Peggy Shannon
Actor · 1907 – 1941 · Pine Bluff, Arkansas, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Peggy Shannon (born Winona Sammon, January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1941) was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s. Shannon began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 before moving on to Broadway productions. She was signed to Paramount Pictures and groomed to replace Clara Bow as the newest "It girl", whom she replaced in the 1931 film, The Secret Call. Her growing dependency on alcohol eventually derailed her career. She appeared in her final film, Triple Justice, in 1940. In May 1941, Shannon died at the age of 34 from a heart attack, brought on by alcoholism. Her husband, Albert G. Roberts, shot himself three weeks after her death. Shannon was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1907[ (some sources erroneously cite 1909 or 1910) to Edward and Nannie Sammon. She had a younger sister, Carol. She attended Annunciation Academy Catholic School and Pine Bluff High School before being hired as a chorus girl by Florenz Ziegfeld while visiting her aunt in New York in 1923. The following year she was cast in the Ziegfeld Follies followed by a role in Earl Carroll's Vanities. While on Broadway in 1927, she was spotted by B. P. Schulberg, production head of Paramount Pictures, and was offered a contract. When she arrived in Hollywood, she was hailed as the next "It girl", replacing the former, Clara Bow. Prior to the shooting of The Secret Call, Bow had suffered a nervous breakdown and Shannon was hired to replace her only two days after her arrival in Hollywood. Shannon would sometimes work sixteen-hour days (from 10 a.m. to 4 a.m. the next day) while shooting a film, and when shooting wrapped, would rush to begin another film. She would occasionally work on two separate films in one day. Through films and publicity, Shannon became known as a fashion plate, wearing styles three months before they became popular. In 1932, she signed a new contract at Fox and became known as difficult and temperamental on the set and was rumored to have had a drinking problem. In 1934, Shannon returned to New York City to do the Broadway show, Page Miss Glory. In 1935, she continued on Broadway with The Light Behind the Shadow, but was soon replaced, with a press release claiming a tooth infection, though rumors claimed it was her drinking. In 1936, she returned to Hollywood with Youth on Parole. She found it harder to conceal her drinking. Fewer movie roles were offered, while her drinking worsened. She made her last film appearance in the 1940 film, Triple Justice, opposite George O'Brien.
Movies24
Movie7.2ComedyDramaA happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays.
The Women
1939 · 183 votes
Movie5.6DramaCrimeNightclub owner Steve Larwitt sees his empire of investments collapse as he faces tax evasion charges and attacks by rivals. Believing Steve will be safer in prison for one year, his wife, Brenda, testifies against him on advice from his lawyer, Slant Kolma, who is in love with her. After Steve receives 10 years in Alcatraz, Brenda moves to be near him and avoids advances of airplane builder Tim Nolan, who knows nothing about her past.
The House Across the Bay
1940 · 15 votes
Movie6.0ComedyMysteryKenny Williams, a lieutenant on the homicide squad, is engaged to Maxine Carroll, the Mayor's secretary. Or isn't he rather married with his job? For each time he has a date with his longtime fiancée, he is prevented from keeping it by his devotion to duty. Maxine, in desperation, decides to take action and bring Kenny to the altar. Who will win, Maxine's curves or the glorious fight against crime?
The Amazing Mr. Williams
1939 · 11 votes
- Movie6.3Drama
It opens in 1926 when three bank robbers, Theodore Kedrich, Jan Imarski, and Petra Lonelli, stage a daring daylight bank robbery and get away with a million dollars in cash. They are soon apprehended and sent to prison for ten years but the money is not recovered. Flash forward to 1936 when all three men have been released from prison and are about to be deported back to where they came from via the Deportation department at Ellis Island. They arrive by the ferry boat and already on hand to bid them adieu, and possibly learn where they stashed the missing money, is gang leader Dude and his three henchmen, Nails, Moxie and Bugs, and also Kendrich's niece Betty Parker there to bid old Uncle Ted a fond goodbye. Also on Ellis Island is a crook called Solo, who has an upper hand as he has stolen the credentials of a Treasury Agent named Peter James and has access to the prisoners, and has cut a deal with Kendrichs to get him off of Ellis Island.
Ellis Island
1936 · 4 votes
Movie8.0DramaMysteryA convicted murderer has been sentenced to death in the electric chair. He decides to spill the name of the man who hired him, but just before he does he's killed by a poison dart. A police detective and a pretty young newspaper reporter team up to find out the identity of the man behind the killings.
The Devil's Mate
1933 · 1 votes
Movie5.4ComedyDramaWhile recuperating in a hospital after he's hit by an automobile, a struggling shopowner dreams what his life might have been like if he'd made different choices twenty years earlier.
Turn Back the Clock
1933 · 10 votes
Movie6.3CrimeDramaReporter Jane Arden goes undercover to try to expose a gang of jewel thieves and smugglers. Her mission becomes more dangerous when her identity is discovered early on by one of the gang leaders.
The Adventures of Jane Arden
1939 · 4 votes
Movie7.0ComedyFantasyA scientist named Hunter Hawk invents a device that can turn flesh to stone. While celebrating his discovery he becomes involved with a half naked leprechaun. On a trip to New York, Hunter and Meg (the leprechaun) decide to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and turn all of the Statues of Greek Gods into people. What follows in a drunken romp around New York with Medusa's severed head still in Perseus' hand.
Night Life of the Gods
1935 · 1 votes
Movie7.5DramaJohnny is training for a championship fight. Judy distracts him, so his manager Briscoe walks out on him. Then so does Judy.
Society Girl
1932 · 2 votes
Movie6.0ComedyCrimeA con man who stages phony "lucky legs" beauty contests and leaves town with the money is found with a surgical knife in his heart by Mason.
The Case of the Lucky Legs
1935 · 12 votes
Movie6.0Science FictionDramaA massive earthquake strikes the United States, which destroys the West Coast and unleashes a massive flood that threatens to destroy the East Coast as well.
Deluge
1933 · 21 votes
Movie7.0DramaJoan Leesom is stranded in a remote South American jungle village. She is pursued by the rapacious Taggart Taggart, however, has been involved with the beautiful native girl Chita. Chita now feels nothing but hatred for Joan, creating a deadly triangle that leads to an explosive ending.
Fury of the Jungle
1933 · 1 votes
Movie5.4CrimeDramaA dancehall girl meets a sailor and they fall in love, but the club’s owner doesn’t want the girl to leave.
Cafe Hostess
1940 · 12 votes
Movie4.4DramaThe philandering Dr. Silas Brenton is fired from his position at a large hospital and given 24 hours to vacate the state. He sets himself up in Chicago as a "prestigious" plastic surgeon to the stars. However, Brenton's silver tongue can't cover up his dubious methods, and an investigation into his practice is launched by the examining board of plastic surgeons. A delirious film à clef based on the loathsome career of Henry J. Schireson, the self-styled “King of Quacks”.
False Faces
1932 · 5 votes
Movie7.5WesternDramaBrad Henderson arrives in Star City just in time to witness three men rob a bank of $30,000 and kill a teller. Charged for the crime and jailed, Brad realizes he must escape and track down the real killers since the only one who can prove his innocence is his friend, Sheriff Bill Gregory, who has been shot and will not soon regain consciousness. Chasing down the robbers one by one, he eventually discovers the identity of the gang's ringleader.
Triple Justice
1940 · 2 votes
Movie4.0DramaJackie is the perpetually adolescent mother of two grown children - daughter Lee and son Jeff - who are in their early 20's. In spite of the fact that fourth husband Robert is a good provider, good step-dad, and all-around good sport about Jackie's rather wild ways, Jackie is intent on divorcing him although she seems to bear the man no resentment. It just seems that her only reason is that it's time for a change, much like an impulse to buy a new hat. Both children are upset about her decision since they have great affection for Robert. However, daughter Lee has just arrived home from school and decides to accompany her mother to Reno to look after her. On the train west, Lee meets a young mining engineer, Tom, who is headed to a job interview in California. The two hit it off and a romance buds.
The Road to Reno
1931 · 5 votes
Movie5.2ComedyCrimeShowgirls Kay and June are stranded on Palm Beach when they become involved in the case of a fellow chorine who has gone missing on her wedding night.
Girl Missing
1933 · 9 votes
Movie7.0ComedyDonald Ingals and his wife Eunice are conventional and loving parents who are shocked when their son Bradley comes home from college with ideas that they consider to be outrageous. His parents would like him to get involved with Mary Burke, a prim and proper young lady. More complications ensue because Bradley's sister Lois is attracted to the flapper lifestyle, but she isn't sure whether she can handle its emotional demands.
This Reckless Age
1932 · 2 votes
Movie6.2CrimeDramaA dizzy young girl falls into crime but wins her lawyer's heart.
Girls on Probation
1938 · 9 votes
Movie5.5ComedyCrimeA reporter gets himself sent to prison to expose a mobster.
Blackwell's Island
1939 · 8 votes
Movie6.7ComedyThe "Our Gang" kids encourage a shy man to take a widow and her son to a picnic.
Dad for a Day
1939 · 3 votes
Movie3.9CrimeTwo strangers, a man and a woman, are framed for a jewel robbery and thrown in jail. After they get out, they join forces to track down the real thieves.
Youth on Parole
1937 · 7 votes
Movie7.7DramaRomanceThe Secret Call is adapted from The Woman, a play by William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil B.) Peggy Shannon plays Wanda Kelly, the daughter of a disgraced politician. Reduced to working as a switchboard operator, Wanda is privy to the many secrets and indiscretions of the clients of a big-city hotel. She also finds romance in the form of handsome Tom Blake (Richard Arlen). The huge cast of characters comes in handy for the film's multitude of subplots, none of which ever get their wires crossed. Peggy Shannon acquits herself nicely in her first major role, but by the end of the decade her career was in decline.
The Secret Call
1931 · 3 votes
Movie6.0ComedyMickey's parents are constantly quarreling because his mother serves hash every Monday night. The kids decide to put on a radio skit to try to get them to stop fighting.
All About Hash
1940 · 3 votes