Miriam Hopkins

Miriam Hopkins

Born: October 18, 1902
Died: October 9, 1972
in Savannah, Georgia, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ellen Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility. She first signed with Paramount Pictures in 1930, working with Ernst Lubitsch and Joel McCrea, among many others. Her long-running feud with Bette Davis was publicized for effect. Later she became a pioneer of TV drama. Hopkins was a distinguished Hollywood hostess, who moved in intellectual and creative circles. At age 20, Hopkins became a chorus girl in New York City. In 1930, she signed with Paramount Pictures, and made her official film debut in Fast and Loose. Her first great success was in the 1931 horror drama film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which she portrayed the character Ivy Pearson, a prostitute who becomes entangled with Jekyll and Hyde. Hopkins received rave reviews, but because of the potential controversy of the film and her character, many of her scenes were cut before the official release, reducing her screen time to approximately five minutes.

Nevertheless, her career ascended swiftly thereafter and in 1932 she scored her breakthrough in Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble in Paradise, where she proved her charm and wit as a beautiful and jealous pickpocket. During the pre-code Hollywood of the early 1930s, she appeared in The Smiling Lieutenant, The Story of Temple Drake and Design for Living, all of which were box office successes and critically acclaimed. Her pre-Code films were considered risqué at the time, with The Story of Temple Drake depicting a rape scene and Design for Living featuring a ménage à trois with Fredric March and Gary Cooper. She also had success during the remainder of the decade with the romantic comedy The Richest Girl in the World (1934), the historical drama Becky Sharp (1935), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Barbary Coast (1935), These Three (1936) (the first of four films with director William Wyler) and The Old Maid (1939).

Hopkins was one of the first actresses approached to play the role of Ellie Andrews in It Happened One Night (1934). However, she rejected the part, and Claudette Colbert was cast instead. She did audition for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, having one advantage none of the other candidates had: she was a native Georgian. But the part went to Vivien Leigh. Both Colbert and Leigh won Oscars for their performances.

Hopkins had well-publicized fights with her arch-enemy Bette Davis (Hopkins believed Davis was having an affair with Hopkins' husband at the time), when they co-starred in their two films The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943). Davis admitted to enjoying very much a scene in Old Acquaintance in which she shakes Hopkins forcefully during a scene where Hopkins' character makes unfounded allegations against Davis's. There were even press photos taken with both divas in a boxing ring with gloves up and director Vincent Sherman between the two.

Hopkins was a television pioneer, performing in teleplays in three decades, spanning the late 1940s through the late 1960s, in such programs as The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre (1949), Lux Video Theatre (1951-1955) and even an episode of The Flying Nun in 1969.

She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures at 1701 Vine Street, and one for television at 1708 Vine Street.

Movies for Miriam Hopkins...

Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Title: Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Character: Ivy Pearson (archive footage)
Released: March 3, 2008
Type: Movie
A look at the forces that shaped Pre-Code Hollywood and brought about the strict enforcement of the Hays Code in 1934.
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Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Title: Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Character: Self as Millie Drake (archive footage)
Released: May 3, 2006
Type: Movie
Combining unprecedented access to Davis' vast personal archives with original interviews, this documentary reveals a startling portrait of one of Hollywood's most gifted and enigmatic stars.
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Complicated Women
Title: Complicated Women
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: May 6, 2003
Type: Movie
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered film content. No longer portrayed as virgins or vamps, the liberated female of the pre-code films had dimensions. Good girls had lovers and babies and held down jobs, while the bad girls were cast in a sympathetic light. And they did it all without apology.
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Savage Intruder
Title: Savage Intruder
Character: Katherine Parker
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
An enigmatic young man manipulates his way into working at the decaying mansion of a once prolific, but now reclusive and alcoholic, movie star named Katharine Packard. While the rest of the house staff become suspicious of Vic's intentions, the aging movie queen is smitten. But as Vic begins behaving in more and more erratic ways, it becomes clear that he's far more sinister than his demeanor implies.
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The Chase
Title: The Chase
Character: Mrs. Reeves
Released: February 18, 1966
Type: Movie
The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.
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Fanny Hill
Title: Fanny Hill
Character: Maude Brown
Released: September 25, 1964
Type: Movie
Cult filmmaker Russ Meyer takes on directorial duties in Zugsmith s adaptation of the notorious erotic classic Fanny Hill. Set in pre-Victorian London, young Fanny finds herself taken in by a madame at one of the city s most elite brothels. A strange mix of Zugsmith s surreal slapstick and Meyer s trademark buxom beauties and thoughtful satire, Fanny Hill is an over-the-top saga of low-rent thrills in high-brow settings.
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Title: The Outer Limits
Character: Mary Kry
Released: September 16, 1963
Type: TV
The Outer Limits is an anthology tv series of self-contained sci-fi-horror stories, sometimes with a plot twist at the end.
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The Children's Hour
Title: The Children's Hour
Character: Lily Mortar
Released: December 19, 1961
Type: Movie
A private school for young girls is scandalized when one spiteful student accuses the two young women who run the school of being in a relationship.
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Title: Route 66
Released: October 7, 1960
Type: TV
Route 66 is an American TV series in which two young men traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. The show ran weekly on Fridays on CBS from October 7, 1960 to March 20, 1964. It starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles and, for the first two and a half seasons, George Maharis as Buz Murdock. Maharis was ill for much of the third season, during which time Tod was shown traveling on his own. Tod met Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett, late in the third season, and traveled with him until the end of the fourth and final season. Among the series more notable aspects were the featured Corvette convertible, and the program's instrumental theme song, which became a major pop hit.
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Title: Matinee Theater
Released: October 31, 1955
Type: TV
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily in the afternoon, was frequently live. It was produced by Albert McCleery, Darrell Ross, George Cahan and Frank Price with executive producer George Lowther. McCleery had previously produced the live series Cameo Theatre which introduced to television the concept of theater-in-the-round, TV plays staged with minimal sets. Jim Buckley of the Pewter Plough Playhouse recalled: When Al McCleery got back to the States, he originated a most ambitious theatrical TV series for NBC called Matinee Theater: to televise five different stage plays per week live, airing around noon in order to promote color TV to the American housewife as she labored over her ironing. Al was the producer. He hired five directors and five art directors. Richard Bennett, one of our first early presidents of the Pewter Plough Corporation, was one of the directors and I was one of the art directors and, as soon as we were through televising one play, we had lunch and then met to plan next week’s show. That was over 50 years ago, and I’m trying to think; I believe the TV art director is his own set decorator —yes, of course! It had to be, since one of McCleery’s chief claims to favor with the producers was his elimination of the setting per se and simply decorating the scene with a minimum of props. It took a bit of ingenuity.
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Summer Pavilion
Title: Summer Pavilion
Character: Theresa Durand
Released: May 2, 1955
Type: Movie
In an old Louisiana plantation, the furnishings and the once great family are fading fast.The matriarch desperately tries to hold on to the gazebo that's slated for destruction as part of a building project, as well as holding her daughter to an unwanted marriage, even though she loves the builder.
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Title: Climax!
Character: Amanda Hale
Released: October 7, 1954
Type: TV
Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS programs of that era to be broadcast in color. Many of the episodes were performed and broadcast live.
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Title: The Whistler
Released: July 13, 1954
Type: TV
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Title: General Electric Theater
Released: February 1, 1953
Type: TV
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
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Title: General Electric Theater
Character: Mrs. Cynthia Lockman
Released: February 1, 1953
Type: TV
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
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The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Title: The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Character: Mrs. Shipton aka 'The Duchess'
Released: November 3, 1952
Type: Movie
Four undesirables run out of a mining town and become marooned in a deserted mountain cabin during a raging snowstorm.
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Carrie
Title: Carrie
Character: Julie Hurstwood
Released: July 17, 1952
Type: Movie
Carrie's dreams of adventure in the big city are quickly squashed as she discovers all that awaits her there is a bleak life of grueling and poorly paid factory work—that is, until a traveling salesman named Drouet steps into her life and changes her outlook.
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The Mating Season
Title: The Mating Season
Character: Fran Carleton
Released: January 12, 1951
Type: Movie
Ellen McNulty leaves her New Jersey hamburger stand and heads west to pay a surprise visit to her son and his new bride. When Ellen arrives, her daughter-in-law mistakes her for the maid she has hired for a big party they are throwing. Rather than cause any embarrassment, Ellen goes along with the charade, which leads to many complications.
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Title: Lux Video Theatre
Character: Julie Arden
Released: October 2, 1950
Type: TV
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
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Title: Lux Video Theatre
Character: Bertha Jacks
Released: October 2, 1950
Type: TV
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
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Title: Lux Video Theatre
Character: Margaret
Released: October 2, 1950
Type: TV
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
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Title: Lux Video Theatre
Character: Norma Desmond
Released: October 2, 1950
Type: TV
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.
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The Heiress
Title: The Heiress
Character: Lavinia Penniman
Released: October 6, 1949
Type: Movie
Dull and plain Catherine lives with her emotionally distant father, Dr. Sloper, in 1840s New York. Her days are empty — filled with little more than needlepoint. Enter handsome Morris Townsend, a dashing social climber with his eye on the spinster's heart and substantial inheritance.
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Title: Studio One
Character: Theresa Durand
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
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Old Acquaintance
Title: Old Acquaintance
Character: Millie Drake
Released: November 27, 1943
Type: Movie
Two writers, friends since childhood, fight over their books and lives.
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A Gentleman After Dark
Title: A Gentleman After Dark
Character: Flo Melton
Released: April 16, 1942
Type: Movie
A greedy woman betrays her jewel thief husband to the police, for the reward. Her husband's friend, a detective, adopts the couple's child and raises her as his own. Eighteen years later the husband, still in prison, finds out that his ex-wife is now blackmailing their daughter. He vows to break out and put a stop to her once and for all.
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Breakdowns of 1940
Title: Breakdowns of 1940
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1940
Type: Movie
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1940.
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Lady with Red Hair
Title: Lady with Red Hair
Character: Mrs. Leslie Carter
Released: November 30, 1940
Type: Movie
An actress hopes to regain her lost son by making it to the top.
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Virginia City
Title: Virginia City
Character: Julia Hayne
Released: March 23, 1940
Type: Movie
Union officer Kerry Bradford escapes from a Confederate prison and races to intercept $5 million in gold destined for Confederate coffers. A Confederate sympathizer and a Mexican bandit, each with their own stake in the loot, stand in his way.
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The Old Maid
Title: The Old Maid
Character: Delia Lovell Ralston
Released: August 16, 1939
Type: Movie
The lives of two cousins are complicated by the return of an ex-boyfriend and an illegitimate child.
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Wise Girl
Title: Wise Girl
Character: Susan Fletcher
Released: December 31, 1937
Type: Movie
Snooty heiress decides to track down her dead sister's kids, who are living a Bohemian life with their uncle in Greenwich Village. Once she finds them, she discovers that the Bohemian life is fun and free of the constraints her country-club life places on her. But she decides to take the uncle to court anyway to free him from the kids so he can paint.
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Woman Chases Man
Title: Woman Chases Man
Character: Virginia Travis
Released: May 7, 1937
Type: Movie
A pretty architect devises a wild scheme to convince a handsome millionaire to fund a new housing development project.
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The Woman I Love
Title: The Woman I Love
Character: Mme. Helene Maury
Released: April 15, 1937
Type: Movie
In World War I France, a pilot falls in love with the wife of his friend and superior officer.
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Men Are Not Gods
Title: Men Are Not Gods
Character: Ann Williams
Released: November 26, 1936
Type: Movie
Actor Edmund Davey becomes a star overnight when his wife and co-star teams up with the secretary of a noted stage critic to produce a glowing review of his 'Othello'.
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These Three
Title: These Three
Character: Martha Dobie
Released: March 18, 1936
Type: Movie
Martha and Karen graduate from college and turn an old Massachusetts farm into a school for girls. The friends are aided in their venture by local doctor Joe Cardin, who begins a relationship with Karen, and a prominent woman whose granddaughter, Mary, later enrolls in the new school. Mary soon reveals herself to be a spiteful child and tells a scandalous lie about Martha and Joe that threatens to destroy the lives of all involved.
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Splendor
Title: Splendor
Character: Phyllis Manning Lorrimore
Released: November 22, 1935
Type: Movie
When Brighton Lorrimore returns home with his new bride, Phyllis, his family makes their disappointment in his choice obvious. Facing bankruptcy and the loss of their mansion and social position, they had hoped that Brighton would marry wealthy heiress and family friend, Edith Gilbert.
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Barbary Coast
Title: Barbary Coast
Character: Mary 'Swan' Rutledge
Released: October 13, 1935
Type: Movie
Mary Rutledge arrives from the east, finds her fiancé dead, and goes to work at the roulette wheel of Luis Chamalis' Bella Donna, a rowdy gambling house in San Francisco in the 1850s. She falls in love with miner Jim Carmichael and takes his gold dust at the wheel. She goes after him, Chamalis goes after her with intent to harm Carmichael.
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Becky Sharp
Title: Becky Sharp
Character: Becky Sharp
Released: June 28, 1935
Type: Movie
The first feature length film to use three-strip Technicolor film. Adapted from a play that was adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's book "Vanity Fair", the film looks at the English class system during the Napoleonic Wars era.
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The Richest Girl in the World
Title: The Richest Girl in the World
Character: Dorothy Hunter
Released: September 21, 1934
Type: Movie
Millionairess Dorothy Hunter is tired of finding out that her boyfriends love her for her money, and equally weary of losing eligible beaus who don't want to be considered fortune-hunters. That's why she trades identities with her secretary Sylvia before embarking on her next romance with Tony Travers. This causes numerous complications not only for Dorothy and Tony but for Sylvia, whose own husband Philip is not the most patient of men.
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She Loves Me Not
Title: She Loves Me Not
Character: Curly Flagg
Released: August 31, 1934
Type: Movie
A cabaret dancer witnesses a murder and is forced to hide from gangsters by disguising herself as a male Princeton student.
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Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
Title: Hollywood on Parade No. B-1
Released: March 2, 1934
Type: Movie
Short film in which Frankie Darro as a Telegram delivery boy visits various Hollywood locations to make deliveries. He visits the Los Angeles Pier and a Gala Hollywood Premiere.
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All of Me
Title: All of Me
Character: Lydia Darrow
Released: February 1, 1934
Type: Movie
A professor tires of the direction his life is going and wants to move west, but his girlfriend doesn't understand why he is so dissatisfied.
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Design for Living
Title: Design for Living
Character: Gilda Farrell
Released: December 29, 1933
Type: Movie
An independent woman can't choose between the two men she loves.
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The Stranger's Return
Title: The Stranger's Return
Character: Louise
Released: July 28, 1933
Type: Movie
A divorcée leaves New York to visit her grandfather's farm and recover in the Midwest, where she unexpectedly falls in love with a married farmer.
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The Story of Temple Drake
Title: The Story of Temple Drake
Character: Temple Drake
Released: May 6, 1933
Type: Movie
The coquettish granddaughter of a respected small-town judge is stranded at a bootleggers’ hide-out, subjected to an act of nightmarish sexual violence, and plunged into a criminal underworld that threatens to swallow her up completely.
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Trouble in Paradise
Title: Trouble in Paradise
Character: Lily
Released: October 30, 1932
Type: Movie
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
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The World and the Flesh
Title: The World and the Flesh
Character: Maria Yaskaya
Released: April 22, 1932
Type: Movie
During the 1917 Russian revolution, a group of artistocrats find themselves in the custody of a brutal Communist revolutionary. He lusts after one of them, a ballerina, and gives her an ultimatum: give in to him or her friends will face the firing squad.
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Dancers in the Dark
Title: Dancers in the Dark
Character: Gloria Bishop
Released: March 11, 1932
Type: Movie
A bandleader tries to romance a dancer by sending her boyfriend, a musician, out of town. However, things get complicated when he finds out that a gangster has designs on her too.
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Two Kinds of Women
Title: Two Kinds of Women
Character: Emma Krull
Released: January 16, 1932
Type: Movie
The daughter of a senator from South Dakota visits Manhattan for the first time, eager to see the sights of the big city. While there, she finds herself caught up in an affair with a married man, whose wife soon commits suicide. Complications ensue.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Title: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Character: Ivy Pearson
Released: December 24, 1931
Type: Movie
Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men - a good and an evil side. He believes that by separating the two, man can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. When he discontinues use of the drug, it is already too late.
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24 Hours
Title: 24 Hours
Character: Rosie Dugan
Released: October 3, 1931
Type: Movie
A nightclub singer is carrying on an affair with a married man. When she is found murdered, her lover is suspected of the crime.
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The Smiling Lieutenant
Title: The Smiling Lieutenant
Character: Princess Anna
Released: August 1, 1931
Type: Movie
An amorous lieutenant is forced to marry a socially awkward princess, though he tries to keep his violin-playing girlfriend on the side.
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The House That Shadows Built
Title: The House That Shadows Built
Character: (archive footage)
Released: July 8, 1931
Type: Movie
The House That Shadows Built (1931) is a short feature, roughly 48 minutes long, from Paramount Pictures made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. It was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular theatrical release and includes a brief history of Paramount, interviews with various actors, and clips from upcoming projects (some of which never came to fruition). The title comes from a biography of Paramount founder Adolph Zukor, The House That Shadows Built (1928), by William Henry Irwin.
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Fast and Loose
Title: Fast and Loose
Character: Marion Lenox
Released: November 8, 1930
Type: Movie
A wealthy family is thrown into turmoil when the daughter falls for the family chauffeur and the son begins to keep company with a chorus girl.
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The Home Girl
Title: The Home Girl
Released: December 1, 1928
Type: Movie
A short film featuring the debut of actress Miriam Hopkins.