The Divorcee is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for its star Norma Shearer.
A Free Soul is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore and Clark Gable.
The Dove is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film directed by Roland West based on a 1925 Broadway play by Willard Mack and starring Norma Talmadge, Noah Beery, and Gilbert Roland.
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) is a biopic that tells the story of Lillian Roth, a Broadway star who rebels against the pressure of her domineering mother and struggles with alcoholism after the death of her fiancé. It stars Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert, Margo, and Jo Van Fleet.
Marie Antoinette is a 1938 American historical drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starred Norma Shearer as Marie Antoinette. Based upon the 1932 biography of the ill-fated Queen of France by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, it had its Los Angeles premiere at the legendary Carthay Circle Theatre, where the landscaping was specially decorated for the event.
The White Cliffs of Dover is a 1944 American war drama film based on the verse novel The White Cliffs by Alice Duer Miller. It was made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown, and produced by Clarence Brown and Sidney Franklin. The screenplay was by Claudine West, Jan Lustig and George Froeschel, with the credit for additional poetry by Robert Nathan. Nathan stated in an interview that he wrote the screenplay as his first work as a contracted writer for MGM but the studio credited Claudine West who died in 1943 as a tribute to her.
A Lady Takes a Chance is a 1943 American romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Jean Arthur and John Wayne. Written by Robert Ardrey and based on a story by Jo Swerling, the film is about a New York working girl who travels to the American West on a bus tour and meets and falls in love with a handsome rodeo cowboy. The film was produced for RKO Radio Pictures by Frank Ross, who was Arthur's husband at the time. The supporting cast features Phil Silvers, Hans Conried, Charles Winninger and Mary Field.
Norma Shearer (1902–1983) was a Canadian American film actress who was nominated five times for an Academy Award. She and her sister Athole were assisted in their pursuit of show business careers by their mother Edith Fisher Shearer. After amassing numerous letters of introduction from a variety of show business-related people in Canada, the trio relocated to New York, hoping to get into musical theatre.
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney is a 1937 American comedy drama film adapted from the 1925 Frederick Lonsdale play The Last of Mrs. Cheyney. The film tells the story of a chic jewel thief in England, who falls in love with one of her marks.
A Lady of Chance is a 1928 synchronized sound film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with singing and sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film is based upon the story "Little Angel" by Leroy Scott and is Norma Shearer's last silent film. Although the film was released with added dialogue scenes, Shearer had no lines. The film's copyright was renewed, so it did not enter the public domain until January 1, 2024.
Smilin' Through is a 1932 American pre-Code MGM romantic drama film based on the 1919 play of the same name written by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin under the pseudonym of Allan Langdon Martin. It was adapted from the play by James Bernard Fagan, Donald Ogden Stewart, Ernest Vajda and Claudine West. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin and stars Norma Shearer, Fredric March, Leslie Howard and Ralph Forbes.
Her Cardboard Lover is a 1942 American comedy film directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, and George Sanders. The screenplay by Jacques Deval, John Collier, Anthony Veiller, and William H. Wright is based on the English translation of Deval's 1926 play Dans sa candeur naïve by Valerie Wyngate and P.G. Wodehouse.
Excuse Me is a 1925 American silent comedy film starring Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel. It was directed by Alfred J. Goulding, and based on the 1911 play of the same name written by best-selling novelist Rupert Hughes. The comedy concerns naval officer Harry Mallory and his would-be bride Marjorie Newton who spend most of their time running up and down a train looking for a clergyman to marry them.
The Snob is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Monta Bell. The film starred Norma Shearer and John Gilbert, together with Phyllis Haver, Conrad Nagel, and Hedda Hopper. The film was written by Monta Bell, and was based on the novel The Snob: The Story of a Marriage by Helen Reimensnyder Martin.
The Tower of Lies is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Victor Sjöström. It was written by Agnes Christine Johnston and Max Marcin, based upon Selma Lagerlöf's 1914 novel The Emperor of Portugallia. The film was supposed to be called The Emperor of Portugallia, but was later changed to The Tower of Lies.
The Law and the Lady is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Edwin H. Knopf and starring Greer Garson, Michael Wilding and Fernando Lamas. It is not related to the Wilkie Collins novel The Law and the Lady. Very loosely based on the 1925 play The Last of Mrs. Cheyney by Frederick Lonsdale, the action is transferred to the turn of the century, the names are all changed, and the first half of the film shows the history of the two thieves. Previous film versions of the story, made in 1929, starring Norma Shearer, and 1937, starring Joan Crawford, retained the play's contemporary setting, included a crew of confederates, and opened with Mrs. Cheyney as an established figure in society. This film also ends differently from the play, with the partners in crime ending as romantic partners but going back to England to face the music for their very first swindle. In the play and in the two other films, Charles leaves and Mrs. Cheyney accepts Lord Dilling, who kisses her and declares: “That's the Last of Mrs. Cheyney!”
Expensive Women is a 1931 American pre-Code film drama. It was produced by First National Pictures and distributed through their parent company Warner Bros. The film was directed by silent film veteran Hobart Henley and stars Dolores Costello. It was Costello's final film as a leading lady and star for Warners, which she had been since 1925. She retired to be the wife of John Barrymore and to raise their family. Costello would return to films five years later after a long hiatus and the end of her marriage to Barrymore, but never regained the luster she enjoyed as a Warners star.
Riptide is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama film starring Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery and Herbert Marshall, written and directed by Edmund Goulding, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
We Were Dancing is a 1942 MGM romantic comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, written by Claudine West, Hans Rameau and George Froeschel, and starring Norma Shearer and Melvyn Douglas. It is based loosely on Noël Coward's 1935 play of the same name, together with ideas from Ways and Means, another play in Coward's Tonight at 8.30 play cycle, and Coward's Private Lives.
Cocktail Hour is a 1933 American pre-Code romantic drama film produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures and starring Bebe Daniels. This film was directed by Victor Schertzinger.
