Joan Crawford was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison".
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke was a Canadian-American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie musical The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Rain is a 1932 pre-Code drama film that stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson. Directed by Lewis Milestone and set in the South Seas, the production was filmed in part at Santa Catalina Island and what is now Crystal Cove State Park in California. The film also features Walter Huston in the role of a conflicted missionary who insists that Sadie end her evil ways, but whose own moral standards and self-righteous behavior steadily decay. Crawford was loaned out by MGM to United Artists for this film.
Oliver Twist is a 1922 American silent drama film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, featuring Lon Chaney as Fagin and Jackie Coogan as Oliver Twist. The film was directed by Frank Lloyd. It was selected as one of the best pictures of 1922 by New York Times, Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Walter J. Israel handled the costuming. Studio interiors were filmed at the Robert Brunton Studios in Hollywood. The film's tagline was "8 Great Reels that make you ask for more. Will Hays says Jackie Coogan Films are the sort the World needs." A still exists showing Fagin training his wards to be pickpockets.
Jacqueline Laura Hoffman is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second City comedy improv group.
Sally, Irene, and Mary is a 1925 American silent comedy drama film starring Constance Bennett, Sally O'Neil, and Joan Crawford. It is based on the 1922 play of the same name by Eddie Dowling and Cyrus Woods and takes a behind-the-scenes look at the romantic lives of three chorus girls and the way their preferences in men affect their lives. The play was adapted again in 1938, again titled Sally, Irene, and Mary and directed by William A. Seiter. That version stars Alice Faye, Joan Davis, and Marjorie Weaver in the title roles, and co-starred Tony Martin, Fred Allen, and Jimmy Durante.
Paid is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Armstrong, and Kent Douglass in a story about a wrongly accused ex-convict who seeks revenge on those who sent her to prison using a scam called the "Heart Balm Racket".
Forsaking All Others is a 1934 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starring Robert Montgomery, Joan Crawford and Clark Gable. The screenplay was written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, which was based upon a 1933 play by Edward Barry Roberts and Frank Morgan Cavett starring Tallulah Bankhead.
The Bride Wore Red is a 1937 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Robert Young and Billie Burke. It was based on the unproduced play The Bride from Trieste by Ferenc Molnár. In this "rags to riches" tale, Crawford plays a cabaret singer who poses as an aristocrat. This film is the last of the seven films that Crawford and co-star Franchot Tone, then her husband, made together.
When Ladies Meet is a 1941 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American romantic comedy film starring Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall and Spring Byington. The screenplay by S.K. Lauren and Anita Loos was based upon a 1932 play by Rachel Crothers. The film was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who also coproduced along with Orville O. Dull. The film was a remake of the 1933 pre-Code film of the same name, which had starred Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan in the roles played by Garson, Crawford, Taylor and Marshall.
They All Kissed the Bride is a 1942 American screwball comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Joan Crawford and Melvyn Douglas.
Artists and Models Abroad is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Jack Benny, Joan Bennett and Mary Boland. It was made by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Ken Englund, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.
Highway Dragnet is a 1954 American film noir B film crime film directed by Nathan Juran from a story by U.S. Andersen and Roger Corman. The film stars Richard Conte, Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix. It was Roger Corman's first feature film credit. Corman also worked as an associate producer.
The Women is a 1939 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor. The film is based on Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, who had to make the film acceptable for the Production Code for it to be released.
The Rag Man is a 1925 American comedy-drama film starring Jackie Coogan. The film was directed by Edward F. Cline, and written by Willard Mack. This was the first Jackie Coogan movie made entirely under the MGM banner.
Gangster's Boy is a 1938 American drama film directed by William Nigh. It stars Jackie Cooper in his second film for Monogram Pictures. The film was positively received, and has been released on DVD.
Craig's Wife is a 1936 American drama film starring Rosalind Russell as a domineering wife. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1925 Broadway play of the same name by George Kelly, and directed by Dorothy Arzner. Former MGM star William Haines was the film's production designer. Previously filmed in 1928, Craig's Wife was remade in 1950 as Harriet Craig, rewritten as a vehicle for Joan Crawford and co-starring Wendell Corey.
Under Age is a 1941 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Nan Grey, Alan Baxter, Mary Anderson, and Tom Neal.
Della is a 1964 American made-for-television drama film starring Joan Crawford, Paul Burke, Charles Bickford and Diane Baker. Directed by Robert Gist, the film was originally produced by Four Star Television as a television pilot for a proposed NBC series named Royal Bay which was to star Burke as a lawyer and Bickford as his cantankerous, righteous father.
Eighteen and Anxious is a 1957 American drama film directed by Joe Parker and written by Katherine Eunson and Dale Eunson. The film stars William Campbell, Martha Scott, Jackie Loughery, Jim Backus, Ron Hagerthy, and Jackie Coogan. The film was released on November 15, 1957, by Republic Pictures.
