Florence Reed
Encyclopedia
Florence Reed was a stage, screen and television actress. She is remembered for several outstanding stage productions, including The Shanghai Gesture, The Lullaby, The Yellow Ticket
and The Wanderer. Her best remembered movie role was as Miss Havisham in the 1934 production of "Great Expectations". In this version, however, Miss Havisham was changed from a completely insane woman to an eccentric, who did not wear her wedding veil constantly, and who dies peacefully rather than as a result of suffering burns in a fire. In the 1950s Reed performed in several early television shows, such as The Philco Television Hour, Kraft Television Theater and The United States Steel Hour.
in The Widow Jones and played Ophelia to E.H. Sothern's Hamlet. Reed appeared with John Barrymore
in 1914's "The Yellow Ticket" which proved a popular play of the season. Her biggest stage success was as Mother Goddam in 1926's "The Shanghai Gesture".
studio built around her talents. She also made films for several different production companies such as Popular Plays & Players, Astra, Arrow, Tribune and Pathé
. In all Reed made 15 silent pictures, the last in 1921 being The Black Panther's Cub
. After 13 years she made her first talking film in 1934's Great Expectations
. She made two more films but preferred the theater.
The Yellow Ticket
The Yellow Ticket is a 1931 drama film based on a play by Michael Morton, produced by the Fox Film Corporation and directed by Raoul Walsh. The film starred Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore and featured Boris Karloff...
and The Wanderer. Her best remembered movie role was as Miss Havisham in the 1934 production of "Great Expectations". In this version, however, Miss Havisham was changed from a completely insane woman to an eccentric, who did not wear her wedding veil constantly, and who dies peacefully rather than as a result of suffering burns in a fire. In the 1950s Reed performed in several early television shows, such as The Philco Television Hour, Kraft Television Theater and The United States Steel Hour.
Early Life & Career
Reed was born in Philadelphia to comedy actor Roland Reed and his wife Joana Sommer (Reed). Her father died in 1901 when Florence was 18 and afterward she and her mother came to New York to seek a career in the theater. She made her first appearance on the stage at Proctor's Fifth Avenue Theater in New York in 1904 where she gave a monologue by George M. Cohan. She stayed with the Fifth Avenue Theater for years honing her craft. She also trouped the country with May IrwinMay Irwin
May Irwin , was a Canadian actress, singer and star of vaudeville.-Early life and career:Born at Whitby, Ontario 1862 as Georgina May Campbell, her father, Robert E. Campbell of Whitby, Ontario, died when she was 13 years old and her stage-minded mother, Jane Draper, in need of money, encouraged...
in The Widow Jones and played Ophelia to E.H. Sothern's Hamlet. Reed appeared with John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
in 1914's "The Yellow Ticket" which proved a popular play of the season. Her biggest stage success was as Mother Goddam in 1926's "The Shanghai Gesture".
Motion Pictures
Reed started making movies in the silent era around 1915. She was a stage star by then and her first movie was The Dancing Girl for Adolph Zukor's Famous PlayersFamous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
studio built around her talents. She also made films for several different production companies such as Popular Plays & Players, Astra, Arrow, Tribune and Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
. In all Reed made 15 silent pictures, the last in 1921 being The Black Panther's Cub
The Black Panther's Cub
The Black Panther's Cub is a 1921 silent film melodrama produced by William K. Ziegfeld, Flo's younger brother. It stars stage actress Florence Reed in her last silent screen portrayal. It is a lost film...
. After 13 years she made her first talking film in 1934's Great Expectations
Great Expectations (1934 film)
Great Expectations is a 1934 adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Filmed with mostly American actors, it was the first sound version of the novel and was produced in Hollywood by Universal Studios and directed by Stuart Walker. It stars Phillips Holmes as Pip, Jane Wyatt as...
. She made two more films but preferred the theater.
Filmography
- The Dancing Girl (1915)
- Her Own Way (1915)
- The Cowardly Way (1915)
- At Bay (1915)
- New York (1916)
- The Woman's Law (1916)
- The Eternal Sin (1917)
- To-DayTo-Day (1917 film)To-Day is a 1917 silent film drama directed by Ralph Ince and starring Florence Reed. A story about Prostitution, this film is based on a 1913 stage play,Today, by George Broadhurst and Abraham Schomer and starred Emily Stevens which ran for an astounding 280 performances in eight months time...
(1917) - The Struggle Everlasting (1918)
- Wives of Men (1918)
- Her Code of Honor (1919)
- The Woman Under Oath (1919)
- Her Game (1919)
- The Eternal Mother (1920)
- The Black Panther's CubThe Black Panther's CubThe Black Panther's Cub is a 1921 silent film melodrama produced by William K. Ziegfeld, Flo's younger brother. It stars stage actress Florence Reed in her last silent screen portrayal. It is a lost film...
(1921) - Great ExpectationsGreat Expectations (1934 film)Great Expectations is a 1934 adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Filmed with mostly American actors, it was the first sound version of the novel and was produced in Hollywood by Universal Studios and directed by Stuart Walker. It stars Phillips Holmes as Pip, Jane Wyatt as...
(1934) - Frankie and Johnnie (1936)
- Stage DoorStage DoorStage Door is a RKO film, adapted from the play by the same name, that tells the story of several would-be actresses who live together in a boarding house at 158 West 58th Street in New York City. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Adolphe Menjou, Gail Patrick, Constance Collier,...
(1937) (*uncredited)
Personal life
Reed was married to actor Malcolm Williams from 1908 to his death in 1937. They had no children. She died on November 21, 1967.External links
- Florence Reed at IMDb.com
- Internet Broadway Database
- Florence Reed's gravesite at Findagrave.com
- Florence Reed gallery at NY Public Library(Billy Rose Collection)
- Florence Reed in The Actors Birthday Book
- Florence Reed in November 1922 Vanity Fair photographed by Nickolas MurayNickolas MurayNickolas Muray was a Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic fencer.-Biography:...
- stage & screen still portraits