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
A streamlined, fast-paced silent B-Western, this Tom Tyler vehicle was one of several oaters featuring a very young, still brunette, Jean Arthur. She plays Eunice Morgan, the daughter of a businessman (Fred Gambold) who loses his Western ranch to an unscrupulous employer (LeRoy Mason). Unbeknownst to Morgan, there is oil on the property and it is up to ranch foreman Tyler to catch the villain before he can get the deed notarized. The stalwart Tyler does just that and wins the love of Arthur in return. Tyler's usual sidekick, juvenile actor Frankie Darro, was joined by Buck Black, a toothy ten-year old who had played a young Theodore Roosevelt in Lights of Old Broadway (1925). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- 1935
The film that revived Edward G. Robinson's career after a string of flops, along with A Slight Case of Murder (1938), it was one of the few comedies on his lengthy list of credits. The gangster-comedy was unusual in the composition of its writing staff, which included frequent Frank Capra collaborators Robert Riskin and Jo Swerling, as well as tough-guy scribe W.R. Burnett, who wrote Little Caesar (1931) and High Sierra (1941). The plot centers on the confusion surrounding the uncanny resemblance of a mild-mannered advertising clerk, Arthur Jones (Robinson), to escaped convict "Killer" Mannion. After the police mistakenly arrest the clerk, they give him a passport to avoid repeating the error. As a novelty, newspaper man Healy (Wallace Ford) hires the clerk, an aspiring writer, to do a series on his impressions of Mannion. But later, the convict appears at Jones' apartment and demands the passport for his own protection, threatening the fearful clerk if he reveals anything about his visit. The criminal also orders Jones to write the series of articles based on his reminiscences, which alerts the police that something strange is going on. Although the district attorney finally places Jones in jail under protective custody, for his safety, Mannion switches places with him in order to kill another inmate. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward G. Robinson, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1935
In one of his few movie leading roles, Victor Jory plays an unmarried small-town creamery owner. Jory falls in love with Jean Arthur, daughter of the town's favorite citizen (Charley Grapewin). Jean's former boy friend disconsolately leaves town, leaving behind an unbalanced church budget which the girl must pay out of her own pocket. She phones her ex-sweetheart and complains about "the mess" he's left her in--whereupon a snoopy neighbor, listening in on the town's party line, spreads the rumor than Jean is "in the family way." The angry Jory fires all his workers in retaliation for the malicious gossip, and is nearly run out of town before the citizens realize that they themselves are responsible for all the trouble. Party Wire is a surprisingly frank assessment of small-town mentality--surprising in that the target audience for this sort of "B" film in 1935 was the rural and middle-class moviegoer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, Victor Jory, (more)
- 1934
No relation to the 1949 20th Century-Fox melodrama of the same name, Columbia's 1934 Whirlpool stars Jack Holt as a shifty carnival promoter. He is incarcerated for a major crime just after learning that his wife is pregnant. Released after twenty years behind bars, Holt is anxious to make contact with his daughter (Jean Arthur), who knows nothing of his existence. This benighted reunion leads to tragedy for Holt, which he shoulders manfully (no one ever caught Jack Holt crying, no sir). Jean Arthur gave her best performance to date in Whirlpool, though her gift for comedy would remain untapped for a few years more. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1934
An impoverished waitress marries a rich college boy against the wishes of his parents. Shortly after bearing his son, the family begins pushing her out of the family, separating her from her son. Two decades later, the woman is a charwoman who scrubs the floors of her husband's alma mater. It is there that she encounters a handsome young college student who shares with her his romantic travails. It seems his father is pressuring him to dump his impoverished girl friend. Realizing that the distraught boy is her son, the woman selflessly offers him sage advice without revealing her identity. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, Donald Cook, (more)
- 1934
A sleazy lawyer is the focus of this courtroom drama. His favorite technique is to teach his female clients how to use their bodies provocatively in court to sway the jury. Without a doubt, his methods are successful. Unfortunately, his female assistant is offended by the tactics and threatens to expose him. Instead she falls in love with him. She uses her own feminine wiles to get him to stop it. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Holt, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1933
A former opera star loses her voice, her career evaporates, and she takes to drinking heavily and blaming her son for her situation. In order to get revenge on her son, and to get her name back in the newspapers to try to resurrect her career, she tells the authorities that her son is responsible for the murder of a local playboy. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen MacKellar, Eric Linden, (more)
- 1931
In this comedy, a bumbling rube from a small town manages to get involved in a gang war. The trouble really begins when one mob boss orders him to kidnap a young woman. The naive simpleton protests, telling him that he cannot because it is against the law. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Oakie, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1931
In this courtroom drama, a lawyer defends his sister's fiance after he is accused of murder. The lawyer knows his client is guilty, and that another man, a sailor, also accused of the crime because he gambled away his gun, which became the murder weapon, but he must honor the confidentiality between he and his client. The sailor is given the death sentence. Just before he is to die, the lawyer's client comes forward and tells the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Brook, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1931
Virtuous Husband was adapted from Apron Strings, a play by Dorrance Davis. Though his mother has been dead several years, wealthy young Daniel Curtis (Elliot Nugent) has never been able to cut himself loose from her smothering influence. Even when he marries the lovely Barbara Otwell (Jean Arthur), Daniel bases all his decisions upon letters left behind by his late mother. One of the missives even offers advice as to how to successfully orchestrate the couple's honeymoon night! Only when Barbara rears up and destroys the letters does Daniel learn to stand on his own two feet. Reportedly, Elliot Nugent had been violently opposed to playing the part of namby-pamby Daniel, but upon being forced to do so, admitted "it didn't kill me." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Nugent, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1931
Any movie that teams Robert Armstrong with Jean Arthur is certainly worth at least one look. Armstrong plays Chester Binney, a small-town rube who hopes to impress local beauty Ethel Simmons (Arthur). Aware that Ethel is ga-ga about "men of the world," Chester invents a shady past for himself and poses as a citified roue. He is forced to prove the veracity of his fabricated past when movie queen Letta Lardo (Lola Lane) shows up in town for a location shoot. Our hero is rescued from making a total fool of himself when it turns out that his rival (Jason Robards Sr.) for Ethel's affections turns out to be an even bigger phoney-baloney than he is. Ex-Bad Boy is based on John Emerson and Anita Loos' stage play The Whole Town's Talking (which ironically served as the title for an unrelated 1935 film, likewise co-starring Jean Arthur). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Armstrong, Jean Arthur, (more)
A somewhat primitive early talkie version of Rex Beach's lusty 1909 novel of Alaska salmon fishers, RKO's The Silver Horde was one of Joel McCrea's earliest breaks. Although third-billed to the more established Evelyn Brent and character star Louis Wolheim, McCrea played the leading role of Boyd Emerson, an adventurer finding himself stranded in the Alaskan wilderness along with sidekick Fraser (Raymond Hatton). Saloon hostess turned copper mine proprietress Cherry Malotte (Brent) falls in love with the newcomer and persuades business associate Tom Hilliard (William Davidson) to bankroll a salmon fishing operation for Emerson and the brutish-looking but lovable Balt (Wolheim). Emerson, however, is in love with Seattle debutante Mildred Wayland (Jean Arthur), whose snobbish father (Purnell Pratt) schemes with salmon industry magnate Frederick Marsh (Gavin Gordon) to sabotage the new endeavor. The rival fishing fleets meet in hand-to-hand battle for superiority with the Emerson-Balt crew emerging the winners. In retaliation, Marsh attempts to slander Cherry Malotte, but is killed by an out-of-control Balt. A major star of the late silent era, Evelyn Brent is struggling to convey her trademark toughness before the microphone, but McCrea makes a stalwart hero and Louis Wolheim is watchable doing almost anything. Jean Arthur is merely window dressing this early in her career, but Blanche Sweet, an icon of the early silent era, is completely wasted in a bit part as the villain's former girlfriend. It became her final screen appearance. The Silver Horde had been filmed once before, by Goldwyn in 1916 starring Myrtle Steadman as Cherry and Curtis Cooksey as Emerson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Sweet, Evelyn Brent, (more)
- 1930
This fact-based drama chronicles the events that led to the murder of a notorious gambler. The story begins when a young cardsharp goes to see his brother, whom he believes is a stockbroker. In reality, the brother is a famed gambler who is trying to quit and try to rebuild his marriage. When the professional gambler sees that his card-playing sibling is preparing to make the same mistakes he did, he decides to risk his life and gamble one more time to teach him an unforgettable lesson. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1930
In his pre-Charlie Chan days, Warner Oland returned as Dr. Fu Manchu for this sequel to The Mysterious Doctor Fu Manchu (1939). Supposedly the victim of a suicide at the end of the first film, Fu Manchu has actually injected himself with a toxin that will make him only appear dead. Escaping through a trap door in his coffin, Fu Manchu travels to England to seek revenge on the two men he holds responsible for the deaths of his wife and child: Dr. Jack Petrie (Neil Hamilton) and Inspector Nayland Smith (O.P. Heggie). A murderous game of cat and mouse ensues. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Neil Hamilton, (more)
- 1930
Considered the best of the all-star "studio" musicals of 1929 and 1930, Paramount on Parade utilized the talents of practically everyone on the Paramount Pictures payroll. Under the supervision of British musical-comedy favorite Elsie Janis, 11 top directors contributed to the project: Dorothy Arzner, Otto Brower, Edmund Goulding, Victor Heerman, Edwin H. Knopf, Rowland V. Lee, Ernst Lubitsch, Lothar Mendes, Victor Schertzinger, Edward Sutherland and Frank Tuttle. Introduced by masters of ceremonies Jack Oakie, Skeets Gallegher and Leon Errol, the film is a vaudeville-like maelstrom of musical duets, comedy sketches, occasional dramatic interludes, and spectacular production numbers. To mention all the highlights would take a book in itself but among them are Nancy Carroll's rendition of "Dancing to Save Your Sole" (performed inside a giant shoe!); Maurice Chevalier (and chorus) soaring heavenward in "Sweeping the Clouds Away" ; child actress Mitzi Green's dead-on impersonations of Chevalier, George Arliss, Moran & Mack and Helen "Boop-a-doop" Kane; Ernst Lubitsch's witty staging of an Apache dance in the style of a polite boudoir farce, with Chevalier (again) and Evelyn Brent; Clara Bow's saucy "I'm True to the Navy Now" ; the wish-fulfillment sketch "Impulses," in which George Bancroft and Kay Francis delightedly upset a dinner party by saying what's really on their minds; and best of all, "Murder Will Out," a murder-mystery parody wherein Fu Manchu (Warner Oland) bumps off Sherlock Holmes (Clive Brook) and Philo Vance (William Powell) when they refuse to give him proper credit for his killing of Jack Oakie. Only the dramatic sketch with Frederic March and Ruth Chatterton truly creaks when seen today. Originally released at 102 minutes, Paramount on Parade is presently available only in an 80-minute version, with all its Technicolor sequences missing: casualties include the elaborate "Drink to the Girl of My Dreams" number, directed by Edmund Goulding and featuring Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur and Fay Wray, and Harry Green's dialect song "Isadore the Toreodor". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Chevalier, Richard Arlen, (more)
- 1930
In this drama, an older railroad supervisor is engaged to a lovely young woman. Unfortunately, she falls in love with the handsome hobo her husband befriended and employed as an engineer. A rivalry ensues, but when a life is endangered the two team up and save the day. The film may be most interesting for its detailed look into the railroads of the past. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Wolheim, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1930
Aerial photography highlights this early sound actioner, set during World War I. Lt. Robert Banks (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), an American flier on leave in Paris, meets fellow American Mary Gordon (Jean Arthur) and the two fall in love. In combat, Banks makes a captive of Von Baden (Paul Lukas), the notorious "Grey Eagle." He brings Von Baden to Army headquarters, but there he is drugged by Mary, and she and Von Baden disappear. Eventually Banks discovers that Mary is an American counterintelligence agent, on a mission from the government. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1929
Clara Bow and her sister Jean Arthur are wisecracking department store employees with ever-roaming eyes for eligible bachelors--particularly those with fat bank accounts. Both girls fall for the same wealthy man (James Hall) but Bow temporarily loses out to Arthur, who is just a tad craftier and a whole lot nastier. On the occasion of a wild costume party, the truth of Arthur's gold-digging duplicity comes out, and true-blue Bow wins the hero. Saturday Night Kid is a remake of the 1926 silent film Love 'Em and Leave 'Em, in which the female leads were played by Evelyn Brent and Louise Brooks. Both films were based on a stage play by George Abbott--which, in turn, was adapted from a verse novel by Townsend Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clara Bow, James Hall, (more)
- 1929
In this murder mystery, set in a carnival, a performer loses her boyfriend, a trapeze artist, when his partner "accidently" misses him during an aerial act. The young woman knows full well that the jealous partner deliberately missed him, but she is afraid so she jumps aboard a train and flees from the carnival. On board she meets a man with whom she becomes good friends. She does not know that he too, is an aerialist en route to her former carnival where he is to replace her lover. She returns with him, and together they expose the murderer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Arthur, Paul Lukas, (more)
- 1929
Warner Oland makes the first of four screen appearances as Sax Rohmer's insidious oriental Dr. Fu Manchu.The film makes an effort to explain Fu's hatred of all whites by showing the death of the Doctor's family during the Boxer Rebellion. Twenty years later, Fu Manchu is a full-blooded villain, using a hypnotized Jean Arthur to help wipe out the British family Fu holds responsible for the deaths of his loved ones. But when Arthur falls in love with potential victim Neil Hamilton, Dr. Fu is forced to add her to his death-list. Weakened only by the excessive "silly-ass Englishman" comedy relief of William Austin, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a rapid-fire adventure devoid of early-talkie clumsiness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warner Oland, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1929
The gruff but lovable Wallace Beery starred in this Zane Grey adaptation from Paramount. He plays the prototype outlaw with a Heart of Gold, sacrificing his own life for the happiness of two young people in love. The young lovers were played by relative newcomers Jean Arthur and Phillips Holmes. Arthur had been spotted by Paramount while working in Grade-"Z" independent westerns and as a co-ed in The Poor Nut (1927). She was to enjoy a legendary career as a sophisticated comedienne, but the Jean Arthur of Stairs of Sand was still the squirrel-like little brunette who had decorated obscure westerns such as Drugstore Cowboy (1925) and Tearin' Loose (1926). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Jean Arthur, (more)
- 1929
This early talkie is the film that destroyed the career of popular silent leading lady Louise Brooks. A detective story, it centers upon a conniving "canary" (a nightclub singer) who takes on wealthy lovers and then blackmails them into giving her money. If they don't cooperate, she will tell their wives and ruin their lives. It all unravels when she falls in love with a handsome young man and accepts his marriage proposal. She goes to each of her lovers and demands they each make one final large payment. She is found dead the next day and her fiancé is blamed until ultra-suave gumshoe Philo Vance shows up and proves his innocence. Originally, the film was made without sound. Later when Paramount decided to dub in voices, it recalled all of the actors, including Brooks, who was in Europe working with filmmaker Pabst. Brooks disdained talkies and refused to participate. This was a serious breach of contract, and she was released. Margaret Livingston ended up dubbing her voice for Brooks' role. Though later Brooks returned to Hollywood, she was relegated to appearing in low-budget Westerns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, James Hall, (more)
- 1929
In this early "talkie," William Powell stars as sophisticated detective Philo Vance, who is brought in to investigate the killing of multi-millionaire Tobias Greene. Vance brings together a handful of likely suspects, but it soon becomes apparent he hasn't found the guilty party when all nine of the possible candidates also wind up dead. Vance starts taking a closer look at Greene's mourning family -- as well as the circumstances under which he earned his fortune. Based on the novel by S.S. Van Dine's novel, The Greene Murder Case also stars Jean Arthur, Florence Eldridge, and Ullrich Haupt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Florence Eldridge, (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)
