Portrait of Jean Arthur

Jean Arthur

Acting

Biography

Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur. So much was she part of it, so much was her star personality defined by it, that the screwball style itself seems almost unimaginable without her." Arthur has been called "the quintessential comedic leading lady." Arthur is best known for her feature roles in three Frank Capra films: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), films that championed the everyday heroine. Her last performance was the memorable—and distinctly non–comedic—role as the rancher's wife in George Stevens' Shane (1953). Arthur was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1944 for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943). Description above from the Wikipedia article Jean Arthur, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Born: October 17, 1900

Place of Birth: Plattsburgh, New York, USA

Known For

Filmography

2017
Becoming Cary Grant

as Self (archive footage)

1999
Clara Bow: Discovering the It Girl

as Self (from The Saturday Night Kid [1929]) (archive footage)

1998
Gary Cooper: The Face of a Hero

as Self (archive footage)

1988
1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s

as (archive footage)

1955
Gunsmoke

as Julie Blane

1953
Yesterday and Today

as (archive footage)

1953
Shane

as Marian Starrett

1948
A Foreign Affair

as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost

1944
The Impatient Years

as Janie Anderson

1943
A Lady Takes a Chance

as Molly J. Truesdale

1943
The More the Merrier

as Constance Milligan

1942
The Talk of the Town

as Nora Shelley

1941
1940
Arizona

as Phoebe Titus

1940
Too Many Husbands

as Vicky Lowndes

1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as Clarissa Saunders

1939
1938
1937
Easy Living

as Mary Smith

1937
1936
More Than a Secretary

as Carol Baldwin

1936
The Plainsman

as Calamity Jane

1936
Adventure in Manhattan

as Claire Peyton

1936
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

as Paula Bradford

1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

as Babe Bennett

1935
If You Could Only Cook

as Joan Hawthorne

1935
The Public Menace

as Cassie Nicholls

1935
Diamond Jim

as Jane Matthews / Emma

1935
Public Hero Number 1

as Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly

1935
Party Wire

as Marge Oliver

1935
The Whole Town's Talking

as Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark

1934
The Defense Rests

as Joan Hayes

1934
Most Precious Thing in Life

as Ellen Holmes, aka Biddy, Babe

1934
Whirlpool

as Sandy

1933
Get That Venus

as Margaret Rendleby

1933
1931
Ex-Bad Boy

as Ethel Simmons

1931
The Lawyer's Secret

as Beatrice Stevens

1931
Virtuous Husband

as Barbara Olwell

1931
The Gang Buster

as Sylvia Martine

1931
Danger Lights

as Mary Ryan

1930
The Silver Horde

as Mildred Wayland

1930
Paramount on Parade

as Dream Girl

1930
Young Eagles

as Mary Gordon

1930
Street of Chance

as Judith Marsden

1929
Half Way to Heaven

as Greta Nelson

1929
1929
1929
Stairs of Sand

as Ruth Hutt

1929
The Canary Murder Case

as Alice LaFosse

1928
Sins of the Fathers

as Mary Spengler

1928
1928
Warming Up

as Mary Post

1928
Wallflowers

as Sandra

1927
Flying Luck

as The Girl

1927
The Masked Menace

as Faith Newton

1927
Horse Shoes

as Miss Baker

1927
The Broken Gate

as Ruth Hale

1927
Winners Of The Wilderness

as Bit Role (uncredited)

1927
Husband Hunters

as Lettie Crane

1926
The Block Signal

as Grace Ryan

1926
The College Boob

as Angela Boothby

1926
The Cowboy Cop

as Virginia Selby

1926
Double Daring

as Marie Wells

1926
Born to Battle

as Eunice Morgan

1925
The Iron Horse

as Reporter (uncredited)

1925
A Man of Nerve

as Loria Gatlin

1925
Tearin' Loose

as Sally Harris

1925
The Fighting Smile

as Rose Craddock

1925
Seven Chances

as Miss Smith the Country Club Receptionist (uncredited)

1924
Thundering Romance

as Mary Watkins

1924
1924
Wine of Youth

as Flapper

1924
Fast and Fearless

as Mary Brown

1924
Biff Bang Buddy

as Bonnie Norton

1923
Cameo Kirby

as Ann Playdell