Ina Claire Movies
A comedienne on vaudeville in pre-World War I days, Ina Claire made only a few films during the silent era (beginning with The Puppet Crown, 1915), instead concentrating on her stage work. She was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1915 and 1916, appeared for two years as the star of The Gold Diggers, and developed into a Broadway favorite in the '20s. On Broadway she was the "queen of high comedy," a sophisticated blonde with verve and panache. She returned to the screen shortly after the advent of sound in The Awful Truth (1929). Her bubbly comedic style was employed in a handful of other movies in the '30s and '40s; her last appearance was as Dorothy McGuire's courageous, doomed mother in Claudia (1943). She retired from the stage in 1954. She was married to screen idol John Gilbert from 1929-31. ~ Rovi
- 1943
Dorothy McGuire charmingly recreates her stage role in this film adaptation of Rose Franken's Broadway hit Claudia. The title character (McGuire) is the naïve, somewhat childish young bride of David Naughton (Robert Young). Slowly adapting to married life, the unworldy Claudia receives several "wake-up calls" regarding the maintenance of a household, dealing with her husband's (and her own) sexual urges, impending childbirth, and, on a more somber note, the inevitable death of a loved one. A subplot involving the criminal past of the family butler is downplayed on screen, and the film is the better for it. Tops among the supporting cast of Claudia is Ina Claire as the heroine's witty, sprightly and, alas, doomed mother. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, (more)
"Garbo Laughs!" declared the ads for Ninotchka. In the face of dwindling foreign revenues, MGM decided to put Greta Garbo, a bigger draw in Europe than the US, in a box-office-savvy comedy, engaging the services of master farceur Ernst Lubitsch to direct. The film opens in Paris during the aftermath of the Russian revolution. A trio of Russian delegates (Sig Rumann, Felix Bressart, and Alexander Granach) are sent to Paris to sell the Imperial Jewels for ready cash. Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), who once owned the jewels, sends her boyfriend Count Leon (Melvyn Douglas) to retrieve the diamonds, and he turns the trio into full-fledged capitalists, wining and dining them all through Paris. Moscow then dispatches the humorless, doggedly loyal Comrade Ninotchka (Garbo) to retrieve both the prodigal Soviets and the gems. When Leon turns his charm on Ninotchka, she regards him coldly, informing him that love is merely a "chemical reaction." Even his kisses fail to weaken her resolve. Leon finally wins her over by taking an accidental fall in a restaurant, whereupon Ninotchka laughs for the first time in her life. She goes on a shopping spree and gets drunk, while Leon begins falling in love with her in earnest. As a bonus to the frothy script, by Billy Wilder and others, and its surefire star power, Ninotchka features what is perhaps Bela Lugosi's most likeable and relaxed performance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, (more)
- 1932
Zoë Akins' archetypal "gold-digger" stage comedy The Greeks Had a Word for It was transferred to the screen in 1933, with the "It" changed to "Them" in the title, reportedly at the insistence of over-cautious producer Sam Goldwyn (this became a moot point in the 1940s, when the film was reissued as Three Broadway Girls). Ina Claire, Madge Evans, and Joan Blondell star as ex-showgirls Jean, Polaire, and Schatze, who pool their resources to rent a luxurious penthouse apartment. Their strategy is as follows: if they live like millionaires, dress like millionaires and act like millionaires, they'll be able to attract wealthy boyfriends. The original play ended with all three girls continuing their gold-digging activities unto eternity, while the film concludes with one of the three finding true love in the arms of Dey Emery (David Manners). The Greeks Had a Word for Them was later remade (and considerably rewritten) as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), with Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Madge Evans, Joan Blondell, (more)
- 1931
A man finds he's torn between two women -- which isn't a good state of affairs for a man who just got married -- in this romantic comedy-drama. Not long after Bill Truesdale (Robert Ames) ties the knot with his girlfriend Sarah Jaffrey (Ina Claire), he happens to meet Evie Lawrence (Myrna Loy), a woman he was once involved with. Bill soon discovers he's still in love with Evie, and finds himself pursuing her, even though he's pledged his heart to Sarah. In time, Bill comes to his senses, but he's not sure if he's given up on Evie in time to keep Sarah from finding the love she needs with another man. Hedda Hopper highlights the film's supporting cast, several years before she became one of America's best known show-biz gossip columnists. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ina Claire, Robert Ames, (more)
- 1930
Royal Family of Broadway was an abridged but otherwise literal translation of the George S. Kaufman/Edna Ferber Broadway hit The Royal Family. The title referred not to kings and queens but to a prominent theatrical family named Cavendish--based none too loosely on the famed Barrymore clan. Ina Claire plays the "Ethel Barrymore" counterpart, a beloved stage star who wishes to renounce the theatre to marry a millionaire and move to South America. Fredric March steals the show as the "black sheep" of the family, obviously patterned after the rambunctious John Barrymore (March has John Barrymore's legendary gestures and petulant temper tantrums down pat). When it looks as if the Cavendish legacy will break up with the daughter's marriage and the son's peccadillos, the Cavendish matriarch (Henrietta Crosman) delivers an impassioned "show must go on" speech from her deathbed, reuniting the fragmented family. Reportedly, The Royal Family angered Ethel Barrymore to the point of a threatened lawsuit. She need not have worried; despite the histrionic excesses of the Cavendishes in The Royal Family of Broadway, these ersatz Barrymores are depicted with amusement and affection. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ina Claire, Fredric March, (more)
- 1929
1929's The Awful Truth was the second of three film versions of Arthur Richman's 1922 play. Ina Claire (in her talking-picture debut) and Henry Daniell play a wealthy couple whose individual infidelities lead inexorably to the divorce court. Though they subsequently try out other partners, they never truly fall out of love with one another. Each sabotages the other's impending second marriage just before the inevitable reconciliation. Though both are repeating their original Broadway roles, Ina Claire and especially Henry Daniell seem stiff and studied when compared to Irene Dunne and Cary Grant in Leo McCarey's imperishable 1937 remake of The Awful Truth. This was one of several Pathe talking pictures made before that venerable production firm was absorbed by RKO in 1931. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1920
Small town American girl Polly Shannon (Ina Claire) goes to Paris to study singing, but winds up as a maid to two bachelors. They have a wealthy friend, Rex Van Zile (Ralph Graves), who is having problems with his cold-hearted fiancee. So they decide to make her jealous by having Polly pose as a notorious French adventuress who has her eye on Rex. She does her job so well that -- predictably -- Rex actually does fall in love with her and completely forgets about his fiancee. Ina Claire previously starred in the George Middleton/Guy Bolton stage play from which this picture was made. Although her on screen performance was well-received, she would achieve greater fame during the talkie era, when Hollywood raided Broadway for new stars. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ina Claire, Ralph Graves, (more)
- 1915
One of stage actress Ina Claire's earliest forays into filmmaking was the 1915 5-reeler The Puppet Crown. Co-written by William C. DeMille, the story concerns Alexia (Claire), princess of the mythical kingdom of Olsa. Having read about the American style of romance, Alexia arrives in the U.S. hoping to be swept off her feet by a handsome "Yank." Here she meets Bob Carewe (Carlyle Blackwell), who though very handsome is nothing at all like the ravishing males whom she's familiar with from her bodice-ripping novels. Still, Bob proves to be Alexia's "Prince Charming" when he returns with her to Olsa and quells a revolution against the Crown. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1915
The grandfather of Betty Wright (Ina Claire) is willing to give her a substantial amount of money if she marries the son of a friend. But she wants no part of an arranged marriage with someone she's never met, so she changes her name and runs away with a theater troupe. There she meets Bob Randall (Tom Forman), who is also going under an assumed name, and is the son of the grandfather's friend -- he has also run away, for the same reasons as Betty. Predictably, the pair fall in love. The troupe is stranded and its members thrown in jail for failing to pay their board. Betty's mother (Helen Marlborough) comes to rescue the girl, and pays to get the whole troupe out of the clink. It's only then that Betty and Bob discover each other's true identities, and they tell their families that a marriage is now acceptable to them. This was stage actress Ina Claire's screen debut. It was based on a play by William C. DeMille (older brother of director Cecil B. DeMille), and he also wrote the scenario. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
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