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Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Born on April 5th, 1908

Lowell, Massachusetts, USA

Died on October 6th, 1989

Biography

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful. She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading ladies, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized. Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue 10 Academy Award nominations for acting, and was the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of eclipse, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 films, television and theater roles to her credit. In 1999, Davis was placed second, after Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.

Filmography

Faye

2024

Self - Actor (archive footage)

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Faye

2024

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Madonna: Madame X

2021

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Mike Wallace Is Here

2019

(archive footage)

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Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018

Self (archive footage)

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Always at The Carlyle

2018

Self (archive footage)

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Bette Davis: Larger Than Life

2017

Self (archive footage)

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Bette and Joan

2017

Self (archive footage)

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Listen to Me Marlon

2015

Self (archive footage)

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Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire

2014

Self - Actress (archive footage)

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And the Oscar Goes To...

2014

Self (archive footage)

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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

2013

Self (archive footage)

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Footsteps on the Ceiling

2013

Margo Channing (archive footage)

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The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka

2009

Self (archive footage)

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Queer Icon: The Cult of Bette Davis

2009

Self (archive footage)

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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

2009

Self (archive footage)

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Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema

2007

Self (archive footage)

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Jezebel: Legend of the South

2006

Self (archive footage)

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Stardust: The Bette Davis Story

2006

Self (archive footage)

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Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition

2006

Self (archive footage)

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The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert

2005

Self (archive footage)

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The Adventures of Errol Flynn

2005

Queen Elizabeth (archive footage)

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Complicated Women

2003

Self (archive footage)

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Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

2002

Self (archive footage)

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Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies

2001

Self (archive footage)

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Backstory: 'All About Eve'

2000

Self (archive footage)

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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender

1997

Self (archive footage)

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Frank Capra's American Dream

1997

Self (archive footage)

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Joan Crawford: Always the Star

1996

Self (archive footage)

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Intimate Portrait: Bette Davis

1996

Self (archive footage)

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Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill

1994

Self (archive footage)

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All About Bette

1994

Self

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Wicked Stepmother

1989

Miranda Pierpoint

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Hairway to the Stars

1989

Self [Archive Footage]

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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

1988

Self (archive footage)

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The Whales of August

1987

Libby Strong

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Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood

1987

(archive footage)

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As Summers Die

1986

Hannah Loftin

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Directed by William Wyler

1986

Self

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Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend

1986

Self (from All About Eve [1950]) (archive footage)

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Bette Davis at the Cinémathèque Française

1986

Herself

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Murder with Mirrors

1985

Carrie Louise Serrocold

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Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers

1985

Self (archive footage)

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Going Hollywood: The '30s

1984

(archive footage)

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Right of Way

1983

Miniature Dwyer

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Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano

1983

Self

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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

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Showbiz Goes to War

1982

(archive footage)

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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982

(in "Deception") (archive footage)

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Night of 100 Stars

1982

Self

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A Piano for Mrs. Cimino

1982

Esther McDonald Cimino

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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!

1982

Self (archive footage)

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Family Reunion

1981

Elizabeth Winfield

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Skyward

1980

Billie Dupree

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The Watcher in the Woods

1980

Mrs. Aylwood

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White Mama

1980

Estelle Malone

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Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter

1979

Lucy Mason

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The Horror Show

1979

(archive footage)

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Death on the Nile

1978

Marie Van Schuyler

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Return from Witch Mountain

1978

Letha Wedge

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Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette

1978

Marie Van Schuyler (archive footage)

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The Disappearance of Aimee

1976

Minnie Kennedy

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Burnt Offerings

1976

Aunt Elizabeth

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Hello Mother, Goodbye!

1974

Character TBA

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Scream, Pretty Peggy

1973

Mrs. Elliott

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The Men Who Made the Movies: King Vidor

1973

Self (archive footage)

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Bette Davis

1972

Self

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The Judge and Jake Wyler

1972

Judge Meredith

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The Scopone Game

1972

'A vecchia

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Madame Sin

1972

Madame Sin

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Bunny O'Hare

1971

Bunny O'Hare

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Connecting Rooms

1970

Wanda Fleming

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The Anniversary

1968

Mrs. Taggart

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The Nanny

1965

Nanny

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The Decorator

1965

Liz

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Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

1964

Charlotte Hollis

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Where Love Has Gone

1964

Mrs. Gerald Hayden

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Hollywood and the Stars

1964

(archive footage)

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Dead Ringer

1964

Margaret DeLorca / Edith Phillips

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The Empty Canvas

1963

Dino's Mother

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The Andy Williams Christmas Show

1962

Character TBA

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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

1962

Baby Jane Hudson

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Pocketful of Miracles

1961

Apple Annie

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The Scapegoat

1959

Countess

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John Paul Jones

1959

Empress Catherine the Great

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Storm Center

1956

Alicia Hull

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The Catered Affair

1956

Mrs. Agnes Hurley

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The Virgin Queen

1955

Queen Elizabeth I

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The Star

1952

Margaret Elliot

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Phone Call from a Stranger

1952

Marie Hoke

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Another Man's Poison

1951

Janet Frobisher

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Payment on Demand

1951

Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)

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All About Eve

1950

Margo Channing

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Breakdowns of 1949

1949

Self

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Beyond the Forest

1949

Rosa Moline

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June Bride

1948

Linda Gilman

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Winter Meeting

1948

Susan Grieve

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Deception

1946

Christine Radcliffe

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A Stolen Life

1946

Kate Bosworth / Patricia Bosworth

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The Corn Is Green

1945

Miss Lilly Christabel Moffat

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Breakdowns of 1944

1944

Self

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Hollywood Canteen

1944

Self

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Mr. Skeffington

1944

Fanny Trellis

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A Present with a Future

1943

Mother

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Old Acquaintance

1943

Kit Marlowe

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The Voice That Thrilled the World

1943

Self (segment 'Dangerous') (archive footage)

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Thank Your Lucky Stars

1943

Self

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Watch on the Rhine

1943

Sara Müller

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Show-Business at War

1943

Self

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Stars on Horseback

1943

Character TBA

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Breakdowns of 1942

1942

Self

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Now, Voyager

1942

Charlotte Vale

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In This Our Life

1942

Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill

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The Man Who Came to Dinner

1941

Maggie Cutler

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Breakdowns of 1941

1941

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

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The Little Foxes

1941

Regina Hubbard Giddens

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The Bride Came C.O.D.

1941

Joan Winfield

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Shining Victory

1941

Character TBA

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The Great Lie

1941

Maggie Patterson Van Allen

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The Letter

1940

Leslie Crosbie

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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards

1940

Self

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All This, and Heaven Too

1940

Henriette Deluzy-Desportes

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If I Forget You

1940

Bette Davis

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Breakdowns of 1939

1939

Self

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The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

1939

Queen Elizabeth

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The Old Maid

1939

Charlotte Lovell

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Juarez

1939

Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg

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Dark Victory

1939

Judith Traherne

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Breakdowns of 1938

1938

Self (archive footage)

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The Sisters

1938

Louise Elliott Medlin

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Jezebel

1938

Julie Marsden

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Breakdowns of 1937

1937

Self

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It's Love I'm After

1937

Joyce Arden

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That Certain Woman

1937

Mary Donnell/Mme Al Haines

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Kid Galahad

1937

Louise 'Fluff' Phillips

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A Day at Santa Anita

1937

Character TBA

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Marked Woman

1937

Mary Dwight Strauber

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Breakdowns of 1936

1936

Self

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Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

1936

Self

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Satan Met a Lady

1936

Valerie Purvis

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The Golden Arrow

1936

Daisy Appleby

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The Petrified Forest

1936

Gabrielle "Gabby" Maple

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A Dream Comes True

1935

Character TBA

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Dangerous

1935

Joyce Heath

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Special Agent

1935

Julie Gardner

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Front Page Woman

1935

Ellen Garfield

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The Girl from 10th Avenue

1935

Miriam A. Brady

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Bordertown

1935

Mrs. Marie Roark

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Housewife

1934

Patricia Berkeley

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Of Human Bondage

1934

Mildred Rogers

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Fog Over Frisco

1934

Arlene Bradford

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Jimmy the Gent

1934

Joan Martin

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Fashions of 1934

1934

Lynn Mason

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The Big Shakedown

1934

Norma Nelson

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Bureau of Missing Persons

1933

Norma Roberts

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Ex-Lady

1933

Helen Bauer

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The Working Man

1933

Jenny Hartland alias Jane Grey

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The 42nd Street Special

1933

Self (uncredited)

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Parachute Jumper

1933

Patricia 'Alabama' Brent

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Just Around the Corner

1933

Ginger

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20,000 Years in Sing Sing

1932

Fay Wilson

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Three on a Match

1932

Ruth Westcott

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The Cabin in the Cotton

1932

Madge Norwood

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The Dark Horse

1932

Kay Russell

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The Rich Are Always with Us

1932

Malbro

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So Big!

1932

Miss Dallas O'Mara

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The Man Who Played God

1932

Grace Blair

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Hell's House

1932

Peggy Gardner

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The Menace

1932

Peggy Lowell

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Way Back Home

1931

Mary Lucy Duffy

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Waterloo Bridge

1931

Janet Cronin

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Seed

1931

Margaret Carter

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The Bad Sister

1931

Laura Madison

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