
Acting
Jessie Ralph
Born 1864-11-04 · Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jessie Ralph (born Jessie Ralph Chambers, November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944) was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures. She was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1864. She made her acting debut in 1880, at the age of sixteen. She made it to Broadway, where George M. Cohan cast her in many of his musicals, but she also excelled at dramatic roles. Although she made her Hollywood debut in 1916, in a motion picture career that would eventually span 25 years, she only became a permanent Hollywood actress in 1933. She was nearly 70 at this time, so her roles were limited to matronly roles, but her expertise at stealing scenes captured the imagination of cinema-goers of the time. Her best-known roles are as Greta Garbo's maid in Camille, as W.C. Fields' battle-axe of a mother-in-law in The Bank Dick, as Myrna Loy's supercilious aunt Katherine in After the Thin Man, and as Nurse Peggotty in David Copperfield. She starred in 55 movies altogether, 52 between 1933 and 1941. Jessie Ralph retired from Hollywood in 1941, after her leg was amputated. She died four years later in her home town of Gloucester at the age of 79. She was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Acting credits
6.2Sir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with their investigation.
Mark of the Vampire
1935
7.2Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.
Captain Blood
1935
7.3Nick and Nora Charles are back—and this time, their holiday takes a deadly turn! After returning to San Francisco, the sophisticated couple is drawn into the disappearance of Nora’s cousin’s husband. When he is found murdered, suspicion falls on the troubled family, and Nick reluctantly resumes his detective work. With Nora eagerly at his side, the pair follows a trail of jealousy, blackmail, secret relationships, and long-buried family scandals. William Powell and Myrna Loy sparkle as Hollywood’s most charming married sleuths, trading witty banter while unraveling a dangerous mystery. Directed by W. S. Van Dyke and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, After the Thin Man delivers everything audiences love about the series: romance, comedy, suspense, elegant settings, and the irresistible return of Asta, Nick and Nora’s mischievous wire-haired terrier. This stylish 1936 sequel is a delightful blend of mystery and sophisticated fun.
After the Thin Man
1936
6.8Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, is someone he once seduced and abandoned and that he himself bears responsibility for reducing her to crime. He sets out to redeem her and himself in the process.
We Live Again
1934
7.1In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Les Misérables
1935
7.0Life in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.
Camille
1936
6.8An American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1936
6.5A criminal lawyer's wife is blackmailed when she is falsely accused of infidelity.
Evelyn Prentice
1934
6.5Albany, New York, 1776. After marrying, Gil and Lana travel north to settle on a small farm in the Mohawk River Valley, but soon their growing prosperity and happiness are threatened by the sinister sound of drums that announce dark times of revolution and war.
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939
10.0Comedy about newlyweds wondering if their marriage was a mistake.
I Want a Divorce
1940
6.7A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.
David Copperfield
1935
5.8Peasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
The Blue Bird
1940
6.5Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.
The Bank Dick
1940
6.6A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.
San Francisco
1936
7.0Newlyweds experience marital problems when the wife's highly successful job as an attorney overshadows her husband's stagnant career.
Ann Carver's Profession
1933
5.3Cynthia Warren, independently wealthy through her ability as an illustrator and poster artist, rebels against the premise that every woman is destined for matrimony and motherhood and decides she has as much right as a man to play around.
Cocktail Hour
1933
6.3China, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
The Good Earth
1937
5.5Mary Barrett is an aspiring opera singer who is taken under the wings of a famous operatic maestro, Guilio Monterverdi. After spending endless working hours together and arguing, their relationship develops into love. But, jealousy and misunderstandings prevent Mary and Guilio from acknowledging their true feelings.
One Night of Love
1934
7.3A Broadway musical comedy star tires of the same old grind and flees the city. She runs into the skipper of a showboat who befriends her, and they make plans to put together a musical revue. But a competing carnival owner hatches a scheme to put an end to the show before it begins.
St. Louis Blues
1939
7.3A blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.
I Found Stella Parish
1935
6.4A bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process.
Double Wedding
1937
9.0A bank robber and his boy make a run for it during winter in a bus full of children.
Mickey the Kid
1939
5.1Baseball star Elmer Kane leaves the little town of Gentryville, Indiana, to join the Chicago Cubs, where his naivete and arrogance soon put his relationship and career into jeopardy.
Elmer, the Great
1933
5.6Shortly before the curtain goes up the first time at the latest performance of Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure the leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. Bill thinks Jack is offering to let him see the show from an unusual viewpoint after he forgot to get him tickets for the performance, but then they find the corpse of a murdered woman and Bill immediately suspects Eric of the crime.
Murder at the Vanities
1934