
Jessie Ralph
Actor · 1864 – 1944 · Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jessie Ralph (born Jessie Ralph Chambers, November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944) was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures. She was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1864. She made her acting debut in 1880, at the age of sixteen. She made it to Broadway, where George M. Cohan cast her in many of his musicals, but she also excelled at dramatic roles. Although she made her Hollywood debut in 1916, in a motion picture career that would eventually span 25 years, she only became a permanent Hollywood actress in 1933. She was nearly 70 at this time, so her roles were limited to matronly roles, but her expertise at stealing scenes captured the imagination of cinema-goers of the time. Her best-known roles are as Greta Garbo's maid in Camille, as W.C. Fields' battle-axe of a mother-in-law in The Bank Dick, as Myrna Loy's supercilious aunt Katherine in After the Thin Man, and as Nurse Peggotty in David Copperfield. She starred in 55 movies altogether, 52 between 1933 and 1941. Jessie Ralph retired from Hollywood in 1941, after her leg was amputated. She died four years later in her home town of Gloucester at the age of 79. She was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Movies24
Movie7.2AdventureDr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.
Captain Blood
1935 · 283 votes
Movie7.0DramaRomanceLife in 1847 Paris is as spirited as champagne and as unforgiving as the gray morning after. In gambling dens and lavish soirees, men of means exert their wills and women turned courtesans exult in pleasure. One such woman is Marguerite Gautier, who begins a sumptuous romance with Armand Duval.
Camille
1936 · 157 votes
Movie7.3ComedyMysteryAfter returning to San Francisco, Nick and Nora Charles are drawn into the disappearance of Nora’s cousin’s husband. When he is found murdered, suspicion falls on the troubled family, and Nick reluctantly resumes his detective work. With Nora eagerly at his side, the pair follows a trail of jealousy, blackmail, secret relationships, and long-buried family scandals.
After the Thin Man
1936 · 206 votes
Movie6.5DramaHistoryAlbany, New York, 1776. After marrying, Gil and Lana travel north to settle on a small farm in the Mohawk River Valley, but soon their growing prosperity and happiness are threatened by the sinister sound of drums that announce dark times of revolution and war.
Drums Along the Mohawk
1939 · 133 votes
Movie6.2MysteryHorrorSir Borotyn, a prominent Prague resident, is discovered murdered in his home, with all indications pointing to a vampire assault. The victim's friend, Baron Otto, and the physician who analyzes the body, are certain that the vampire is the mysterious Count Mora or his daughter. Receiving little help from the law, Professor Zelen, an expert in the occult, is called in to assist with their investigation.
Mark of the Vampire
1935 · 148 votes
Movie6.7DramaRomanceA young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships.
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger
David Copperfield
1935 · 79 votes
Movie6.6DramaRomanceA beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.
San Francisco
1936 · 89 votes
Movie6.3DramaHistoryChina, during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. The arranged marriage between Wang Lung, a humble farmer, and O-Lan, a domestic slave, will endure the many hardships of life over the years; but the temptations of a fragile prosperity will endanger their love and the survival of their entire family.
The Good Earth
1937 · 81 votes
Movie5.6MusicMysteryShortly before the curtain goes up the first time at the latest performance of Earl Carroll's Vanities, someone is attempting to injure the leading lady Ann Ware, who wants to marry leading man Eric Lander. Stage manager Jack Ellery calls in his friend, policeman Bill Murdock, to help him investigate. Bill thinks Jack is offering to let him see the show from an unusual viewpoint after he forgot to get him tickets for the performance, but then they find the corpse of a murdered woman and Bill immediately suspects Eric of the crime.
Murder at the Vanities
1934 · 14 votes
Movie6.5ComedyEgbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.
The Bank Dick
1940 · 132 votes
Movie7.1DramaHistoryIn 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Les Misérables
1935 · 59 votes
Movie5.8FamilyFantasyPeasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of Happiness by the fairy Berylune. On their journey, they're accompanied by the anthropomorphized presences of a Dog, a Cat, Light, Fire, and Bread, among other entities.
The Blue Bird
1940 · 47 votes
Movie7.3DramaRomanceA blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.
I Found Stella Parish
1935 · 6 votes
Movie6.6ComedyDramaA society girl tries to make a go of her marriage to an archaeologist.
I Live My Life
1935 · 10 votes
Movie5.5MusicRomanceMary Barrett is an aspiring opera singer who is taken under the wings of a famous operatic maestro, Guilio Monterverdi. After spending endless working hours together and arguing, their relationship develops into love. But, jealousy and misunderstandings prevent Mary and Guilio from acknowledging their true feelings.
One Night of Love
1934 · 19 votes
Movie6.8DramaFamilyAn American boy turns out to be the heir of a wealthy British earl. He is sent to live with the irritable and unsentimental aristocrat, his grandfather.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
1936 · 62 votes
Movie6.5DramaMysteryA criminal lawyer's wife is blackmailed when she is falsely accused of infidelity.
Evelyn Prentice
1934 · 31 votes
Movie7.2AdventureRomanceA jewel thief and a con artist are rivals in the theft of a valuable diamond and gem necklace in Bombay and as the Japanese Army invades China.
They Met in Bombay
1941 · 20 votes
Movie5.2ComedyDramaThe 16th-century sculptor woos the Duchess of Florence despite the duke.
The Affairs of Cellini
1934 · 14 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRomanceA bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process.
Double Wedding
1937 · 37 votes
Movie5.9ComedyDramaA chic American jewel thief falls in love with one of her marks, an English lord.
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937 · 22 votes
Movie7.0ComedyRomanceA loud-mouthed Texas cowpuncher tries his hand at polo finding himself at odds with high society and trying to save a floundering Wild West show.
The Kid From Texas
1939 · 3 votes
Movie10.0DramaIn the French port of Marseille, a young woman named Madelon is in love with a young sailor, Marius. Discovering she is pregnant after Marius sets out to sea for several years, she marries another man to prevent the child being born out of wedlock.
Port of Seven Seas
1938 · 1 votes
Movie7.0DocumentarySeveral behind the scenes aspects of the movie-making business, which results in the enjoyment the movie going public has in going to the theater, are presented. They include: the production of celluloid aka film stock, the materials used in the production of which include cotton and silver; construction crews who build sets including those to look like cities, towns and villages around the world; a visit with Jack Dawn who demonstrates the process of creating a makeup design; the screen testing process, where many an acting hopeful gets his/her start; the work of the candid camera man, the prying eyes behind the movie camera; a visit with Adrian, who designs the clothes worn by many of the stars on screen; and a visit with Herbert Stothart as he conducts his musical score for Conquest (1937). These behind the scenes looks provide the opportunity to get acquainted with the cavalcade of MGM stars and their productions that will grace the silver screen in the 1937/38 movie season.
The Romance of Celluloid
1937 · 2 votes
Series1
TV7.5The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films.
MGM Parade
1955 · 2 votes