May McAvoy
Birth : 1899-09-08, New York City, New York, USA
Death : 1984-04-26
History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May McAvoy (September 8, 1899 – April 26, 1984) was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in The Enchanted Cottage, Esther in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, and Mary Dale in The Jazz Singer.
McAvoy appeared in her first film, entitled Hate, in 1917. After appearing in more than three dozen films, she co-starred with Ramón Novarro and Francis X. Bushman in director Fred Niblo's 1925 production of Ben-Hur, released by MGM. The feature-length film was one of the most lavish and spectacular productions of the silent movie era.
Although her voice was not heard in The Jazz Singer, McAvoy did speak in several other films, including the second "all-talkie" released by Warner Brothers, The Terror, which was directed by Roy Del Ruth and co-starred Conrad Nagel.
For years a rumor circulated that McAvoy retired from the screen at the transition to sound films because of a lisp or speech impediment. In truth, she married the treasurer of United Artists, who asked her not to work.
Later, she returned to films and played small roles during the 1940s and 1950s, making her final film appearance in a small part in the 1959 version of Ben-Hur.
Woman in crowd (uncredited)
In 25 AD,Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners. Three years later and freed by a grateful Roman galley commander whom he has rescued from drowning, he becomes an expert charioteer for Rome, all the while plotting to return to Judea, find and rescue his family, and avenge himself on his former friend. All the while, the form and work of Jesus move in the background of his life...
Pebbel's Secretary (uncredited)
Told in flashback form, the film traces the rise and fall of a tough, ambitious Hollywood producer, Jonathan Shields, as seen through the eyes of various acquaintances, including a writer, James Lee Bartlow; a star, Georgia Lorrison; and a director, Fred Amiel. He is a hard-driving, ambitious man who ruthlessly uses everyone on the way to becoming one of Hollywood's top movie makers.
Nurse (uncredited)
When a young woman's skeletal remains turn up on a Massachusetts beach, Barnstable cop Peter Moralas teams with Boston police and uses forensics, with the help of a Harvard professor, to determine the woman's identity, how she died, and who killed her.
(uncredited)
Pirdy is accident prone. He has been denied insurance from every company in town because he is always getting hit or hurt in some way. On the day that he meets the lovely Ellen of the Yellow Cab Co., he also meets the crooked lawyer named Creavy. Pirdy is an inventor and when Creavy learns about elastic-glass, his new invention, he makes plans to steal the process. With the help of another con man named Doksteader, and the boys, he will steal this million dollar invention no matter who gets hurt.
Woman (uncredited)
Capt. Jeremy Bradford has a particularly exciting luxury liner cruise in store when he's charged with transporting a troupe of opera singers to Rio de Janeiro. Anxious to become a singer herself, Bradford's young daughter, Polly, decides to skip out on school and sneak onto the ship before it departs. Angry that his daughter disobeyed him, Bradford puts her to work on the ship for punishment, but Polly has her own ideas about how to spend the trip.
Woman Whose Vision Gets Blocked (uncredited)
This Pete Smith Specialty short takes a humorous look at the inconsiderate pests whose annoying habits make enjoying a movie impossible.
Dowager (uncredited)
A sailor helps two sisters start up a service canteen. The sailor soon becomes taken with gorgeous sister Jean, unaware that her sibling Patsy is also in love with him.
Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, America was rife with rumors about the size of Japan's armed forces and how well-equipped they were to wage war against the U.S. Using animation, the first part of this film dispels these rumors by showing that the U.S. had more raw materials and more fighting ships. The narrator also cautions moviegoers against spreading rumors (which are often initiated by enemy infiltrators to create fear and dissention) and believing everything they read in the newspapers. Just because "they say" something, that doesn't make it true.
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Doc and Wishey run into some Nazi-agents, who want to smuggle bombs into the USA from a Mexican border hotel.
(uncredited)
A group of children put on a show in order to prove that a down and out musician was the real composer of a Broadway show's songs.
Window Shopper (uncredited)
This Best Short Subject Academy Award winning film begins in the spring of 1940, just before the Nazi occupation of the Benelux countries, and ends immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It chronicles how the people of "Main Street America", the country's military forces, and its industrial base were completely transformed when the decision was made to gear up for war. Original footage is interspersed with contemporary newsreels and stock footage.
1st Nurse (uncredited)
Young undefeated boxer Terry Dolan, who's been lying to his invalid mother about his career, confides to Maisie that he hates and is terrified by boxing and wants out. Not wanting to let down his best friend and manager Skeets Maguire, who has hopes of him becoming the next champion, he is reluctant to bring up the subject with him. Maisie convinces Terry to tell Skeets, whose unexpected reaction induces him to step into the ring again.
Secretary (uncredited)
In this MGM Crime Does Not Pay series short, a man and his racketeer buddies devise a scheme to bilk those already seemingly desperate for money of what little they have.
Sanity Hearing Secretary (uncredited)
Circumstance, an old flame and a mother-in-law drive a happily married couple to the verge of divorce and insanity.
Gossip (uncredited)
In this John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short we see how gossip can be used to spread propaganda or to ruin a person's reputation.
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Magazine editor Margot Merrick pretends to be married in order to avoid advances from male colleagues. Unfortunately, things don't go to plan when Jeff Thompson, a potential suitor, uncovers the deception and decides to show up at Margot's family home posing as her husband!
Miss Murphy - Van Dyke's Secretary (uncredited)
A dizzy young woman aranges to turn her inventor-boyfriend's vacation into a chance meeting with a possible investor who happens to be her brother's future father-in-law. And Wacky stuff happens.
Middle Telephone Operator
In this second Carter mystery, a mysterious rash of cargo ships sinking in Panama leads insurers Llewellyns of London to hire vacationer Nick Carter and his eccentric associate Bartholomew to investigate. Nick recognizes influential nightclub owner Al Taurez as a shady operator, but getting the goods on him depends on slick diversions involving the heavyweight champ of the Pacific Tuna Fleet, a Panamanian bombshell armed with American slang, a young couple in love and a whole raft of crooks and cutthroats.
Saleslady
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a recent movie. We then go to Hollywood and visit Adrian, MGM's chief of costume design, and see how multiple copies of a single clothing pattern are produced. The film ends with short segments of several MGM features.
Chatworth's Secretary (uncredited)
Eddie Kerns sells his song to a Broadway producer and also lands a job dancing in the musical. He sends for his dance partner-fiancée Molly Mahoney who brings her younger sister Pat. Upon seeing Molly and Pat dance, the producer picks Pat for the show and gives Molly a job selling cigarettes. A wealthy friend of the producer named "Chat" Chatsworth also has his eye on Pat. Pat is teamed with Eddie in the specialty number as Kerns and Mahoney. Pat and Eddie soon realize that they are in love and must tell Molly. Pat balks at hurting Molly and goes out with Chat who already has five ex-wives.
Ruth Harper
No Defense is a 1929 romantic drama directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Monte Blue. It was a silent film with part talking and sound-effects by the Vitaphone Company. It was distributed by Warner Brothers.
May Lambert
A crotchety old coot wants his son and daughter-in-law to have kids so he can have grandchildren, but so far they haven't done so. In a somewhat ham-handed attempt to bring them closer together so they'll be in the mood to give them the grandchildren he wants, he winds up bringing them to the point where they're considering divorcing. He decides to change his tactics in order to achieve his goal.
Olga Redmayne
Guests at an old English manor house are stalked by a mysterious killer known only as "The Terror".
The Girl
Wealthy Bob visits his mother's Florida houseboat in order to remove her jewelry and stumbles upon a bobbed-hair bandit and her male accomplice, who mistake him for another burglar. A fight is broken up by the arrival of an elderly couple (still more burglars) who are posing as guests. Bob keeps his identity secret and passes himself off as the butler; the girl and her partner pretend to be the maid and the cook. A couple of idiotic detectives, arrive on the scene, closely followed by a heavy fog that traps them all on board.
Shirley Ross
Judge Ross, on the Federal Bench, rules in favor of a large company in litigation before him, unaware that a smaller company in which he owns considerable stock has been subsumed by the larger firm, thus creating the appearance of a conflict of interests. When one of the Judge's enemies plots to ruin the Judge over this apparent improper behavior, Judge Ross's daughter Shirley sets out to prove her father's innocence.
May Howard
Rich girl Joan Whitney does her flirtatious best to break up the marriage of May and Ted Howard and almost succeeds, but not before May Howard has a light flirtation with a light-in-the-slippers specimen named Claude.
Mary Dale
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.
Cynthia Martin
Slightly Used film
Sheila
Sheila, a feisty Irish girl, loves Emmett, a somewhat shady Irish boy. When Emmett goes to America, Sheila and her father follow and join him. However, when he loses his job, Sheila is forced to get a job in a cheap restaurant. There she meets Rory, a poor American boy who works in a shipyard. Rory falls in love with her but she still loves Emmett. Then she finds out that Emmett has been taking up with a brassy "flapper" named Clarice.
Helen Corwin
Terry O'Neill is the youngest of a family of Irish firefighters. He falls in love with Helen Corwin, but complications ensue when Terry learns that her father, a wealthy contractor, has cut costs by putting his buildings in danger of fire.
Ysabel Atwater
Rivalry between two behavioral scientists gets out of hand...
The Passionate Quest is a 1926 American drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and written by Marian Constance Blackton. It is based on the 1924 novel The Passionate Quest by E. Phillips Oppenheim. The film stars May McAvoy, Willard Louis, Louise Fazenda, Gardner James, Jane Winton, and Holmes Herbert.
Sal Gratton
Silent family drama.
Judith Allen
May McAvoy is a woman who is blinded in an auto accident and relies on prayer to regain her sight.
Lady Windermere
A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.
Esther
Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.
Cathleen Gillis
A teenager with permissive parents gets too caught up in wild parties and the fast life.
Jeannie Wilton
A frivolous middle aged socialite is suddenly put upon to have her daughter live with her. Her conniving paramour dumps her for the daughter, leaving the young boyfriend crushed.
Letitia Tevis
Ruth Martin
William C. DeMille, Cecil B. DeMille's talented director brother, teamed with his favorite collaborator, scenarist Clara Beranger, for the 7-reel silent The Bedroom Window. Essentially a by-the-book mystery tale, the film is lifted from the ordinary by the expertise of DeMille and the charm of leading lady May McAvoy. She plays the daughter of a murder victim, while Ricardo Cortez co-stars as the Accused. Cortez is saved from the chair by his aunt Ethel Wales, a mystery writer. The real culprit is...well, keep your eye on the least likely, most cooperative member of the cast.
Laura Pennington
The Enchanted Cottage stars Richard Barthelmess as Oliver, a physically and emotionally wounded World War I veteran who comes home to a fiancée who promptly leaves him. Licking his wounds in solitude, he meets a young woman named Laura (May McAvoy). They fall in love and agree to marry, but unexpected and magical events occur inside The Enchanted Cottage where they have agreed to spend their wedding night.
Lucy Stanley
The death of her clergyman husband causes Mrs. Stanley, young mother of teenage twins, to change her style of life.
Myrtle
After serving time in Sing Sing, Chic Hewes wants to go straight, but when he refuses to be a stool pigeon for the cops, they hound him mercilessly. Hewes witnesses a car accident in which Jerry Brandon, the son of the district attorney, runs over a child. He also meets Molly, the D.A.'s daughter. Because he feels the child's mother was treated unfairly, Hewes decides to pull one last heist to square things.
Cora Wheeler
Clarence Smith is an ex-soldier who is hired for odd jobs by Mr. Wheeler primarily because he has overheard a family argument. And the Wheeler household is going through quite a bit of turmoil -- Mrs. Wheeler feels neglected by her husband and is jealous of Violet Pinney, the governess. Daughter Cora is planning to elope with her father's secretary, Hubert Stem. Son Bobby, meanwhile, has been making passes at the maid.
Herself
Documentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood, featuring dozens of stars captured candidly and at work.
Hilda O'Shaunnessey
Hilda lives in a tenement apartment with her aunt, Mrs. Brady, and her crippled younger brother Micky, and works in a department store where her boss lusts after her. But happiness comes into her life when she meets artist Emery Gray. Gray's wife deserted him long ago, leaving him with their daughter Susan (Mary Jane Irving) to raise. While Susan and Micky become playmates, Hilda restores Gray's faith in womanhood.
Meg Mackenzie
The story of Meg Mackenzie, the orphaned niece of two stingy Scotsmen, Donald and Duncan Craig. She's kept busy taking care of their home in the country, while they plan to marry her off to Joe Dobbs (Lincoln Stedman), the son of the village blacksmith. A wrench is thrown in the Craigs' plan when author Stephen Ware comes to the little hamlet in search of a quiet place to work. Meg immediately develops a crush on him and Ware's stay proves to be anything but quiet when there's a robbery and he is assumed to be the guilty party. A mob attacks him, and Meg steps in and saves his life. Her uncles happen to be away, and she takes him in while he recovers from his injuries. When they return, Donald and Duncan are infuriated to find Ware in their home, and they insist that he marry Meg to save her reputation.
Carlotta Carlotta
Reared in a Turkish harem and threatened with marriage to a man she does not love, Carlotta escapes to London with an English adventurer. When he is killed, she is left destitute and attaches herself to Sir Marcus Ordeyne and begs his protection. He takes her home out of pity, and her charm and innocence cause him to fall in love with her. When he plans to marry her, Judith Mainwaring, who looks upon Carlotta as a rival, tells her he merely pities her and is marrying her to avoid a scandal. Carlotta runs away with Pasquale, a friend of Sir Marcus, though she loves her guardian. Later, Mrs. Mainwaring meets Carlotta in Paris and tells the girl the truth--that Sir Marcus is searching for her. Realizing his love for her, Carlotta is reunited with her benefactor.
Jeanne Millett
A French orphan girl is adopted into the home of wealthy Americans. There she becomes romantically involved with a farm worker and at the same time entangled in the deteriorating marriage of the American couple who rescued her.
Grizel
Grizel is the daughter of the Painted Lady, who believes that her lover will one day return. Grizel is ostracized by the other children of the town. Tommy and his sister come to the town. Tommy is friendly, but Elspeth keeps her distance. When the Painted Lady dies, Dr. Gemmell makes Grizel his housekeeper. Time passes and after the doctor dies, Grizel, who is now twenty-one years old, loves Tommy, who is an author in London. Tommy visits the town but cannot decide whether he loves Grizel. Grizel knows that Tommy does not love her, and after he returns to London her unhappiness leads to insanity. Tommy returns and marries Grizel, although he believes that she will hate him when she gets better. After two years under Tommy's care, she regains her sanity. After Tommy lets her know that he cared for her out of his love for her; not for pity, Grizel is happy.
Norah
William Dale, a servant for Lord Barradine, marries Mavis, a maid. Dale wants to move up in life, and with Lord Barradine's influence, becomes district postmaster. When he vents his anger at a soldier however, Dale is in danger of losing his job.
Grace Lee
A 1919 film directed by Robert Z. Leonard.
Edith Norton
After a forward introduces the question of whether women are temperamentally suited for jury duty, Jim O'Neil, a young shipping clerk, is found holding a revolver over his dead employer, Edward Knox. The celebrated novelist Grace Norton, selected to be on the jury at Jim's trial, becomes the first woman juror in New York.
Australy Wiggs
Mrs. Wiggs, a loving mother whose husband has abandoned her, supports her many children and lives in hope of her husband's return.
Hearing that the United States has just declared war on Germany, Bill Durham hurries to a recruiting station to enlist, but because he has flat feet, he is rejected. He falls in love with Barbara Knowles, whose guardian, August Myers, unknown to Barbara, is a German agent. When Bill learns that Myers plans to stir up trouble on the border of the United States and Mexico, he catches the train to New Mexico and routs out Myers' gang of bandits.
Claire Higgins
Dancer Lucille Le Jambon (whose real name is Lucy Higgins) loses her job when the morals committee of Sycamore, Kansas, headed by the self-righteous Deacon John Griswold, forces the Merry Models Burlesque show to close. Having grown fond of Sycamore, Lucy opens a combined ice cream parlor and dance hall, where she teaches the young people all the latest dances. ...
