Betty Compson
Betty Compson (real name: Eleanor Luicime Compson ; born March 19, 1897 in Beaver , Utah , † April 18, 1974 in Glendale , California ) was an American film actress of the silent and early talkies era .
Career
Compson was the daughter of a mining engineer and began a career early in the theater and vaudeville , where she enjoyed success as The Vagabond violinist . Her film career started in 1915 and she played numerous roles before starring in 1919 with The Miracle Man alongside Lon Chaney . In 1923 she worked in Woman against Woman , for which Alfred Hitchcock wrote the screenplay. In the following years, the actress was only seen as the leading lady in B-Movies and a. in the film The Secret Agent of Paris .
Only her role in Josef von Sternberg's Die Docks von New York brought Compson better roles again. In the same year she appeared again with Chaney in The Big City .
The sound film helped her to a renewed career boost and fairground love of George Fitzmaurice , it was on the 1930 (April) Oscars for an Oscar as best actress nomination. Directed by her then husband James Cruze , Compson played the leading female role in The Great Gabbo alongside Erich von Stroheim in 1929 . After the attempt to get a permanent contract with RKO failed, the actress's popularity fell and she found herself reduced to the status of a supporting actress again. During the casting for Gone With the Wind , Compson screened for the role of prostitute Belle Watling, but she lost the role to Ona Munson in the end .
After 1948 she withdrew completely from the film business and ran a company called Ashtrays Unlimited with her second husband .
Filmography (selection)
- 1919: The Miracle Man
- 1921: Prisionors of Love
- 1922: The Little Minister
- 1923: Woman against woman (Woman to Woman)
- 1924: The White Shadow
- 1928: The Big City
- 1928: The Docks of New York (The Docks Of New York)
- 1928: Love Fairground (The Barker)
- 1928: Scarlet Seas
- 1929: Street Girl
- 1929: The Great Gabbo (The Great Gabbo)
- 1930: The Case of Sergeant Grischa
- 1931: The Lady Refuses
- 1933: Destination Unknown
- 1940: The Miraculous Rescue (Strange Cargo)
- 1941: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Individual evidence
- ^ The secret agent of Paris. Illustrated Film Week, accessed on May 9, 2020 .
Web links
- Betty Compson in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- short biography
- Picture gallery
- short article in the New York Times
- Pictures by Betty Compson In: Virtual History
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Compson, Betty |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Compson, Eleanor Luicime (real name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American film actress |
DATE OF BIRTH | March 19, 1897 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Beaver , Utah |
DATE OF DEATH | April 18, 1974 |
Place of death | Glendale , California |