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Mary Brian‌

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1906-02-17

Popularity

star1.7

Mary Brian

Corsicana, Texas, USA

Mary Brian

Corsicana, Texas, USA

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1906-02-17

Popularity

star1.7

Biography

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 the latter sounded too old for the role, then signed her to a long-term motion picture contract. Brian played Fancy Vanhern, daughter of Percy Marmont, in Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men, which had newcomer Louise Brooks in an uncredited debut role as a moll. Her first talkie was Varsity, which was filmed with part-sound and talking sequences, opposite Buddy Rogers. After successfully making the transition to sound, she co-starred with Gary Cooper, Walter Huston and Richard Arlen in one of the earliest Western talkies, The Virginian, her first all-talkie feature. In it, she played a spirited frontier heroine, schoolmarm Molly Stark Wood, who was the love interest of the Virginian. Brian co-starred in several hits during the 1930s, including The Royal Family of Broadway, Paramount on Parade, and The Front Page. After her contract with Paramount ended in 1932, Brian decided to freelance, which was unusual in a period when multi-year contracts with one studio were common. That same year, she appeared on the vaudeville stage at New York's Palace Theatre. Also in the same year, she starred in Manhattan Tower. When World War II hit in 1941, Brian began traveling to entertain the troops, ending up spending most of the war years traveling the world with the U.S.O., and entertaining servicemen from the South Pacific to Europe, including Italy and North Africa.Flying to England on a troop shoot, Mary got caught in the Battle of the Bulge and spent the Christmas of 1944 with the soldiers fighting that battle. She appeared in only a handful of films thereafter. Her last performance on the silver screen was in Dragnet, a B-movie in which she played Anne Hogan opposite Henry Wilcoxon. Over the course of 22 years, Brian had appeared in more than 79 movies. She played in the stage comedy Mary Had a Little... in the 1951 in Melbourne, Australia, co-starring with John Hubbard. Like many "older" actresses, during the 1950s Brian created a career for herself in television. Perhaps her most notable role was playing the title character's mother in Meet Corliss Archer in 1954. She also dedicated much time to portrait painting after her acting years.

Movie Credits

Charlie Chan in Paris

Charlie Chan in Paris‌
star6.5
calendar 1935

The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss

The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss‌
star6.9
calendar 1936

The Virginian

The Virginian‌
star5.5
calendar 1929

The Front Page

The Front Page‌
star6.5
calendar 1931

Blessed Event

Blessed Event‌
star6.5
calendar 1932

Man Power

Man Power‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Shanghai Bound

Shanghai Bound‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Galas de la Paramount

Galas de la Paramount‌
star0.0
calendar 1930

Two Flaming Youths

Two Flaming Youths‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

The Unwritten Law

The Unwritten Law‌
star0.0
calendar 1932

Man on the Flying Trapeze

Man on the Flying Trapeze‌
star5.9
calendar 1935

The Royal Family of Broadway

The Royal Family of Broadway‌
star5.5
calendar 1930

Homicide Squad

Homicide Squad‌
star0.0
calendar 1931

The Man I Love

The Man I Love‌
star4.5
calendar 1929

Moonlight and Pretzels

Moonlight and Pretzels‌
star0.0
calendar 1933

The World Gone Mad

The World Gone Mad‌
star4.1
calendar 1933

The Light of Western Stars

The Light of Western Stars‌
star2.0
calendar 1930

Manhattan Tower

Manhattan Tower‌
star6.0
calendar 1932

Hard to Handle

Hard to Handle‌
star6.6
calendar 1933

The Marriage Playground

The Marriage Playground‌
star5.8
calendar 1929

One Year Later

One Year Later‌
star6.3
calendar 1933

Monte Carlo Nights

Monte Carlo Nights‌
star5.9
calendar 1934

Only the Brave

Only the Brave‌
star0.0
calendar 1930

Jealous

Jealous‌
star0.0
calendar 1942

Only Saps Work

Only Saps Work‌
star4.0
calendar 1930

Girl Missing

Girl Missing‌
star5.1
calendar 1933

Beau Geste

Beau Geste‌
star5.9
calendar 1926

It's Tough to Be Famous

It's Tough to Be Famous‌
star5.7
calendar 1932

Calaboose

Calaboose‌
star0.0
calendar 1943

Affairs of Cappy Ricks

Affairs of Cappy Ricks‌
star4.8
calendar 1937

Navy Blues

Navy Blues‌
star5.0
calendar 1937

Three Married Men

Three Married Men‌
star0.0
calendar 1936

The Runaround

The Runaround‌
star7.0
calendar 1931

Captain Applejack

Captain Applejack‌
star6.5
calendar 1931

Spendthrift

Spendthrift‌
star5.0
calendar 1936

Varsity

Varsity‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Brown of Harvard

Brown of Harvard‌
star5.8
calendar 1926

Burning Up

Burning Up‌
star3.5
calendar 1930

Forgotten Faces

Forgotten Faces‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

The Social Lion

The Social Lion‌
star6.0
calendar 1930

Partners in Crime

Partners in Crime‌
star2.0
calendar 1928

Harold Teen

Harold Teen‌
star7.0
calendar 1928

Danger! Women at Work

Danger! Women at Work‌
star6.0
calendar 1943

The Street of Forgotten Men

The Street of Forgotten Men‌
star6.0
calendar 1925

Peter Pan

Peter Pan‌
star7.0
calendar 1924

Paris at Midnight

Paris at Midnight‌
star9.0
calendar 1926

Behind the Front

Behind the Front‌
star6.0
calendar 1926

River of Romance

River of Romance‌
star0.0
calendar 1929

The Kibitzer

The Kibitzer‌
star4.7
calendar 1930

The Air Mail

The Air Mail‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

The Little French Girl

The Little French Girl‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

Ever Since Eve

Ever Since Eve‌
star0.0
calendar 1934

Song of the Eagle

Song of the Eagle‌
star0.0
calendar 1933

I Escaped from the Gestapo

I Escaped from the Gestapo‌
star5.5
calendar 1943

I Was a Criminal

I Was a Criminal‌
star0.0
calendar 1941

More Pay - Less Work

More Pay - Less Work‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove

Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove‌
star5.5
calendar 1934

Paramount on Parade

Paramount on Parade‌
star6.4
calendar 1930

Gun Smoke

Gun Smoke‌
star5.5
calendar 1931

Black Waters

Black Waters‌
star0.0
calendar 1929

Running Wild

Running Wild‌
star5.7
calendar 1927

College Rhythm

College Rhythm‌
star4.7
calendar 1934

Dragnet

Dragnet‌
star6.0
calendar 1947

Stepping Along

Stepping Along‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

He's a Prince!

He's a Prince!‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

Fog

Fog‌
star5.0
calendar 1933

The Prince of Tempters

The Prince of Tempters‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

The Big Killing

The Big Killing‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Knockout Reilly

Knockout Reilly‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

The Enchanted Hill

The Enchanted Hill‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Killer at Large

Killer at Large‌
star6.0
calendar 1936

Once in a Million

Once in a Million‌
star5.0
calendar 1936

Under the Tonto Rim

Under the Tonto Rim‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Two's Company

Two's Company‌
star0.0
calendar 1936

Tv Credits

Meet Corliss Archer

Meet Corliss Archer‌
star0.0
calendar 1954