Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert

Born: September 13, 1903
Died: July 30, 1996
in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France
Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie 'Lily' Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the "The Barker" in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role: "I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven". She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929).

Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the stage, she did TV specials and had a supporting role in a notable TV movie, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987), for which she received a Golden Globe award. In 1989 she was presented with a Life Achievement award from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

She married actor Norman Foster in 1928, although they never lived together and were divorced after seven years. She married surgeon Dr. Joel Pressman soon after and remained married until his death in 1968. In latter years she divided her time between an apartment in New York and a 200-year-old plantation house in Speightstown, Barbados, where she entertained such guests as Frank Sinatra and Ronald Reagan. She remained on Barbados Island after her stroke. On July 30, 1996, Claudette died in Speightstown, Barbados. She was 92.

Movies for Claudette Colbert...

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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Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
Title: Frank Capra Jr. Remembers: 'It Happened One Night'
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 27, 1999
Type: Movie
The director's son gives interesting anecdotes about Frank Capra's making of the 1934 hit comedy, "It Happened One Night."
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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Title: The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 1, 1997
Type: Movie
A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
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That's Entertainment! III
Title: That's Entertainment! III
Character: (archive footage)
Released: July 1, 1994
Type: Movie
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
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Title: The Two Mrs. Grenvilles
Character: Alice Grenville
Released: February 8, 1987
Type: TV
Ann, a former chorus girl marries above herself into a rich society family, but her mother-in-law regards her with great suspicion from the start. When Ann shoots her husband dead, claiming she thought he was a prowler, the older Mrs. Grenville decides to back the woman she despises, to protect the family image.
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Title: The Kennedy Center Honors
Character: Self
Released: December 28, 1978
Type: TV
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.
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The Love Goddesses
Title: The Love Goddesses
Character: (archive footage)
Released: March 3, 1965
Type: Movie
This insightful documentary features some of the major and most beautiful actresses to grace the silver screen. It shows how the movie industry changed its depiction of sex and actresses' portrayal of sex from the silent movie era to the present. Classic scenes are shown from the silent movie 'True Heart Susie,' starring Lillian Gish, to 'Love Me Tonight' (1932), blending sex and sophistication, starring Jeanette MacDonald (pre-Nelson Eddy), and to Elizabeth Taylor in 'A Place in the Sun' (1951), plus much , much more.
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Parrish
Title: Parrish
Character: Ellen McLean
Released: May 4, 1961
Type: Movie
Parrish McLean lives with his mother Ellen on Sala Post's tobacco plantation in the Connecticut River Valley. His mother winds up marrying Sala's rival Judd Raike, ruthless planter who wants to drive Sala out of business. Judd insists that Parrish learn the business from the ground up.
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Title: Suspicion
Character: Edith Miller
Released: September 30, 1957
Type: TV
Suspicion is the title of an American television mystery drama series which aired on the NBC from 1957 through 1959. The executive producer of Suspicion was film director Alfred Hitchcock.
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Title: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Lucy Bradford
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
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Title: Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Character: Beth Brayden
Released: October 5, 1956
Type: TV
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.
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Title: Playhouse 90
Released: October 4, 1956
Type: TV
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were usually hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of hour-and-a-half dramas rather than 60-minute plays. Playhouse 90 began as a pitch by Frank Stanton—the formidable, forward-thinking right-hand man to CBS chairman William S. Paley—during a brainstorming session for program ideas. The project was ultimately developed by Hubbell Robinson, a CBS vice president who received no screen credit on Playhouse 90 but is often described as its creator.
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - Guest
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - Party Host
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: Telephone Time
Released: April 8, 1956
Type: TV
Telephone Time is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The series features plays by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter hosted the 1957 and 1958 seasons. The program was directed by Arthur Hiller.
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Blithe Spirit
Title: Blithe Spirit
Character: Ruth Condomine
Released: January 14, 1956
Type: Movie
Television adaptation of Noël Coward's famous play about an unhappily married man plagued by the spirit of his dead previous wife.
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Texas Lady
Title: Texas Lady
Character: Prudence Webb
Released: November 23, 1955
Type: Movie
Claudette Colbert plays Prudence Webb, who arrives in the wide-open town of Fort Ralston, Texas, to assume control of her late father's newspaper. Her first major print crusade is aimed at gambler Chris Mooney (Barry Sullivan), whom Prudence holds responsible for her dad's suicide. She then takes aim at a couple of crooked cattle barons (Ray Collins and Walter Sande), who'd like nothing better than to put Prudence out of the way for keeps.
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Title: Climax!
Character: Sister Cecilia
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: Climax!
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: Climax!
Character: Dr. Jane Everest
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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Royal Affairs in Versailles
Title: Royal Affairs in Versailles
Character: Mme de Montespan
Released: February 10, 1954
Type: Movie
Witty narration follows the history of Versailles Palace; founded by Louis XIII, enlarged by autocratic Louis XIV, whose personal affairs and amours, and those of his two successors, are followed in more detail to the start of the Revolution, after which the story is brought rapidly up to date. A huge cast plays mainly historical persons who appear briefly.
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Daughters of Destiny
Title: Daughters of Destiny
Character: Elizabeth Whitefield (segment "Elisabeth")
Released: January 21, 1954
Type: Movie
Three stories, very different in space and time. Lysistrata, a dancer from ancient times, Jeanne d'Arc, medieval warrior and Elisabeth, American war widow who comes on pilgrimage in Italy.
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Title: Letter to Loretta
Character: Self - Guest Host
Released: September 20, 1953
Type: TV
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.
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Title: The Oscars
Character: Self
Released: March 19, 1953
Type: TV
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
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Title: General Electric Theater
Character: Edith Miller
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 Planter's Wife
Title: The Planter's Wife
Character: Liz Frazer
Released: December 4, 1952
Type: Movie
The wife of a rubber plantation owner must put her marriage problems on hold when her family is forced to defend themselves during a native uprising.
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Let's Make It Legal
Title: Let's Make It Legal
Character: Miriam Halsworth
Released: October 31, 1951
Type: Movie
A woman divorces her husband of 20 years because he gambles too much.
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Thunder on the Hill
Title: Thunder on the Hill
Character: Sister Mary Bonaventure
Released: October 17, 1951
Type: Movie
Sister Mary presides over a convent where a convicted murderess, who is being escorted to Death Row, is stranded by bad weather. She is slowly becoming convinced that Valerie is innocent so Sister Mary sets about to clear the girl and bring the real killer to justice.
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Title: The Jack Benny Program
Character: Claudette Colbert
Released: October 28, 1950
Type: TV
Laugh along with funnyman Jack Benny as he brings his underplayed humor to TV along with regular performers from his radio show days.
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Title: The Colgate Comedy Hour
Character: Self
Released: September 10, 1950
Type: TV
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.
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The Secret Fury
Title: The Secret Fury
Character: Ellen Ewing
Released: February 21, 1950
Type: Movie
The wedding of Ellen and David is halted by a stranger who insists that the bride is already married to someone else. Though the flabbergasted Ellen denies the charge, the interloper produces enough evidence that his accusation must be investigated. Ellen and David travel to the small coastal town where her first wedding allegedly occurred. There, they meet a number of individuals whose stories make Ellen question her own sanity.
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Three Came Home
Title: Three Came Home
Character: Agnes Newton Keith
Released: February 20, 1950
Type: Movie
Borneo, 1941, during World War II. When the Japanese occupy the island, American writer Agnes Newton Keith is separated from her husband and imprisoned with her son in a prison camp run by the enigmatic Colonel Suga.
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Title: What's My Line?
Character: Self - Mystery Guest
Released: February 2, 1950
Type: TV
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
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Title: Robert Montgomery Presents
Released: January 30, 1950
Type: TV
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950 until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its seven-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ....The Johnson's Wax Program, and so on.
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Bride for Sale
Title: Bride for Sale
Character: Nora Shelley
Released: November 12, 1949
Type: Movie
Nora Shelley is a tax expert for the accounting company which is led by Paul Martin. She thinks she can find a suitable husband by inspecting their clients' tax documents. Martin finds out and tries to dissuade her from this approach, later enlisting the help of his friend Steve Adams, who tries to woo Shelley.
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Family Honeymoon
Title: Family Honeymoon
Character: Katie Armstrong Jordan
Released: December 6, 1948
Type: Movie
Grant Jordan, bachelor botany professor, marries Katie, a widow with three kids, despite the machinations of Grant's former girlfriend Minna. But on the wedding day, Aunt Jo, who was to babysit, breaks a leg; so the kids come along on the honeymoon.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Sleep, My Love
Title: Sleep, My Love
Character: Alison Courtland
Released: February 18, 1948
Type: Movie
A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got there. Danger and suspense ensue.
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The Egg and I
Title: The Egg and I
Character: Betty MacDonald
Released: May 1, 1947
Type: Movie
World War II veteran Bob MacDonald surprises his new wife, Betty, by quitting his city job and moving them to a dilapidated farm in the country. While Betty gamely struggles with managing the crumbling house and holding off nosy neighbors and a recalcitrant pig, Bob makes plans for crops and livestock. The couple's bliss is shaken by a visit from a beautiful farm owner, who seems to want more from Bob than just managing her property.
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The Secret Heart
Title: The Secret Heart
Character: Lee Addams
Released: December 25, 1946
Type: Movie
Penny Addams lives in a constant state of depression stemming from the trauma of her father's death when she was just a young girl. Her brother, Chase, and stepmother, Lee, work to help Penny process her grief through psychotherapy and revisiting their past, but only the revelation of long-buried family secrets -- including her mother's secret lover and the true nature of her father's death -- can bring Penny out of her intense despair.
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Without Reservations
Title: Without Reservations
Character: Kit Madden
Released: May 13, 1946
Type: Movie
Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.
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Tomorrow Is Forever
Title: Tomorrow Is Forever
Character: Elizabeth Hamilton
Released: February 20, 1946
Type: Movie
In 1918, Elizabeth MacDonald learns that her husband, John Andrew, has been killed in the war. Elizabeth bears John's son and eventually marries her kindly boss. Unknown to her, John has survived but is horribly disfigured and remains in Europe. Years later, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth refuses to agree to her son's request to enlist and is stunned when an eerily familiar stranger named Kessler arrives from abroad and becomes involved.
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Guest Wife
Title: Guest Wife
Character: Mary Price
Released: July 27, 1945
Type: Movie
Christopher Price, a small-town bank executive, continues to be loyal to and idolize his boyhood friend, Joseph Jefferson Parker, a famous war correspondent. But Chris's wife, Mary, is none to fond of Joe and tired of her husband's idolizing. On the eve of the Price's second-honeymoon trip to New York City, Joe arrives and tells Chris that he needs someone to pose as his wife in order to fool his boss in NYC, who thinks Joe got married to an overseas woman while on an assignment. Chris pushes Mary into posing as Joe's wife. In New York, this leads to many complications and misunderstandings, with Mary finally deciding to teach Chris and Joe a lesson by making them believe she is in love with Joe.
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Practically Yours
Title: Practically Yours
Character: Peggy Martin
Released: December 20, 1944
Type: Movie
In this screwball comedy a WW2 US pilot bombs a Japanese aircraft carrier, is assumed to be dead, and then is misquoted in the press as fondly remembering his days back home walking his dog Piggy. Instead of his dog Piggy he is thought to be in love with Peggy, a girl he worked with. The usual farce ensues after he returns home alive and tries to play along with the mistake to save embarrassment for all.
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Since You Went Away
Title: Since You Went Away
Character: Mrs. Anne Hilton
Released: June 30, 1944
Type: Movie
While husband Tim is away during World War II, Anne Hilton copes with problems on the homefront. Taking in a lodger, Colonel Smollett, to help make ends meet and dealing with shortages and rationing are minor inconveniences compared to the love affair daughter Jane and the Colonel's grandson conduct.
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So Proudly We Hail
Title: So Proudly We Hail
Character: Lt. Janet 'Davy' Davidson
Released: September 9, 1943
Type: Movie
During the start of the Pacific campaign in World War II, Lieutenant Janet Davidson is the head of a group of U.S. military nurses who are trapped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Davidson tries to keep up the spirits of her staff, which includes Lieutenants Joan O'Doul and Olivia D'Arcy. They all seek to maintain a sense of normal life, including dating, while under constant danger as they tend to wounded soldiers.
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No Time for Love
Title: No Time for Love
Character: Katherine Grant
Released: January 1, 1943
Type: Movie
Upper-class female reporter is (despite herself) attracted to hulking laborer digging a tunnel under the Hudson river.
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Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Title: Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6
Character: Herself
Released: October 5, 1942
Type: Movie
Narrator Hopper covers two war benefit affairs, a garden party and a USO fashion show, at Pickfair, "The White House of Hollywood."
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The Palm Beach Story
Title: The Palm Beach Story
Character: Geraldine 'Gerry' Jeffers
Released: August 28, 1942
Type: Movie
A New York inventor, Tom Jeffers, needs cash to develop his big idea, so his adoring wife, Gerry (Geraldine), decides to raise it by divorcing him and marrying an eccentric Florida millionaire, J. D. Hackensacker III.
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Remember the Day
Title: Remember the Day
Character: Nora Trinell
Released: December 25, 1941
Type: Movie
Elderly schoolteacher Nora Trinell, waiting to meet presidential nominee Dewey Roberts, recalls him as her student back in 1916 and his relation to Dan Hopkins, the man she married and lost.
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Skylark
Title: Skylark
Character: Lydia Kenyon
Released: November 21, 1941
Type: Movie
As her fifth wedding anniversary approaches, a woman realizes that she is fed up with always coming in second to her husband's advertising business. Just at the moment when she is trying to decide what to do, she meets a handsome attorney, and their innocent flirtation begins to turn into something a bit more serious.
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Arise, My Love
Title: Arise, My Love
Character: Augusta Nash
Released: November 8, 1940
Type: Movie
A dashing pilot and a vivacious reporter have romantic and dramatic adventures in Europe as World War II begins.
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Boom Town
Title: Boom Town
Character: Betsy Bartlett
Released: August 30, 1940
Type: Movie
Two buddies who rise from fly-by-night wildcatters to oil tycoons over a twenty year period both love the same woman. McMasters and Sand come to oil towns to get rich. Betsy comes West intending to marry Sand but marries McMasters instead. Getting rich and losing it all teaches McMasters and Sand the value of personal ties.
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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Title: Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 31, 1940
Type: Movie
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, Fay Bainter, Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Sinclair Lewis, and more, with host Bob Hope.
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Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Title: Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Character: Self
Released: May 29, 1940
Type: Movie
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a recent movie. We then go to Hollywood and visit Adrian, MGM's chief of costume design, and see how multiple copies of a single clothing pattern are produced. The film ends with short segments of several MGM features.
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Drums Along the Mohawk
Title: Drums Along the Mohawk
Character: Lana (Magdelana)
Released: November 10, 1939
Type: Movie
Albany, New York, 1776. After marrying, Gil and Lana travel north to settle on a small farm in the Mohawk River Valley, but soon their growing prosperity and happiness are threatened by the sinister sound of drums that announce dark times of revolution and war.
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It's a Wonderful World
Title: It's a Wonderful World
Character: Edwina Corday
Released: May 19, 1939
Type: Movie
Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.
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Midnight
Title: Midnight
Character: Eve Peabody
Released: March 24, 1939
Type: Movie
An unemployed showgirl poses as Hungarian royalty to infiltrate Parisian society.
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Breakdowns of 1938
Title: Breakdowns of 1938
Character: Tatiana (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1938
Type: Movie
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938.
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Zaza
Title: Zaza
Character: Zaza
Released: December 29, 1938
Type: Movie
A seductive music hall star falls in love with a married aristocrat.
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Hollywood Goes to Town
Title: Hollywood Goes to Town
Character: Self
Released: July 7, 1938
Type: Movie
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a garden that might be seen in a French palace. This includes the placement of trees and other foliage, as well as large statues along the route. Grandstands are set up so fans can see their favorite stars as they arrive for the premiere. Finally, the proverbial "galaxy of stars" arrives in their limousines. Fanny Brice and Pete Smith make remarks at the microphone set up on the carpet outside the theatre.
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Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Title: Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
Character: Nicole De Loiselle
Released: March 25, 1938
Type: Movie
American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the row of his ex-wives and starts her own strategy to tame him.
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Tovarich
Title: Tovarich
Character: Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna Romanov
Released: December 25, 1937
Type: Movie
When upper-class Parisian Charles Dupont and his family hire Tina and Michel as their servants, they have no idea that the domestics are in fact Tatiana, the Grand Duchess Petrovna, and her husband, Mikail, Prince Ouratieff. Recent exiles from the Russian Revolution, Tatiana and Mikail befriend the Dupont family, keeping their true identities a secret -- until one night when Soviet official Gorotchenko arrives for dinner.
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I Met Him in Paris
Title: I Met Him in Paris
Character: Kay Denham
Released: May 28, 1937
Type: Movie
Kay Denham is off for a fling in Paris, leaving her suitor Berk behind. There, she meets two new suitors, Gene and George. Gene smooth-talks her into a junket to Switzerland, but George (with no illusions about his friend) appoints himself chaperone. Through a series of slapstick winter sports, Kay remains puzzled about George's disapproval of Gene...but there's a reason.
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Maid of Salem
Title: Maid of Salem
Character: Barbara Clarke
Released: February 12, 1937
Type: Movie
When a young woman named Barbara Clarke has an affair with adventurer Roger Coverman, it causes a scandal in the Puritanical town of Salem, Massachusetts. After a meddling girl arouses their suspicions, the town's elders accuse Barbara of being a witch. She is tried, convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. As the townspeople prepare to burn Barbara at the stake, Roger tries desperately to save the woman he loves.
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Under Two Flags
Title: Under Two Flags
Character: Cigarette
Released: April 30, 1936
Type: Movie
Sergeant Victor comes to the French Foreign Legion after taking the blame for his brother's crime. Cigarette falls in love with him though Major Doyle is in love with her. Doyle sends Victor on dangerous assignments to be rid of him. He falls in love with Lady Venetia Cunningham, a visitor to the garrison
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The Bride Comes Home
Title: The Bride Comes Home
Character: Jeannette Desmereau
Released: December 25, 1935
Type: Movie
A penniless socialite is hired by two young men as a front in their plan to start a magazine. Soon, however, they find themselves more interested in her than in their publishing venture.
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The Fashion Side of Hollywood
Title: The Fashion Side of Hollywood
Character: Self
Released: November 4, 1935
Type: Movie
Compilation of lighting and costume tests from various films, most notably Sternberg's "The Devil Is a Woman" (1935).
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She Married Her Boss
Title: She Married Her Boss
Character: Julia Scott
Released: September 19, 1935
Type: Movie
A super-efficient secretary at a department store falls for and marries her boss, but finds out that taking care of him at home (and especially his spoiled-brat daughter) is a lot different than taking care of him at work.
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Private Worlds
Title: Private Worlds
Character: Dr. Jane Everest
Released: April 19, 1935
Type: Movie
At the Brentwood Asylum for the mentally ill, psychiatrist partners Jane Everest and Alex MacGregor are broken up by the new superintendent, Dr. Charles Monet, who has a low regard for women physicians. Jane and Charles clash on patient treatment, and Jane learns that Charles has a sister, Claire, with a mysterious past.
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The Gilded Lily
Title: The Gilded Lily
Character: Marilyn David
Released: January 25, 1935
Type: Movie
Secretary Marilyn David falls in love with British aristocrat Charles Gray, to the dismay of her best friend, reporter Peter Dawes, who secretly loves her. When Peter learns that the already-engaged Charles has hurt Marilyn, he fabricates an article casting her as the "No Girl" who refused to marry a callous aristocrat. But when the publicity brings Marilyn unexpected fame, and Charles returns, she is forced to choose between the two men.
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Imitation of Life
Title: Imitation of Life
Character: Beatrice 'Bea' Pullman
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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Cleopatra
Title: Cleopatra
Character: Cleopatra
Released: October 5, 1934
Type: Movie
The queen of Egypt barges the Nile and flirts with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.
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It Happened One Night
Title: It Happened One Night
Character: Ellie Andrews
Released: February 22, 1934
Type: Movie
A renegade reporter and a young heiress meet on a bus heading for New York, and end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops.
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Four Frightened People
Title: Four Frightened People
Character: Judy Jones
Released: January 26, 1934
Type: Movie
Malaya tropical island romantic love triangle adventure thriller, about a cruise ship where Bubonic plague breaks out. Four people are able to leave the ship in a tiny boat and make it to a desert island, where many adventures ensue and, of course, the two men fight over the beautiful young schoolteacher who is with them.
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Torch Singer
Title: Torch Singer
Character: Sally Trent, aka Mimi Benton
Released: September 8, 1933
Type: Movie
When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later, she searches for the child she gave up.
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Three-Cornered Moon
Title: Three-Cornered Moon
Character: Elizabeth Rimplegar
Released: August 8, 1933
Type: Movie
Elizabeth Rimplegar inhabits a household populated by virtual lunatics. Her mother, Nellie, mishandled the family fortune, and, alas, the stock market crash has depleted their worth. Elizabeth's goofy brothers cannot easily adjust to the life of the average worker. Meanwhile, the family doctor has his eye on Elizabeth, but he will have to compete with her suitor, an ill-informed writer.
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I Cover the Waterfront
Title: I Cover the Waterfront
Character: Julie Kirk
Released: May 19, 1933
Type: Movie
An investigative reporter romances a suspected smuggler's daughter.
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Tonight Is Ours
Title: Tonight Is Ours
Character: Princess Nadya
Released: January 21, 1933
Type: Movie
A princess is torn between her royal obligations and her love for a handsome Frenchman.
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The Sign of the Cross
Title: The Sign of the Cross
Character: Empress Poppaea
Released: November 30, 1932
Type: Movie
After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor (for being easy on Christians) and with the Empress, who loves him and is jealous.
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The Phantom President
Title: The Phantom President
Character: Felicia Hammond
Released: September 23, 1932
Type: Movie
Too bad for presidential hopes of banker T.K. Blair; his party feels he has too little flair for savoir faire. But at a medicine show, the party bosses find Blair's double: huckster Doc Varney. Of course, they scheme to make Varney T.K.'s public spokesman; at first, he even fools Blair's girlfriend Felicia, providing a romantic complication. As election eve approaches, the conspirators face the problem of what to do with Varney...who has difficult decisions of his own to make.
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Make Me a Star
Title: Make Me a Star
Character: Claudette Colbert (uncredited)
Released: July 1, 1932
Type: Movie
A grocery clerk, longing to become a cowboy actor, goes to Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Unfortunately, his acting ability is non-existent.
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The Man from Yesterday
Title: The Man from Yesterday
Character: Sylvia Suffolk
Released: June 24, 1932
Type: Movie
A woman whose husband never came home from World War I finds herself in love with her doctor. She travels with him to Switzerland, and as they check into the hotel there, she is astounded to see her supposedly dead husband.
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The Misleading Lady
Title: The Misleading Lady
Character: Helen Steele
Released: April 15, 1932
Type: Movie
A scheming socialite meets her match in the out-of-touch wildlife explorer she ventures to ensnare.
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The Wiser Sex
Title: The Wiser Sex
Character: Margaret Hughes
Released: March 14, 1932
Type: Movie
A young woman goes undercover to gather evidence to free her boyfriend, an attorney who has been framed for a murder he didn't commit.
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His Woman
Title: His Woman
Character: Sally Clark
Released: November 20, 1931
Type: Movie
Tough Caribbean freighter Captain Sam Whelan engages Sally Clark, a tramp masquerading as a missionary's daughter, to care for an abandoned baby on board his ship. En route to New York, ships mate Gatson sexually attacks her. The Captain knocks Gatson overboard in an ensuing scuffle. A romance developing between the Captain and Miss Clark is put to the test in New York after an assault investigation uncovers the girl's questionable past.
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Secrets of a Secretary
Title: Secrets of a Secretary
Character: Helen Blake
Released: September 5, 1931
Type: Movie
Society girl becomes a social secretary when her father dies penniless. From a story by Charles Brackett.
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The Smiling Lieutenant
Title: The Smiling Lieutenant
Character: Franzi
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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Honor Among Lovers
Title: Honor Among Lovers
Character: Julia Traynor
Released: February 28, 1931
Type: Movie
Jerry Stafford falls for his secretary, Julia Traynor, but instead she marries a shady character who causes trouble for both of them.
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Manslaughter
Title: Manslaughter
Character: Lydia Thorne
Released: July 22, 1930
Type: Movie
A spoiled young rich girl is sent to prison for accidentally running down a pedestrian. There she learns about a life and people she had never even imagined existed before.
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The Big Pond
Title: The Big Pond
Character: Barbara Billings
Released: May 3, 1930
Type: Movie
A singing Frenchman meets an American heiress and gets a job at her father's chewing-gum factory.
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Young Man of Manhattan
Title: Young Man of Manhattan
Character: Ann Vaughn
Released: April 19, 1930
Type: Movie
Two flappers try to get their newspaper reporter boyfriends to pay attention to them.
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The Lady Lies
Title: The Lady Lies
Character: Joyce Roamer
Released: September 21, 1929
Type: Movie
Much to the disapproval of his snooty children, a wealthy widowed attorney takes up with a beautiful but "lower-class" woman.
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The Hole in the Wall
Title: The Hole in the Wall
Character: Jean Oliver
Released: April 27, 1929
Type: Movie
Mrs. Ramsey sent Jean Oliver to prison on a false charge. To get even, Jean (disguised as Madame Mystera) plans to kidnap her daughter and turn her into a thief. Love entanglements with a gangster known as "The Fox" and newspaperman Grant complicate her plans.
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For the Love of Mike
Title: For the Love of Mike
Character: Mary
Released: July 31, 1927
Type: Movie
Three men join forces to raise an adopted son.