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.
Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American black comedy film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American movie industry.
A Free Soul is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film that tells the story of an alcoholic San Francisco defense attorney who must defend his daughter's ex-boyfriend on a charge of murdering the mobster she had started a relationship with, who he had previously gotten an acquittal for on a murder charge. A Free Soul stars Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, Lionel Barrymore, and Clark Gable.
Gloria May Josephine Swanson was an American actress, producer, and businesswoman. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for her 1950 return in Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, which also earned her a Golden Globe Award.
Their Own Desire is a 1929 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Norma Shearer, Belle Bennett, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, and Helene Millard. The film was adapted by James Forbes and Frances Marion from the novel by Sarita Fuller; Lucille Newmark wrote the titles. It is also the last MGM film in the 1920s. Shearer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, but lost to herself for The Divorcee.
The Phantom of Crestwood is a 1932 American pre-Code murder-mystery film released by Radio Pictures, directed by J. Walter Ruben, and starring Ricardo Cortez, Karen Morley, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Anita Louise, H.B. Warner, and Pauline Frederick. Morley plays Jenny Wren, who plans to extort money from various wealthy ex-lovers, after she lures them to a ranch called “Casa de Andes” near Crestwood, California. The picture features what Leonard Maltin called an "eye-popping" flashback technique, where the camera seems to whirl from one scene to the next, although William K. Howard had actually pioneered this technique earlier that year in The Trial of Vivienne Ware.
The Stolen Jools is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy short produced by the Masquers Club of Hollywood, featuring many cameo appearances by film stars of the day. The stars appeared in the film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, to raise funds for the National Vaudeville Artists Tuberculosis Sanitarium. The UCLA Film and Television Archive entry for this film says—as do the credits—that the film was co-sponsored by Chesterfield cigarettes to support the "fine work" of the NVA sanitarium.
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.
When Ladies Meet is a 1941 American romantic comedy film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Joan Crawford, Robert Taylor, Greer Garson, Herbert Marshall, and Spring Byington in a story about a novelist in love with her publisher. 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 co-produced the film. The film was a remake of the 1933 pre-Code film of the same name, which starred Ann Harding, Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery, and Frank Morgan in the roles played by Garson, Crawford, Taylor and Marshall.
A Slave of Fashion is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Norma Shearer and Lew Cody, with William Haines. A young Joan Crawford had an early uncredited role as a mannequin.
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.
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.
Upstage is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Monta Bell, starring Norma Shearer and New York musical comedy star Oscar Shaw.
The Philadelphia Story is a 1939 American comic play by Philip Barry. It tells the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist. Written as a vehicle for Katharine Hepburn, its success marked a reversal of fortunes for the actress, who was one of the film stars deemed "box office poison" in 1938.
Let Us Be Gay is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film produced and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard and stars Norma Shearer. It was filmed concurrently with and based upon the 1929 play by Rachel Crothers starring Tallulah Bankhead, which ran for 128 performances at London's Lyric Theater. Critics generally preferred Tallulah's rendition to Shearer's.
The Wanters is a 1923 American silent society drama film produced by Louis B. Mayer, directed by John M. Stahl and distributed by Associated First National Pictures, which became First National Pictures in 1924. The film stars Marie Prevost, Robert Ellis, and Norma Shearer.
Waking Up the Town is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze and written by Frank Condon and James Cruze. The film stars Jack Pickford, Claire McDowell, Alec B. Francis, Norma Shearer, and Herbert Prior. The film was released on April 14, 1925, by United Artists.
Her Wedding Night is a 1930 American comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by Avery Hopwood and Henry Myers. The film stars Clara Bow, Ralph Forbes, Charlie Ruggles, Richard "Skeets" Gallagher, Geneva Mitchell, and Rosita Moreno. The film was released on September 18, 1930, by Paramount Pictures. Paramount remade the film at the company's Joinville Studios in Paris into several other languages including the French version Let's Get Married.
Three-Ring Marriage also known as 3-Ring Marriage is a lost 1928 American silent drama film directed by Marshall Neilan and starring Mary Astor, Lloyd Hughes, and Lawford Davidson.
