
Acting
Mary Brian
Born — Died
1906-02-17 — 2002-12-30
Place of birth
Corsicana, Texas, USA
Known for
Acting
Credits
61 titles
Mary Brian (born Louise Byrdie Dantzler, February 17, 1906 – December 30, 2002), was an American actress, who made the transition from silent films to sound films. Brian was dubbed "The Sweetest Girl in Pictures." After her showing in a beauty contest, she was given an audition by Paramount Pictures and cast by director Herbert Brenon as Wendy Darling in his silent movie version of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. There she starred with Betty Bronson and Esther Ralston, and the three of them stayed close for the rest of their lives. Ralston described both Bronson and Brian as 'very charming people'. The studio, who created her stage name for the movie and said she was age 16 instead of 18, because…
Known for
8.0Meet Corliss Archer is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from April to December 1954. The series stars Ann Baker in the title role. The program was an adaptation of the radio series of the same name, which was based on a series of short stories by F. Hugh Herbert.
Meet Corliss Archer
1954
8.0Aka Passport to Heaven. In Prussia shoemaker Voight needs a residence permit to get a job, but can only get a job if he already has a permit. He dons a captain's uniform to order a platoon of soldiers to Koepenick to take over the Town Hall to get his permit.
I Was a Criminal
1941
7.2Easy-Money Charley, the best fake crippled beggar in New York, loses his beloved dog and adopts a dying prostitute's daughter to fill the empty place in his heart.
The Street of Forgotten Men
1925
6.4Hildy Johnson is an investigative reporter looking for a bigger paycheck. When an accused murderer escapes from custody, Hildy sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime. But when he finds the criminal, he learns that the man may not be guilty. With the help of his editor, Hildy attempts to hide the convict, uncover the conspiracy and write the scoop of his career.
The Front Page
1931
6.3Hard-working, henpecked Ambrose Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match with catastrophic consequences.
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
7.0Muriel Rossi (Mary Brian), the sister of a racketeer, Al Rossi (Harry Woods), falls in love with Bob Martel (Bruce Cabot), the son of a police detective, Joe Martel (Grant Mitchell). Their love affair causes bot families problems when Bob is framed, but saved as a result of his father's access to police department films.
Shadows of Sing Sing
1933
Film credits
1940s · 4 titles
8.0Aka Passport to Heaven. In Prussia shoemaker Voight needs a residence permit to get a job, but can only get a job if he already has a permit. He dons a captain's uniform to order a platoon of soldiers to Koepenick to take over the Town Hall to get his permit.
I Was a Criminal
1941
6.0A forger is forced to work for a Nazi spy ring. His conscience gets the better of him, though, and he secretly conspires with the FBI to turn over the gang.
I Escaped from the Gestapo
1943
7.0A love-smitten cowpoke accidentally causes a horse stampede.
Calaboose
1943
6.5Three women inherit a 10-ton truck and decide to go into business. Hi jinks ensue.
Danger! Women at Work
1943
1930s · 34 titles
6.4Hildy Johnson is an investigative reporter looking for a bigger paycheck. When an accused murderer escapes from custody, Hildy sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime. But when he finds the criminal, he learns that the man may not be guilty. With the help of his editor, Hildy attempts to hide the convict, uncover the conspiracy and write the scoop of his career.
The Front Page
1931
6.3Hard-working, henpecked Ambrose Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match with catastrophic consequences.
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
7.0Muriel Rossi (Mary Brian), the sister of a racketeer, Al Rossi (Harry Woods), falls in love with Bob Martel (Bruce Cabot), the son of a police detective, Joe Martel (Grant Mitchell). Their love affair causes bot families problems when Bob is framed, but saved as a result of his father's access to police department films.
Shadows of Sing Sing
1933
6.6Charlie's visit to Paris, ostensibly a vacation, is really a mission to investigate a bond-forgery racket. But his agent, apache dancer Nardi is killed before she can tell him much. The case, complicated by a false murder accusation for banker's daughter Yvette, climaxes with a strange journey through the Paris sewers.
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935
6.9A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.
Hard to Handle
1933
6.0The lives of the residents of a Manhattan apartment building are intertwined with the actions of a crooked investor.
Manhattan Tower
1932
6.8A bored millionaire wagers his doctor that he can support himself at a working class job for a year without touching his inheritance.
The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss
1936
6.0A profligate, polo-playing playboy (Henry Fonda) is married to a beautiful but superficial heiress (Mary Brian). They divorce, and the wife gets all the money. But the humbled (and impoverished) Fonda finds true love in the arms of Pat Paterson, who cares nothing for material things.
Spendthrift
1936
7.3An ordinary man is confronted by gangsters who have reason to believe a treasure is buried somewhere on his property.
Captain Applejack
1931
7.2A man is convicted of killing his boss, whom he suspected of having an affair with his wife. On board the train taking him to prison for his execution are a reporter, who is dying of lung cancer and wants to interview the condemned man--and who also has some inside knowledge of the circumstances of the man's case. Also aboard is the prisoner's wife, who doesn't believe her husband is a killer and desperately wants to talk to him about it but he refuses to speak to her.
One Year Later
1933
6.0Several members of MGM's 'galaxy of stars' attend an evening of music and a fashion show.
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
1934
4.8A district attorney and a reporter try to find the killer of a D.A. who uncovered a massive stock fraud.
The World Gone Mad
1933
9.0The son of a stodgy British earl falls in love with the daughter of an American millionaire businessman. The fathers oppose the relationship.
Two's Company
1936
6.8A New York gossip columnist feuds with a singer and enjoys the power of the press.
Blessed Event
1932
10.0This drama centers on the fight for certain post-Prohibitionist groups to gain total control over the liquor industry. Much of the tale is focused upon a family endeavoring to keep their little brewery.
Song of the Eagle
1933
5.9Julie Cavendish comes from a family of great Broadway actors. Her mother Fanny staunchly continues acting. Her boisterous brother Tony is fleeing a breach of promise suit in Hollywood. Her daughter Gwen must decide between going on stage, or settling down in a conventional marriage. Julie is just thinking that it would be nice to retire and get married, when who should turn up but her old beau, Gilmore Marshall, the platinum magnate from South America.
The Royal Family of Broadway
1930
6.4Scotty, an unwilling Navy war hero is cast into the limelight. He wants to get married and be an engineer, but is forced to fulfil the expectations of the public, his employer and his PR agent, which he hates. Although he and his long time girlfriend Janet love each other, they are pressured to marry before they are ready. The strain takes its toll on both of them.
It's Tough to Be Famous
1932
5.2A friend of Dick Bailey is killed by a mysterious assailant, whom Dick suspects to be Stack, who is in league with the crooked sheriff. Out on a spree Dick swears he will marry the first woman he sees, who happens to be Ruth Hammond, sister of his dead friend, arriving to take charge of the Hammond ranch. Revolted by his rough proposal,she fires him as the Hammond foreman and she proceeds to the ranch. Stack informs her he has purchased the ranch for the payment of the back-due taxes, and she relents and rehires Dick and his friends to aid her in her fight against Stack.
The Light of Western Stars
1930
6.7Following a killing and robbery in a big city back east, gang leader Kedge Darvas and some of his henchies take a train to a small western town in Idaho, with intentions of hiding out there until things cool down back in Chi or NYC, or wherever they lammed from.They are welcomed with open arms by the citizens under the impression they are there as capital investors with money to spend. Before long, Darvas figures the town is ripe for the taking and sends word for reinforcements, and each arriving train unloads a few suits and snappy-brim hats.Then they get rough, kill Sheriff Posey Meed and rile up the citizens, led by cowhand Brad Farley, who had Darvas spotted for a wrong number just by the way he made moves on Sue Vancey.
Gun Smoke
1931
8.0A film producer is found murdered on a ship, and among the suspects are a young woman whose mother was mistreated by him and his recently fired electrician.
The Unwritten Law
1932
5.9This 1930 film, a collection of songs and sketches showcasing Paramount Studios' contract stars, credits 11 directors
Paramount on Parade
1930
8.0Jennie Mullins and her fiancé Peter Cary are happily in love but their families are miserable about their relationship. The Carys and Mullinses have been feuding for years over the apparent failure of the Carys' business which was caused by the now-deceased Mr. Mullins. Despite familial pressure to the contrary, Jennie and Peter proceed with their wedding. Just before the wedding, Peter receives advice from his soon-to-be brothers-in-law, Jeff and Bill Mullins. Both men warn him about the drudgery of marriage, ply him with drink, and destroy his fantasy of an ideal, romantic marriage.
Three Married Men
1936
5.2Showgirls Kay and June are stranded on Palm Beach when they become involved in the case of a fellow chorine who has gone missing on her wedding night.
Girl Missing
1933
6.0Rubber-legged comedian Leon Errol made his talkie starring bow in Paramount's Only Saps Work. Based on a play by Owen Davis Sr., the film casts Errol as James Wilson, a kleptomaniac who starts with picking pockets and ends up robbing a bank. Wilson's friend Lawrence Payne (Richard Arlen) inadvertently aids our hero during one of his heists, ending up in deep doo-doo with the law. Before Wilson is able to extricate Payne from his dilemma for the sake of heroine Barbara Tanner (Mary Brian), he pauses long enough to pose as a private eye -- and even gives bellboy Oscar (Stu Erwin) tips on how to spot a crook! If only all of Leon Errol's feature films had been as consistently hilarious as Only Saps Work.
Only Saps Work
1930
Fantasy of a bank clerk who accepts a deposit of a million too late to put it in the bank and has to guard it over the weekend.
Once in a Million
1936
5.9A man wrongfully convicted of murder escapes custody and goes in search of the real killer. The problem is that he only has one clue to go on.
Monte Carlo Nights
1934
8.0The police use a gangster's son to get to him.
Homicide Squad
1931
4.8Cappy Ricks, a crusty old sea captain, returns home from a long voyage to discover that his family and his business are in chaos--his daughter is set to marry a nitwit that he can't stand, and his future mother-in-law has taken over everything and is set to merge his business with that of a rival company. Worst of all, though, is that she--in the interests of "progress"--has completely automated his beloved ship, "Electra"!. He sets out to put an end to all this foolishness and comes up with what he thinks is a foolproof plan.
Affairs of Cappy Ricks
1937
8.0A master of disguise poses as a wax figure to rob a safe of its jewels.
Killer at Large
1936
6.5The murders are committed in swift succession on board a liner crossing the Atlantic in a dense fog, and many of the passengers come under suspicion before the actual killer is bought to justice with the aid of a very substantial "ghost."
Fog
1933
6.0A sailor bets his friends he can get a date with any woman they choose. They pick out a librarian with glasses and a bookish appearance. When he pursues her, he discovers that she is quite beautiful and that he has competition -- but his rival has more sinister intentions than anyone imagines.
Navy Blues
1937
5.4In this comedy, a Yiddish fellow cannot keep from kibitzing into other people's lives. Trouble ensues when he is mistakenly given a huge fortune in stocks that he can spend any way he pleases. At the same time, his daughter has fallen in love with an impoverished, but good hearted boy. When the kibitzer suggests he bet all his money on a dog of a racehorse, the lad does it. Against all odds, the horse wins, and suddenly the young man is quite wealthy.
The Kibitzer
1930
8.0Filmed in an early Technicolor process, The Runaround tells the story of Broadway dancer Evelyn who refuses to play the gold-digging games indulged in by her fellow chorines
The Runaround
1931
7.0Cooper is a Union Army officer who after being jilted by girlfriend, Virginia Bruce, volunteers on what could be a suicide mission. He volunteers to go behind enemy lines disguised in Confederate gray as a staff officer to Robert E. Lee. He's to ride to a certain plantation which is a local brigade headquarters and deliberately let himself be caught with maps showing false Union troop positions. Of course, the penalty, then as now, is execution.
Only the Brave
1930
1920s · 21 titles
7.2Easy-Money Charley, the best fake crippled beggar in New York, loses his beloved dog and adopts a dying prostitute's daughter to fill the empty place in his heart.
The Street of Forgotten Men
1925
5.7Mississippi, 1830's. Tom Rumsford comes back to Magnolia Landing, his parents'estate. Having been brought up in the North by Quaker relatives, he just hates violence and accordingly refuses a duel. As this is the only way in the South to settle a dispute between gentlemen, Tom's father is so infuriated by his behavior that Tom has no other choice but leave. Away from Magnolia Landing, Tom learns bravery and returns seven years later as "the notorious Colonel Blake", the terror of the Lower Mississippi.
The River of Romance
1929
7.0Prince Alexis is the son of the king of a small European country. His duties, though fairly unimportant, nevertheless keep him so busy that he has no time for anything else. One day he meets and falls in love with a pretty young girl and wants to spend as much time with her as possible, but the royal advisers won't allow it, as it would take away from his duties. To make matters worse, his father dies and Alexis becomes king. Frustrated at his position and his inability to spend time with the woman he loves, he comes up with a novel plan to solve his problems.
He's a Prince!
1925
8.0A mad captain poses as a cleric to murder people aboard a fogbound ship.
Black Waters
1929
7.0Gold miner Edd Denmeade loves Lucy Watson, the sister of the official mining claim recorder. Denmeade suspects Watson of killing his father, who after a poker game was shot by a gambler "who shuffles with one hand." The real murderer, Sam Spralls, has convinced Watson that he killed Denmeade and threatens to expose him unless Watson assigns him all the gold claims. Spralls assembles a band of killers to jump the claims when Watson complies. Eventually, Denmeade learns the identity of the killer when he sees Spralls shuffle a deck of cards. He forms a vigilante party and rids the community of Spralls and his gang.
Under the Tonto Rim
1928
5.8A good-natured cowboy who is romancing the new schoolmarm has a crisis of conscience when he discovers his best friend is engaged in cattle rustling.
The Virginian
1929
6.9Peter Pan enters the nursery of the Darling children and, with the help of fairy dust, leads them off to Never Never Land, where they meet the nefarious Captain Hook.
Peter Pan
1924
5.5Wellman’s first all-talkie, scripted by Herman Mankiewicz, with arrogant boxer Richard Arlen romancing Mary Brian, then falling for temptress Olga Baclanova (Freaks) on the eve of the big fight.
The Man I Love
1929
10.0Landing at a Chinese port, tough sea captain Bucklin and his passengers are threatened by a marauding war lord, who intends to kill the captain and hold the others hostage as part of his campaign of destruction against all white men.
Shanghai Bound
1927
6.4Brothers Beau, John and Digby Geste join the Foreign Legion, where they fall under the rule of tyrannical Sergeant Markoff. Beau and John are assigned to Fort Zinderneuf, where Markoff tries to break their spirit, aware of a dark family secret concerning a fabulous jewel one of them carries. As tensions rise, Arabs attack the fort and rivalries must be thrown aside in a desperate battle for life.
Beau Geste
1926
7.0While taking a morning workout, young prizefighter Danny Martin encounters Charlotte Hamilton in distress over her balky roadster. Martin wins his fight but is counted a loser by a crooked referee. Later, he is invited to a barbecue at Charlotte's home, but when John Hamilton, who strongly dislikes fighters, learns of Martin's profession, he shows him the door. Danny gives up his career for Charlotte and opens a health resort for obese millionaires. Hamilton and his prospective son-in-law, Penrod, arrive at the resort for treatment, and their indignation and disgust at the treatment provide comic complications. Learning that Danny and Charlotte have already eloped, Hamilton is at first furious, then resigns himself to their happiness.
Her Father Said No
1927
7.0The Beagles and the Hickses are two mountain families that have been feuding all their lives. The Hickses come up with a plan to get rid of their enemies once and for all by hiring two sharpshooters to finish them off. Turns out that the "sharpshooters" aren't quite all they're cracked up to be, resulting in some unintended consequences.
The Big Killing
1928
9.0Francis, the result of a clandestine marriage between the Duke of Chatsfield and a peasant girl, after being raised in a monastery following his parents death assumes his title but falls victim to a pair of schemers leading to much heartache before all is set aright before the fadeout.
The Prince of Tempters
1926
6.2During World War I a young man joins the army and winds up befriending another young recruit, not knowing that it's the same pickpocket who stole his watch. After finishing basic training, the two are sent to the front lines in France, where they wind up in trouble with the MPs, getting involved with some cute French girls and "volunteering" for a dangerous front-line mission, and their antics result in their endangering the armistice.
Behind the Front
1926
8.0A poor but honest sheet-music salesman is parted from his wealthy fiancée when she mistakenly comes to believe he’s nothing but a gold digger. But circumstance places him on the board of an exclusive girls’ school, where he can prove his integrity as well as his love. This film is believed lost.
Someone to Love
1928
7.0Farmboy Harold moves to the city and there attends high school. Soon he is very popular, his spirited nature causing much excitement on the campus. He joins a fraternity, goes out for football, and directs his class theatrical effort. Instead of a school play, Harold suggests doing a western motion picture. Part of the plot requires them to blow up the dam that has cut off the water supply to Harold's homestead in the country. After the explosion Harold runs away because he is afraid of being arrested, but he returns just in time to win a football game for his team.
Harold Teen
1928
5.5Tom Brown shows up at Harvard, confident and a bit arrogant. He becomes a rival of Bob McAndrew, not only in football and rowing crew, but also for the affections of Mary Abbott, a professor's daughter.
Brown of Harvard
1926
9.0Russ Kane obtains work as a pilot in the airmail service with the purpose of robbing the mails. However, during his training period at the Reno field, he becomes imbued with the spirit of the service and dedicates himself to getting the mail through.
The Air Mail
1925
8.0Albert Gran and E.J. Ratcliffe are warring San Francisco shipping magnates; Mary Brian is Gran’s daughter and Charles (Buddy) Rogers is Ratcliffe’s athletic son. The result is a swift, exhilarating comedy, full of laughs and a nonchalant charm.
More Pay - Less Work
1926
6.5Cowardly Elmer Finch is browbeaten by his wife, daughter, fat son and the family dog. After hypnosis he is domineering. He enters a contract with a fifteen-thousand dollar payoff, so his courage can last beyond the hypnosis.
Running Wild
1927
9.0Lee Purdy, the owner of a ranch on "Enchanted Hill," is subjected to repeated attacks by unknown assailants. He meets Gail Ormsby, the owner of the neighboring Box K Ranch, and the two are immediately attracted to each other. Ira Todd, Gail's crooked foreman, fills her head with lies about Lee, whom she unjustly comes to hate. In a pitched battle between the men from Enchanted Hill and those from the Box K, Todd's men are routed. Lee then learns that Todd (in league with a banker who knows that there is gold on Lee's land) has attempted to frighten him off by means of the repeated attacks. The law steps in, and Lee and Gail renew their courtship. A lost film.
The Enchanted Hill
1926

