Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France on September 13, 1903 and was brought to the United States as a child three years later. Born Emilie 'Lily' Claudette Chauchoin, she went to high school in New York. She was studying at the Art Students League when, in 1923, she took the name Claudette Colbert for her first Broadway role in "The Wild Westcotts". Her most noteworthy stage vehicle was the "The Barker" in 1927. Her first film was a silent For the Love of Mike (1927), directed by Frank Capra. Made on a shoestring, the movie was a flop, and she vowed that it would be her last film role: "I only left Broadway when the crash came. The Depression killed the theater, and the pictures were manna from heaven". She had her first film success the next year, however, in The Lady Lies (1929). Her early notable films were all box-office hits and included Cleopatra (1934), in which she played the title role enticingly. She had her greatest triumph playing a runaway heiress, with enormous charm, opposite Clark Gable in Capra's comedy It Happened One Night (1934), for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. By 1938 her keen ability in business made her the highest paid star in Hollywood. By 1950, though, her star had begun to wane. She returned to the stage in 1956 when she replaced Margaret Sullavan during the spring and summer in the comedy "Janus". Appearances in other Broadway productions followed, including "The Marriage-Go-Round". Besides the ...
Torch Singer
(1933)
When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later, she searches for the child she gave up. (more)
When she can't support her illegitimate child, an abandoned young woman puts her up for adoption and pursues a career as a torch singer. Years later, she searches for the child she gave up. (more)
Four Frightened People (1934)
Malaya tropical island romantic love triangle adventure thriller, about a cruise ship where Bubonic plague breaks out. Four people are able to leave the ship in a tiny boat and make it to a desert island, where many adventures ensue and, of course, the two men ... (more)
Malaya tropical island romantic love triangle adventure thriller, about a cruise ship where Bubonic plague breaks out. Four people are able to leave the ship in a tiny boat and make it to a desert island, where many adventures ensue and, of course, the two men ... (more)
She Married Her Boss
(1935)
A super-efficient secretary at a department store falls for and marries her boss, but finds out that taking care of him at home (and especially his spoiled-brat daughter) is a lot different than taking care of him at work. (more)
A super-efficient secretary at a department store falls for and marries her boss, but finds out that taking care of him at home (and especially his spoiled-brat daughter) is a lot different than taking care of him at work. (more)
The Bride Comes Home (1935)
A penniless socialite is hired by two young men as a front in their plan to start a magazine. Soon, however, they find themselves more interested in her than in their publishing venture. (more)
A penniless socialite is hired by two young men as a front in their plan to start a magazine. Soon, however, they find themselves more interested in her than in their publishing venture. (more)
Maid of Salem (1937)
When a young woman named Barbara Clarke has an affair with adventurer Roger Coverman, it causes a scandal in the Puritanical town of Salem, Massachusetts. After a meddling girl arouses their suspicions, the town's elders accuse Barbara of being a witch. She is ... (more)
When a young woman named Barbara Clarke has an affair with adventurer Roger Coverman, it causes a scandal in the Puritanical town of Salem, Massachusetts. After a meddling girl arouses their suspicions, the town's elders accuse Barbara of being a witch. She is ... (more)
I Met Him in Paris (1937)
Kay Denham is off for a fling in Paris, leaving her suitor Berk behind. There, she meets two new suitors, Gene and George. Gene smooth-talks her into a junket to Switzerland, but George (with no illusions about his friend) appoints himself chaperone. Through a ... (more)
Kay Denham is off for a fling in Paris, leaving her suitor Berk behind. There, she meets two new suitors, Gene and George. Gene smooth-talks her into a junket to Switzerland, but George (with no illusions about his friend) appoints himself chaperone. Through a ... (more)
Breakdowns of 1938 (1938)
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938. (more)
Flubs and bloopers that occurred on the set of some of the major Warner Bros. pictures of 1938. (more)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife
(1938)
American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the row of his ex-wives and starts her own strategy to tame him. (more)
American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broken French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the row of his ex-wives and starts her own strategy to tame him. (more)
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a ... (more)
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which had its premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre. We see the street leading to the theatre transformed to suggest a ... (more)
Zaza (1938)
A seductive music hall star falls in love with a married aristocrat. (more)
A seductive music hall star falls in love with a married aristocrat. (more)
Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940)
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a ... (more)
This short promotes the premise that movies often create a demand for the fashions seen in them. It starts with a vignette in rural America. A mother and daughter go to town to buy a new dress. In the dress shop window is a designer dress worn by Joan Crawford in a ... (more)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards (1940)
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, ... (more)
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, ... (more)
Arise, My Love (1940)
In 1939, American Tom Martin, who fought in the Spanish Civil War, awaits execution at the hands of the Fascist victors when reporter Augusta 'Gusto' Nash, for a scoop, aids him in an audacious escape. Of course, Tom tries to romance Gusto; but though she likes him ... (more)
In 1939, American Tom Martin, who fought in the Spanish Civil War, awaits execution at the hands of the Fascist victors when reporter Augusta 'Gusto' Nash, for a scoop, aids him in an audacious escape. Of course, Tom tries to romance Gusto; but though she likes him ... (more)
Skylark (1941)
As her fifth wedding anniversary approaches, a woman realizes that she is fed up with always coming in second to her husband's advertising business. Just at the moment when she is trying to decide what to do, she meets a handsome attorney, and their innocent ... (more)
As her fifth wedding anniversary approaches, a woman realizes that she is fed up with always coming in second to her husband's advertising business. Just at the moment when she is trying to decide what to do, she meets a handsome attorney, and their innocent ... (more)
Remember the Day (1941)
Elderly schoolteacher Nora Trinell, waiting to meet presidential nominee Dewey Roberts, recalls him as her student back in 1916 and his relation to Dan Hopkins, the man she married and lost. (more)
Elderly schoolteacher Nora Trinell, waiting to meet presidential nominee Dewey Roberts, recalls him as her student back in 1916 and his relation to Dan Hopkins, the man she married and lost. (more)
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 (1942)
Narrator Hopper covers two war benefit affairs, a garden party and a USO fashion show, at Pickfair, "The White House of Hollywood." (more)
Narrator Hopper covers two war benefit affairs, a garden party and a USO fashion show, at Pickfair, "The White House of Hollywood." (more)
No Time for Love (1943)
Upper-class female reporter is (despite herself) attracted to hulking laborer digging a tunnel under the Hudson river. (more)
Upper-class female reporter is (despite herself) attracted to hulking laborer digging a tunnel under the Hudson river. (more)
Practically Yours (1944)
In this screwball comedy a WW2 US pilot bombs a Japanese aircraft carrier, is assumed to be dead, and then is misquoted in the press as fondly remembering his days back home walking his dog Piggy. Instead of his dog Piggy he is thought to be in love with Peggy, a ... (more)
In this screwball comedy a WW2 US pilot bombs a Japanese aircraft carrier, is assumed to be dead, and then is misquoted in the press as fondly remembering his days back home walking his dog Piggy. Instead of his dog Piggy he is thought to be in love with Peggy, a ... (more)
Guest Wife (1945)
The Secret Heart (1946)
Penny Addams lives in a constant state of depression stemming from the trauma of her father's death when she was just a young girl. Her brother, Chase, and stepmother, Lee, work to help Penny process her grief through psychotherapy and revisiting their past, but ... (more)
Penny Addams lives in a constant state of depression stemming from the trauma of her father's death when she was just a young girl. Her brother, Chase, and stepmother, Lee, work to help Penny process her grief through psychotherapy and revisiting their past, but ... (more)