Mary Astor Movies
Pressured into an acting career by her ambitious parents, Mary Astor was a silent film star before she was 17 -- a tribute more to her dazzling good looks than anything else. Debuting in The Beggar Maid (1921), Astor appeared opposite John Barrymore in 1923's Beau Brummell with whom she had a romantic relationship and later starred with in Don Juan (1926), Anxious not to be a victim of the talking-picture revolution, the actress perfected her vocal technique in several stage productions for Edward Everett Horton's Los Angeles-based Majestic Theatre, and the result was a most successful talkie career. Things nearly fell to pieces in 1936 when, in the midst of a divorce suit, Astor's ex-husband tried to gain custody of the couple's daughter by making public a diary she had kept. In this volume, Astor detailed her affair with playwright George S. Kaufman; portions of the diary made it to the newspapers, causing despair for Astor and no end of embarrassment for Kaufman. But Astor's then-current employer, producer Sam Goldwyn, stood by his star and permitted her to complete her role in his production of Dodsworth (1936). Goldwyn was touched by Astor's fight for the custody of her child, and was willing to overlook her past mistakes. Some of Astor's best films were made after the scandal subsided, including The Maltese Falcon (1941), in which she played the gloriously untrustworthy Brigid O'Shaughnessy opposite Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade, and The Great Lie (1941), in which she played a supremely truculent concert pianist (and won an Academy Award in the bargain). Seemingly getting better as she got older, Astor spent the final phase of her career playing spiteful or snobbish mothers, with one atypical role as murderer Robert Wagner's slow-on-the-uptake mom in A Kiss Before Dying (1956). A lifelong aspiring writer, Astor wrote two entertaining and insightful books on her career, My Story and A Life on Film. Retiring after the film Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1966), Astor fell victim to health complications and financial tangles, compelling her to spend her last years in a small but comfortable bungalow on the grounds of the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1930
- PG13
The first of the filmizations of Philip Barry's play, Holiday centers around a society wedding. Julia Seton (Mary Astor) intends to marry John Case (Robert Ames), a young Wall Street lion with "radical" ideas that go against the grain of Julia's conservative family. Julia's freewheeling younger sister Linda (Ann Harding), thrilled at the prospect of the unorthodox Case shaking up her household, finds herself drawn to the young man herself. When John shows signs of toning down his recklessness and becoming just another stuffy old financier, Linda is crushed, but eventually the two free spirits are united. Edward Everett Horton, who plays an "idle rich" family friend in Holiday, recreated the role (albeit as a more responsible character) in the 1938 remake. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Harding, Robert Ames, (more)
- 1930
Based on a play by Lolita Ann Westman and H.H. Van Loan, The Runaway Bride casts Mary Astor in the title role. Newly wed to Blaine (Lloyd Hughes), Mary (Astor) is all set to enjoy her honeymoon in Atlantic City. But the consummation of her marriage will have to wait, thanks to a jewel robbery, a pickpocket chambermaid (Natalie Moorehead), and an enforced stay at a shady hospital run by gangsters. Throughout it all, our heroine wears a resigned expression on her face -- and who could blame her? Runaway Bride was directed by actor Donald Crisp, who should have stuck to the business-end of the camera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1929
In this drama, an unemployed young woman who must support her younger brother pays a visit to a gambler who wants her body. However, he is murdered during her visit, and she is charged with the crime. But, the real killer is unmasked and dies in an accident, and her old flame shows up to romance her once again. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Charles Morton, (more)
- 1929
Basically a filmed vaudeville presentation, The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' entry in the "all star, all talking, all singing and all dancing" sweepstakes of 1929. Though slightly better than MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929, the Warners entry pales in comparison to Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Paramount on Parade, due mainly to the film's master of ceremonies, the insufferable Frank Fay. Some of the individual acts seen in Show of Shows were pretty good, notably Winnie Lightner's delightful Singing in the Bathtub (a spoof of Hollywood Revue of 1929's Singin' in the Rain) and John Barrymore's brilliant rendition of Richard III's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry VI. Also easy to take was "Floradora Sextette," featuring such luminaries as Myrna Loy, Patsy Ruth Miller and cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin, and "Eight Sister Acts," including such Hollywood siblings as Dolores and Helene Costello, Sally Blane and Loretta Young and Shirley Mason and Viola Dana (also teamed in this number are Ann Sothern and Marion Byron, who were not sisters). But for the most part, the acts are on a par with "Skull and Crossbones," a boring production number showcasing entertainer Ted Lewis, and "Recitations," a one-joke affair in which three different anecdotes (related by Frank Fay, Louis Fazenda, Lloyd Hamilton and Bea Lillie) are melded into one. Show of Shows was originally released in two-color Technicolor but now exists only in black in white, save for the "Chinese Fantasy" number featuring crooner Nick Lucas and Warner Bros. contractee Myrna Loy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1929
Filmed silent, but outfitted with a Movietone musical score and sound effects, Woman From Hell was inspired by From Hell Came a Lady, a play by Jaime Del Rio, George Scarborough and Lois Leeson. The title character, played by Mary Astor is Dee Renaud, the principal attraction of a cheap sideshow. The seedy barker promises the yokels that if they're able to catch the "Lady From Hell," she will reward them with a kiss. When rapacious customer Slick Ericks (Roy D'Arcy) tries to go beyond kissing, Dee is rescued by lighthouse keeper Jim Coakley (Dean Jagger, in his film debut). Marrying Jim out of gratitude, Dee unsuccessfully tries to convince Jim's salty old father (James Bradbury Sr.) that she'll be a good and faithful wife. Alas, she is a slave to her passions, and it isn't long before she has become smitten by Jim's best friend Alf (Robert Armstrong), who responds in kind, inviting the girl to run off with him. When Jim's dad is incapacitated, however, Dee loyally remains in the lighthouse to operate the beam and avert a shipwreck. Realizing that Dee's true place is with her husband and father-in-law, Alf does the "right thing" and walks out of her life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Robert Armstrong, (more)
- 1929
Romance of the Underworld was adapted from a barnstorming stage piece by Paul Armstrong. Forced by circumstance into a life of sin and deprivation, Judith Andrews (Mary Astor) ends up as a "hostess" in a seedy dance hall. She is rescued by her kind-hearted employer Stephen Ransome (John Boles), and together the newlyweds carve out a new and decent life for themselves. Their happiness is threatened when a figure from their past, slimy racketeer Derby Dan Manning (Ben Bard), tries to blackmail the unfortunate couple. In a climax that would not have been possible in the Production Code-dominated 1930s, Derby Dan is foiled by sympathetic detective Burke (Robert Elliot), who slyly arranges for the villain to be bumped off by one of his own underworld buddies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Ben Bard, (more)
- 1928
Informed by her doctor that she is going blind, Mary Astor tearfully breaks off her engagement with Lloyd Hughes, hoping to spare him the stigma of a sightless bride. When Hughes catches up with her and demands an explanation, Astor pretends to have fallen out of love with him and further convinces him that she has turned into a shameless hussy. When blindness overtakes her, Astor shoots herself, but as luck would have it the bullet alleviates the pressure on her optic nerves, instantly restoring her sight! A tender reunion with Hughes is inevitable -- but what does all this have to do with sailors and their wives? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1928
Most of Dressed to Kill takes place at a swank nightclub which serves as an Underworld rendezvous. Heroine Jean (Mary Astor) hopes to recover the bonds that her imprisoned sweetheart is accused of stealing. To do this, Jean sidles up to mob boss Mile-Away Barry (Edmund Lowe), figuring that he was the mastermind behind the theft. Unfortunately, the crooks play for keeps, and by Reel Five it looks as though Jean is going to be taken "for a ride." But Mile-Away Barry undergoes a sudden change of heart, putting his own life on the line to save Jean's. One symbolic touch -- the chief heavy dying from police bullets under an advertising billboard reading "You Can't Win" -- was borrowed from Josef Von Sternberg's Salvation Hunters and would be used again, with variations, in Howard Hawks' Scarface. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edmund Lowe, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1928
Dry Martini was wittily adapted from the droll novel by John Thomas. Wealthy American Willoughby Quimby (Albert Gran) divorces his wife, then spends the next decade in Paris. His girth notwithstanding, Quimby keeps himself amply supplied with wine and women, and sometimes women and wine. Upon discovering that his grown daughter Elizabeth (Mary Astor) is coming to Paris to pay him a visit, Quimby decides to put up a respectable veneer, giving up both liquor and ladies for the duration. Unfortunately, Elizabeth finds her father to be dull as a dishrag, and begins spending her time with rakish artist Paul de Launay (Albert Conti). Just as she's about to lose the traditional struggle for her virtue, Elizabeth is rescued from De Launay by Quimby's young pal Freddie Fletcher (Matt Moore). Once his daughter is safely married to the basically decent Freddie, Quimby breathes a sigh of relief and happily returns to his old hedonistic habits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Matt Moore, (more)
- 1927
Designed as a western "special" in the tradition of Covered Wagon and The Pony Express, The Rough Riders unfortunately proved a box office disappointment, causing Paramount Pictures to rethink its policy regarding epic films. Storywise, the film is a respectable if highly romanticized account of the exploits of Colonel Teddy Roosevelt (Frank Hopper) during the brief Spanish American War. The climax is of course the charge up San Juan Hill, which is restaged on a scale worthy of Moses' exodus from Egypt. The traditionally sappy romantic subplot concerns wealthy draftee Stewart Van Brunt (Charles Farrell) and the lovely Dolly (Mary Astor). Noah Beery steals the show as a swarthy reprobate named Hell's Bells. Incidentally, Frank Hopper, who played Roosevelt, was not a professional actor but instead a Los Angeles literary agent who bore an astonishing resemblance to the late President. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Hopper, Charles Farrell, (more)
- 1927
The all-purpose title No Place to Go was affixed to this adaptation of the Richard Connell story Isles of Romance. The film opens on what seems to be a perilous moment from a jungle epic -- but which turns out to be part of a floor show at a ritzy nightclub. After this promising opening, the story settles into a conventional romantic yarn wherein starry-eyed heiress Mary Astor yearns for a "cave man" who will treat her rough and make her like it. Her boyfriend Lloyd Hughes is likeable enough, but Astor wants nothing to do with him because he refuses to be forceful. Only when hero and heroine are trapped on a desert island does Astor realize that Hughes isn't a wimp after all -- but it takes more than a few real-life perils before she's willing to marry the boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Hughes, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1927
Racehorse movies were a dime a dozen in 1927, meaning that the few good ones tended to be lumped together with the bad. One of the more tolerable entries in this genre was First National's Sunset Derby, starring Hollywood's favorite cocky jockey, William Collier Jr. After suffering a fall during a race, rider Jimmy Burke (Collier) loses his nerve. But with the help of his girlfriend Molly Gibson (Mary Astor), Jimmy regains his confidence just in time to achieve victory during the Big Race. At least the climactic scene was crisply and excitingly photographed, allowing the viewer to forget the festival of cliches that had gone before. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Lewis
- 1927
This tale of California's Spanish days is gorgeous fiction, from the sumptuous settings to the stars -- the leads are lovely, doe-eyed Mary Astor and the impossibly handsome Gilbert Roland. Juan (Roland) is about to elope with the convent-bred Elena (Astor), when he is chosen to assassinate the governor (Montagu Love), who is about to hand California over to the Russians. Since the governor also happens to be Elena's father, this puts him in quite a fix. Elena discovers the scheme, and, in order to save her father, blows the whistle on Juan. Then, to save Juan, she calls on the United States Marines, who come to everybody's rescue. The plot of the Russian prince (Andre Cheron) is foiled, Juan is saved, and California goes to the United States. In spite of his association with the Russians, the governor proves not to be a bad sort after all, and Elena winds up with Juan. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Gilbert Roland, (more)
- 1927
Produced by young aviation mogul Howard Hughes, Two Arabian Nights details the exploits of eternally squabbling sergeant Louis Wolheim and private William Boyd. Captured by the Germans during WWI, our heroes escape by disguising themselves as Arabs. This clever masquerade wins Wolheim and Boyd free passage to Arabia, where they spend the rest of the picture rescuing fetching harem girl Mary Astor from the clutches of lascivious potentate Michael Vavich. Some good, low laughs are provided in the scene wherein Boyd poses as a harem eunuch (quite a surprise for Hopalong Cassidy fans!) A huge box-office hit, Two Arabian Knights won Lewis Milestone the only Academy Award ever given for "Best Comedy Direction." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1927
Milton Sills once again thrilled his legions of female fans in The Sea Tiger. This time, Sills is cast as Julian Ramos, a fisherman in the Canary Islands. As the guardian of his hotheaded younger brother Charles (Larry Kent), Julian regards it as his duty to protect the boy from women -- and vice versa. When Charles begins pitching woo at aristocratic Amy (Mary Astor), Julian runs interference by pretending to be in love with the girl himself. As time passes, of course, he stops pretending. When Charles proves to be a cad, Amy realizes that Julian is truly the man for her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milton Sills, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1926
Historically important as the first film to carry a Vitaphone sound track (consisting of music and sound effects, but no dialogue) Don Juan is a first-rate production by any standards, and would have been just as good with or without musical accompaniment. John Barrymore plays the legendary lover Don Juan, raised by his cynical father (also played by Barrymore) to "love 'em and leave 'em", and to never trust any woman. All of this changes when he meets the beautiful Adriana Della Varnese (Mary Astor). When it seems that Adriana has betrayed him in favor of a wealthy marriage to the lecherous Count Donati (Montague Love), Don Juan renounces her and returns to his rakish ways. What he doesn't know is that Adriana is a political pawn, who has been forced into an alliance with Donati by the calculating Borgias (Estelle Taylor and Noah Beery Sr.). By the time Don Juan finds out that his true love is still true, he has been tossed in prison for killing Donati in a spectacular duel. He breaks out, rescues Adriana from the Borgias' torture chamber, and escapes with his beloved to the safety of Spain. The plot is, of course, more complicated than that, but so fascinating is John Barrymore's performance that it's difficult to concentrate on anything else. The film's highlights include the out-sized duel between Barrymore and Montagu Love, capped by Barrymore's spectacular leap from the top of a huge staircase, and the torture chamber sequences, wherein Barrymore sneaks past the Borgia guards by assuming the facial characteristics of fiendish torturer Gustav von Seyfertitz--and this without makeup. "In the know" film historians may read a lot more into the Barrymore/Mary Astor love scenes than is readily apparent, forearmed as they are with the knowledge that John and Mary had once been passionate lovers offscreen. Scenarist Bess Meredyth used the Lord Byron poem Don Juan as a mere stepping stone for this imaginative, exquisitely filmed romantic adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1926
This drama was a hint that perhaps the Jazz Age was beginning to wind down; its characters overcome their wild, wicked ways early in the film. Of course, there is still enough revelry to titillate 1926 audiences. As Julian Perryam, the likable but bland Lloyd Hughes is outclassed by his co-stars. Perryam is going through a round of bad luck; he is thrown out of school and loses at love. In search of a change, he heads for London, where he meets Audrey Nye (Mary Astor), a former jazz baby who has gotten a responsible job on a newspaper. She helps Perryam get hired as a reporter. Victor Buckland (Edwards Davis) has been leading on Perryam's sister, Janet (Rita Carewe, the daughter of director Edwin Carewe). Victor's father, Cyril (John T. Murray), meanwhile, is stealing from a charitable fund. Perryam is instrumental in exposing these deeds, and a mob dynamites Buckland's building. Victor flees, and Perryam weds Audrey. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1926
This sentimental romance was based on the stage play by Owen Davis. Ted Wayne (Lloyd Hughes) and Jennie Clayton (Mary Astor) are childhood sweethearts who automatically assume they will always be together. But Ted is poor and Jennie is wealthy, and her mother (Eulalie Jensen) wants her to marry Jack Randall, a man of her own station (Hiram Cooley). Mrs. Clayton convinces Ted that he must break up with Jennie because he will never be able to properly support her. With a heavy heart, Ted follows her advice and leaves town with his mother (Lila Leslie). Jennie, however, refuses to marry her mother's choice, and when World War I breaks out she becomes a Red Cross nurse and goes to Europe. Ted has enlisted and he, too, is in France. He is seriously wounded in battle and taken to a hospital. In his delirious state he calls out for Jennie. Since she is actually at the hospital, she comes to him and they are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lloyd Hughes, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1926
George Marion Sr. plays a carnival huckster who decides to turn pennies into dollars by passing himself off as a hellfire-and-brimstone evangelist. He is assisted in this enterprise by jaded Betty Compson, a hard-boiled egg who believes in nothing except money. Inevitably, however, Compson is reformed by the love of a good man, whereupon she embraces religion for real. Apparently inspired by the career of such celebrity Bible-thumpers as Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday, Wise Guy ran into a great deal of censorship trouble even in such sophisticated regions as New York and Chicago. By the time the blue-noses finished wielding their scissors, the storyline made no sense whatsoever. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Kirkwood, Betty Compson, (more)
- 1925
Douglas Fairbanks returns as the great Spanish swashbuckler in this sequel to The Mark of Zorro. Don Cesar de Vega (Douglas Fairbanks) is the son of the famous masked avanger, Zorro; he's been sent to Spain to continue his education and learn the ways of his homeland. He soon becomes a favorite of the local dignitaries, but this does him little good when he's falsely accused of murder. Faking his own suicide, Don Cesar goes underground, and posing as Zorro, begins his own investigation of the killing; eventually his father arrives, giving us two Zorros for the price of one. Mary Astor plays Dolores de Muro, Don Cesar's love interest, with Warner Oland and Jean Hersholt highlighting the supporting cast; Donald Crisp, who plays Don Sebastian, also directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1925
The Scarlet Sinner was based on The Mand Who Played Fidele by Gerald Beaumont. Heroine Fidele Tridon (Mary Astor) has grown up with the knowledge that her father has promised her in marriage to Baron Kurt Badeau (Frank Morgan). When Fidele comes of age, the Baron shows up expecting to claim his young bride. In the interim, however, Fidele has fallen in love with wealthy horseman Philip Collett (Lloyd Hughes). The enraged Baron frames a duel with Phillip, then fakes being wounded so that the boy will be arrested for attempted murder. But our heroine manages to expose the Baron for the liar and coward that he is, thus paving the way for an orange-blossom finale with Phillip. Currently unavailable for reappraisal, Scarlet Sinner would be worth seeing if only to watch beloved character actor Frank Morgan play a no-good scoundrel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1925
This silent drama, based on the novel by the Countess de Chambrun, had quite a few unusual twists. Amy and Matthew Dale (Belle Bennett and Clive Brook) separate and they place their young son, Matthew Jr., in a London boarding school. The boy grows up without knowing his parents, and is taunted by his schoolmates, who doubt the legitimacy of his childhood. By the time he is 20, Matt (William Collier Jr.) wants to find out about his parentage, so he travels to Paris, leaving behind his sweetheart, Margo (Mary Astor). He gets swept up in the nightlife of the Montmartre and becomes involved with Bricotte (Jacqueline Logan), who is -- to put it politely -- very popular with the men there. The banker who has been doling out Matt's allowance sends for Dale Sr., who arrives in Paris and presents himself to Matt as a friend of his dad's. He halts the affair with Bricotte by showing her up as the floozy she really is. Then he has to save his disillusioned son from jumping into the Seine. Things get even more interesting when Amy shows up and tries to vamp her own son. Dale has to take her aside to tell her his identity. In the end, Matt returns to London and Margo, while Amy and her husband are reunited. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacqueline Logan, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1925
While it seems extremely tame now, Clive Arden's novel was considered quite racy in its day. While doing relief work in Belgium, Leonore Bewlay, a little American girl (Mary Astor), meets Richard Valyran, an opera singer (Ian Keith). After the war's end, they meet again in Switzerland. Leonore, or Leo, has grown into a lovely young woman, but she doesn't realize that this changes her relationship to Valyran, who becomes infatuated with her. Leo is hurt in an avalanche and she's shocked when Valyran kisses her after coming to her aid. She marries Englishman Henry Wallis (Clive Brook), whom she really loves, but his relatives disapprove of her. Valyran's wife sues for divorce and names Leo as corespondent. Wallis believes she really has done something wrong. To keep Leo's life from being ruined, Valyran kills himself. Wallis, humbled by Valyran's sacrifice, reunites with Leo. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Astor, Ian Keith, (more)
