Mary Duncan | WatchedThis
Mary Duncan
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia Mary Duncan (August 13, 1895 – May 9, 1993) was an American actress. Mary Duncan was born in Northumberland county, Virginia, the sixth of eight children born to Capt. William "Bill" Dungan and his wife, the former Ada Thaddeus Douglass. She attended Cornell University before settling on acting as a career. She began her career as a child actress playing on the Broadway stage from 1910. In 1926 she played the daughter "Poppy" in the smash hit and controversial play The Shanghai Gesture. Florence Reed played her mother called Mother Goddam in which Reed kills Duncan in a startling end to the play. This play was turned into a very sanitized film in 1941 with Gene Tierney. She met and married Stephen "Laddie" Sanford, who was an international polo player as well as director of the Bigelow-Sanford Carpet Company, in 1933, after which she retired from films. They remained married until his death in 1977. She spent much of her remaining years working with several major charities. Her last film appearance was with Katharine Hepburn in the 1933 film Morning Glory. She kept herself active by playing golf twice a week and swimming every morning before breakfast, which helped her maintain her size 8 figure. As an actress, she had followed the ministrations of Sylvia of Hollywood to keep her shape. Mary Duncan died in her sleep aged 97. She was survived by a niece and great-niece, and she was the last known person to have in her possession a copy of the lost Murnau film 4 Devils; Martin Koerber, curator of Deutsche Kinemathek, has speculated that her heirs may still have the valuable print somewhere.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Morning Glory
Wildly optimistic chatterbox Eva Lovelace is a would-be actress trying to crash the New York stage. She attracts the interest of a paternal actor, a philandering producer, and an earnest playwright. Is she destined for stardom, or will she fade like a morning glory after its brief blooming?
The Phantom of Crestwood
Five men have to prove their innocence when a blackmailer is murdered.
City Girl
A waitress from Chicago falls in love with a man from rural Minnesota and marries him, with the intent of living a better life - but life on the farm has its own challenges.
Romance of the Rio Grande
Fox's immediate follow-up to its successful early-talkie western In Old Arizona was 1929's Romance of the Rio Grande. The story focuses on the Alvarez family of Mexico, specifically fabulously wealthy Don Fernando. Intending to bequeath his vast fortune and estate to his long-estranged grandson Pancho, Don Fernando must contend with his ne'er-do-well nephew Juan.
Five and Ten
John owns the largest chain of five and ten cent stores in the country. He moves his family to New York from Kansas City and their life, though grand, is falling apart due to his constant working. Wife and mother Jenny is lonely. Son Avery hates his job. Daughter Jennifer is snubbed by classmate Muriel and her friends. At a charity bazaar, Jennifer meets Berry and sparks are evident. However, he is engaged to Muriel and Muriel will make sure that she, and only she, marries Berry. After the marriage, Berry still thinks of Jennifer as Jennifer thinks of Berry. Avery laments about the state of his family since they were happy in Kansas City.
Thirteen Women
Thirteen women who were schoolmates ask a swami to cast their horoscopes. The news they receive is not good for any of them.
State's Attorney
Corrupt alcoholic attorney Tom Cardigan is one of the best lawyers around, commanding the courtroom like a stage and often winning his cases. Mobster Valentine Powers, who employs Cardigan and put him through school, asks him to represent a woman, June Perry, accused of prostitution. Cardigan agrees. But he never expected to fall for her, which is problematic since he's angling to become governor and will need the right kind of wife.
Soft Living
Nancy Woods, secretary to a divorce lawyer, is tantalized by the idea of collecting alimony payments, she marries Stockney Webb with the intention of fleecing him after the honeymoon. Realizing that he has been fooled, Webb determines to teach Nancy, whom he truly loves, a lesson in humility and wifely behavior by taking her to his cabin in the wilderness.
4 Devils
Four orphans, raised by an aging clown, becomes a high wire act in a circus. Lost film.
Kismet
Hajj, a rascally beggar on the periphery of the court of Baghdad, schemes to marry his daughter to royalty and to win the heart of the queen of the castle himself. This film is believed lost.
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