Gladys George Movies
The daughter of a British Shakespearean actor, Gladys George was born while her parents' touring stock company was playing an engagement in Patten, Maine. On stage from age three, Gladys toured with her parents in a vaudeville act called The Three Clares. She won her first Broadway role in the 1914 production The Betrothal. Six years later she tried to launch a film career in Red Hot Dollars (1920), but her incipient stardom was halted when she was severely burned in an accident. She went back into stock, returning to Broadway in the early 1930s through the influence of her wealthy second husband Edward H. Fowler. Screen-tested by Paramount in 1934, George was signed by MGM instead; ironically, it was while on loan-out to Paramount that she scored her biggest film hit, 1936's Valiant is the Word for Carrie. For the next several years, George alternated between "weepers" and truculent roles in films: the title role in Madame X (1937), Madame DuBarry in Marie Antoinette (1938), the Texas Guinan counterpart in The Roaring Twenties (1939), and the unfaithful Iva Archer in The Maltese Falcon (1941). She didn't really like Hollywood much, but the money was better than on Broadway. She essayed character parts in her last years in Hollywood, culminating with a good comedy role in It Happens Every Thursday (1953) and a smattering of television. Gladys George's relatively early death may have been the result of a barbiturate overdose, though she'd been suffering from throat cancer for quite some time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1939
In this drama, a miserable wife takes her son and leaves her alcoholic spouse. She ends up traveling to England to begin her new life. There she meets a wealthy Englishman whom she weds. Time passes. The boy grows up and want to return to the States to go to his father's alma mater. Because his father was an athletic hero at the school, he is fondly remembered. The curious boy, hearing all the accolades for his dad, begins looking for him. He finds his estranged father, renews their relationship, and helps his father sober up and begin leading a more productive life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Greene, Richard Dix, (more)
M.G.M.'s opulent costume drama Marie Antoinette marked a return to the screen after a two-year absence for reigning Queen of M.G.M. Norma Shearer. Shearer plays the title role of an Austrian princess who is married off to Louis Auguste (Robert Morley), the Dauphin of France. Marie, by becoming the Dauphine, finds herself plopped smack in the middle of French palace intrigue between Louis's father King Louis XV (John Barrymore) and his scheming cousin, the Duke of Orleans (Joseph Schildkraut). With Louis unable to consummate his marriage to Marie, she takes to holding elaborate parties and gambling her fortune away. In a casino, she meets the handsome Count Axel de Fersen (Tyrone Power) and they have an affair. But when Louis XV dies and Louis becomes King Louis XVI, Fersen takes his leave, telling her that he could carry on an affair with a dauphine but not the Queen of France. Marie vows to be a great queen and remain loyal to her king. But the Duke of Orleans is plotting against Louis XVI, financing the revolutionary radicals. When the monarchy is overthrown, Louis and Marie are thrown into prison, awaiting execution. But when word gets back to Fersen, he travels back to France in an attempt to rescue Marie. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Tyrone Power, (more)
- 1938
Love may be a headache, but without it, how would MGM programmers like this one ever have been made? Franchot Tone is cast as Winchellesque radio commentator Peter Lawrence, who becomes the unexpected savior of fading Broadway favorite Carlotta Lee (Gladys George). Suffering from a string of bad plays, Carlotta is vaunted back to public favor when she decides to adopt two orphans (Mickey Rooney and Virginia Weidler), a bit of "heart interest" exploited by the fast-talking Lawrence. Trouble is, Carlotta can't stand children and has only adopted the tykes for publicity purposes. This puts the kibosh on the blossoming romance between the actress and the commentator, and it takes a comic-opera kidnapping plot to set things right. Ted Healy, mentor of the Three Stooges, made one of his last screen appearances in Love is a Headache, which was released several months after Healy's death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, Mickey Rooney, (more)
- 1937
Sam Wood directed this fourth version of the Alexandre Bisson weeper, buffed to a high gloss by shimmering M.G.M. production values. Gladys George plays Jacqueline Fleuriot this time around, the wife of a diplomat who has an affair and is compelled to leave her husband and son. After abandoning her family, she sinks into a sea of debauchery, becoming involved in prostitution, blackmail, and eventually murder. After the murder, her son Raymond (John Beal), now a grown man and a famous lawyer, is called upon to defend her. Unaware that the woman he is defending is his long lost mother, Jacqueline tries to hide her past from her successful son. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys George, John Beal, (more)
- 1937
In this WW II era drama, a timid, pacifistic clerk is befriended by a gutsy circus barker while they are in the military. Tensions arise between the friends after they fall for the same woman. The circus man is captured by the Germans and shortly thereafter, the clerk marries the girl. In time, the clerk finds courage he never knew he had and becomes a legendary hero. The war ends, but by the time, the clerk is returned to civilian life, he has come to like killing others. Unable to adjust, he becomes a gangster, something he conceals from his wife. Years pass and he runs into his old friend the circus barker, who has become the owner of his own circus. By this time the gangster's wife has learned of his profession and she teams up with the ringmaster to help straighten him out. When all else fails, she turns him into the cops. To earn money while he serves his time, the woman joins the other man's circus. It's all innocent, but the gangster, having just busted out of prison, doesn't realize this. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Spencer Tracy, Gladys George, (more)
- 1936
Gladys George, a superlative actress often wasted in secondary roles, carries her starring assignment in Valiant is the Word for Carrie with singular brilliance. George plays the town trollop, who for the love of two orphaned children sets up a successful dry-cleaning business. Her past comes back to haunt her, but she perseveres, giving up all thoughts of personal happiness to provide a decent upbringing for her adopted family. A real four-hanky film, Valiant is the Word for Carrie might never have been made if it hadn't been for Mae West. Paramount had signed Gladys George to star in a filmization of her stage hit Personal Appearance, but this property was deflected to Ms. West and retitled Go West, Young Man. As compensation, Gladys George was offered Carrie--and she certainly made the most of this rebound opportunity. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gladys George, Arline Judge, (more)
- 1934
Based on John Golden's stage play Four Walls, MGM's Straight is the Way offers the monumentally miscast Franchot Tone as tough ex-convict Benny Horowitz, who announces his plans to go straight. This warms the heart of Benny's Jewish mama (May Robson), but his ex-moll Shirley (Gladys George) is unable to join in the happiness, since she is now the mistress of Italian gang boss Monk (Jack LaRue). Despite his efforts to stay out of trouble, Benny is required to bump off Monk before he can lead a clean life. Meanwhile, nominal heroine Bertha (Karen Morley), Benny's stepsister, pines away of unrequited love. The original Four Walls had starred Paul Muni, who was certainly better suited to the ethnicity of the piece than the markedly WASPish Franchot Tone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franchot Tone, May Robson, (more)
- 1921
This so-so light comedy vehicle for Douglas MacLean was based on the Saturday Evening Post story, "Yancona Yillies," by Herschel Hall. Because of a provision in his uncle's will, wealthy Deems Stanwood (MacLean) is forced to go live in the country. He starts liking it there when he meets the fetching Julia Stoneman (Gladys George), and decides to open up a chicken farm next to hers. The trustee for the Stanwood estate makes a few serious mistakes and all of a sudden, Deems finds himself flat broke. His chickens refuse to lay and he has to mortgage his farm to Willie Figg (Raymond Cannon), who is his rival for Julia. Deems' financial situation worsens; he can't pay his bills, much less contribute to any of the local charities. The townsfolk, who still believe he is rich, start to view him with disfavor. Julia, however, discovers the truth and she takes over Deems' mortgage from Figg, who wants to foreclose. Deems finds out about Julia's good deed, and the couple is united. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas MacLean, Gladys George, (more)
- 1921
Cora and Frank Rodham (Wanda Hawley and Forrest Stanley) are happily married until Frank lands a lucrative position. He doesn't want to see his pretty wife slaving away at domestic chores so he hires servants to do the work for her. As a result, Cora becomes fat and lazy. Frank is very unhappy with his wife's change in attitude and appearance and starts to take an interest in her friend, Lila Drake (Gladys George), who is secretly just as lazy. The couple are on the verge of divorce when Cora turns things around, slims down and wins back her husband. This picture was based on the Saturday Evening Post story, "Sweetie Peach," by Sophie Kerr. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1921
Seafarer/novelist Leonard Fayne (Thomas Meighan) takes The Easy Road when he weds wealthy Isabel Grace (Gladys George). Once an ambitious workhorse, Fayne degenerates into a slothful lounge lizard and drunkard. Despairing over his fall from grace, Fayne gets a new lease on life by rescuing suicidal Ella Klotz (Lila Lee) and encouraging her to persevere. When wife Isabel returns from a desultory affair, she finds that her husband is a "new man"--one worthy of her unconditional love. Billed third in The Easy Road is Grace Goodall, who spent the rest of her career playing society dowagers in two-reel comedies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Meighan, Gladys George, (more)
- 1920
When machinist Tod Burke (Charles Ray) heroically saves the company's owner, Peter Garton (William Conklin), from being crushed by a falling crane, the grateful old man adopts him. Garton's sister Cornelia (Mollie McConnell) tries to introduce the unrefined young man into society, with the kind of hilarious results expected in a Charles Ray picture. Tod is surprised when his sweetheart, Janet Muir (Gladys George) is not thrilled with his new situation. The reason becomes clear when her grandfather Angus (Charles Mailes) throws him out of their house. Grandpa Muir was once pals with Garton, but because of business conflicts they became enemies. Now Garton's company is destroying Muir's tiny machine shop. Tod and Janet try to save their romance, and Tod finds her a job at Garton's company as a stenographer. But Muir finds out about it, and he becomes even angrier when she is fired because Garton finds her dancing with Tod at work. Finally, the couple lock up the two old men and force them to make up and stay out of their love affair. The multi-faceted Burke is a pleasant standout amongst Charles Ray's usual "country bumpkin" characters. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1920
When Mary Moreland (Enid Bennett) discovers that her father (William Conklin) has become infatuated with a Broadway chorus girl, she decides to bring him to his senses. With the help of Billie Fiske (Rowland Lee), an escort she has hired, Mary begins to prowl the Great White Way in an attempt to meet and befriend the chorus girl, Dollie (Dorcas Matthews). She's successful and makes sure she's having a drunken good time at Dollie's apartment just when her father shows up. He thinks his daughter has become a fallen woman, and this straightens him out. Mary also wins the love of her escort for the usual fade-out clinch. This was one of the better collaborations between Bennett and her director husband, Fred Niblo. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
