Mae Murray
Encyclopedia
Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer
, and screenwriter
. Murray rose to fame during the silent film
era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen".
stage in 1906 with dancer Vernon Castle
. In 1908, she joined the chorus line
of the Ziegfeld Follies
, moving up to headliner by 1915. Murray became a star of the club circuit in both the United States and Europe, performing with Clifton Webb
, Rudolph Valentino
, and John Gilbert
as some of her many dance partners.
In September 1908, she married William M. Schwenker, Jr. (born 1885), the general manager of a brewing company; they later divorced. On 18 December 1916, she married Olympic bobsled champion Jay O'Brien
and made her motion picture debut in To Have and to Hold
that same year. She became a major star for Universal
, starring with Rudolph Valentino
in The Delicious Little Devil and Big Little Person in 1919. At the height of her popularity, Murray formed her own production company with her director, John M. Stahl
. Critics were sometimes less than thrilled with her over-the-top costumes and exaggerated emoting, but her films were popular with movie going audiences and financially successful.
After divorcing O'Brien in 1917, Murray married movie director Robert Z. Leonard
on 18 August 1918; they divorced on 26 May 1925. Beginning in 1925, Murray, Leonard, and Stahl produced films at Tiffany Pictures
, with Souls for Sables (1925), starring Claire Windsor
and Eugene O'Brien, as the first film made by Tiffany. For a brief period of time, Murray wrote a weekly column for newspaper scion William Randolph Hearst
.
At her career peak in the early 1920s, Murray, along with such other notable Hollywood personalities as Cecil B. DeMille
, Douglas Fairbanks
, William S. Hart
, Jesse L. Lasky
, Harold Lloyd
, Hal Roach
, Donald Crisp
, Conrad Nagel
and Irving Thalberg
was a member of the board of trustees at the Motion Picture & Television Fund
- A charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries without resources. Four decades later, Murray herself received aid from that organization.
In the early 1920s, Murray was painted by the well known Hollywood portrait painter Theodore Lukits
(1897–1992). This work titled Harmony in Jade and Silver (Private Collection, Northern California) depicted the actress in the nude, gazing in a mirror. This subtle, rather chaste nude was exhibited at the Pacific Asia Museum in 1999 and two other venues as part of the exhibition Theodore Lukits, An American Orientalist.
directed film The Merry Widow
(1925), opposite John Gilbert
. When silent films gave way to talkies
, Murray made an insecure debut in the new medium in Peacock Alley
(1930), a remake of her earlier 1921 version Peacock Alley
. In 1931, she was cast with newcomer Irene Dunne
, leading man Lowell Sherman
, and with fellow silent screen star Norman Kerry
in the talkie Bachelor Apartment
. The film was critically panned at the time of release and Murray made only one more film, High Stakes (1931) also with Sherman.
A crucial blow to her movie career occurred after she married, as her fourth husband, David Mdivani
, a Georgian so-called "prince" whose brothers, Serge and Alexis, married actress Pola Negri
and the heiress Barbara Hutton
respectively. The couple married on 27 June 1926, and Mdivani became her manager, suggesting that his new wife leave MGM. Murray took her husband's advice and walked out of her contract with MGM, making a powerful foe of studio boss Louis B. Mayer
. Later, she would swallow her pride and plead to return, but Mayer would have none of it. In effect, Mayer's hostility meant that Murray was blacklisted from working for the Hollywood studios. Meanwhile, in 1927, Murray was sued by her then-masseuse, the famous Hollywood fitness guru Sylvia of Hollywood
for the outstanding amount of $2,125 during a humiliating and detailed court case.
Murray and Mdivani divorced in 1933; they had one child, Koran David Mdivani (born 1927). Koran was raised by Sara Elizabeth "Bess" Cunning of Averill Park, New York
, who began taking care of him in 1936, when the child was recovering from a double mastoid operation (Cunning's brother Dr. David Cunning was the surgeon). When Murray attempted to regain custody of her son in 1939, Cunning and her other brothers, John, Ambrose, and Cortland, refused, according to the New York Times, at which time Murray and her former husband, Mdivani, entered a bitter custody dispute. It finally ended in 1940, with Murray being given legal custody of the child and the court ordering Mdivani to pay $400 a month maintenance. However, Koran Mdivani continued to live with Bess Cunning, who adopted him in 1940 as Daniel Michael Cunning. Reportedly, Mdivani had managed to siphon off most of Murray's money.
In the 1940s, Murray appeared regularly at Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe
, a nightclub which specialized in a "Gay '90s" atmosphere, often presenting stars of the past for nostalgic value. Her appearances collected mixed reviews: her dancing (in particular the Merry Widow Waltz) was well received, but Murray refused to acknowledge her age, wearing heavy layers of makeup and fitting her mature figure into short skirted costumes with plunging necklines.
, The Self-Enchanted (1959), written by Jane Ardmore, that has often been incorrectly called Murray's autobiography.
She later moved into the Motion Picture House
in Woodland Hills, a retirement community for Hollywood professionals. Mae Murray died at age 75. She is interred in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
, North Hollywood, California
.
at 6318 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2010 author Michael G. Ankerich began work on a biography of Murray.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Murray rose to fame during the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen".
Early life and career
Born Marie Adrienne Koenig in New York City, New Yorkhttp://michaelgankerich.com/pb/wp_c0e1a8d8/wp_c0e1a8d8.html and raised on the city's Lower East Side, she first began acting on the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage in 1906 with dancer Vernon Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife team of ballroom dancers of the early 20th century. They are credited with invigorating the popularity of modern dancing. Vernon Castle was born William Vernon Blyth in Norwich, Norfolk, England...
. In 1908, she joined the chorus line
Chorus line
A chorus line is a substantial group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. Chorus line dancers in Broadway musicals and revues have been referred to by slang terms such as ponies, gypsies and twirlies...
of the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
, moving up to headliner by 1915. Murray became a star of the club circuit in both the United States and Europe, performing with Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...
, Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, and John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
as some of her many dance partners.
In September 1908, she married William M. Schwenker, Jr. (born 1885), the general manager of a brewing company; they later divorced. On 18 December 1916, she married Olympic bobsled champion Jay O'Brien
Jay O'Brien
Jay James O'Brien was an American bobsledder who competed in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He won two medals at the Winter Olympics with a gold in the four-man event at Lake Placid, New York in 1932 and a silver in the five-man event at St...
and made her motion picture debut in To Have and to Hold
To Have and to Hold
-Screen adaptations:The book has been twice adapted to the screen. The first silent film in 1916 was made by Jesse L. Lasky’s Famous Players company. It was directed by George Melford and starred Wallace Reid and Mae Murray. In 1922, Lasky did a remake, this time starring Bert Lytell and Betty...
that same year. She became a major star for Universal
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, starring with Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
in The Delicious Little Devil and Big Little Person in 1919. At the height of her popularity, Murray formed her own production company with her director, John M. Stahl
John M. Stahl
John Malcolm Stahl was an American film director and producer.Born in New York City, New York, he began working in the city's growing motion picture industry at a young age and directed his first silent film short in 1914. In the early 1920s Stahl signed on with Louis B...
. Critics were sometimes less than thrilled with her over-the-top costumes and exaggerated emoting, but her films were popular with movie going audiences and financially successful.
After divorcing O'Brien in 1917, Murray married movie director Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Z. Leonard
Robert Zigler Leonard was an American film director, actor, producer and screenwriter.He was born in Chicago, Illinois...
on 18 August 1918; they divorced on 26 May 1925. Beginning in 1925, Murray, Leonard, and Stahl produced films at Tiffany Pictures
Tiffany Pictures
Tiffany Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932.-History:...
, with Souls for Sables (1925), starring Claire Windsor
Claire Windsor
Claire Windsor was a notable American film actress of the silent screen era.-Early life:Windsor was born Clara Viola Cronk in 1892 to George Edwin and Rosella R. Fearing Cronk in Marvin, Phillips County, Kansas of Scandinavian heritage. Her parents later moved to Cawker City, Kansas when she was...
and Eugene O'Brien, as the first film made by Tiffany. For a brief period of time, Murray wrote a weekly column for newspaper scion William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
.
At her career peak in the early 1920s, Murray, along with such other notable Hollywood personalities as Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
, Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, William S. Hart
William S. Hart
William Surrey Hart was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is remembered for having "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity."-Biography:...
, Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse Louis Lasky, Sr. was a pioneer Hollywood film producer. He was a key founder of Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor, and father of screenwriter Jesse L...
, Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
, Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
, Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp was an English film actor. He was also an early motion picture producer, director and screenwriter...
, Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel was an American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well-known television actor and radio performer.-Biography:...
and Irving Thalberg
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
was a member of the board of trustees at the Motion Picture & Television Fund
Motion Picture & Television Fund
The Motion Picture & Television Fund is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries with limited or no resources...
- A charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries without resources. Four decades later, Murray herself received aid from that organization.
In the early 1920s, Murray was painted by the well known Hollywood portrait painter Theodore Lukits
Theodore Lukits
Theodore Nikolai Lukits was a California portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of some of the most glamorous actresses of the Silent Film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspired works, figures drawn from Hispanic California and his pastel landscapes have all...
(1897–1992). This work titled Harmony in Jade and Silver (Private Collection, Northern California) depicted the actress in the nude, gazing in a mirror. This subtle, rather chaste nude was exhibited at the Pacific Asia Museum in 1999 and two other venues as part of the exhibition Theodore Lukits, An American Orientalist.
Career decline
Murray's most famous role was perhaps the title role in the Erich von StroheimErich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
directed film The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow (1925 film)
The Merry Widow is a 1925 American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable had uncredited roles in the film....
(1925), opposite John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
. When silent films gave way to talkies
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
, Murray made an insecure debut in the new medium in Peacock Alley
Peacock Alley (1930 film)
Peacock Alley is a black-and-white talkie which originally had one color sequence, and is remake of the 1921 silent film of the same name. Like the 1921 version, Mae Murray starred in the leading female role, but little else other than the title was retained from the previous version...
(1930), a remake of her earlier 1921 version Peacock Alley
Peacock Alley (1921 film)
Peacock Alley is a black-and-white American silent film starring Monte Blue as Elmer Harmon and Mae Murray as Cleo. The film was directed by Murray's husband at the time, Robert Z. Leonard, was one of Murray's most successful films, and one of the biggest hits of 1921.In the film, Elmer travels...
. In 1931, she was cast with newcomer Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne
Irene Dunne was an American film actress and singer of the 1930s, 1940s and early 1950s. Dunne was nominated five times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her performances in Cimarron , Theodora Goes Wild , The Awful Truth , Love Affair and I Remember Mama...
, leading man Lowell Sherman
Lowell Sherman
Lowell Sherman was an American actor and film director....
, and with fellow silent screen star Norman Kerry
Norman Kerry
Norman Kerry was an American actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I.-Biography:...
in the talkie Bachelor Apartment
Bachelor Apartment (film)
Bachelor Apartment is a 1931 romance film directed by and starring Lowell Sherman as a womanizing playboy who falls in love with Irene Dunne's character.-Cast:*Lowell Sherman as Wayne Carter*Irene Dunne as Helene Andrews*Mae Murray as Mrs...
. The film was critically panned at the time of release and Murray made only one more film, High Stakes (1931) also with Sherman.
A crucial blow to her movie career occurred after she married, as her fourth husband, David Mdivani
Mdivani
Mdivani is the name of a family of nobility, originating from the nation of Georgia. The best known bearers of this name were the children of Zakhari and Elizabeth Mdivani. The five siblings fled to Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, and became known as the "Marrying Mdivanis", as they...
, a Georgian so-called "prince" whose brothers, Serge and Alexis, married actress Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
and the heiress Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
respectively. The couple married on 27 June 1926, and Mdivani became her manager, suggesting that his new wife leave MGM. Murray took her husband's advice and walked out of her contract with MGM, making a powerful foe of studio boss Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
. Later, she would swallow her pride and plead to return, but Mayer would have none of it. In effect, Mayer's hostility meant that Murray was blacklisted from working for the Hollywood studios. Meanwhile, in 1927, Murray was sued by her then-masseuse, the famous Hollywood fitness guru Sylvia of Hollywood
Sylvia of Hollywood
Sylvia Ulback , known as Sylvia of Hollywood, was an early Hollywood fitness guru. Between 1926 and 1932, "Madame Sylvia", as she was also known, specialised in keeping movie stars camera-ready through stringent massage, diet and exercise.-Early life:Sylvia was born Symnove Johanne Waaler in Oslo ...
for the outstanding amount of $2,125 during a humiliating and detailed court case.
Murray and Mdivani divorced in 1933; they had one child, Koran David Mdivani (born 1927). Koran was raised by Sara Elizabeth "Bess" Cunning of Averill Park, New York
Averill Park, New York
Averill Park is a hamlet in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 1,517 at the 2000 census....
, who began taking care of him in 1936, when the child was recovering from a double mastoid operation (Cunning's brother Dr. David Cunning was the surgeon). When Murray attempted to regain custody of her son in 1939, Cunning and her other brothers, John, Ambrose, and Cortland, refused, according to the New York Times, at which time Murray and her former husband, Mdivani, entered a bitter custody dispute. It finally ended in 1940, with Murray being given legal custody of the child and the court ordering Mdivani to pay $400 a month maintenance. However, Koran Mdivani continued to live with Bess Cunning, who adopted him in 1940 as Daniel Michael Cunning. Reportedly, Mdivani had managed to siphon off most of Murray's money.
Billy Rose
William "Billy" Rose was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. He is credited with many famous songs, notably "Me and My Shadow" , "It Happened in Monterey" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"...
, a nightclub which specialized in a "Gay '90s" atmosphere, often presenting stars of the past for nostalgic value. Her appearances collected mixed reviews: her dancing (in particular the Merry Widow Waltz) was well received, but Murray refused to acknowledge her age, wearing heavy layers of makeup and fitting her mature figure into short skirted costumes with plunging necklines.
Final years
Murray's finances continued to collapse, and for most of her later life she lived in poverty. She was the subject of an authorized biographyBiography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, The Self-Enchanted (1959), written by Jane Ardmore, that has often been incorrectly called Murray's autobiography.
She later moved into the Motion Picture House
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California...
in Woodland Hills, a retirement community for Hollywood professionals. Mae Murray died at age 75. She is interred in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.The cemetery has a special section called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for a number of aviation pioneers — barnstormers, daredevils and...
, North Hollywood, California
North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
North Hollywood is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California, along the Tujunga Wash. It is bounded on the south by Moorpark Street and the Ventura Freeway, on the southwest by Burbank Blvd...
.
Legacy
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Mae Murray has a star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6318 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2010 author Michael G. Ankerich began work on a biography of Murray.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | To Have and to Hold To Have and to Hold (1916 film) To Have and to Hold is a 1916 silent film historical drama directed by George Melford and starring Mae Murray and Wallace Reid. Murray's film debut. This film is now lost... |
Lady Jocelyn | Lost |
| 1916 | Sweet Kitty Bellairs Sweet Kitty Bellairs (1916 film) Sweet Kitty Bellairs is a 1916 silent film drama produced by the Famous Players-Lasky feature film company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a novel by Agnes and Egerton Castle which begot a play by David Belasco which was a huge Broadway success for lead actress Henrietta... |
Kitty Bellairs | Lost |
| 1916 | The Dream Girl The Dream Girl (film) The Dream Girl is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is now considered to be lost. The film is an original story by DeMille writer Jeanie MacPherson.-Cast:* Mae Murray - Meg Dugan* Theodore Roberts - Jim Dugan... |
Meg Dugan | Lost |
| 1916 | The Big Sister | Betty Norton | Lost |
| 1916 | The Plow Girl | Margot | Lost |
| 1917 | On Record | Helen Wayne | Lost |
| 1917 | A Mormon Maid | Dora | Extant(Library of Congress, UCLA Film & TV Archive) |
| 1917 | The Primrose Ring The Primrose Ring The Primrose Ring is a novel by Ruth Sawyer, published first in 1915 and illustrated by Fanny Munsell. This was Sawyer's first published novel. She later wrote the 1937 Newbery Medal winner Roller Skates.... |
Margaret MacLean | Lost |
| 1917 | At First Sight | Justina | Lost |
| 1917 | Princess Virtue | Lianne Demarest | Extant(Library of Congress) |
| 1917 | Face Value | Joan Darby | Writer (story); Extant(George Eastman House) |
| 1918 | The Bride's Awakening | Elaine Bronson | Extant(Filmmuseum Amsterdam) |
| 1918 | Her Body in Bond | Peggy Blondin | Alternative title: The Heart of an Actress; Lost |
| 1918 | Modern Love | Della Arnold | Writer (story); Lost |
| 1918 | The Taming of Kaiser Bull | Miss America | Lost |
| 1918 | Danger, Go Slow Danger, Go Slow Danger, Go Slow is a 1918 comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Mae Murray - Mugsy Mulane* Jack Mulhall - Jimmy, the Eel* Lon Chaney - Bud* Lydia Knott - Aunt Sarah* Joseph W... |
Mugsy Mulane | Writer; Lost |
| 1919 | The Scarlet Shadow | Elena Evans | Lost |
| 1919 | The Twin Pawns | Daisy/Violet White | Alternative title: The Curse of Greed; Extant(National Film&TV Archive, London) |
| 1919 | The Delicious Little Devil | Mary McGuire | Extant(Filmmuseum Amsterdam) |
| 1919 | What Am I Bid? | Betty Yarnell | Alternative title: Girl For Sale; Lost |
| 1919 | Big Little Person | Arathea Manning | Lost |
| 1919 | The ABC of Love | Kate | Extant(Filmmuseum Amsterdam) |
| 1920 | On with the Dance On with the Dance (1920 film) This article is about the 1920 film. For the 1925 musical revue, see On With the Dance . For the 1975 Upstairs, Downstairs episode, see On With the Dance.... ' |
Sonia | Lost |
| 1920 | Right to Love Right to Love (1920 film) Right to Love is a 1920 silent film drama directed by George Fitzmaurice. It starred Mae Murray, David Powell and Holmes Herbert. A copy of the film is preserved in the Nederlands Filmmuseum. -Cast:*Mae Murray as Lady Falkland... |
Lady Falkland | Extant(Filmmuseum Amsterdam) |
| 1920 | Idols of Clay Idols of Clay (1920 film) Idols of Clay is a 1920 silent drama directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Mae Murray and David Powell. A copy of the film survives in the Gosfilmofond Archive in Moscow.-Cast:* Mae Murray - Faith Merrill* David Powell - Dion Holme... |
Faith Merrill | Extant(Gosfilmofond, Moscow) |
| 1921 | The Gilded Lily | Lillian Drake | Extant(Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken Archive *silentera.com) |
| 1922 | Peacock Alley Peacock Alley (1921 film) Peacock Alley is a black-and-white American silent film starring Monte Blue as Elmer Harmon and Mae Murray as Cleo. The film was directed by Murray's husband at the time, Robert Z. Leonard, was one of Murray's most successful films, and one of the biggest hits of 1921.In the film, Elmer travels... |
Cleo of Paris | Incomplete(Library of Congress *Greta De,Groat, Unsung Divas) |
| 1922 | Fascination Fascination (1922 film) Fascination is a 1922 silent film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring his then wife Mae Murray. The story was an original one for the screen by Edmund Goulding, soon to be a prolific film director. The story captilizes on Murray's continuing forays into outlandish costume dramas... |
Dolores de Lisa | Lost |
| 1922 | Broadway Rose Broadway Rose (1922 film) Broadway Rose is a 1922 silent film released by Metro Pictures and directed by Robert Z. Leonard. It stars Leonard's wife Mae Murray and Monte Blue. The story is an original for the screen by Edmund Goulding for star Murray. It was produced by Leonard and Murray's production company Tiffany Pictures... |
Rosalie Lawrence | Extant(Gosfilmofond, Moscow) |
| 1923 | Jazzmania Jazzmania (1923 film) Jazzmania is a silent film drama directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring his wife Mae Murray. In keeping with Murray's previous films and a few of her succeeding films, the movie possesses some of the most provocative attire worn by an actress in film up to that time. As with Fascination, Edmund... |
Ninon | Extant (George Eastman House) |
| 1923 | The French Doll | Georgine Mazulier | Extant(Gosfilmofond, Moscow ;Jugoslovenska Kinoteka(Beograde/Belgrade) |
| 1923 | Fashion Row | Olga Farinova/Zita (her younger sister) | Lost |
| 1924 | Mademoiselle Midnight Mademoiselle Midnight Mademoiselle Midnight is a 1924 film starring Mae Murray and directed by the star's then husband, Robert Z. Leonard. The film was written by Carl Harbaugh and John Russell... |
Renée de Gontran/Renée de Quiros | Extant(Gosfilmofond, Moscow,; UCLA Film & TV Archive) |
| 1924 | Circe, the Enchantress Circe, the Enchantress Circe, the Enchantress is a 1924 drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Mae Murray. This was their last collaboration, and they divorced soon after. This film is considered lost. -Plot:... |
Circe (mythical goddess)/Cecilie Brunne | Alternative title: Circe; Lost |
| 1925 | The Merry Widow The Merry Widow (1925 film) The Merry Widow is a 1925 American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable had uncredited roles in the film.... |
Sally O'Hara | Extant(Turner/Warner Brothers, many others) |
| 1925 | The Masked Bride The Masked Bride The Masked Bride is a silent drama film, directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Mae Murray, Francis X. Bushman and Basil Rathbone. Originally helmed by Josef von Sternberg, the director followed the footsteps of Erich von Stroheim in walking out of a Mae Murray movie, this time after two weeks... |
Gaby | Lost |
| 1926 | Valencia Valencia (film) Valencia, also known as The Love Song, is a 1926 romance film directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki, who came over from Paramount to direct, and starring Mae Murray and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited role. Rumors of a surviving print persist. The film was a box office hit and the title song,... |
Valencia | Alternative title: The Love Song; Extant(?Turner/Warner Bros.) |
| 1927 | Altars of Desire Altars of Desire Altars of Desire is a silent drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring silent movie star Mae Murray. A print may survive in the Turner/MGM vaults however silentera.com lists this film as being lost.-Plot:... |
Claire Sutherland | Extant(Turner/Warner Bros.) |
| 1930 | Peacock Alley Peacock Alley (1930 film) Peacock Alley is a black-and-white talkie which originally had one color sequence, and is remake of the 1921 silent film of the same name. Like the 1921 version, Mae Murray starred in the leading female role, but little else other than the title was retained from the previous version... |
Claire Tree | Extant(Cinematheque Suisse,Lausanne),Library of Congress,National Film & TV Archive,London) |
| 1931 | Bachelor Apartment Bachelor Apartment (film) Bachelor Apartment is a 1931 romance film directed by and starring Lowell Sherman as a womanizing playboy who falls in love with Irene Dunne's character.-Cast:*Lowell Sherman as Wayne Carter*Irene Dunne as Helene Andrews*Mae Murray as Mrs... |
Mrs. Agatha Carraway | Alternative title: Apartamento de Soltero; Extant(RKO - Turner/Warner Bros.) |
| 1931 | High Stakes | Dolly Jordan Lennon | Extant (RKO - Turner/Warner Brothers) |
| 1949 | Dick Barton Strikes Back | Associate producer | |
| 1950 | Shadow of the Past | Producer | |
| 1950 | Come Dance with Me | Associate producer | |
External links
- Mae Murray at TCM
- Mae Murray at Silents Are Golden
- Mae Murray Photo Galleries at Silent Ladies & Gents
- Mae Murray Biography at New York Times Movies
- Mae Murray Biography at Classic Images
- Mae Murray Corbis page
- Mae Murray stills from some lost movies, Univ. of Washington Sayre Collection
- write up on Mae Murray by Tammy Stone
- Youtube: Kodak 1922 Kodachrome Film Test. Mae Murray appears at time mark 1:49.