Edna May Oliver
Actor · 1883 – 1942 · Malden, Massachusetts, USA
Edna May Oliver (November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. She was born Edna May Nutter in Malden, Massachusetts. The daughter of Ida May and Charles Edward Nutter, Edna was a descendant of the 6th American president John Quincy Adams. Miss Oliver took an early interest in the stage, and she would quit school at the age of 14 to pursue her ambitions in the theater. Despite abandoning traditional schooling, Edna continued to study the performing arts, including speech and piano. One of her first jobs was as pianist with an all female orchestra which toured America around the turn of the century. By 1917 she had achieved success on Broadway in the hit play "Oh, Boy". By 1923 she had appeared in her first film. Edna May Oliver seems to have been born to play the classics of American and British literature. Some of her most memorable film roles were in adaptations of works of Charles Dickens. Although some have described her as plain or "horse faced", Edna May Oliver's comedic talents lent a beautiful droll warmth to her characters. She was usually called upon to play less glamorous roles such as a spinsters, but she played them with such soul, wit, and depth that to this day she remains one of the best loved of Hollywood's character actresses. A fine example of her comedic talent can be found in Laugh and Get Rich (1931). Here we find her playing a role almost autobiographical in nature, that of a proud woman with Boston roots who has married "down". As the plot unwinds, she is invited to a society gala despite her modest circumstances. At the gala she becomes tipsy. With a frolicsome air Edna May seems to use the role to gently mock her real self. Her slightly drunk character seizes upon a bit of flattery, and alluding to her old New England family, proudly proclaims to each who will listen, "I am a Cranston. That explains everything!". In real life, Edna May Oliver was a Nutter, and perhaps that explains everything. Edna May Oliver married stock broker David Pratt in 1928, but the marriage ended in divorce five years later. In 1939 she received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Widow McKlennar in the picture Drums Along the Mohawk (1939). That was to be one of her last films. Miss Oliver was struck ill in August of 1942. Although she seemed to recover briefly, she was re-admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars of Lebanon hospital in October Her dear friend actress Virginia Hammond flew out from New York to stay by her bedside. Edna May Oliver died on her 59th birthday, 9th November 1942. Virginia Hammond was with her and said, "She died without ever being aware of the gravity of her condition. She just went peacefully asleep."
Movies23
Movie6.9DramaRomanceIn early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.
Pride and Prejudice
1940 · 157 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
Movie6.8DramaFamilyFour sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Little Women
1933 · 157 votes
Movie6.9HistoryDramaSet against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.
A Tale of Two Cities
1935 · 87 votes
Movie7.0MusicRomanceIn 1911, minor stage comic, Vernon Castle meets the stage-struck Irene Foote. A few misadventures later, they marry and then abandon comedy to attempt a dancing career together. While they're performing in Paris, an agent sees them rehearse and starts them on their brilliant career as the world's foremost ballroom dancers. However, at the height of their fame, World War I begins.
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
1939 · 43 votes
Movie6.1FamilyFantasyIn Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
Alice in Wonderland
1933 · 67 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
Movie4.6DramaHistoryIrish politician Charles Stewart Parnell struggles to free his country from English rule, but his relationship with married Katie O'Shea threatens to ruin all his dreams of freedom.
Parnell
1937 · 9 votes
Movie6.0MusicDramaWest Point cadet Dick Thorpe falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a princess from an European kingdom.
Rosalie
1937 · 7 votes
Movie5.5WesternDramaWhen the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
Cimarron
1931 · 160 votes
Movie6.5MysteryComedyAn amateur sleuth suspects foul play when a fellow passenger on a seaplane suddenly dies. The third and final film with Edna May Oliver and James Gleason as the astute schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and the New York Police Inspector Oscar Piper busy solving crimes.
Murder on a Honeymoon
1935 · 13 votes
Movie6.0ComedyTwo soldiers go absent without leave in Paris during World War I.
Half Shot at Sunrise
1930 · 15 votes
Movie6.4ComedyMysteryThere are plenty of guilty secrets at the school where Hildegarde Withers teaches. When she finds the body of the pretty music teacher, she calls in her old friend Inspector Piper, who promptly arrests the obvious suspect. Clues multiply and everyone looks suspicious as Piper and Miss Withers continue their battle of the sexes.
Murder on the Blackboard
1934 · 10 votes
Movie8.0ComedyRomanceTo impress his fiancee's aunt, a young man tries to become king in a small kingdom, but the people there have already crowned one, who has won this honor by gambling. So he plans a coup d'etat. He tries to achieve this with a bomb, but then something goes wrong...
Cracked Nuts
1931 · 3 votes
Movie6.3DramaRomanceYoung love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.
Romeo and Juliet
1936 · 40 votes
Movie8.2DocumentaryTV MovieClara Bow: Discovering the 'It' Girl features scenes from 25 of her films, as well as interviews with family members and acquaintances.
Clara Bow: Discovering the "It" Girl
1999 · 4 votes
Movie5.9ComedyMysteryNew York schoolmarm Hildegarde Withers assists a detective when a body of unscrupulous stockbroker Gerald Parker suddenly appears in the penguin tank at the aquarium.
The Penguin Pool Murder
1932 · 19 votes
Movie6.2ComedyDramaA young woman inherits a newspaper whose editor refuses to hire lady reporters.
My Dear Miss Aldrich
1937 · 6 votes
Movie6.2ComedyA polo-playing grandmother and her broke brood get back in the money with a Wall Street bet.
We're Rich Again
1934 · 6 votes
Movie4.8ComedyRomanceMayme and sister Janie are salesgirls in Ginsberg's Department Store. Mayme is in love with store clerk Bill, but Janie tries to steal him from her. Hazel, another salesgirl, is Jean Harlow's first credited role.
The Saturday Night Kid
1929 · 12 votes
Movie7.1DramaRomanceOn the back of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a young businessman is about to commit suicide. With a note to his wife scribbled down and a gun in his hand, he notices an envelope addressed to him on his desk. As he begins to read, we're taken back to World War One and his meeting with a young woman named Mary Lane.
Only Yesterday
1933 · 7 votes
Movie6.8ComedyCrimeSociety matron Mrs. Livingston Baldwin Crane is selected as a juror in the trial of former chorus girl Yvette Gordon, who's accused of murdering her rich older husband. In court and during deliberations, Mrs. Crane proves to be a disruptive and unorthodox juror.
Ladies of the Jury
1932 · 9 votes
Movie5.1ComedyStudio publicist discovers Minnesota skating teacher and takes her to Hollywood. She goes back to Minnesota but he follows her.
Second Fiddle
1939 · 8 votes