Marguerite De La Motte

Marguerite De La Motte

Born: June 22, 1902
Died: March 10, 1950
in Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Marguerite De La Motte (June 22, 1902 – March 10, 1950) was an American film actress, most notably of the silent film era.

Born in Duluth, Minnesota, De La Motte was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph De La Motte. She was a 1917 graduate of the Egan School of drama, music, and dancing.

De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova. In 1919, she became the dance star of Sid Grauman on the stage of his theater. In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks-directed romantic comedy film Arizona. In 1920, both of her parents died, her mother in January in an automobile accident and her father in August from heart disease. Film producer J.L. Frothingham assumed guardianship of her and her younger brother.

De La Motte spent the 1920s appearing in numerous films, often cast by Douglas Fairbanks to play opposite him in swashbuckling adventure films such as 1920's The Mark of Zorro and The Three Musketeers. She developed a close friendship with Fairbanks and his wife, actress Mary Pickford. Her career as an actress slowed dramatically at the end of the silent film era of the 1920s. She did continue acting in bit parts through the sound era and made her final appearance in the 1942 film Overland Mail opposite both Noah Beery Sr. and Noah Beery Jr., as well as Lon Chaney Jr.

After her film career ended, De La Motte worked as an inspector in a southern California war plant during World War II. Later she came to San Francisco, California, where she worked in the Red Cross office.

On February 8, 1960, De La Motte was awarded a star in the Motion Pictures section of the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6902 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, California.

Movies for Marguerite De La Motte...

Overland Mail
Title: Overland Mail
Character: Rose - the Waitress [Chs. 1, 8]
Released: September 22, 1942
Type: Movie
Two investigators for a stagecoach company are assigned to find out why the company's stages keep being ambushed. They discover that the culprits are white men disguised as Indians, and they set out to discover who is behind the plot.
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The Man Who Returned to Life
Title: The Man Who Returned to Life
Released: February 5, 1942
Type: Movie
An accused killer is granted a reprieve when his victim returns to town in the flesh after an eight-year absence.
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Reg'lar Fellers
Title: Reg'lar Fellers
Character: Mrs. Dugan
Released: September 5, 1941
Type: Movie
Based on the comic strip by Gene Byrnes, the "Reg'lar Fellers", and one girl-feller, tinker with building a land/water machine, form a kid-band and go on the radio, celebrate a birthday, get involved with gangsters...and reunite a wealthy recluse with her baby granddaughter and estranged daughter-in-law.
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A Woman's Man
Title: A Woman's Man
Character: Gloria Jordan - Star
Released: February 6, 1934
Type: Movie
A temperamental movie star storms off the set of her latest picture in order to carry on a fling with an ambitious, publicity-hungry prizefighter.
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Shadow Ranch
Title: Shadow Ranch
Character: Ruth Cameron
Released: September 27, 1930
Type: Movie
Summoned to Shadow Ranch by his friend Ranny Williams, Sim Baldwin arrives to find Ranny has been ambushed and murdered. Sim learns ranch owner Ruth Cameron is under pressure to sell out to Dan Blake, as the dam on the ranch controls the town's water supply. Vowing to avenge his old friend's death, Sim takes up Ruth's fight and incurs Blake's hostility.
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Montmartre Rose
Title: Montmartre Rose
Character: Jeanne
Released: April 1, 1929
Type: Movie
Montmartre Rose is a silent film released in 1929
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The Iron Mask
Title: The Iron Mask
Character: Constance Bonacieux
Released: February 21, 1929
Type: Movie
King Louis XIII of France is thrilled to have born to him a son - an heir to the throne. But when the queen delivers a twin, Cardinal Richelieu sees the second son as a potential for revolution, and has him sent off to Spain to be raised in secret to ensure a peaceful future for France. Alas, keeping the secret means sending Constance, lover of D'Artagnan, off to a convent. D'Artagnan hears of this and rallies the Musketeers in a bid to rescue her. Unfortunately, Richelieu out-smarts the Musketeers and banishes them forever.
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The Final Extra
Title: The Final Extra
Character: Ruth Collins
Released: February 7, 1927
Type: Movie
The alert atmosphere of a large-city newspaper office and its giant presses combines with the back-stage atmosphere of the theatre, set against the sinister shadow of a bootleg gang and the glitter of a big musical comedy "first night" in a whirlwind of dramatic action. A hot-shot newspaper reporter and a Broadway show-girl provide the romance.
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Pals in Paradise
Title: Pals in Paradise
Character: Geraldine 'Jerry' Howard
Released: November 22, 1926
Type: Movie
Bill Harvey discovers a lost mine, rich with gold. Geraldine "Jerry" Howard has the claim to it left her by her father. Bill tells her that the death of the claimant, her father, makes a claim void. Infuriated, she goes to John Kenton, a crooked lawyer, for aid. Kenton sees an opportunity for wealth if he marries Geraldine, but Bill tells her that Kenton is only after her money. She gets more infuriated. While Bill and a posse are raiding an immoral cabaret, Kenton raids the Paradise freight depot to steal the money. The depot catches fire and Kenton shoots his henchman to save himself. The town and Geraldine think Kenton is a hero. It is up to Bill to prove otherwise.
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The Unknown Soldier
Title: The Unknown Soldier
Character: Mary Phillips
Released: May 29, 1926
Type: Movie
The Unknown Soldier is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Renaud Hoffman and written by Richard Schayer and James J. Tynan. The film stars Charles Emmett Mack, Marguerite De La Motte, Henry B. Walthall, Claire McDowell, and George Cooper. The film was released on May 30, 1926, by Producers Distributing Corporation.
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Red Dice
Title: Red Dice
Character: Beverly Vane
Released: March 14, 1926
Type: Movie
This unusual melodrama with comic touches was based on Octavus Roy Cohen's novel The Iron Chance. Alan Beckwith (Rod La Rocque) is a war hero who is very much down on his luck. He makes a deal with big-time bootlegger Andrew North (Gustave von Seyffertitz) -- if North will give him a large sum of money, Beckwith will kill himself at the end of a year's time. He is to marry a girl of North's choosing and take out an insurance policy naming her as beneficiary; North will collect from the widow. The plot thickens when Beckwith and Beverly (Marguerite De La Motte), the girl North has him marry, actually fall in love. Beverly's brother, Johnny (Ray Hallor), teams up with Beckwith to steal one of North's cargos of rum. North and his men catch them and things look bad until revenue officers -- called on by Beverly -- show up. The North gang is rounded up and Beckwith looks forward to a long life with his wife.
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Fifth Avenue
Title: Fifth Avenue
Character: Barbara Pelham
Released: January 24, 1926
Type: Movie
When her cotton crop is burned, Barbara Pelham, a beautiful southern girl, comes to New York to find work as a fashion designer, staying with Mrs. Kemp, a woman she meets on the northbound train. In Mrs. Kemp's house, Barbara encounters Peter Heffner, a wealthy stockbroker, and discovers from him that she has taken up residence in a whorehouse. There is a police raid, but Barbara escapes arrest and returns home. Heffner's son, Neil, goes south to inspect some family property and there meets Barbara, with whom he falls in love. They decide to be married, and she accompanies him to New York, where she meets the elder Heffner for a second time. He denounces her as a whore, but Barbara goes to Mrs. Kemp, who explains the misunderstanding to everyone's satisfaction.
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The Girl Who Wouldn't Work
Title: The Girl Who Wouldn't Work
Character: Mary Hale
Released: August 18, 1925
Type: Movie
Mary Hale hates her job in a department store, and when wealthy Gordon Kent comes around, she flirts with him and is fired. Because she is mad at her fiancé, William Norworth, Mary takes off in Kent's car and she doesn't come home until the early hours. Her father is furious and slaps her, so she leaves home. Kent offers to let her stay in his apartment, while he sleeps at the club.
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Children of the Whirlwind
Title: Children of the Whirlwind
Character: Maggie
Released: August 15, 1925
Type: Movie
A recent parolee tries to go straight with the help of a friendly artist, but his old gang, his sweetheart, and a crooked cop make it difficult for him to escape a life of crime.
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Daughters Who Pay
Title: Daughters Who Pay
Character: Sonia Borisoff / Margaret Smith
Released: May 10, 1925
Type: Movie
Immediately after the October revolution, in Russia, stir unrest and propaganda against the Government of the United States. Serge Oumansky is a Communist agent trying to organize terrorist actions against the same United States.
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Cheaper to Marry
Title: Cheaper to Marry
Character: Doris
Released: February 9, 1925
Type: Movie
Dick Tyler is the junior partner in the law firm of Knight and Tyler. He tries to convince his partner, Jim Tyler, than it's cheaper to be married than to continually "play the field". The main reason he's doing that is because Jim is obsessed with the beautiful Evelyn, a gold-digger on whom Jim is spending prodigious amounts of money. Things take a turn for the worse when his spending on her gets to the point where it's placing the firm dangerously close to bankruptcy. Something has to be done.
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Those Who Dare
Title: Those Who Dare
Character: Marjorie
Released: November 15, 1924
Type: Movie
Captain Manning, a seasoned salt, is ordered to remove his battered ship, the Swallow, from the town's harbor because of a superstition connected with it. The captain, who lives alone, visits the Mariner's Home and relates the story of how he came into possession of the schooner. Manning was the first mate on the yacht of a wealthy man when it encountered the Swallow at sea. He went on board, accompanied by the drug-addicted son of his employer, and discovered a mutinous crew and a disabled captain fighting for control of the ship. Manning took charge and brought the ship safely to port, after successfully putting down the mutineers by humiliating their leader, who had kept them in fear by practicing voodoo in the ship's hold. Manning later married the captain's daughter. Now he controls the ship.
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The Beloved Brute
Title: The Beloved Brute
Character: Jacinta
Released: November 9, 1924
Type: Movie
A Western melodrama about brothers, separated in early childhood, who wound up as opponents in a side-show wrestling match.
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The Clean Heart
Title: The Clean Heart
Character: Essie Bickers
Released: September 15, 1924
Type: Movie
The Clean Heart (1924)
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Richard the Lion-Hearted
Title: Richard the Lion-Hearted
Character: Lady Edith Plantagenet
Released: October 15, 1923
Type: Movie
Wallace Beery repeats his role of King Richard, a role he played so sucessfully in Robin Hood the previous year.
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Wandering Daughters
Title: Wandering Daughters
Character: Bessie Bowden
Released: July 1, 1923
Type: Movie
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A Man of Action
Title: A Man of Action
Released: June 3, 1923
Type: Movie
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Scars of Jealousy
Title: Scars of Jealousy
Character: Helen Meanix
Released: March 5, 1923
Type: Movie
Scars of Jealousy is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Lloyd Hughes and Frank Keenan. It was produced by Thomas H. Ince and distributed through Associated First National, later First National.
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The Famous Mrs. Fair
Title: The Famous Mrs. Fair
Character: Sylvia Fair
Released: February 19, 1923
Type: Movie
A silent film drama based on the Broadway play of the same name by James Forbes..
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What a Wife Learned
Title: What a Wife Learned
Character: Sheila Dorne
Released: January 28, 1923
Type: Movie
A novelist's success causes a rift between her and her rancher husband.
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Shadows
Title: Shadows
Character: Sympathy Gibbs
Released: November 10, 1922
Type: Movie
Yen Sin, a humble Chinese, is washed ashore after a storm and finds himself an outsider in the deeply Christian fishing community of Urkey. Yen Sin elects to stay, despite his status as a despised 'heathen', only to reveal hypocrisy amid the self-righteous township.
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Shattered Idols
Title: Shattered Idols
Character: Sarasvati
Released: February 6, 1922
Type: Movie
This exotic adventure drama was based on the novel, The Daughter of Brahma, and went through at least one title change before reaching the screen as Shattered Idols. Jean Hurst, the widow of a British Army officer in India, hates her crippled son David because she thinks he is a coward and a weakling. She sends him away to England for his education. When he returns to India, he falls in love with native girl Sarasvati, who he saves from being burned on a funeral pyre.
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The Three Musketeers
Title: The Three Musketeers
Character: Constance
Released: August 28, 1921
Type: Movie
The young Gascon D'Artagnan arrives in Paris, his heart set on joining the king's Musketeers. He is taken under the wings of three of the most respected and feared Musketeers, Porthos, Aramis, and Athos. Together they fight to save France and the honor of a lady from the machinations of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
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The Nut
Title: The Nut
Character: Estrell Wynn
Released: March 6, 1921
Type: Movie
Eccentric inventor Charlie Jackson tries to interest wealthy investors in his girlfriend's plan to help children from poor neighbourhoods.
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The Mark of Zorro
Title: The Mark of Zorro
Character: Lolita Pulido
Released: December 5, 1920
Type: Movie
Don Diego Vega pretends to be an indolent fop as a cover for his true identity, the masked avenger Zorro.
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The Broken Gate
Title: The Broken Gate
Character: Anne Oglesby
Released: December 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Aurora Lane (Bessie Barriscale) lives in a small town loaded with small-minded residents. She had an illegitimate child and with the earnings from her millinery shop, she has sent him away to be educated. When Don, her son (Arnold Gregg), returns from college, he finds he has to defend his mother constantly. He is accused of murdering a man who made a snide remark about Aurora and is put on trial.
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The U.P. Trail
Title: The U.P. Trail
Character: Allie Lee
Released: November 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Civil engineer Warren Neale rescues a badly wounded Allie Lee after her family is killed in an Indian massacre. Falling in love after nursing her back to health, Warren must yet again save Allie when she is kidnapped by a dangerous bandit.
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The Hope
Title: The Hope
Character: Lady Brenda Carylon
Released: September 7, 1920
Type: Movie
An upper class melodrama.
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Trumpet Island
Title: Trumpet Island
Character: Eve de Merincourt
Released: September 1, 1920
Type: Movie
Richard moves to a remote island to escape from the memory of Eve. Who had been forced to marry another man. But fate still has more in store.
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The Sagebrusher
Title: The Sagebrusher
Character: Mary Warren
Released: January 1, 1920
Type: Movie
A friend of a Montana sagebrusher advertises for a potential wife for him.
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In Wrong
Title: In Wrong
Character: Millie Fields
Released: October 31, 1919
Type: Movie
Johnny Spivins adores Milly Fields, but since he's only an errand boy at the local grocery, he can't get her to look his way. Things get even worse when a city boy comes to town and boards at the Fields' home.
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The Pagan God
Title: The Pagan God
Character: Beryl Addison
Released: August 4, 1919
Type: Movie
Bruce Winthrop, disguised as a clerk in the American consulate near the Mongolian border, is actually a secret United States government operative sent to quell a Chinese rebellion led by Tai Chen.
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A Sage Brush Hamlet
Title: A Sage Brush Hamlet
Character: Dora Lawrence
Released: August 3, 1919
Type: Movie
Larry Lang is out to get desperado Claude Dutton (Ed Piel), the man who killed his father, which is why he is known as a sagebrush Hamlet.
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Josselyn's Wife
Title: Josselyn's Wife
Character: Lizzie
Released: May 5, 1919
Type: Movie
Bessie Barriscale and Nigel Barrie play Ellen and Gibbs Josselyn, a young married couple who have spent several years in Europe while Gibbs, an artist, developed his talent. When they return to the States, they stay with Gibbs' father (Tom Guise) and stepmother (Kathleen Kirkham). Gibbs had never cared much for his stepmother, Lillian, but now he warms up to her -- a lot. Lillian is much younger than her husband and begins spending a suspicious amount of time with her stepson.