Acting
Claire McDowell
Born October 31, 1877 · New York City, New York, USA
Died October 23, 1966 · aged 88
Claire McDowell (2 November 1877 – 23 October 1966) was an American actress. She appeared in 360 films between 1908 and 1945. Still somewhat of a youthful beauty when she started in early silent films, McDowell appeared in numerous films, eventually graduating to playing character and mother types. She can be seen to good advantage in Douglas Fairbanks's 1920 The Mark of Zorro. McDowell appeared …
Known For
Her Father's Silent Partner · 1914Her Father's Silent Partner
1914
MovieDrama
After his daughter's return the jeweler attempted to break the partnership he had with the crook. His partner, however, won the girl's love, and threatened to expose the father if he attempted to break off the match. By a clever ruse the father set the gangsters against their leader. His plan did not prove altogether successful.
British Agent · 1934British Agent
★ 5.81934
MovieRomanceDrama
In the days leading up to the Russian Revolution, Stephen Locke, a minor British diplomat in St Petersburg, falls in love with a Russian spy.
It Happened One Night · 1934It Happened One Night
★ 7.81934
MovieComedyRomance
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
Du Barry Was a Lady · 1943Du Barry Was a Lady
★ 6.51943
MovieComedyFantasy
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
Boys Town · 1938Boys Town
★ 6.81938
MovieDrama
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.
Central Airport · 1933Central Airport
★ 6.01933
MovieDrama
Aviator Jim Blaine and his brother Neil are rivals not only as daredevil flyers, but also for the love of parachutist Jill Collins.
Dollar Down · 1925Dollar Down
★ 7.01925
MovieDrama
Just before he propelled the crime melodrama to new, macabre heights in The Unholy Three, Browning directed this partially lost morality tale pertaining to a different kind of horror: that of a middle-class family living beyond their means and falling prey to moneylenders. Produced by and starring Ruth Roland for FBO Studios, a small operation that later became RKO Pictures, Dollar Down follows Roland as the spendthrift daughter of a manufacturing firm’s general manager (Henry Walthall), who pawns a ring purchased on credit to throw an extravagant party and sends the family’s livelihood into a tailspin. Because its last reel completely disintegrated before it could be copied, the film remains an ultra-rare curio that nonetheless captures an important chapter in Browning’s career before his successful string of films made for MGM.
Wild Boys of the Road · 1933Wild Boys of the Road
★ 6.81933
MovieDrama
At the height of the Great Depression, Tommy's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Eager not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomores decide to hop the freight trains and look for work.
Movies
Her Father's Silent Partner · 1914Her Father's Silent Partner
1914
MovieDrama
After his daughter's return the jeweler attempted to break the partnership he had with the crook. His partner, however, won the girl's love, and threatened to expose the father if he attempted to break off the match. By a clever ruse the father set the gangsters against their leader. His plan did not prove altogether successful.
British Agent · 1934British Agent
★ 5.81934
MovieRomanceDrama
In the days leading up to the Russian Revolution, Stephen Locke, a minor British diplomat in St Petersburg, falls in love with a Russian spy.
It Happened One Night · 1934It Happened One Night
★ 7.81934
MovieComedyRomance
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
Du Barry Was a Lady · 1943Du Barry Was a Lady
★ 6.51943
MovieComedyFantasy
Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.
Boys Town · 1938Boys Town
★ 6.81938
MovieDrama
Devout but iron-willed Father Flanagan leads a community called Boys Town, a different sort of juvenile detention facility where, instead of being treated as underage criminals, the boys are shepherded into making themselves better people. But hard-nosed petty thief and pool shark Whitey Marsh, the impulsive and violent younger brother of an imprisoned murderer, might be too much for the good father's tough-love system.
Central Airport · 1933Central Airport
★ 6.01933
MovieDrama
Aviator Jim Blaine and his brother Neil are rivals not only as daredevil flyers, but also for the love of parachutist Jill Collins.
Dollar Down · 1925Dollar Down
★ 7.01925
MovieDrama
Just before he propelled the crime melodrama to new, macabre heights in The Unholy Three, Browning directed this partially lost morality tale pertaining to a different kind of horror: that of a middle-class family living beyond their means and falling prey to moneylenders. Produced by and starring Ruth Roland for FBO Studios, a small operation that later became RKO Pictures, Dollar Down follows Roland as the spendthrift daughter of a manufacturing firm’s general manager (Henry Walthall), who pawns a ring purchased on credit to throw an extravagant party and sends the family’s livelihood into a tailspin. Because its last reel completely disintegrated before it could be copied, the film remains an ultra-rare curio that nonetheless captures an important chapter in Browning’s career before his successful string of films made for MGM.
Wild Boys of the Road · 1933Wild Boys of the Road
★ 6.81933
MovieDrama
At the height of the Great Depression, Tommy's mother has been out of work for months when Eddie's father loses his job. Eager not to burden their parents, the two high school sophomores decide to hop the freight trains and look for work.
Presenting Lily Mars · 1943Presenting Lily Mars
★ 6.41943
MovieMusicRomance
Starstruck Indiana small-town girl Lily is pestering theatrical producer John Thornway for a role but he is reluctant.
Blind Youth · 1920Blind Youth
★ 7.01920
MovieDrama
Maurie Monnier, a poor young American sculptor in Paris, marries Clarice, a gold-digging model who later abandons him. When Maurie's wealthy father dies, Maurie returns to the U.S., but his mother and brother will have nothing to do with him because of his poverty. At the end of his rope, he's about to kill himself when he meets Hope, a beautiful young girl who inspires him. Just when things are looking up for Maurie and his new love Hope, who should show up but his gold-digging wife Clarice.
Young Desire · 1930Young Desire
★ 7.01930
MovieDrama
A carnival sideshow dancer falls in love with a handsome young man.
The Call of the Wild · 1908The Call of the Wild
★ 3.11908
MovieDrama
George Redfeather, the hero of this subject, returns from Carlisle, where he not only graduated with high honors, but was also the star of the college football team. At a reception given in his honor by Lieut. Penrose, an Indian agent, the civilized brave meets Gladys, the lieutenant's daughter, and falls desperately in love with her.
Cornered · 1932Cornered
★ 7.51932
MovieWestern
Shortly after Moody Pierson saves Sheriff Tim's life, Moody is arrested for murder. Tim doesn't believe he did it and lets him get away. Kicked out as Sheriff, Tim goes after the real kiler and this leads him to the town controlled by Red Slavins.
Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble · 1944Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble
★ 6.31944
MovieComedyFamily
Andy is going to Wainwright College as did his father. He sees a pretty blonde on the train and he is alternately winked at or slapped every time he sees her. Andy is clueless. On the train Andy meets Kay and Dr. Standish who are both headed for Wainwright. Andy likes Kay, but Dr. Standish also seems to take an interest in her. Things are going well at College with Kay, but the blonde is nice one minute and ignores Andy the next. When Andy finds out that the blonde is really identical twins, he tries to help them out with their father but gets caught at their rooming house after midnight.
Penrod · 1922Penrod
★ 10.01922
MovieComedyDrama
Young rapscallion Penrod Schofield causes a good deal of trouble in his community, all in the name of protecting kids from too-strict parents and nasty neighbors. He heads the ABPA (American Boys' Protective Association) and through it disrupts a number of local social events. The townspeople are pretty fed up with Penrod and his gang, but when a couple of outlaws come to town, Penrod shows his mettle.
The Big Parade · 1925The Big Parade
★ 7.61925
MovieRomanceWar
The story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.
Young Tom Edison · 1940Young Tom Edison
★ 5.91940
MovieDrama
Inventor Thomas Edison's boyhood is chronicled and shows him as a lad whose early inventions and scientific experiments usually end up causing disastrous results. As a result, the towns folk all think Tom is crazy, and creating a strained relationship between Tom and his father. Tom's only solace is his understanding mother who believes he's headed to do great things.
Hangmen Also Die! · 1943Hangmen Also Die!
★ 6.91943
MovieDramaThriller
During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his attempt to escape, he is helped by history professor Stephen Novotny and his daughter Mascha.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ · 1925Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
★ 7.31925
MovieAdventureDrama
Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.
Chasing Rainbows · 1919Chasing Rainbows
1919
MovieDramaWestern
When Sadie, a waitress in a Kansas City railroad station, discovers that her lover Jim Lacy is married and has a child, she transfers to the small desert town of Bagdad, determined to hate all men, but the open spaces and friendliness of the people work to soften her attitude. She falls in love with Billy Thompson, the restaurant's manager, after they rescue an Indian girl from her furious lover.
Concentration · 1914Concentration
1914
MovieDrama
The dead man's decentralized life is exemplified in a half-finished will and an incompleted invention of a printing press. The mother impresses upon her two sons the power of concentration by a magnifying glass held to the sun's rays. One accepts the lesson and finishes the work of the father. The other becomes the tool of the rival printer. His lesson was to come through experience and the suffering of others.
Wealth · 1921Wealth
★ 10.01921
MovieDrama
Artist Mary McLeod, while returning to New York, discovers she has lost her train ticket; young Phillip Dominick, a millionaire playboy, offers her his drawing room, posing as her brother, and their friendship in time develops into love. They are married, and Phillip takes his bride to his wealthy mother, on whom he is financially dependent. Mrs. Dominick, however, has plans to separate the couple and marry Phillip to a society girl, and though Mary begs him to take her away, she agrees to remain until the birth of her baby. The grandmother assumes full charge of the child, but despite careful nursing the child dies, and a subsequent misunderstanding causes Mary to leave. Phillip finds her and promises to start a new life in their own home on his own resources.
The Big House · 1930The Big House
★ 6.61930
MovieCrimeDrama
Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.
The Mark of Zorro · 1920The Mark of Zorro
★ 7.21920
MovieWesternAdventure
Don Diego Vega pretends to be an indolent fop as a cover for his true identity, the masked avenger Zorro. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
