Eleanor Boardman | WatchedThis
Eleanor Boardman
Acting
Biography
Olive Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent era. Olive Eleanor Boardman was born on August 19, 1898, the youngest child to George W. Boardman and Janice Merriam "Jennie" Stockman Boardman. She had two older sisters named Merriam and Esther. In 1920, she was working as a contractor. Educated in Philadelphia, Boardman originally acted on stage, but she lost her voice while starring in The National Anthem. She then entered a nationwide contest for new actors and actresses for silent films. She was chosen from among 1,000 competitors by Goldwyn Pictures as their "New Face of 1922". Her initial screen test was unsuccessful, but a second test resulted in a contract. After several successful supporting roles, she played the lead in Souls for Sale in 1923. That same year, Boardman's growing popularity was reflected by her inclusion on the list of WAMPAS Baby Stars. She appeared in more than 30 films during her career, including director King Vidor's The Crowd (1928). Her performance in that film is widely recognized as one of the outstanding performances in American silent film. In 1932, after some success in sound films, she parted ways with MGM. Her final film was The Three Cornered Hat, which was made in Spain in 1935. After that production, she retired from acting and retreated from Hollywood. Her last appearances were in an interview filmed for Kevin Brownlow and David Gill's British documentary series Hollywood (1980) and the series MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992).
Filmography Movies
Acting
The Crowd
John, an ambitious but undisciplined New York City office worker, meets and marries Mary. They start a family, struggle to cope with marital stress, financial setbacks, and tragedy, all while lost amid the anonymous, pitiless throngs of the big city.
Show People
Hollywood hopeful Peggy Pepper arrives at a major studio, from Georgia, to become a great dramatic star. Things don't go entirely according to plan.
The Wife of the Centaur
Jeffrey Dwyer is a writer and a poet who wrestles with the conflicts between his idealism and his passion. The two sides of his nature are personified in the women he loves: the sweetly innocent Joan Converse, and the sexy, charismatic Inez Martin.
Souls for Sale
A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
The Turmoil
Industrialist James Sheridan, Sr., once a laborer, insists on moulding the careers of his three sons; however, he loses James, Jr., in a flood disaster, and Roscoe suffers a mental breakdown. Realizing his mistake, he begins to insure the happiness of the third son, Bibbs, by bringing him together with Mary, the girl he loves.
Bardelys the Magnificent
Rafael Sabatini's story of the swashbuckling era and of Bardeleys, the handsome courtier who could win any woman he set his mind to...and was not above boasting about it to all who would listen.
Proud Flesh
The snooty Fernanda decides to leave Spain to visit her uncle in San Francisco in order to escape the attentions of the dandy, amorous Don Diego, but he follows her. She is rescued from a wild taxi ride by a passerby who owns a huge plumbing company. Believing him to be a common plumber, she snubs him, but he pursues her and a romantic rivalry is born.
The Squaw Man
Jim Wyngate, an English aristocrat, comes to the American West under a cloud of suspicion for embezzlement actually committed by his cousin Lord Henry. In Wyoming, Wyngate runs afoul of cattle rustler Cash Hawkins by rescuing the Indian girl Naturich from Hawkins. Wyngate marries Naturich, but then learns that his cousin Lord Henry has been killed and has cleared his name before dying. As Wyngate has long loved Lady Diana, Lord Henry's wife, he is perplexed at his situation. But fate takes a hand and resolves matters as Wyngate could not have predicted.
Redemption
In Russia in the early 1900s, Fedya, a handsome, self-indulgent womanizer, falls in love with and marries Lisa, his friend Victor's fiancée. Fedya quickly tires of domestic life and resumes his profligate ways, drinking and gambling away his family's fortune. Lisa refuses to leave him despite his deplorable ways, so he takes drastic measures to ensure that she will no longer be harmed by his actions and reputation.
Wine of Youth
Based on a play be Rachel Crothers, WINE OF YOUTH is a solid drama about "the modern young generation" and how they think they know it all. It's also a play about love and marriage.
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