Evening with Edgar A. Guest produced by the Jam Handy Organization. A schoolboy is trying to memorize a poem for a school event. Unbeknownst to him and his companion, Mr. Guest overhears them. He hears of their plight and explains the poem to them. The next evening, he is the guest of honor at a poetry reading contest.
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Slave Ship
Title: Slave Ship
Character: Girl
Released: June 16, 1937
Type: Movie
Action-filled drama about a ship captain, ashamed of his background in the slave trade, forced against his will to again transport human cargo.
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Rainbow on the River
Title: Rainbow on the River
Character: Lucille Layton
Released: December 18, 1936
Type: Movie
A young boy is forced to leave his family in the South and move in with relatives he doesn't know in New York.
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Easy to Take
Title: Easy to Take
Character: Gwen Ferry
Released: November 6, 1936
Type: Movie
To boost the ratings of a kiddie show, the host agrees to take guardianship of of a bratty boy who has a lovely older sister.
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A Woman Rebels
Title: A Woman Rebels
Character: Flora at Age 9 (uncredited)
Released: November 6, 1936
Type: Movie
A Victorian-era woman struggles to break free of the moral codes established by society and enforced by her father.
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Anthony Adverse
Title: Anthony Adverse
Character: Florence Udney
Released: August 26, 1936
Type: Movie
Based on the novel by Hervey Allen, this expansive drama follows the many adventures of the eponymous hero, Anthony Adverse. Abandoned at a convent by his heartless nobleman father, Don Luis, Anthony is later mentored by his kind grandfather, John Bonnyfeather, and falls for the beautiful Angela Giuseppe. When circumstances separate Anthony and Angela and he embarks on a long journey, he must find his way back to her, no matter what the cost.
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Show Boat
Title: Show Boat
Character: Kim as a Child
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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Condemned to Live
Title: Condemned to Live
Character: Maria
Released: September 15, 1935
Type: Movie
After a series of murders, a man finds out that his mother was bitten by a vampire bat during her pregnancy, and he believes that he may be the vampire committing the murders.
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Les Misérables
Title: Les Misérables
Character: Little Cosette (as Marilynne Knowlden)
Released: April 20, 1935
Type: Movie
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
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David Copperfield
Title: David Copperfield
Character: Agnes Wickfield as a Girl
Released: January 18, 1935
Type: Movie
Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an ordinary young man who lives an extraordinary life, filled with people who help and hinder him.
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Imitation of Life
Title: Imitation of Life
Character: Jessie Pullman, Age 8 (uncredited)
Released: November 23, 1934
Type: Movie
A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.
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As the Earth Turns
Title: As the Earth Turns
Character: Esther
Released: February 14, 1934
Type: Movie
Love happens between the son of Polish immigrants settled in Maine and the daughter of a neighboring farm family.
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Little Women
Title: Little Women
Character: Amy's Classmate (uncredited)
Released: November 24, 1933
Type: Movie
Little Women is a coming-of-age drama tracing the lives of four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. During the American Civil War, the girls father is away serving as a minister to the troops. The family, headed by their beloved Marmee, must struggle to make ends meet, with the help of their kind and wealthy neighbor, Mr. Laurence, and his high spirited grandson Laurie.
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Call Her Savage
Title: Call Her Savage
Character: Ruth as a Girl (Uncredited)
Released: November 24, 1932
Type: Movie
A high-spirited, short-tempered, young woman hates her father and loves to rebel against him. She marries a man whom her father hates but her marriage fails and she learns the errors of her ways.
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The Conquerors
Title: The Conquerors
Character: Frances Standish, as a child
Released: November 18, 1932
Type: Movie
A newlywed couple journeys west to make their fortune, and begins a banking empire.
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Husband's Holiday
Title: Husband's Holiday
Character: Anne Boyd
Released: December 19, 1931
Type: Movie
A stuffy family man cheats on his wife but she refuses him a divorce at first. Meanwhile his mistress resents her second class status.
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The Cisco Kid
Title: The Cisco Kid
Character: Annie Benton
Released: November 1, 1931
Type: Movie
The Cisco Kid rides again! This time, he robs a bank to save pretty widow Sally Benton and her ranch. After developing a good relationship with Sally’s children, he risks life and limb in order to save her little one.