Self (archive footage)
A look at actresses who starred in films with thought-provoking subjects made between 1930 and July 1934, before the Hollywood Production Code —the infamous Hays Code— was enforced.
Stella Thompson
Tongues begin to wag when a lonely widow becomes romantically involved with a military man. Problems arise when the gossip is filtered down to her own children.
Mrs. Ames
Cowboy Dan Somers and oilman Jim "Hunk" Gardner compete for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the favors of schoolteacher Cathy Allen.
Wife Checking Her Coat
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
Countess
Two newlyweds spy on the Nazis for the British Secret Service during their honeymoon in Europe.
Mrs. Whitman
A distinguished professor finds his well-ordered life tospy-turvy after he is forced to take in a pregnant widow.
Lorinda Channing
Peter Thorne is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing, who uses her insane brother, John Channing, to frighten her other relatives because they are after her money. Further complications arise when another murderer arrives on the scene and plants the blame on John.
Mrs. Llewellyn Castle
Members of a well-to-do small community become worried when it is revealed that one of their maids is writing a telling exposé.
Miss MacMahon, Secretary
Mike Abbott just wants to spend a quiet evening at home with his wife, but her collection of zany friends make hash of his hopes.
Countess Oldenburg
Christopher Reynolds, an American flying with the R.A.F, is shot down over German-occupied Holland and is given shelter by a Dutch family. Posing as the insane husband of the daughter of the house, Anita Wolverman, Reynolds convinces the German officer quartered there, Major Zellfritz, with the necessity for her divorce decree to be granted. After the court-hearing, Anita, goes to manage a home for retired ladies and, persuaded by Reynolds, tries to gain military information from the German Officer. When her former husband escapes from the insane-asylum his exploits are blamed on Reynolds. With the help of the old ladies and Anita, who "remarries" him, Reynolds escapes to England in a stolen German airplane.
Priscilla Lock
Gene Autry heads a cattlemen's association and calls on the inexperienced Jim Agnew to negotiate the sale of five hundred heads of cattle. Jim ends up losing the cattle in a crooked poker game, however, and Gene and his sidekick Frog set out to find the cheating gamblers. It soon becomes clear that the leader of the gamblers is none other than Asa Lock, the dastardly father of Gene's romantic interest Stephanie.
Party Guest (uncredited)
A college professor who believes there's no place for jealousy in modern marriage, John Hathaway (Don Ameche) moves with his wife, Julie (Rosalind Russell), to New York where he plans to publish a book on the subject. Meeting with publisher Elliott Morgan (Van Heflin), who falls head over heels for Julie, John is assigned to his assistant Nellie (Kay Francis), who only has eyes for her boss. Working closely with Nellie, who Julie thinks is after her husband, John continues his high-minded ways while his angry spouse schemes to make him so jealous he'll knock Elliott's block clean off.
Mrs. Marcus Gilworth
Edna marries Texan Sam Gladney, operator of a wheat mill. They have a son, who is killed when very young. Edna discovers by chance how the law treats children who are without parents and decides to do something about it. She opens a home for foundlings and orphans and begins to place children in good homes, despite the opposition of "conservative" citizens, who would condemn illegitimate children for being born out of wedlock. Eventually Edna leads a fight in the Texas legislature to remove the stigma of illegitimacy from birth records in that state, while continuing to be an advocate for homeless children.
Mrs. Diana Boone
In this comedy, the marital conflicts between a meek banker and his nagging wife are chronicled.
Mrs. Morgan
Everyone in a large department store knows that a rising star is married to the owner's daughter, except her husband.
Mrs. Miller
Previously filmed in 1932, and remade a third time in 1961, this second film version of Fannie Hurst's novel stars Margaret Sullavan as a fashion designer in love with a married banker (Charles Boyer). Directed by Robert Stevenson, the film also stars Richard Carlson, Tim Holt, Frank McHugh, Esther Dale and Cecil Cunningham.
Dowager at Concert (uncredited)
When a gold digger starts to get a little old to ply her trade, she teaches a younger woman all her tricks.
Grandmother
Kitty Foyle, a hard-working white-collar girl from a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania low, middle-class family, meets and falls in love with young socialite Wyn Strafford but his family is against her.
Governor's Wife
A revolutionary leader romances a French aristocrat in Louisiana.
Mrs. Jane Homans
Because of a bad investment, Captain and Mrs. Peabody are evicted from their home. Mrs. Peabody finds lodging at a retirement home, but as only single women are allowed, the Captain has to make other arrangements. However, after witnessing their tearful goodbye, the home's residents vote to allow the couple to move in together. The Captain is a reluctant lodger, uncomfortable at being surrounded by so much femininity, and bristles when his pals start referring to him as "Old Lady". The time has come for Captain Peabody to reassert his manhood!
Mrs. Hobbs
Alice Faye plays the title role in this 1940 film biography of the early-20th-century stage star.
Undetermined Supporting Role (uncredited)
Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of the life of Abraham Lincoln from his departure from Kentucky until his election as President of the United States.
Tess Gibson
Four former actresses decide to restart their careers by opening up a nightclub.
Countess Berichi
Playboy Bill Carey woos a half-caste beauty in French Indochina, but her second-class legal status makes a formidable barrier.
Miss Ainsley
A divorced glamour girl keeps warm with a professor amid sports and romance at Dartmouth College's Winter Carnival.
Madame J. L. Chambers
Detective Guy Johnson's client, Willie Heywood, is framed for murder. While Guy hides him so he can catch the real killer, both of them are nabbed by the police, tried, convicted and sentenced to jail: Guy for a year with Willie to be executed. On the way to jail, Guy comes across a clue and escapes from the police.
Cora Stewart
Rose Pierce is discontent with her life as the wife of a small town plumber and has visions of becoming a wealthy socialite. Consequently, when her smart aleck son Sammy hears that an electric railroad line is to be built through town, she decides that the family can become rich by purchasing the lots along the right of way. Patriarch George Pierce laughs at the idea, but when Rose and Sammy learn that Cora Stewart, the wealthy town widow, has withdrawn her savings from the bank, they jump to the conclusion that she is interested in buying the lots, and mother and son secretly invest the family bank roll in the land.
Miss Brewster
Wealthy high school girls are sent to a boarding school to learn proper etiquette. Linda Simpson stays out all night. She tells her roommate, Betty Fleet, that it was because she's planning to elope. Linda gets in trouble when the faculty finds out from a monitor's report submitted by reluctant Natalie Freeman, a poor girl attending on scholarship.
Mme. 'Feldy' de Lerchenfeld (uncredited)
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
Genevieve Trent
Socially prominent Michael Ashburn, chief assistant for a London loan broker makes a large loan during a closing time to a man for a pair of earrings. He is unaware that the collateral can not be removed from the ears in which they reside, so then Julie becomes part of the collateral.
"Sharpy"
A merciless district attorney prosecutes a case that mirrors his own life.
Mrs. Morris
Mr. Morris, the owner of a large metropolitan department store, gives jobs to paroled ex-convicts in an effort to help them reform and go straight. Among his 'employed-prison-graduates' are Helen Roberts and Joe Dennis, working as sales clerks. Joe is in love with Helen and asks her to marry him, but she is forbidden to marry as she is still on parole, but she says yes and they are married. In spite of their poverty-level life, their marriage is a happy one until Joe discovers she has lied about her past, in order to marry him. Disillusioned, he leaves, goes back to his old gang and plans to rob the department store.
Piper
The sons of a disgraced British officer try to clear his name.
Dean Sleet
Gracie Alden tries to graduate from college to get an inheritance.
Maybelle Murphy
Joe McKnight temporarily leaves his fiancée, Nora Langdon, for an expedition in a South American jungle. Nora gets a position as librarian in the small town of Midberg, where she boards with the Smith family. Nora is befriended by her next-door neighbor Austin Brown, who, unknown to his wife, is engaged in a moneymaking scheme with James Wilson.
Mrs. Mary Hunt
A Chinese-American woman tries to expose an illegal alien smuggling ring.
Mrs. Alvin
When Dr. Ernest Tindal's wife is murdered, evidence mounts to convict her lover, Frank Marian. But Frank knows he didn't do it.....
Aunt Patsy
Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start undermining each other's attempts to find new romance.
Miss Eberhardt
A famous singer and matinée idol helps a pretty young theater usher in her dreams of becoming a singer, but when her career begins to take off and she becomes engaged to a wealthy young man, he realizes he's fallen for her and plots to break up her impending marriage.
Stella
An ad man gets his model girlfriend to pose as a debutante for a new campaign.
Big Edna
A fast moving and low budget crime drama seasoned with mystery & comedy.
Murphy
In Panama, Maggie King meets soldier Skid Johnson on his last day in the army and reluctantly agrees to a date to celebrate. The two become involved in a nightclub brawl which causes Maggie to miss her ship back to the States. Now stranded, she's forced to move in with Skid and his pal Harry. She soon falls in love with Skid. Skid gets a job playing the trumpet at a local club and becomes a big success. Fame and fortune go to his head which eventually destroys his relationship Maggie and his career.
Josie
An ambitious lumberjack abandons his saloon girl lover so that he can marry into wealth, but years later becomes infatuated with the woman's daughter.
Minor Role (uncredited)
田舎暮らしをするお人好しクーパーのもとに、莫大な遺産が転がり込んだ！ しかしクーパーの穏やかな生活は一転、お金目当ての連中やマスコミに追いかけられる毎日が始まる……。社会風刺を小気味良くちりばめた、ヒューマン・コメディの傑作。
Nellie Simpson
Henry and Clarice Wilkins have been married twenty-three years and are a model suburban couple who have never had a quarrel. But when their daughter, Peggy, and her husband, Bill Trask, have a squabble, Clarice has a plan to show the daughter just how distasteful domestic bickering appears; She enters into an agreement with Henry that they will fake a fuss to serve as an object lesson. Clarice's will to play the game and her sense of humor play out at about the same time when Henry's remarks become more pointed as the charade goes on. Their fake fight is soon a real barn-burner.
Miss Doolittle
"The Terror", a killer whose identity is unknown, occupies an English country house that has been converted into an inn.
Pearl Turner
A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another woman and his career ascends, but he secretly continues the relationship with his true love.
Pancake Annie Jones
After having been swindled out of all their money by a crooked business manager, formerly wealthy socialites Jerry and Carol discover that they owe their chauffeur and maid back wages they are unable to pay. They're forced to let their former employees live in their luxury apartment in lieu of paying the money they owe them.
Mrs. Finch
Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough star as a couple of wacky soda jerks. They do a high wire act while delivering a much needed pair of pants to their boss.
Mrs. Chadman
The various residents and occupants of a resort hotel await the outcome of a horse race at a nearby track, as it will affect each of their lives in different ways.
Mrs. Arlington (uncredited)
A moll, imprisoned after participating in a bank robbery, helps with a breakout plot.
Agnes (uncredited)
An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.
Norfolk Woman Manager (uncredited)
American chemist Ned Faraday marries a German entertainer and starts a family. However, he becomes poisoned with Radium and needs an expensive treatment in Germany to have any chance at being cured. Wife Helen returns to night club work to attempt to raise the money and becomes popular as the Blonde Venus. In an effort to get enough money sooner, she prostitutes herself to millionaire Nick Townsend.
Mrs. Henry Abbott
Director Robert Florey's 1932 melodrama about a woman who suspects her husband of infidelity stars Mary Astor, Kenneth MacKenna, Tommy Conlon, Lilyan Tashman, Hale Hamilton, Cecil Cunningham and Virginia Sale.
Laundress (uncredited)
A Parisian tailor finds himself posing as a baron in order to collect a sizeable bill from an aristocrat, only to fall in love with an aloof young princess.
Millionaire's Wife
Poster writes a gossip column for the Morning Gazette. He will write about anyone and everyone as long as he gets the credit. He gets most of his information from showgirl pal his gal, Peggy. Eventually Bill's reckless tattling gets him in deep trouble with friends and enemies, putting his career and life in jeopardy.
Aunt Hattie Donovan
A gossip columnist helps a Broadway ingenue who's beholden to a penthouse gangster.
Woman Talking with Julian at Party (uncredited)
A wealthy couple's marriage is falling apart due to the man's infidelity. The wife's male friend has long loved her and sees his big opportunity.
Mrs. Smith
Harry Sweet stars as a hick Olympic hero who is housed in a high society mansion and causes havoc to the high brow party in progress.
Mrs. Twombey - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the rich Chilcote family and the hard working Tarleton family.
Mrs. Rosy
A maid's dream comes true but are not quite what she expected.
Gambler Selling Ring (uncredited)
A semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
Angie
To avoid the rigors of the law, Gilda flees New Orleans and hides on a Caribbean island where the worst criminals can ask for asylum. Besieged by the scum of the earth, Gilda will soon find out that she has found refuge in hell.
Pamela
A comedy-drama about marriage and divorce. A wife does not want children, her husband leaves her and marries a woman who does.
Madame Panoramia aka Pansy
A young woman runs away from an abusive home and pre-arranged marriage only to be frustrated in her attempts to find happiness with a handsome engineer.
Mlle. Hedwige
Yvonne, daughter of Philibert, a Paris cafe owner, is in love with dreamy, blundering Albert, a waiter, though he pays little attention to her. Philibert plans to marry his daughter to a wealthy Parisian, but upon learning that Albert is to come into a large inheritance, he conspires to place him under a longterm contract, confident that he willingly will pay a forfeit to break it.
Dot
A lawyer, left by his wife gets drunk and marries a chorus girl, or so he learns the morning after.
Aunt Caroline
Lally is a rich girl whose father writes books and plays polo. After 23 years of marriage her father decides to divorce Lally's mother and remarry to soon-to-be-divorced Beth Cheever. This sours Lally on all men. While on vacation with her mother she meets Jack, who succeeds in stealing her heart. Then Lally discovers that Jack is the son of Beth Cheever, the woman who is to marry her father.
