Helen Twelvetrees
Helen Twelvetrees (December 25, 1908 – February 13, 1958) was an American actress renowned for her poignant portrayals in early sound films, particularly during the pre-Code era of the early 1930s, where she often played vulnerable, emotionally intense leading ladies in melodramas produced by RKO Pictures. Born Helen Marie Jurgens in Brooklyn, New York, she developed an early interest in the performing arts and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1928 after also studying at the Art Students League of New York.[2] She adopted the surname Twelvetrees from her first husband, actor Clark Twelvetrees, whom she married in February 1927; the couple divorced in 1931. Following her stage debut in New York City productions, Twelvetrees transitioned to film in 1929, appearing in minor roles in Blue Skies and The Ghost Talks before signing with RKO-Pathé in 1930. Twelvetrees quickly rose to prominence with starring roles in films such as Her Man (1930), a gritty pre-Code drama directed by Tay Garnett; Millie (1931), where she portrayed a woman navigating love and betrayal; and Young Bride (1932), highlighting her signature blend of innocence and pathos. She appeared in over 20 feature films across studios including Paramount, Universal, and Fox, though her career peaked briefly before declining in the mid-1930s amid personal challenges and shifting Hollywood trends; her final screen roles were in Unmarried (1939) and Persons in Hiding (1939). Later, she returned to the stage, notably playing Blanche DuBois in a road company production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire. For her contributions to cinema, Twelvetrees received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[2] Twelvetrees's personal life was marked by turbulence, including two subsequent marriages: to horseman Frank Woody in April 1931 (divorced 1936), with whom she had a son, Jack Bryan Woody Jr., born October 6, 1932; and to U.S. Air Force captain Conrad Payne in 1947, whom she followed to postings including Olmsted Air Force Base in Pennsylvania.[2] She retired from acting around 1940 to prioritize family but struggled with health issues, particularly a kidney ailment, in her later years.[2] On February 13, 1958, Twelvetrees died at age 49 in the hospital at Olmsted Air Force Base from an overdose of sedatives, ruled a suicide. She was buried in Middletown Cemetery, the only Hollywood movie star interred there.[2]Early Years
Birth and Family Background
Helen Marie Jurgens was born on December 25, 1908, in Brooklyn, New York, to William Jurgens and Helen Seward Jurgens.[3][4] Her father, of Dutch ancestry, worked in the newspaper industry, eventually becoming the advertising manager for the Brooklyn edition of the New York Evening Journal, while her mother came from a family of English and Irish origins that had been established in Brooklyn since the mid-19th century.[3] The family enjoyed a middle-class upbringing, initially residing at 145 Ridgewood Avenue in the East New York section of Brooklyn before relocating to Flatbush.[3] As the elder child, Helen became the only surviving sibling following a tragic event in the winter of 1919, when the family's four-bedroom apartment caught fire and her younger brother perished at a young age.[5] This devastating loss, occurring when Helen was about ten years old, cast a profound shadow over the family's life and profoundly affected Helen personally, contributing to an enduring sense of melancholy in her early years.[5] Helen retained her birth name, Jurgens, through her adolescence until her marriage in 1927 to Clark Twelvetrees, after which she adopted his distinctive surname professionally and personally, a choice she maintained through subsequent marriages despite later divorces.[3][6]Education and Early Interests
Helen Twelvetrees received her early education at Public School 119 in Brooklyn, New York, where she developed an initial interest in the performing arts through participation in school plays. She took leading roles in several productions at the school, showcasing her emerging talent for drama and stage performance. Her mother supported these artistic pursuits, fostering Twelvetrees' hobbies in drawing and amateur theater activities within local New York groups.[3] Twelvetrees completed her secondary education at Brooklyn Heights Seminary, graduating in 1925 at the age of 16. Following graduation, she enrolled at the Art Students League of New York on West 57th Street in Manhattan, dedicating about a year to formal art training. There, she explored various mediums, developing a particular affinity for pastels, and gained recognition from illustrator George Bradshaw Crandall, whose encouragement led to early modeling work that complemented her creative interests.[3] In 1926, Twelvetrees shifted her focus to dramatic arts by enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which she graduated in 1928. The curriculum emphasized voice modulation, stage presence, and interpretive performance skills, preparing her for more advanced theatrical endeavors. Her time at the Academy built upon her prior amateur experiences and provided foundational techniques in dramatic expression.[3][7][2]Acting Career
Broadway Beginnings
Helen Twelvetrees entered professional theater in New York in the mid-1920s, after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1928. In 1926, she joined Stuart Walker’s Portmanteau Theatre stock company, performing in minor supporting and chorus roles in various productions that provided her foundational experience in live performance. These early appearances were primarily in off-Broadway and repertory settings, allowing her to build versatility as an emerging actress.[3] Among her initial notable stage credits were roles in Yen by Charles Ray and Roulette by Leon DeCosta, both mounted in New York during the late 1920s. In Roulette, Twelvetrees delivered a supporting performance that showcased her clear diction and charm, drawing positive notice from theater scouts despite a characteristic lisp that added a distinctive touch to her ingénue persona. The production, though not a major hit, marked an early step in establishing her presence in the competitive New York theater scene. Yen, a shorter-lived effort, further exposed her to dramatic material but received mixed responses overall.[6][3] Twelvetrees' professional identity shifted in 1927 when she married fellow Academy student Clark Twelvetrees on February 28, adopting his uncommon surname for her stage billing to align with her new marital status. This change, which she maintained even after their 1931 divorce, lent an air of uniqueness to her credits and helped distinguish her in casting announcements. Later that year, producer Horace Liveright cast her as Sondra Finchley in the Chicago touring company of An American Tragedy, an adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel that had premiered on Broadway in 1926; her portrayal of the alluring socialite highlighted her emotional range in a key supporting role.[3][6] Critics of her early work often commended Twelvetrees' fresh, vulnerable ingénue style, noting her potential for leading roles through her expressive features and sincere delivery. Reviews emphasized how her performances brought a youthful authenticity to characters, positioning her as a promising talent amid the era's influx of new voices in American theater. These formative experiences in stock and regional productions solidified her transition from student to professional before broader opportunities arose.[3]Hollywood Stardom
Twelvetrees transitioned from stage to screen in 1929, signing her initial contract with Fox Film Corporation shortly after arriving in Hollywood. Her debut appearance was in the comedy-mystery The Ghost Talks, where she played a supporting role as Miriam Holt, the daughter of an embezzler whose father's death leaves a mystery surrounding stolen bonds. After completing three films for Fox, including Blue Skies and Words and Music, she was released from her contract and quickly signed with Pathé Exchange. This move led to her breakthrough role in Her Man (1930), directed by Tay Garnett, where she portrayed Frankie, a resilient young prostitute in Havana who falls for a sailor amid a world of crime and redemption; the pre-Code drama highlighted her emotional range and became a surprise hit, establishing her as a rising star in sound films.[7] From 1931 to 1935, Twelvetrees starred in a series of melodramas that solidified her image as a vulnerable yet determined heroine, often navigating love, betrayal, and societal constraints in pre-Code Hollywood. In Millie (1931, Pathé/RKO), she played the title character, a naive Midwestern girl who elopes with a wealthy New Yorker, endures infidelity and divorce, loses custody of her daughter, and later confronts romantic disappointments while building independence, culminating in a dramatic act to protect her child; the film was a box office success and praised for her poignant performance. That same year, in The Painted Desert (Pathé/RKO), she portrayed Mary Ellen Cameron, the gentle love interest caught between two rival cattlemen (played by Spencer Tracy and William Boyd) in a generational feud over land and a foundling son (Clark Gable), blending romance with western action. Her roles continued with Unashamed (1932, MGM), as Joan Truesdale, a spoiled debutante whose affair with a fortune-hunter leads her brother to commit murder in her defense, exploring themes of family loyalty and scandal. In Disorderly Conduct (1932, Fox), she depicted Phyllis, the free-spirited daughter of an alcoholic lawyer who becomes entangled with a gambler her father once defended, highlighting tensions between personal desires and paternal protection. By 1933, she co-starred with Maurice Chevalier in A Bedtime Story (Paramount), playing Sally, a married woman drawn into the Frenchman's charms in a lighthearted pre-Code comedy that marked a brief departure from her typical weepies. These films often featured her as emotionally exposed protagonists in tales of romantic turmoil, contributing to their commercial appeal during the early Depression era.[8][9][10][6] Twelvetrees' studio affiliations shifted frequently in the early 1930s, beginning with Fox, moving to Pathé (which merged into RKO in 1931), and then signing with Paramount in early 1933 before freelancing for Columbia, MGM, Universal, and others. Critics acclaimed her for the authentic emotional depth she brought to pre-Code roles, particularly in dramas like Her Man and Millie, where her expressive vulnerability conveyed the era's social undercurrents without overt sensationalism. Her stage background provided a strong foundation for her natural screen presence, allowing seamless adaptation to talkies.[7][6] At her peak from 1932 to 1934, Twelvetrees enjoyed significant fan popularity as one of Hollywood's top ingénues, often compared to contemporaries like Constance Bennett for her tragic allure in lachrymose dramas; media outlets highlighted her as a "perfect ingénue" with substantial fan mail and press coverage, reflecting her status among leading ladies of the sound era. Her salary reached notable heights during this period, emblematic of her brief but intense stardom before the enforcement of the Production Code altered opportunities for such roles.[7]Later Career and Stage Return
By the mid-1930s, Helen Twelvetrees' Hollywood career had shifted toward lower-profile assignments, beginning with her role in the Australian production Thoroughbred (1936), a horse-racing drama filmed by Cinesound Productions in Sydney, where she portrayed the female lead and became the first major American star to elevate the local film industry.[3] This international venture marked a departure from her usual studio work but did little to revitalize her standing back in Hollywood. In 1937, she appeared in the Columbia Pictures B-western Hollywood Round-Up, playing Carol Stephens in a modest romantic drama directed by Ewing Scott, exemplifying the diminishing quality of roles assigned to her as studios prioritized budget constraints over star vehicles. Twelvetrees' final screen appearances came in 1939 with supporting roles in Persons in Hiding (Paramount), as Helen Griswold, and Unmarried (Columbia), a B-western co-starring Buck Jones, in which she played Pat Rogers, a strong-willed woman entangled in a murder mystery; though praised as one of her more engaging late efforts, it underscored her relegation to supporting parts in genre fare.[3] The decline stemmed from persistent typecasting as emotionally vulnerable women, which restricted her to repetitive "suffering" characters across genres, compounded by frequent studio transitions—from RKO to Paramount in 1933 and later to Columbia—that resulted in inconsistent promotion and B-picture assignments.[11] Personal challenges, including multiple divorces and struggles with alcoholism, further eroded her reliability and appeal to producers, prompting her retirement from film in 1939 amid dissatisfaction with the caliber of available scripts.[3] Following her Hollywood exit, Twelvetrees pivoted to theater, engaging in summer stock productions and regional tours across the United States throughout the 1940s, where she honed her live performance skills in varied repertory settings from New England to the Midwest.[12] Her Broadway return came with the 1941 debut of Boudoir, a comedy by Jacques Deval, in which she starred as Cora Ambershell at the John Golden Theatre; despite high expectations for her stage presence, the production closed after just 11 performances due to poor audience reception.[13] A notable later highlight was her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in a 1951 summer stock mounting of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire at the Sea Cliff Summer Theatre on Long Island, New York, where fellow cast member Naomi Caryl later recalled Twelvetrees' intense, haunted interpretation of the fragile protagonist.[14] This regional production represented one of her most ambitious stage endeavors in the 1950s, drawing on her film-honed emotional depth. However, her theater phase faced ongoing hurdles: typecasting from her screen persona as a tragic ingenue confined her to similar dramatic archetypes, while chronic health problems, including severe back pain exacerbated by years of alcoholism, intermittently disrupted rehearsals and performances.[3] Critical coverage remained sparse, with reviews often overlooking her contributions amid the era's focus on emerging talents, contributing to a career marked by intermittent visibility rather than sustained acclaim.[11]Personal Life
Marriages and Relationships
Helen Twelvetrees, born Helen Marie Jurgens, met her first husband, actor Clark Twelvetrees, while both were students at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.[7] They married on February 28, 1927, after a brief courtship, and she adopted his distinctive surname, which later became integral to her professional identity.[2] The union was marked by tension as Twelvetrees' acting career advanced while her husband's faltered, exacerbated by his alcoholism and abusive behavior; in 1930, he attempted suicide during a dinner party, prompting her to file for divorce that year, which was finalized in 1931.[2][6] Despite the split, she retained the Twelvetrees name for its memorability in Hollywood.[2] Shortly after her divorce, on April 15, 1931, in Reno, Nevada, Twelvetrees married her second husband, Frank Bryan "Jack" Woody, a World War I veteran, stuntman, and later real estate broker.[15] The couple integrated into Hollywood's social scene, with Woody occasionally appearing in minor film roles alongside her, but their marriage strained under career pressures and his unemployment, leading her to cite financial dependence as a key issue in their 1936 divorce.[6] They had one son, Jack Bryan Woody Jr., born in 1932.[2] Twelvetrees' third marriage, to Air Force Captain and farmer Conrad Ralph Payne, occurred in 1947 and proved more stable, though it was later affected by her declining health.[16] They met during her European tour for a stage production and married in 1947, settling into a nomadic life following his military assignments, which included time in Middletown, Pennsylvania.[2] This union lasted until her death in 1958, with no children from the marriage.[6] Throughout her relationships, Twelvetrees was drawn to men in creative or adventurous fields—actors and stunt performers initially, then a military officer— but fame and personal struggles often contributed to relational instability, including publicized incidents like her first husband's suicide attempt and reports of alcoholism in her early marriages.[2]Family and Children
Helen Twelvetrees and her second husband, Frank "Jack" Woody, welcomed their only child, a son named Jack Bryan Woody Jr., on October 26, 1932.[3] The couple's marriage ended in divorce on April 15, 1936, after which Twelvetrees was granted full custody of their four-year-old son.[3][17] Despite this arrangement, Jack's upbringing was marked by limited direct involvement from his mother owing to her extensive travel for acting commitments, including a period working in Australia from 1935 to 1936 when he accompanied her; much of his early childhood was spent with maternal relatives in Brooklyn, New York, and later with his father in Bishop, California, before the family relocated to northern California.[3][18] Jack attended Humboldt State University in California, where he earned his degree before serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.[19] In his adult life, he forged a notable career as a wildlife biologist, initially with the Nevada Fish and Game Department for five years starting in the late 1950s, followed by a long tenure with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service beginning in 1969; based in Washington, D.C., and later Albuquerque, New Mexico, he contributed to endangered species recovery programs, including reintroductions of the red wolf and Mexican wolf, wildlife management support for Native American tribes, and the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle initiative, earning the General Chuck Yeager Conservation Award and a 25-Year Distinguished Service Award.[19] Jack Bryan Woody Jr. died on April 26, 2016, at age 83, following a battle with cancer.[19][20] Twelvetrees had no other children from any of her marriages.[3] Her extended family ties remained close, particularly with her parents, William Jurgens, an advertising executive whose career progressed alongside hers in Hollywood, and mother Helen Maria Seward Jurgens, who nurtured her daughter's early artistic and musical inclinations that paved the way for her theatrical pursuits.[3]Death and Legacy
Circumstances of Death
In her final years, Helen Twelvetrees resided in Middletown, Pennsylvania, with her third husband, Air Force officer Conrad Payne, whom she had married in 1947 during a European tour in Paris.[6][2] The couple lived in a home in the Oak Hills neighborhood near Olmsted Air Force Base following Payne's reassignment there, after previous postings in locations including Florida, Massachusetts, and Japan.[2] Twelvetrees had largely retired from acting around 1940 and again after her marriage, though she occasionally returned to the stage in productions such as A Streetcar Named Desire, where she portrayed Blanche DuBois.[6] She struggled with depression, a suspected history of alcoholism, and a chronic kidney ailment that caused severe pain and may have contributed to a dependence on painkillers.[6][2] On February 13, 1958, the 49-year-old Twelvetrees was found unconscious in the living room of her Middletown home from an overdose of barbiturate sedatives, which she had taken to manage her pain.[6][2] She was rushed to the Olmsted Air Force Base Hospital near Harrisburg, where she died later that day.[21] The Dauphin County coroner ruled the death a suicide, citing the intentional overdose amid her ongoing health issues.[6][2] The incident received coverage in national media, including Time magazine, which described Twelvetrees as a former Hollywood leading lady who had retired to marry a military man and live abroad.[21] Her husband Payne discovered her and arranged for her cremation, with a private funeral attended only by him and one close friend, reflecting her increasing personal isolation in later life. Her cremated remains were interred in Middletown Cemetery.[2][4]Honors and Cultural Impact
In recognition of her contributions to the motion picture industry, Twelvetrees was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures, located at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard, with the ceremony held on December 31, 1969.[7] Twelvetrees' legacy has been explored in modern theatrical works, notably the 2015 play I'm Looking for Helen Twelvetrees by David Greenspan, which had its world premiere at the Abrons Arts Center and delved into her life through a blend of monologue and performance inspired by her publicity images and career.[22][23] Her films from the pre-Code era have garnered renewed attention in film histories, positioning her as a quintessential figure among 1930s ingenues known for portraying vulnerable, emotionally complex women in melodramas.[24] This scholarly interest is exemplified in the 2015 biography Helen Twelvetrees, Perfect Ingenue: Rediscovering a 1930s Movie Star and Her 32 Films by Cliff Aliperti, which analyzes her roles as emblematic of the era's tragic Hollywood archetypes and highlights her influence on depictions of female suffering in early sound cinema.[25] Fan interest has been sustained through home video releases of her key works, such as Millie (1931) and State's Attorney (1932), available on DVD collections that have facilitated revivals among classic film enthusiasts since the early 2000s.[26]Works
Film Roles
Helen Twelvetrees began her film career in the late 1920s with small credited roles in late silent and early sound pictures before transitioning to sound films, where she quickly established herself as a leading lady in over 30 productions through 1939. Her roles often portrayed resilient, emotionally complex women in dramas and romances, primarily under studios like Pathé, RKO, Paramount, and MGM. Several of her early films are considered lost, including her debut, while others have been preserved or restored for modern viewing. The following table presents her complete filmography in chronological order, focusing on feature films. Details include her role, director, key co-stars, studio, approximate runtime, and production notes where available.| Year | Title | Role | Director | Key Co-Stars | Studio | Runtime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | The Ghost Talks | Miriam Holt | Lewis Seiler | Charles Eaton, Stepin Fetchit, Carmel Myers | Columbia | 61 min | Comedy-drama; considered lost.[27] |
| 1929 | Words and Music | Dorothy Bracey | James Tinling | Lois Moran, Tom Patricola | Pathé Exchange | 67 min | Musical comedy; early sound transition; considered lost.[28] |
| 1929 | Blue Skies | Dorothy May | Alfred L. Werker | Frank Albertson | Fox Film Corporation | 80 min | Drama; partial sound elements; considered lost.[29] |
| 1930 | The Grand Parade | Molly | Fred C. Newmeyer | Fred Scott, Eddie Quillan | Pathé Exchange | 95 min | Silent drama; one of her first credited roles. |
| 1930 | Swing High | Maryan Garner | Joseph Santley | Onslow Stevens, John St. Polis | Pathé Exchange | 75 min | Musical drama; early talkie showcasing her singing. |
| 1930 | Her Man | Frankie Keefe | Tay Garnett | Phillips Holmes, Ricardo Cortez | Pathé Exchange | 85 min | Breakthrough lead in pre-Code gangster romance; preserved.[30] |
| 1930 | The Cat Creeps | Annabelle West | Rupert Julian, Edward Sloman | Raymond Hackett, Neil Hamilton | Universal | 71 min | Horror-mystery; sound remake of The Cat and the Canary; considered lost. |
| 1931 | The Painted Desert | Mary Adair | Howard Higgin | William Boyd, Clark Gable | Pathé Exchange | 70 min | Western romance; early Gable role; public domain, preserved. |
| 1931 | Millie | Millie Blake | John Francis Dillon | Lilyan Tashman, Joan Blondell | RKO Radio Pictures | 85 min | Title role in pre-Code women's drama; preserved.[31] |
| 1931 | A Woman of Experience | Elsa Elsbergen | Harry Joe Brown | William Bakewell, Lew Cody | RKO Radio Pictures | 73 min | WWI drama; preserved but rare.[32] |
| 1931 | Bad Company | Helen | Tay Garnett | Ricardo Cortez, John Garrick | RKO Radio Pictures | 70 min | Gangster drama; pre-Code elements; preserved. |
| 1932 | Panama Flo | Flo / Sadie | John Francis Dillon | Charles Bickford, Robert Armstrong | RKO Radio Pictures | 78 min | Pre-Code romance; echo of Her Man; preserved. |
| 1932 | Young Bride | Millie Rankin | William A. Seiter | Eric Linden, Arline Judge | RKO Radio Pictures | 66 min | Romantic drama; Depression-era themes; preserved. |
| 1932 | State's Attorney | June Perry | George Archainbaud | John Barrymore, Jill Esmond | RKO Radio Pictures | 79 min | Legal drama; supporting role opposite Barrymore; preserved.[33] |
| 1932 | The Night of June 13th | Mimi | Stephen Roberts | Clive Brook, Lila Lee | Paramount | 78 min | Mystery romance; preserved. |
| 1932 | Is My Face Red? | Peggy Beldon | William A. Seiter | Ricardo Cortez, Robert Armstrong | RKO Radio Pictures | 65 min | Comedy-drama; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1932 | Unashamed | Joan Ogden | Harry Beaumont | Robert Young, Monroe Owsley | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 77 min | Drama based on real events; lead role; preserved. |
| 1933 | A Bedtime Story | Sally | Norman Taurog | Maurice Chevalier, Baby LeRoy | Paramount | 87 min | Romantic comedy; supporting to Chevalier; preserved. |
| 1933 | My Woman | Consuelo | Victor Janson | Wallace Ford, Victor Jory | Columbia | 65 min | Pre-Code drama; lead role; preserved. |
| 1933 | King for a Night | Linda | Kurt Neumann | Chester Morris, Alice White | Universal | 79 min | Crime drama; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1933 | Disgraced | Maxine Rush | Erle C. Kenton | Bruce Cabot, Adrienne Ames | Paramount | 70 min | Romantic drama; lead role; preserved. |
| 1934 | All Men Are Enemies | Katha | Edmund Goulding | Fredric March, Ann Harding | Fox Film Corporation | 80 min | WWI drama; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1934 | Now I'll Tell | Virginia Golden | Edwin L. Marin | Spencer Tracy, Alice Faye | Fox Film Corporation | 74 min | Biographical drama; lead role; preserved. |
| 1934 | She Was a Lady | Sheila Vane | Marion Gering | Lionel Atwill, Ralph Bellamy | Columbia | 65 min | Romantic comedy; lead role; preserved. |
| 1934 | One Hour Late | Bessie Dunn | Alexander Hall | Joe Morrison, Conrad Nagel | Paramount | 49 min | Short comedy; lead role; preserved. |
| 1934 | The Firebird | Lissa | William Dieterle | William Gargan, Ricardo Cortez | Warner Bros. | 62 min | Mystery drama; lead role; preserved. |
| 1934 | A Lost Lady | Marian Andrews | Alfred E. Green | Richard Barthelmess, Genevieve Tobin | Warner Bros. | 70 min | Adaptation of James novel; lead role; preserved. |
| 1935 | The Great Lover | Frances Allebury | Harry Beaumont | Adolphe Menjou, Neil Hamilton | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 80 min | Romantic comedy; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1935 | The Spanish Cape Mystery | Stella Godfrey | Ralph Staub | Donald Cook, Berton Churchill | Republic Pictures | 64 min | Mystery based on Queen novel; lead role; preserved. |
| 1935 | Frisco Waterfront | Alice | Arthur Lubin | Ben Lyon, Rod La Rocque | Republic Pictures | 53 min | Drama; lead role; low-budget production; preserved. |
| 1935 | Times Square Lady | Toni Bradley | George B. Seitz | Robert Taylor, Virginia Bruce | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 66 min | Sports drama; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1936 | Small Town Girl | Mary Brannigan | William A. Wellman | Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 108 min | Musical comedy; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1936 | Thoroughbred | Joan | Henry W. Myers | James Ellison, Frankie Darro | Republic Pictures | 61 min | Racing drama; lead role; preserved.[34] |
| 1937 | We Who Are About to Die | Jan Little | Christy Cabanne | Preston Foster, John Beal | RKO Radio Pictures | 81 min | Prison drama; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1937 | Hollywood Round-Up | Carol Stevens | Joseph Santley | Buck Jones, George O'Brien | Republic Pictures | 58 min | Western; lead role; preserved. |
| 1938 | Start Cheering | Lora Macy | Albert S. Rogell | Jimmy Durante, Walter Connolly | Columbia | 78 min | Musical comedy; supporting role; preserved. |
| 1939 | Unmarried | Pat Rogers | Kurt Neumann | Buck Jones, Donald O'Connor | Paramount | 63 min | Crime drama; lead role; her final film; preserved.[35] |