Claire McDowell
British postcard, no. 31. Photo: American Biograph. The same picture is used for this postcard.
Claire McDowell (1877-1966 ) also known as Doris Carlton was an American stage and silent film actress. After appearing on Broadway, she worked for eight years at American Biograph (1908-1916) and acted in many films by D.W. Griffith. Later, she worked for Universal, Triangle, and MGM and played mother roles. She was the mother of Douglas Fairbanks's love interest in The Mark of Zorro (Fred Niblo, 1920), Ramon Novarro's mother in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925), and John Gilbert's mother in The Big Parade (King Vidor, 1925).
Claire McDowell was born in 1877 in New York City, New York. Her aunt, actress Fanny Davenport, gave her early training in acting. Between 1900 and 1909 McDowell was active in Broadway productions such as 'Hearts Are Trumps' (1900). She was a silent actress, first for eight years at American Biograph (1908-16), acting in many films by D.W. Griffith. Her first film at Biograph was The Devil (D.W. Griffith, 1908) with Harry Solter, who plays an adulterous artist who threatens to kill his wife (McDowell) when she gets even with him. The Devil inspires him to kill her. In The Iconoclast (D.W. Griffith, 1910), she is the wife of a lazy, alcoholic printer (Henry B. Walthall) who is fired and wants to take it out on his boss, until he sees the latter has a crippled daughter. In His Trust (D.W. Griffith, 1911) a black servant (Wilfred Lucas) saves a Confederate widow (McDowell) and her daughter. In What Shall We Do with Our Old? (D.W. Griffith, 1911) she is a deadly ill woman, whose old husband (W. Chrystie Miller) is fired by an insensitive foreman. In In the Days of '49 (D.W. Griffith, 1911), McDowell is the wife of a golddigger who has an affair with the man's best friend, but the lover steps back at the right moment. In Swords and Hearts (D.W. Griffith, 1911) she is a poor girl in love with a rich planter (Wilfred Lucas) who loses all his possessions during the Civil War. In the Western The Massacre (D.W. Griffith, 1911), she was Wilfred Lucas's Belle. All through her time at Biograph, McDowell continued to play wives or sweethearts of the male leads such as Lucas, Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, Charles West, Harry Carey, and others. After Griffith left Biograph in 1914, it was Anthony Sullivan who mostly directed her in 1914-1915, followed by Walter V. Coyle from 1915. Biograph persisted in making shorts in the mid-1910s when most studios had shifted to features.
In 1916, Claire McDowell shifted to Universal, and after a handful of shorts, she played in features there, first in A Stranger from Somewhere (William Worthington, 1916), starring Franklyn Farnum, while she starred herself in her second feature Mixed Blood (Charles Swickard, 1916), followed by e.g. The Gates of Doom (Charles Swickard, 1917), The Bronze Bride (Henry MacRae, 1917), etc. She then moved to Triangle, followed by a wide range of companies, such as Select Pictures, First National, United Artists, and Paramount. Around 1924, she switched to MGM. McDowell was noted for her intensity and screen presence. Often playing characters (mothers, aunts) older than her own age, she was integral to several key films of the 1920s, including The Mark of Zorro (Fred Niblo, 1920) in which she was the mother of Douglas Fairbanks's love interest, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925) in which she played Ramon Novarro's mother, and The Big Parade (King Vidor, 1925), in which she was John Gilbert's mother. McDowell made an almost smooth passage to sound cinema in the late 1920s, but from 1931 her parts became mostly uncredited ones and from 1934 her roles became scarcer. She would continue to act until 1945. Claire McDowell died in 1966 in Hollywood, California. All in all, she had appeared in over 350 films. In 1906 McDowell was married to actor Charles Hill Mailes, with whom she also played in several films right from the start at Biograph, and also in such later films as The Mark of Zorro. They had two sons, Robert and Eugene. Mailes died in 1937.
Sources: Wikipedia, and IMDb.
The Desmet Collection of the Dutch Film Museum holds distribution prints of two films with McDowell: The Golden Supper (Griffith, 1910) and Billy's Stratagem (Griffith, 1912). See the Desmet Playlist at YouTube
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Claire McDowell
British postcard, no. 31. Photo: American Biograph. The same picture is used for this postcard.
Claire McDowell (1877-1966 ) also known as Doris Carlton was an American stage and silent film actress. After appearing on Broadway, she worked for eight years at American Biograph (1908-1916) and acted in many films by D.W. Griffith. Later, she worked for Universal, Triangle, and MGM and played mother roles. She was the mother of Douglas Fairbanks's love interest in The Mark of Zorro (Fred Niblo, 1920), Ramon Novarro's mother in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925), and John Gilbert's mother in The Big Parade (King Vidor, 1925).
Claire McDowell was born in 1877 in New York City, New York. Her aunt, actress Fanny Davenport, gave her early training in acting. Between 1900 and 1909 McDowell was active in Broadway productions such as 'Hearts Are Trumps' (1900). She was a silent actress, first for eight years at American Biograph (1908-16), acting in many films by D.W. Griffith. Her first film at Biograph was The Devil (D.W. Griffith, 1908) with Harry Solter, who plays an adulterous artist who threatens to kill his wife (McDowell) when she gets even with him. The Devil inspires him to kill her. In The Iconoclast (D.W. Griffith, 1910), she is the wife of a lazy, alcoholic printer (Henry B. Walthall) who is fired and wants to take it out on his boss, until he sees the latter has a crippled daughter. In His Trust (D.W. Griffith, 1911) a black servant (Wilfred Lucas) saves a Confederate widow (McDowell) and her daughter. In What Shall We Do with Our Old? (D.W. Griffith, 1911) she is a deadly ill woman, whose old husband (W. Chrystie Miller) is fired by an insensitive foreman. In In the Days of '49 (D.W. Griffith, 1911), McDowell is the wife of a golddigger who has an affair with the man's best friend, but the lover steps back at the right moment. In Swords and Hearts (D.W. Griffith, 1911) she is a poor girl in love with a rich planter (Wilfred Lucas) who loses all his possessions during the Civil War. In the Western The Massacre (D.W. Griffith, 1911), she was Wilfred Lucas's Belle. All through her time at Biograph, McDowell continued to play wives or sweethearts of the male leads such as Lucas, Walthall, Lionel Barrymore, Charles West, Harry Carey, and others. After Griffith left Biograph in 1914, it was Anthony Sullivan who mostly directed her in 1914-1915, followed by Walter V. Coyle from 1915. Biograph persisted in making shorts in the mid-1910s when most studios had shifted to features.
In 1916, Claire McDowell shifted to Universal, and after a handful of shorts, she played in features there, first in A Stranger from Somewhere (William Worthington, 1916), starring Franklyn Farnum, while she starred herself in her second feature Mixed Blood (Charles Swickard, 1916), followed by e.g. The Gates of Doom (Charles Swickard, 1917), The Bronze Bride (Henry MacRae, 1917), etc. She then moved to Triangle, followed by a wide range of companies, such as Select Pictures, First National, United Artists, and Paramount. Around 1924, she switched to MGM. McDowell was noted for her intensity and screen presence. Often playing characters (mothers, aunts) older than her own age, she was integral to several key films of the 1920s, including The Mark of Zorro (Fred Niblo, 1920) in which she was the mother of Douglas Fairbanks's love interest, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925) in which she played Ramon Novarro's mother, and The Big Parade (King Vidor, 1925), in which she was John Gilbert's mother. McDowell made an almost smooth passage to sound cinema in the late 1920s, but from 1931 her parts became mostly uncredited ones and from 1934 her roles became scarcer. She would continue to act until 1945. Claire McDowell died in 1966 in Hollywood, California. All in all, she had appeared in over 350 films. In 1906 McDowell was married to actor Charles Hill Mailes, with whom she also played in several films right from the start at Biograph, and also in such later films as The Mark of Zorro. They had two sons, Robert and Eugene. Mailes died in 1937.
Sources: Wikipedia, and IMDb.
The Desmet Collection of the Dutch Film Museum holds distribution prints of two films with McDowell: The Golden Supper (Griffith, 1910) and Billy's Stratagem (Griffith, 1912). See the Desmet Playlist at YouTube
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.