Jean Arthur Movies
The daughter of a commercial artist, Jean Arthur became a model early in life, then went on to work in films. Whatever self-confidence she may have built up was dashed when she was removed from the starring role of Temple of Venus (1923) after a few days of shooting. It was the first of many disappointments for the young actress, but she persevered and, by 1928, was being given co-starring roles at Paramount Pictures. Arthur's curious voice, best described as possessing a lilting crack, ensured her work in talkies, but she was seldom used to full advantage in the early '30s. Dissatisfied with the vapid ingenue, society debutante, and damsel-in-distress parts she was getting (though she was chillingly effective as a murderess in 1930's The Greene Murder Case), Arthur left films for Broadway in 1932 to appear in Foreign Affairs. In 1934, she signed with Columbia Pictures, where, at long last, her gift for combining fast-paced verbal comedy with truly moving pathos was fully utilized. She was lucky enough to work with some of the most accomplished directors in Hollywood: Frank Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town [1936], You Can't Take It With You [1938], Mr. Smith Goes to Washington [1939]); John Ford (The Whole Town's Talking [1935]); and Howard Hawks (Only Angels Have Wings [1937]). Mercurial in her attitudes, terribly nervous both before and after filming a scene -- she often threw up after her scene was finished -- and so painfully shy that it was sometimes difficult for her to show up, she was equally fortunate that her co-workers were patient and understanding with her .Arthur could become hysterical when besieged by fans, and aloof and nonresponsive to reporters. In 1943, she received her only Oscar nomination for The More the Merrier (1943), the second of her two great '40s films directed by George Stevens (Talk of the Town [1942] was the first). After her contract with Columbia ended, she tried and failed to become her own producer. She signed to star in the 1946 Broadway play Born Yesterday -- only to succumb to a debilitating case of stage fright, forcing the producers to replace her at virtually the last moment with Judy Holliday. After the forgettable comedy The Impatient Years in 1944, Arthur made only two more films: Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), and George Stevens' classic Shane (1952). She also played the lead in Leonard Bernstein's 1950 musical version of Peter Pan, which co-starred Boris Karloff as Captain Hook. In the early '60s, the extremely reclusive Arthur tentatively returned to show business with a few stage appearances and as an attorney on ill-advised 1966 TV sitcom, The Jean Arthur Show, which was mercifully canceled by mid-season. Surprisingly, the ultra-introverted Arthur later decided to tackle the extroverted profession of teaching drama, first at Vassar College and then the North Carolina School of the Arts; one of her students at North Carolina remembered Arthur as "odd" and her lectures as somewhat whimsical and rambling. Retiring for good in 1972, she retreated to her ocean home in Carmel, CA, steadfastly refusing interviews until her resistance was broken down by the author of a book on her one-time director Frank Capra. She died in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1923
The director formerly known as Sean O'Feeney is billed as John Ford for the first time here, and he helps make this one of John Gilbert's best pre-MGM features. Cameo Kirby (John Gilbert), once a man of high social standing, has become a professional gambler and works the Mississippi riverboats of the 1800's. An old man (William E. Lawrence) is being cheated in a crooked card game, and Kirby gets involved in the play, with the intention of giving the man his money back. Unaware of Kirby's plans, the old man commits suicide. It turns out that Kirby's sweetheart (Gertrude Olmstead) is the man's daughter. But in spite of the tragedy, she comes to understand Kirby's altruistic motives. Based on a story by Booth Tarkington, the melodrama is offset by solid performances and an exciting paddle-wheeler river race (a bit of action that one would expect from John Ford). An 18-year-old Jean Arthur made her movie debut in this film as a bit player. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1924
Silent B-Western star Jack Perrin was adorned with not one but two beautiful leading ladies -- Jean Arthur and Peggy O'Day -- in this obscure oater released by poverty row company Anchor. Perrin played Ranger Jack Foster, on the trail of evil Red Sampson (Lew Meehan), the villain who murdered an old prospector (John Pringle). Along the way, Perrin liberates "bandit queen" Ora Perdue (O'Day) and falls in love with the murder victim's daughter, Betty (Arthur, in one of her first films). Slightly ungainly and obviously battling a weight problem, Perrin was nevertheless a charming performer when given the right material and actually one of the era's better also-ran cowboy stars. Travelin' Fast was produced and directed by the one-legged and notoriously careless Robert J. Horner. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1924
This minor silent Western from small-time Approved Pictures was Jean Arthur's fourth film and the second of 10 program Westerns she would make while still an unknown brunette starlet. The film starred Buddy Roosevelt, a minor cowboy lead who enjoyed a brief popularity in the hinterlands. Roosevelt plays Buddy Walters (he was always "Buddy" something or other), a cowboy falsely accused of a crime actually committed by nasty Al Richmond. Providing a few moments of love interest, Jean Arthur managed to stay reasonably out of the fray. The director of this film, Reginald Barker, had helmed some of William S. Hart's earliest successes. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buddy Roosevelt, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1924
If this rather ordinary Western picture stood out from the pack it was because of the name of its star, Buffalo Bill Jr. Not that the actor was related in any way to the actual Buffalo Bill Cody. In fact, his real name was Jay Wilsey. But Wilsey's stage name -- given to him by producer Lester F. Scott -- certainly had some box-office value, and his pictures had enough action to keep people from mulling over the ruse. This feature was Wilsey's second and is graced with the presence of a very young Jean Arthur. Pedro Gomez (George Magrill) is the leader of a group of bandits who are terrorizing a border town. Sheriff Hawkins (Victor Allen) organizes a posse to deal with the bad guys, but Lightning Bill Lewis (Buffalo Bill Jr.) goes off on his own and discovers the bandit's lair. Gomez returns to town with a plan to kidnap Mary Brown (Arthur), the daughter of Judge Brown (William Turner) and Lewis' fiancée. Lewis stops him, but Gomez's pals help him escape. Lewis helps Captain Duerta of the Mexican Rurales (Julian Rivero) scare the bandits off. With the help of a group of Rurales, Gomez and his men are brought to justice, and Lewis is free to wed Mary. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Serious-looking, silent-screen cowboy Bob Custer co-starred with a very young, brunette Jean Arthur in this middling oater produced by the B-Western mill FBO. While romancing the millinery store owner (Arthur), Custer finds himself falsely accused of murdering his boss and is soon fleeing from a vicious lynch mob. Prolific screenwriter George Hively concocted this not-too-taxing story, which, not unexpectedly, climaxed in a scene where Custer captures the real killer (the typically ruthless Buck Moulton). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1925
In the more naive times of the 1920s (at least when it came to narcotics), drug store cowboys had nothing to do with drugs. Instead, this comedy-melodrama focuses on Marmaduke Grandon (Franklin Farnum), who's a drug store clerk with aspirations to be a movie star. He gets his chance when an actor suddenly dies and he is asked to take the man's place. Grandon's role is the villain in a Western, but on his way to the set he runs afoul of a real bad guy, Gentleman Jack (Robert Walker), who insists on changing clothes with him. So Grandon finds himself on the run from the law, while Jack takes his place in the film. Grandon keeps showing up on the set, attempting to save the leading lady (a very young Jean Arthur) from Jack, and ruining the takes. He turns out to be a hero when Jack uses one of the film's scenes to rob a bank for real. Grandon captures him, and their identities are finally revealed. He finally gets his acting role, and wins the leading lady as well. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1925
Returning to the homestead, lower-echelon cowboy star Bill Cody finds the place taken over by cattle rustlers, one of whom (George Magrill) is a boyhood pal. The man reforms on his deathbed, however, giving Cody enough ammunition to bring the gang to justice. Independent producer Jesse J. Goldburg had the foresight to hire a very young Jean Arthur to play Cody's love interest. Not that Arthur differed all that much from the run-of-the-mill prairie flower at the time; a modest brunette years away from super-stardom, she was still known off-screen under her real name, Gladys Greene. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
Buster Keaton plays a young lawyer who will inherit $7 million at 7 o'clock on his 27th birthday--provided he is married. Long before discovering this, Keaton has pursued a lifelong courtship of Ruth Dwyer, whose refusals have become ritualistic over the years (the passage of time is amusingly conveyed by showing a puppy grow to adulthood). He proposes again, but this time she turns him down because she thinks (mistakenly) that he wants her only so that he can claim his inheritance. The doleful Keaton is thus obliged to spend the few hours left before the 7 PM deadline in search of a bride--any bride. He has no luck whatsoever until his pal T. Roy Barnes prints the story of Keaton's incoming legacy in the local newspaper. As a result, literally hundreds of women, bedecked in veils and bearing bouquets, chase Keaton through the busy streets of Los Angeles. When Keaton's producer Joseph M. Schenck bought the film rights to the Roi Cooper Megrue stage play Seven Chances, Keaton opted to forego most of the play's plot complications, devoting his energies to the bride-hunting vignettes and the climactic slapstick chase. The final scenes originally laid an egg with preview audiences--until the sequence was saved by "three little rocks." During the closing moments of the chase, Buster accidentally dislodged three small stones in the ground, which rolled after him as he escaped the thundering herd of would-be brides. The audience laughed immoderately at the tiny rocks, thereby inspiring Keaton to reshoot the ending, utilizing scores of huge, rolling boulders. The extra effort worked beautifully; while not his best silent feature, Seven Chances contains one of Keaton's most hilarious finales. Watch for Jean Arthur in a bit as a receptionist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton, Ruth Dwyer, (more)
- 1926
Although she did her fair share of low-budget Westerns prior to major stardom, this film, from poverty row studio Goodwill, remains Jean Arthur's most obscure. She played Marie, a pretty sagebrush lass, and had little to do in the film other than admire leading man William Norton Bailey's heroics. The latter, playing rancher Lightning Bill Williams, loses his nerve after a fall from a cliff and is taken advantage of by a couple of swindlers. Oil is found on Bill's land and a loyal ranch hand (Jack Henderson) hypnotizes Bill back into action. The villains (Charles Meakin and Tom Shirley) are defeated, and Bill and Marie can plan a rosy future together. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
A typically streamlined silent action melodrama from poverty row company FBO, The Cowboy Cop starred Tom Tyler and a very young Jean Arthur. Tyler played Jerry McGill, an Arizona cowpuncher joining the Los Angeles police force. In his capacity as an officer of the law, McGill comes to the aid of pretty Virginia Selby (Arthur), who has been kidnapped by would-be robber Count Mirski (Irvin Renard). With assistance from newsboy Frankie (Frankie Darro) and Beans the dog, McGill takes up the pursuit, rescuing the damsel from her vile abductor in the nick of time. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Despite a lackluster budget (furnished by Gower Gulch entrepreneur J. Charles Davis), hit-or-miss direction (Clifford Elfelt), and a leading man whose resemblance to silent-screen comic Larry Semon definitely worked against him, Under Fire managed to entertain its target audience of mostly children. Bill Patton starred as an officer falsely accused of cowardice and discharged from the cavalry. Adrift, our hero hooks up with an old prospector, falls for the old man's daughter (Jean Arthur) and manages to redeem himself by saving the fort from an impending Indian attack. For budgetary reasons, most of the Indian action took place off-screen, and a very young brunette Jean Arthur looked rather uncomfortable in her few clinches with the awkward Patton. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Patton, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1926
Veteran Western bad boy Hank Bell played a rare good guy in this otherwise routine silent oater from assembly-line studio Action Pictures. Wally Wales starred as a timid bank clerk who toughens up during the search for a gang of bank robbers. A young brunette Jean Arthur furnished the romantic interest, while Bell, handlebar moustache and all, appeared as an undercover bank investigator who assists Wales in the capture of gang leader Charles "Slim" Whitaker. Future Warner chorine Toby Wing made an early appearance as Arthur's young sister. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
A very young brunette Jean Arthur provided romantic interest in this otherwise average low-budget Western from Lester F. Scott, Jr.'s Action Pictures stable. Wally Wales starred as a drifter who befriends wounded outlaw Ted Rackerby. Having promised to deliver a sack of gold to the man's family, Wales promptly falls for the daughter of the house (Arthur). The rest of the outlaw gang is naturally upset over the change of events and attempts to recover their loot. Happily, a reformed Rackerby arrives just in time with the sheriff's posse. Producer Scott released scores of technically adequate and fairly streamlined little oaters geared to the hinterlands, most of them directed by the promising Richard Thorpe. Thorpe would become a house director at M-G-M in the sound era, working with nearly everyone on the lot, from Johnny Weissmuller to Elvis Presley. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1926
Ralph Lewis stars as "Jovial" Joe Ryan, an aging but still vital railroad engineer. Suffering from failing eyesight, Joe is victimized by Bert Allen (George Cheseboro), a younger man who covets both Joe's job and the old man's pretty daughter Grace (Jean Arthur). Reduced to working as a flagman thanks to Bert's chicanery, Joe devotes his spare time to developing a block signal, which will automatically stop a train in case of emergencies. As a result, Joe gets his old job back, his young rival is booted out, and Jean is able to marry the man of her dreams, bridge-builder Jack Milford (Hugh Allen). The Block Signal might be worth seeing if only to watch a very young Jean Arthur in one of her first major roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Lewis, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1927
Fading star Mae Busch and up-and-coming Jean Arthur play major roles in Husband Hunters. A variation of the old "Gold-Diggers of Broadway" formula, the story concerns the amorous exploits of chorus girls Marie (Busch) and Helen (Duane Thompson), who dedicate themselves to landing millionaire hubbies. The girls enlist innocent young Letty Crane (Jean Arthur), a small-town girl who hopes to make it big on Broadway, in their scheme. Sure enough, Letty's heart is broken by a no-good cad, but by fade-out time she is the only one of the three female protagonists who has found lasting romance. Mildred Harris, the former wife of Charlie Chaplin, appears in a supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mae Busch, Charles Delaney, (more)
- 1927
The Broken Gate was based on a novel by Emerson Hough, of Covered Wagon fame. Dorothy Phillips stars as Aurora Lane, who has never acknowledged the existence of her illegitimate son. Aurora's past catches up with her when her now-grown son (William Collier Jr.) is arrested and falsely charged with murder. The boy is saved from hanging at the last minute, but the local bluenoses and bigots insist upon driving Aurora out of town. Happily, the heroine is able to start life anew in a less-judgmental community with her now-forgiving son. Up-and-coming starlet Jean Arthur plays the nominal romantic lead opposite William Collier Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Phillips, William Collier, Jr., (more)
- 1927
Dapper, diminutive slapstick comedian Monty Banks spoofed the aviation-film cycle in Flying Luck. Most of the story deals with the comic conflict between hapless amateur flyboy Banks and tough army sergeant Kewpie Morgan (whose resemblance to Oliver Hardy was so pronounced that many film historians have assumed that he was Hardy). Having earned his aviation license via correspondence school, Banks has no concept of what it's really like to soar above the clouds -- but he soon finds out when he enters a flying contest. Performing daring (and impossible) aerial stunts, Banks manages to win an aerial polo game on behalf of the army, much to the delight of the previously antagonistic Morgan. The inconsequential heroine was played by Jean Arthur, just on the verge of bigger and better things. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Banks, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1927
Horse Shoes wasn't quite as spectacular as Monty Banks' previous comedy Play Safe, but it still packed plenty of laughs into its tight six reels. This time the dapper, diminutive Banks gets involved with the horsey set, leading to plenty of slapstick shenanigans at the racetrack. The story wraps up in a courtroom, with Banks performing some eye-popping athletics while pleading his case. An earlier sequence, in which Banks tries to sleep in an upper berth, only to find that his travelling companion is a strange young woman, was singled out for critical praise. Horse Shoes was directed by Clyde Bruckman, a frequent contributor to the films of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monty Banks, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1927
Based on the magazine story "Still Face" by pulp writer Clarence Buddington Kelland, The Masked Menace, released by the Pathé organization in ten chapters in October of 1927, proved a flop at the box office despite an unusual plot that had Keats Dodd (Larry Kent) coming to the aid of an elderly woman (Laura Alberta) and her pretty ward, Faith (Jean Arthur), whose mill is terrorized by a masked villain known only as "Still Face." The criminal's identity is finally revealed in the tenth chapter, entitled, not too surprisingly, "The Menace Unmasked." A very young and still brunette Jean Arthur had just been signed by Paramount when she appeared in this serial, which also featured Tom Holding, John F. Hamilton, William Norton Bailey, and Edward Roseman. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1927
The Poor Nut was based on a stage comedy by the father-and-son team of J. C. and Elliot Nugent. Jack Mulhall assumes the role played by Elliot Nugent on Broadway, that of wimpish college student John Miller. Suffering from an inferiority complex, Miller worships beauty-contest winner Julia (Jane Winton) from afar, writing letters boasting of his imaginary athletic prowess but never having the nerve to mail them to her. When one of his letters is sent to Julia by mistake, she shows up on campus to meet her "hero" John Miller -- who is now obliged to prove that he is, indeed, the super-athlete he claims to be by participating in a track meet. Through a series of flukes and coincidences, Miller ends up the hero of the hour, but in the fadeout it is local soda-shop clerk Margie (Jean Arthur), and not the vampish Julia, who is the beneficiary of our hero's hugs and kisses. The Poor Nut was remade in 1931 as the Joe E. Brown vehicle Local Boy Makes Good. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, Charlie Murray, (more)
- 1928
Richard Dix's star power goes a long way towards assuring the success of Easy Come, Easy Go. Dix plays radio announcer Robert Parker, working at a station run by his girlfriend's father. Becoming a bit overexcited on the air, our hero lets slip a few (fortuitously unheard) profanities. Fired from his job, Parker enters into an amusing series of misadventures with veteran bank robber Jim Bailey (Charles Sellon). Wide-eyed Nancy Carroll is delightful as ever as Dix's love interest. Easy Come, Easy Go was adapted from a play by the prolific Owen Davis Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Nancy Carroll, (more)
- 1928
Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, Warming Up is an early baseball film starring Richard Dix and Jean Arthur. After pitcher Bert Tolliver (Dix) is heckled by the members of a major-league team he's trying out for, he comes to believe that one of the players has hexed him. Luckily, a pretty girl named Mary (Arthur), who happens to be the daughter of the man who owns the Green Sox, discovers Bert at the local park, where he's amazing concession stand customers with his pitching accuracy. When it's time for the Green Sox to play the last game of the series, the team manager is forced by unforseen circumstances to let Bert pitch. As he faces the batter, Mary signals her love for him, in doing so giving Bert the inspiration he needed to end the jinx. Warming Up also features Claude King, Philo McCullough, and Billy Kent.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dix, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1928
Wallflowers was based on a novel by Temple Bailey. The central character, a scheming social climber played by Mabel Julienne Scott, intends to force her stepson Hugh Trevor into a marriage of convenience. But Trevor has developed a fondness for shy Jean Arthur, the "wallflower" of the title. How Arthur overcomes her shyness, and Trevor outmaneuvers his overbearing mother, was the dramatic crux of the film. Leading lady Jean Arthur was in 1928 shuttling from one inconsequential film to another; true stardom would not be bestowed upon her until the talkie era. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Trevor, Mabel Julienne Scott, (more)
- 1928
The great German actor Emil Jannings closed out the American phase of his film career with the Paramount part-talkie Sins of the Fathers. Jannings is cast as Wilhelm Spangler, who works as a head waiter to provide for his pregnant wife (ZaSu Pitts). As their family grows and grows, Spangler becomes more and more successful in his chosen profession, eventually putting enough money together to buy his own restaurant. The now-prosperous Spangler begins playing the filed with other women, including temptress Gretta (Ruth Chatterton). Upon learning about her husband's infidelities, Mother Spangler goes into a catatonic shock, which eventually leads to her death. With no "guiding force" at home, Spangler embarks upon a life of crime as a Prohibition bootlegger. The sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons at last when Spangler's beloved son Tom (Barry Norton) is blinded after drinking some of his dad's bootleg hootch. Later on, Spangler is thrown in jail, prompting the far-from-faithful Gretta to walk out on him. After serving his term, Spangler starts life all over again from the bottom as a waiter. An unhappy ending is averted when Spangler is tearfully reunited with son Tom, whose sight has been restored. Outside of a bizarre sequence in which Emil Jannings sings in a whiskey baritone, Sins of the Fathers was distinguished by the presence of Ruth Chatterton, whose first film this was. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emil Jannings, ZaSu Pitts, (more)
