Marie Dressler Movies
Actress Marie Dressler (born Leila Marie Koerber) was a leading American comedienne during the silent era. At age 14 she joined a stock company, going on to become a seasoned veteran in light opera and on the legitimate stage. In 1892 she debuted on Broadway; by the turn of the century she was a vaudeville headliner. Dressler debuted onscreen opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent feature Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), based on one of her stage vehicles; she appeared in two more "Tillie" films plus a couple of other comedies, then after 1918 went almost a decade without appearing onscreen; she remained mainly a vaudeville and musical comedy star. She re-entered films in 1927 with the help of MGM screenwriter Frances Marion; her stage career had undergone a severe set-back in the mid-'20s, largely due to her involvement in a labor dispute. Soon Dressler was a popular star, her appeal increased by comedies in which she co-starred with Polly Moran. She became even more popular in the sound era; her range of roles increased after her unexpected casting in a serious character part, as the waterfront hag/barfly Marthy in Anna Christie (1930). For her tragicomic performance opposite Wallace Beery in Min and Bill (1930) she won the "Best Actress" Oscar, then was nominated again for the same award for her work in Emma (1932). For four years in the early '30s Dressler was the nation's top box office attraction. She authored an autobiography, The Life Story of an Ugly Duckling. ~ All Movie Guide
This concert and interview documentary features the racy wit of Canada and the U.S.'s most popular female comedians, including Jenny Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Phyllis Diller, Ellen DeGeneres, and Paula Poundstone. In addition to screening their stand-up gigs and providing interviews with these funny ladies, the documentary provides some historical perspective about the origins of present-day feminine humor using clips of performances by Eve Arden, Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1939
The Movies March On was Number 12, volume 9 of Louis de Rochemont's March of Time series. Narrated by the stentorian Westbrook Van Vorhees, this fascinating documentary manages to squeeze 40 years of filmmaking into a mere two reels. Beginning with the once scandalous The Kiss (1898), the film jumps ahead to one of the first "story" films, Edison's The Great Train Robbery (1903, directed by Edwin S. Porter). Next is offered a cross-section of the great D. W. Griffith's Biograph films followed by snippets of such past luminaries as Mary Pickford, William S. Hart, Charlie Chaplin, Theda Bara, Greta Garbo and John Gilbert. In 1927, The Jazz Singer ushers in the talkie era, which is represented by snippets from films as diverse as All Quiet on the Western Front and the Mickey Mouse vehicle Steamboat Willie. After a round-up of recent cinematic achievements, Van Vorhees signs off with his customary "Time?.MARCHES ON!" Though undeniably superficial, The Movies March On at least never adopts a condescending tone when reviewing the silent era, which sets it apart from most summaries of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
Based on the Broadway hit by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, Dinner at Eight is a near-flawless comedy/drama with an all-star cast at the peak of their talents. Social butterfly Mrs. Oliver Jordan (Billie Burke) arranges a dinner party that will benefit the busines of her husband (Lionel Barrymore). Among the invited are a crooked executive (Wallace Beery), who is in the process of ruining Jordan; his wife (Jean Harlow), who is carrying on an affair with a doctor (Edmund Lowe); a fading matinee idol (John Barrymore), who has squandered his fortune on liquor and is romantically involved with the Jordan daughter (Madge Evans); and a venerable stage actress (Marie Dressler), who since losing all her money has become a "professional guest." Nothing goes as planned, due to various suicides, double-crosses, compromises, fatal illness, and servant problems. But dinner is served precisely at eight. The script by Herman Mankiewicz, Frances Marion, and Donald Ogden Stewart is a virtual enclyopedia of witty lines and scenes, right down to the unforgettable closing gag. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, (more)
- 1933
Marie Dressler plays the title character, tugboat captain Annie Brennan, in this 1933 Hollywood box office hit. Her husband Terry (Wallace Beery) is a lazy, bragging drunk. Robert Young plays their son Alec, who has big ambitions and winds up as captain of a fancy ocean liner. The ocean liner's owner is Red Severn (Willard Robertson), whose daughter Pat (Maureen O'Sullivan) is the object of Alec's longings. Young tries to get his mother to leave his father and join him on the ocean liner, but she refuses out of love for her husband and her tugboat. Terry crashes the tugboat while drunk one night, and it is sold at an auction, then repaired and converted into a garbage boat. Sequels were made in later years, with Marjorie Rambeau and later Jane Darwell in the title role, and it was made into a TV series in the 1950s. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, (more)
- 1933
Based on the play by Sidney Howard (of Gone with the Wind and Dead End fame), Christopher Bean is a showcase for the magnificent Marie Dressler. She plays Abby, the poor but proud housekeeper of a small-town doctor (Lionel Barrymore), his wife (Beulah Bondi), and their children. Years before the story proper begins, Abby had been a close friend of Christopher Bean, a local painter who was treated as a pariah by the community because of his drunken misbehavior. After his death, however, Bean was acknowledged as a genius, and his paintings became extremely valuable. One of Bean's best works is a portrait that he painted of Abby -- and she refuses to part with it at any price, despite the entreaties of her avaricious employers. Sadly, Christopher Bean was Marie Dressler's final film; she died of cancer not long after its completion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1932
Emma is a turn-of-the-century domestic drama completely dominated by star Marie Dressler. She plays the maid of an upper middle class family, keeping her wits about her as her employers suffer crisis after crisis. When the master of the house (Jean Hersholt), a prominent inventor, is widowed, he proposes marriage to Emma. Shortly afterward, Hersholt dies, and Emma, who has married "out of her class", is accused of murder by Hersholt's jealous children. Cleared of the accusation, Emma turns over her inheritance to the selfish children and heads off to work for another family, once again making the best of any and all bad situations. Emma very nearly won Marie Dressler her second Academy Award; five minutes into the film, the modern viewer will be amazed that Ms. Dressler lost--even taking in consideration that the winner in 1932 was Katharine Hepburn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Richard Cromwell, (more)
- 1932
Maggie Warren (Marie Dressler) is the matriarch of a banking family who has run the Warren Bank for years, until she turns it over to her son John (Norman Foster) to run, following his marriage to Helen (Anita Page). Maggie and Helen's mother Lizzie (Polly Moran) don't really get along that well, but they tolerate each other -- barely -- for the sake of the children and grandchildren. Then comes the stock market crash, and the Great Depression, and the wave of bank failures -- and a rumor that starts a run on Maggie's bank, just as her son has lost all of the personal bonds, with which she had always secured the depositors' holdings against such an emergency, in a get-rich-quick scheme that collapsed. It takes every bit of personal persuasiveness that Maggie can muster, along with a lot of luck, to keep the bank afloat, and Lizzie -- whose own holdings may have gone up in smoke with the rest of the bank's assets -- won't stop needling her. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1931
In this comedy, a female mayoral candidate promises to rid the town of gangsters. She joined the race in the first place when her daughter got involved with a young mobster who has been framed for a murder. With her manager's assistance, the candidate rallies all the women in town and gets them to stop taking care of their husbands unless the men vote for her. It works like a charm and the woman is elected. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1931
In this slapstick comedy set in a posh beauty salon, the owner asks her matronly sister, a postman's wife, to come and visit. She does, and brings her lovely daughter along with her. This creates problems when the fiancé of the owner's daughter falls in love with the daughter of her sister. Fortunately, it is revealed that the man is a grade-A cad and both of the girls are saved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1930
The life of merchant seamen is realistically portrayed in this adventure.
The story centers around two sailors who find their friendship tested when both have the opportunity to become captain. Their relationship is further strained when they fall for the same female. They get a chance to prove their seamanship when their ship is assaulted by a terrible storm. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The story centers around two sailors who find their friendship tested when both have the opportunity to become captain. Their relationship is further strained when they fall for the same female. They get a chance to prove their seamanship when their ship is assaulted by a terrible storm. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Bancroft, Jesse Royce Landis, (more)
- 1930
In this romance, a disillusioned wife, learning that her husband has been unfaithful, divorces him and moves to Paris where she is changed from a frowsy hausfrau to a sexy, sophisticated lady. A wealthy dame asks her to help destroy the affair between her granddaughter and the woman's ex-husband. The woman agrees to do it and returns to the U.S. where she hosts a large party. Among the guests are her ex-husband and his lover--the granddaughter. The wife has become so lovely, that her former spouse does not at first recognize her. When at last he does, their romance begins anew. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Rod La Rocque, (more)
- 1930
The second of three versions of the Ferenc Molnar play The Swan, One Romantic Night represented the talkie debut of the great Lillian Gish. The star plays Alexandra, a mittel-European princess who falls in love with Dr. Hafler (Conrad Nagel), her brother's tutor. Alas, affairs of state demand that Alexandra marry Prince Albert (Rod La Rocque), whom she does not love despite his graciousness and affability. Our heroine's problem is twofold: she must let Dr. Hafler down gently -- then she must do the same for herself. Though about ten years too old for her role, Lillian Gish is as serenely regal as ever and does a nice job of modulating her stage-trained voice (which under normal circumstances was capable of reaching the last row of the balcony) for the more intimate demands of the microphone. For the record, the original Broadway production of The Swan starred Eva Le Galleine; the 1925 film version starred Frances Howard, while the 1956 remake top-billed Grace Kelly, who of course eventually became a real-life princess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lillian Gish, Conrad Nagel, (more)
- 1930
Sparring landladies provide the focus of this comedy. The two women are constantly competing to take in the most boarders at their respective homes. Though outwardly jealous rivals, the women are actually best friends. The competition gets more intense when one woman's daughter falls for the other's son. Now the women, who have secretly made a killing playing the stock market, try to see which one can put on the fanciest wedding. In the end, the couple weds and the women renew their friendship. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
- 1930
The last of three back-to-back Ramon Novarro musicals, Call of the Flesh (aka The Singer of Seville) casts the star as aspiring opera singer Juan. Juan is advised by his mentor Esteban (Ernest Torrence) that he will never truly be a great singer until his heart is broken. This comes about when our hero falls in love with nun-in-training Maria (Dorothy Jordan), genteelly abducting her from the convent with romance in mind. But the Call of God is stronger than the Call of the Flesh, and Novarro must relinquish the love of his life -- but oh, how magnificently he sings on the occasion! Credibility is not this film's strong suit, but Novarro, once considered a leading rival to Rudolph Valentino, is in fine form, especially when he dances a sultry tango with Renee Adoree (in her last film). Originally filmed in Technicolor, Call of the Flesh is presently available only in black and white. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ramon Novarro, Dorothy Jordan, (more)
- 1930
Screenland magazine summed up the William Haines vehicle The Girl Said No thusly: "The star plays another of his cut-up roles that make the critics gnash their teeth and the audience chortle." Had this review been printed in the 1990s, the character played by Haines might have been labelled a demented stalker; in 1930, however, he was merely whimsically over-enthusiastic. The star plays go-getting bond salesman Tom Ward, who can't take no for an answer when his sweetie Mary Howe (Leila Hyams) throws him over in favor of a collar-ad wimp named McAndrews (Francis X. Bushman Jr.) Tom continues to hound Mary at home and at her job, and when all other tactics fail, he kidnaps her from her own wedding, merrily driving off with the outraged heroine bound and gagged in the back seat! Almost as "funny" as this denouement is the scene in which Tom poses as a doctor and gets his "patient" roaring drunk. Only the antics of Marie Dressler (as a reclusive Hetty Green-style financier) and Polly Moran save this so-called comedy from being an utter disaster. The dialogue in The Girl Said No was written by Charles MacArthur, who hopefully didn't use Bill Haines's caveman tactics while courting his own bride, actress Helen Hayes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Haines, Leila Hyams, (more)
- 1930
Accompanied by one of the most successful advertising campaigns in Hollywood history, Greta Garbo made her "talking picture" debut in this carefully chosen vehicle, the second screen version of Eugene O'Neill's 1922 play about the Minnesota-raised Swedish girl who desperately attempts to keep her unsavory past from her long-lost father, Kris (George F. Marion). But when she falls for a charming Irish sailor, Matt Burke (Charles Bickford), Anna can keep her secret no longer. Learning that the girl used to be a prostitute, Matt is at first repulsed, but quickly realizes that he cannot live without her. Working overtime, Garbo filmed both Swedish and German versions under the direction of Belgian Jacques Feyder. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, George F. Marion, (more)
- 1930
This early talkie melodrama features a waterfront hotel-owner (Marie Dressler) and her relationship with an area fisherman (Wallace Beery). The two are the guardians for a young girl (Dorothy Jordan) whose mother deserted her, but they lose custody of the girl to truant officers. The couple scrape up enough money to get the child back and into a boarding school, where she finds love with a wealthy young man (Donald Dillaway). Dressler won the Oscar for Best Actress in this 1930 film, the year's box-office breakthrough. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, (more)
- 1929
Intended as a follow-up to the fabulously successful Broadway Melody, Chasing Rainbows reunites several of the leading players of MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929. The story concerns a troupe of travelling entertainers, all of whom would like to escape their peripatetic existence but none of whom have the guts to do so. Song-and-dance man Terry (Charles King), the unofficial star of the troupe, is a swell-headed jerk, who ignores his ever-loving partner Carlie (Bessie Love) in favor of predatory leading lady Daphne (Nina Martan). He finally realizes what a fool he's been when Daphne walks out on the show and faithful Carlie takes her place. Marie Dressler and Polly Moran provide their usual comedy relief (including the by-now-obligatory drunk scene), while Jack Benny is surprisingly cast in a dramatic role as the troupe's master of ceremonies. Even so, Benny rises to the occasion whenever a laugh is called for: Playing for time when Daphne storms out of the show, he turns to the audience and quips "Sorry, folks, but the leading lady broke her leg and we had to shoot her." Of the songs heard in Chasing Rainbows, the most memorable is "Happy Days are Here Again," which two years later was selected as the signature tune for Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential campaign. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bessie Love, Jack Benny, (more)
- 1929
In his movie debut, Rudy Valley portrays the crooning saxophone player who falls in love with a beautiful young woman. Classic romantic tale is fun with Marie Dressler outstanding in her role as the wealthy eccentric. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rudy Vallee, Sally Blane, (more)
- 1929
Frank Lloyd both produced and directed The Divine Lady, a Hollywood slant on the 19th century romance of Lord Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton. American film star Corinne Griffith, decked out in a blonde wig, is decorative but otherwise unconvincing as Lady Emma, while Hungarian-born Victor Varconi brings an inappropriate continental air to the veddy British Lord Nelson. Both stars found themselves playing second fiddle to Marie Dressler, mugging to her heart's content as Lady Emma's ambitious mother. The scandal surrounding the leading characters' illicit affair is secondary to the film's exciting reconstructions of Nelson's celebrated sea battles. Technically a silent, Divine Lady was released with a Vitaphone musical score and sound effects. Lost in the shuffle during the switch over to talkies in 1929, Divine Lady is forgotten today, totally eclipsed by the immensely successful 1941 film Lady Hamilton, starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corinne Griffith, Victor Varconi, (more)
- 1928
George McManus' long-running domestic comic strip Bringing Up Father was brought to the screen by William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Pictures. Reportedly, Hearst had approached vaudeville's Three Keatons (Joe, Myra and young Buster) to star in this project back in 1916, but Joe Keaton hated films and turned the newspaper mogul down flat. This 1928 film stars J. Farrell McDonald and Polly Moran as nouveau riche Irish-Americans Jiggs and Maggie, with Gertrude Olmstead as their pretty daughter Ellen. Despite his wealth, Jiggs prefers keeping company with his old drinking buddies at the greasy-spoon emporium owned by Dinty Moore (Jules Cowles), but social-climbing Maggie has loftier ambitions, among them a wealthy marriage between Ellen and a hand-kissing Count (Andres de Segurola). With Jiggs' covert help, Ellen is able to spend her time with her true love Dennis (Grant Withers), leading to a wealth of farcical complications. The magnificent Marie Dressler is wasted in the comparatively minor role of Dinty Moore's wife Annie, a role created solely for the purpose of reteaming Dressler with her Callahans and the Murphys cohort Polly Moran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Farrell MacDonald, Jules Cowles, (more)
- 1928
Next to Show People, The Patsy may well be Marion Davies' best silent vehicle. Based on a hit Broadway play, this modern Cinderella story casts Davies as Patsy Harrington, the drudge of her social-climbing family. Secretly in love with Tony Anderson (Orville Caldwell), the boyfriend of her irresponsible but irresistible sister Grace (Jane Winton), Patsy yearns to be a "personality girl." Rather than cultivate her looks, she decides to become the "intellectual" of her family, which outrages her mother (Marie Dressler) who believes that beauty and brains don't mix. Meanwhile, the fickle Grace begins cheating on Tony with a millionaire named Bill (Lawrence Gray). For Tony's sake, the "new" Patsy throws herself at Grace's new beau, hoping to break up the romance. The whole affair ends, predictably but hilariously with Tony falling in love with Patsy! Best scene: sitting by a mirror, Davies impersonates Lillian Gish, Mae Murray and Pola Negri -- which reportedly infuriated Murray and Negri but delighted Gish. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Davies, Orville Caldwell, (more)
- 1927
Breakfast at Sunrise was the penultimate movie vehicle for Constance Talmadge, who retired when talkies came in two years later. Dressed up like a million dollars, Talmadge is cast as wealthy and spoiled Parisian lass Madeline, who decides to make her equally wealthy lover, the Marquis (Bryant Washburn), jealous. Thus, she marries the poverty-stricken Lussan (Don Alvarado), who agrees to the union to spite his sweetheart Georgianna (Paulette Duval). Unfortunately, neither Madeline nor Lussan counted on falling in love with each other -- but that's just what happens. Director Mal St. Clair, perhaps the best of the Lubitsch imitators, manages to extract much from little, with no small assistance from supporting actress Marie Dressler, cast as a worldly-wise queen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Talmadge, Alice White, (more)
- 1927
This playful Allan Dwan effort stars Olive Borden as impulsive flapper Jewel Courage, who dumps the man she loves, a humble chauffeur (Jimmy Grainger Jr.) in favor of millionaire John Jeffrey Fleet (Neil Hamilton). Jewel soon discovers that Fleet is actually the chauffeur and her ex-beau is the millionaire; the two merely traded places for a lark. Briefly taken aback, Jewel decides to prove that she, too, can changes her spots, and before long she has become a wealthy Bodaceia of Big Business. Stills from The Joy Girl suggest that the film's principal selling angle was the stunning beauty of Olive Borden, who appeared in a variety of revealing outfits. A lengthy Technicolor sequence allowed the viewer several tantalizing glimpses of Palm Beach, Florida, vintage 1927. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olive Borden, Neil Hamilton, (more)
- 1927
Based on a novel by Kathleen Morris, The Callahans and the Murphys was the first of several MGM films costarring veteran comediennes Marie Dressler and Polly Moran. These formidable ladies are cast as Mrs. Callahan and Mrs. Murphy, feuding tenement housewives who spend most of their time keeping their multitudes of children under control. Polly's son Dan (Lawrence Gray) falls in love with with Marie's daughter Eileen (Sally O'Neill). Dan falls into a bad crowd and disappears, leaving Eileen and with a baby on the way. Mrs. Callahan tries to save her daughter's reputation by adopting the baby, but finds to her delight that the kid was "legit" all along. The film is highlighted by the drunken antics of its two female stars: in one scene, while downing bottle after bottle of beer ("This stuff makes me see double and feel single!"), Marie and Polly begin pouring the brew down each other's blouses. So raunchy were the antics of Dressler and Moran that The Callahans and the Murphys was withdrawn from distribution after protests were lodged by various Irish-American organizations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Dressler, Polly Moran, (more)
