Ethel Barrymore
Biography: Ethel Barrymore was the second of three children seemingly destined for the actor's life of their parents Maurice and Georgiana. Maurice Barrymore had emigrated from England in 1875, and after graduating from Cambridge in law had shocked his family by becoming an actor. Georgiana Drew of Philadelphia acted in her parents' stage company. The two met and married as members of Augustin Daly's company in New York. They both acted with some of the great stage personalities of the mid Victorian theater of America and England. The Barrymore children were born and grew up in Philadelphia. Though older brother Lionel Barrymore began acting early with his mother's relatives in the Drew theater company, Ethel, after a traditional girl's schooling, planned on becoming a concert pianist. The lure of the stage was perhaps congenital, however. She made her debut as a stage actress during the New York City season of 1894. Her youthful stage presence was at once a pleasure, a strikingly pretty and winsome face and large dark eyes that seemed to look out from her very soul. Her natural talent and distinctive voice only reinforced the physical presence of someone destined to command any role set before her. After the opportunity to appear on the London stage with English great Henry Irving in "The Bells" (1897) and later in "Peter the Great" (1898), she returned to New York to star in the Clyde Fitch play "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines" (1901) (produced by her friend and benefactor Charles Frohman), which brought her initial American acclaim. Lead roles, such as Nora in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" (1905) and starring in "Alice By the Fire" (also 1905), "Mid-Channel" (1910) and "Trelawney of the Wells" (1911) proved her popularity as a warm and charismatic star of American stage. In the meantime she married stockbroker Russell Griswold Colt in 1909 and gave birth to three children while continuing her acting career. Although the stage was her first love, she did heed the call of the silver screen, and though not achieving the matinée idol image that younger brother John Barrymore garnered in silent movies after similar chemistry on stage, she won over audiences from her first film appearance in The Nightingale (1914). However, her early film roles, steady through 1919, took a back seat to continued stage triumphs: "Declassee" (1919), her impassioned Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" (1922), "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray" (1924) and, especially, "The Constant Wife" (1926). She harnessed her considerable talents in the role of an activist as well, being a bedrock supporter of the Actors Equity Association and, in fact, had been a prominent figure in the actors strike of 1919. By 1930 she was entering middle age and her movie roles reflected this. Except for Rasputin and the Empress (1932) with her brothers, the roles were elderly mothers and grandmothers, dowager ladies and spinster aunts. Perhaps wisely she put off Hollywood for over a decade, with stage work that included her most endearing role in "The Corn is Green" (a tour that lasted from 1940 to 1942). She finally moved to Southern California in 1940. When she passed away in 1959, she was interred near her brothers at Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: August 12, 1879
Deathday: June 18, 1959
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Known For
The Paradine Case
1947-12-31
The Paradine Case
Overview: Attorney Anthony Keane agrees to represent Londonite Mrs. Paradine, who has been fingered in her husband's murder. From the start, the married lawyer is drawn to the enigmatic beauty, and he begins to cast about for a way to exonerate his client. Keane puts the Paradine household servant on the stand, suggesting he is the killer. But Keane soon loses his way in the courtroom, and his half-baked plan sets off a stunning chain of events.
Genres: Drama Mystery Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-12-31
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Portrait of Jennie
1948-12-25
Portrait of Jennie
Overview: A mysterious girl inspires a struggling artist.
Genres: Drama Romance Fantasy Mystery
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-12-25
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The Spiral Staircase
1946-02-06
The Spiral Staircase
Overview: On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.
Genres: Mystery Thriller Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1946-02-06
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The Nightingale
1914-10-05
The Nightingale
Overview: Franti, an organ grinder of the poor districts of New York, has a daughter, Isola, who sings to his street piano's accompaniment.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1914-10-05
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The Final Judgment
1915-10-18
The Final Judgment
Overview: Actress Jane Carleson has three admirers: Henry Strong (a millionaire), Hamilton Ross (a chemist), and Murray Campbell (a district attorney). When Jane weds Campbell, Ross writes an anonymous letter to Campbell, warning him that Strong is after his wife.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1915-10-18
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The Kiss of Hate
1916-04-03
The Kiss of Hate
Overview: When Count Peter Turgeneff, his daughter, Nadia, and Paul, his generous-hearted son, came to live in the Governor's palace in the Russian province of Valogda, there was rejoicing among the oppressed race whose home was in the Ghetto.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1916-04-03
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The Awakening of Helena Ritchie
1916-12-18
The Awakening of Helena Ritchie
Overview: Helena Richie leaves her drunken husband, who had killed their child, and goes to Old Chester in Pennsylvania with her friend Lloyd Pryor. Helena adopts a homeless boy, David, who had been a ward of the town's minister, Dr. Lavendar. Helena's true husband dies, but Lloyd Pryor, now tired of Helena, refuses to marry her. Helena confesses to the minister about her actual relationship with Pryor, and Dr. Lavendar forces her to give up her son. Helena agrees, certain that she is an unfit mother. Helena pleads her case and fights for her maternal rights.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1916-12-18
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The White Raven
1917-01-14
The White Raven
Overview: William Baldwin, ruined in business by his partner, John Blaisdell, implores Blaisdell's aid, and receives in answer a five-dollar bill across the face of which is written, "Spend this for a gun and use it on yourself."
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-01-14
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The Call of Her People
1917-05-27
The Call of Her People
Overview: Faro Black, the chief of the Gypsies, finds out that his son Faro and his girlfriend Egypt have gotten married. Infuriated, he tells that their marriage isn't valid, since Egypt is actually the daughter of wealthy Gordon Lindsay, who is on his way to the gypsy camp to claim her. The two promise to remain faithful to each other, but as time passes and she never hears from Faro, her love turns to bitterness.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-05-27
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The Greatest Power
1917-06-18
The Greatest Power
Overview: Miriam Monroe and John Conrad are two young scientific workers who, independently of each other, have discovered a chemical called exonite. Miriam discovered it while searching for a cure for cancer, while Conrad used it as a basis for a powerful explosive.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-06-18
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The Lifted Veil
1917-09-10
The Lifted Veil
Overview: Overcome with guilt after having an affair with her best friends husband, Clorinda hopes to escape her past by moving to Europe, where she meets Malcolm, a decent man who falls in love with her.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-09-10
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The Eternal Mother
1917-11-26
The Eternal Mother
Overview: Maris, having married Lynch, a worthless man who deserts her, taking their daughter Felice with him, marries mill owner Dwight Alden after receiving notification that her husband and child are dead. Discovering that Alden employs child labor, Maris, assisted by the village minister, tries to persuade him that this is wrong, but he will tolerate no interference in his business.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-11-26
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An American Widow
1917-12-17
An American Widow
Overview: Wealthy American widow Elizabeth Carter plans to marry the Earl of Dettminster when lawyer Augustus Tucker informs her of a codicil in her late husband's will. The Carter fortune will go to nephew Pitney Carter, who is in love with Elizabeth, if her second husband is not an American. Elizabeth therefore pays penniless playwright Jasper Mallory $50,000 to marry her and schemes with actress Mme. Albani to provide grounds for divorce so that she may then make the earl her third husband.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-12-17
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National Red Cross Pageant
1917-12-01
National Red Cross Pageant
Overview: The National Red Cross Pageant (1917) was an American war pageant that was performed in order to sell war bonds, support the National Red Cross, and promote a positive opinion about American involvement in World War I.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-12-01
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Our Mrs. McChesney
1918-09-09
Our Mrs. McChesney
Overview: Mrs. Emma McChesney is a determined and successful traveling saleswoman for T. A. Buck's Featherbloom Petticoat Company. When Buck dies and his son, T. A. Buck, Jr., takes charge, the company suffers and Emma nearly accepts a job offer from Buck's rival, Abel Fromkin.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1918-09-09
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The Divorcee
1919-01-20
The Divorcee
Overview: Based on the 1907 play 'Lady Frederick' by W. Somerset Maugham, this tells the story of Betsy O'Hara in her pursuit of romance and love.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1919-01-20
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Moonrise
1948-10-01
Moonrise
Overview: Stigmatized from infancy by the fate of his criminal father, a man is bruised and bullied until one night, in a fit of rage, he kills his most persistent tormentor. As the police close in around him, he makes a desperate bid for the love of the dead man’s fiancée, a schoolteacher who sees the wounded soul behind his aggression.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-10-01
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The Secret of Convict Lake
1951-07-29
The Secret of Convict Lake
Overview: After a group of convicts escapes from prison, they take refuge in the wilderness. While most of the crew are ruthless sociopaths, Jim Canfield is an innocent man who was jailed under false pretenses. When Canfield and his fellow fugitives reach an isolated farming settlement where the men are all away, it creates tension with the local women. Things get direr when rumors of hidden money arise, and Canfield discovers that the man who framed him is part of the community.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-07-29
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The Red Danube
1949-10-14
The Red Danube
Overview: A Russian ballerina in Vienna tries to flee KGB agents and defect.
Genres: Drama War Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-10-14
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Deadline - U.S.A.
1952-03-14
Deadline - U.S.A.
Overview: With three days before his paper folds, a crusading editor tries to expose a vicious gangster.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-03-14
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Young at Heart
1954-12-01
Young at Heart
Overview: The lives and romances of three sisters in a musical family; the youngest daughter's life is complicated by the subsequent arrival of a charming composer and a cynical music arranger.
Genres: Romance Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1954-12-01
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Rasputin and the Empress
1932-12-23
Rasputin and the Empress
Overview: The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the Russian Imperial family and others, and what resulted.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-12-23
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The Farmer's Daughter
1947-03-26
The Farmer's Daughter
Overview: After leaving her family's farm to study nursing in the city, a young woman finds herself on an unexpected path towards politics.
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-03-26
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Pinky
1949-09-28
Pinky
Overview: Pinky, a light skinned black woman, returns to her grandmother's house in the South after graduating from a Northern nursing school. Pinky tells her grandmother that she has been "passing" for white while at school in the North. In addition, she has fallen in love with a young white doctor, who knows nothing about her black heritage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-09-28
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Moss Rose
1947-05-30
Moss Rose
Overview: When a music-hall dancer is murdered, a moss rose marks the page of a Bible next to her body. Luckily, another chorus girl saw a gentleman leaving the lodgings. She approaches him directly, saying she'll go to the police if he doesn't meet her demands, but he brushes her off contemptuously. When he learns she's dead serious, he tries to buy her off with a thick wad of pound notes. But it's not money she's after; all she wants is two weeks at his country estate, living the life of a lady.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1947-05-30
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Just for You
1952-09-27
Just for You
Overview: Jordan Blake (a widower) is a successful Broadway Producer who has always been to busy for his children, Barbara and Jerry. Girlfriend, Carolina a musical comedy star, urges Jordan to take his kids on a vacation and get to know them before they are all grown up. Is Jordan already too late?
Genres: Music Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1952-09-27
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None But the Lonely Heart
1944-10-17
None But the Lonely Heart
Overview: When an itinerant reluctantly returns home to help his sickly mother run her shop, they're both tempted to turn to crime to help make ends meet.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-10-17
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Camille: The Fate of a Coquette
1926-01-01
Camille: The Fate of a Coquette
Overview: A home movie version of the Dumas play. A young woman becomes a courtesan and tragedy befalls her. Appearances are made by many socialites of 1920s Paris and New York.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-01-01
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It's a Big Country
1951-11-20
It's a Big Country
Overview: Comprised of eight unrelated episodes of inconsistent quality, this anthology piece of American propaganda features some of MGM Studios' best directors, screenwriters and actors; it is narrated by Louis Calhern. Stories are framed by the lecture of a university professor. In one tale a Boston resident becomes angry when the census forgets to record her presence. Another sketch chronicles the achievements of African Americans while still another pays tongue-in-cheek tribute to Texas.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-11-20
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That Midnight Kiss
1949-09-22
That Midnight Kiss
Overview: Opera singer Prudence Budell, overhears truck driver Johnny Donnetti singing opera, and persuades her opera company to give him a chance in her new opera. They fall in love, but on meeting his colleague Mary while visiting Johnny's work, Prudence becomes convinced Johnny is in love with her.
Genres: Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-09-22
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The Story of Three Loves
1953-03-26
The Story of Three Loves
Overview: Passengers on an ocean liner recall their greatest loves.
Genres: Drama Romance Fantasy Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-03-26
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The Great Sinner
1949-06-29
The Great Sinner
Overview: A young man succumbs to gambling fever.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-06-29
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Kind Lady
1951-06-20
Kind Lady
Overview: Mary Herries has a passion for art and fine furniture. Even though she is getting on in years, she enjoys being around these priceless articles. One day she meets a strange young painter named Elcott, who uses his painting skill to enter into her life. Little does she expect that his only interest in Mary is to covet everything she has.
Genres: Crime Thriller Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1951-06-20
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Night Song
1948-01-20
Night Song
Overview: A socialite pretends to be poor and blind in her plan to help a blinded pianist.
Genres: Music Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1948-01-20
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Johnny Trouble
1957-09-24
Johnny Trouble
Overview: An elderly woman becomes convinced that a trouble-making college student is her grandson she's never met.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1957-09-24
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Main Street to Broadway
1953-10-12
Main Street to Broadway
Overview: In New York, a surly, down-on-his-heels playwright meets a country girl who's giving up trying to act and returning home. He goes with her for inspiration when his agent convinces a stage star to take his next effort. When he returns to Broadway, his girl stays behind and starts seeing a local businessman.
Genres: Romance Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1953-10-12
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That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21
That's Entertainment!
Overview: Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
Genres: Documentary Family Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-06-21
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Life's Whirlpool
1917-11-08
Life's Whirlpool
Overview: Ethel Barrymore plays the wife of an abusive country squire. So nasty is her husband that he all but forces her to seek solace in the arms of her former sweetheart (played by Alan Hale in his leading-man period). Their clandestine relationship finally comes out in the open when the nasty husband is killed by his irate tenants.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1917-11-08
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Eloise
1956-11-22
Eloise
Overview: It's not so much that Eloise is a mischievous child, but the darnedest things do happen when she's around.
Genres: TV Movie Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1956-11-22
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Daphni: Virgin of the Golden Laurels
1951-01-01
Daphni: Virgin of the Golden Laurels
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: el
Release Date: 1951-01-01
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Show-Business at War
1943-05-21
Show-Business at War
Overview: A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-05-21
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And the Oscar Goes To...
2014-02-01
And the Oscar Goes To...
Overview: The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-02-01
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