Blanche Sweet

Born: 1896-06-16

From Wikipedia Sarah Blanche Sweet (June 18, 1896 – September 6, 1986) was an American silent film actress who began her career in the earliest days of the Hollywood motion picture film industry. Sweet is renowned for her energetic, independent roles, at variance with the 'ideal' Griffith type of vulnerable, often fragile, femininity. After many starring roles, her first real landmark film was the 1911 Griffith thriller The Lonedale Operator. In 1913 she starred in Griffith's first feature-length movie, Judith of Bethulia. In 1914 Sweet was initially cast by Griffith in the part of Elsie Stoneman in his epic The Birth of a Nation but the role was eventually given to rival actress Lillian Gish, who was Sweet's senior by three years. That same year Sweet parted ways with Griffith and joined Paramount (then Famous Players-Lasky) for the much higher pay that studio was able to afford. Throughout the 1910s, Sweet continued her career appearing in a number of highly prominent roles in films and remained a publicly popular leading lady. She often starred in vehicles by Cecil B. DeMille and Marshall Neilan, and she was recognised by leading film critics of the time to be one of the foremost actresses of the entire silent era. It was during her time working with Neilan that the two began a publicized affair, which brought on his divorce from former actress Gertrude Bambrick. Sweet and Neilan married in 1922. The union ended in 1929 with Sweet charging that Neilan was a persistent adulterer. During the early 1920s Sweet's career continued to prosper, and she starred in the first film version of Anna Christie in 1923. The film is also notable as being the first Eugene O'Neill play to be made into a motion picture. In successive years, she starred in Tess of the D'Urbervilles and The Sporting Venus, both directed by Neilan. Sweet soon began a new career phase as one of the newly formed MGM studio's biggest stars. Sweet made just three talking pictures, including her critically lauded performance in 1930's Show Girl in Hollywood, before retiring from the screen that same year and marrying stage actor Raymond Hackett in 1935. The marriage lasted until Hackett's death in 1958. Sweet spent the remainder of her performing career in radio and in secondary Broadway stage roles. Eventually, her career in both of these fields petered out, and she began working in a Los Angeles department store. In the late 1960s, her acting legacy was resurrected when film scholars invited her to Europe to receive recognition for her work. On September 24, 1984, a tribute to Blanche Sweet was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Miss Sweet introduced her 1925 film, The Sporting Venus. Sweet died in New York City of a stroke, on September 6, 1986, just weeks after her 90th birthday.


Placeholder

A Corner in Wheat

as uncredited
Released: 1909-12-13

On a whim, a greedy tycoon decides to corner the world market in wheat. This doubles the price...

Movie page

The Lonedale Operator

as Daughter of the Lonedale Operator
Released: 1911-03-23

A young woman takes over her sick father's role as telegraph operator at a railway station, and...

Movie page

Souls for Sale

as Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)
Released: 1923-04-22

A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.

Movie page

The Avenging Conscience

as The Sweetheart
Released: 1914-08-02

Thwarted by his despotic uncle from continuing his love affair, a young man's thoughts turn dark...

Movie page

The Woman Racket

as Julia Barnes Hayes
Released: 1930-01-24

During a raid, a cop lets a pretty speakeasy employee escape and later begins dating her....

Movie page

The Last Drop of Water

as Mary
Released: 1911-07-26

A wagon train heading west across the great desert runs out of water, and is attacked by...

Movie page

Death's Marathon

as The Wife
Released: 1913-06-14

Two business partners pursue the same woman. She accepts the marriage proposal of the...

Movie page

Enoch Arden

as Woman on the Beach
Released: 1911-06-15

Moving Picture World described the film: "There is a small need to describe this subject as the...

Movie page

Show Girl in Hollywood

as Donny Harris
Released: 1930-04-20

Broadway actress leaves New York to become a star in Hollywood, and succeeds despite sleazy...

Movie page

Near To Earth

as uncredited
Released: 1913-03-20

This is the story of Gato, an Italian immigrant, who lives with his wife, Marie, and his younger...

Movie page

One Is Business, the Other Crime

as Rich Wife
Released: 1912-04-24

Griffith intercuts between the lives of two couples married on the same day. One couple is rich,...

Movie page

The Silver Horde

as Queenie
Released: 1930-10-24

A salmon fisherman has to choose between a bad girl and a society doll.

Movie page

The Captive

as Sonya Matinovich
Released: 1915-04-22

Set during the Balkan Wars, The Captive tells the story of Sonia, a young woman living in...

Movie page

Judith of Bethulia

as Judith
Released: 1914-03-08

Griffith adapts the story of the Apocryphal Book of Judith to the screen. During the siege of...

Movie page

The Battle

as The Boy's Sweetheart
Released: 1911-11-06

Union soldiers march off to battle amid cheering crowds. After the battle turns against the...

Movie page

Fighting Blood

as uncredited
Released: 1911-06-28

After the Civil War, an ex-soldier and his family settle in the Dakota Territory. The son...

Movie page

Home, Sweet Home

as The Wife
Released: 1914-05-16

John Howard Payne leaves home and begins a career in the theater. Despite encouragement from his...

Movie page

The Rocky Road

as uncredited
Released: 1910-01-03

The evils of drink cause a man to separate from his family. In time he becomes sober and...

Movie page

His Supreme Moment

as Carla King
Released: 1925-04-12

John Douglas, a down-on-his-luck engineer, takes his sweetheart, Sara Deeping, to a play...

Movie page

The Day After

as The New Year
Released: 1909-12-30

Mr. and Mrs. Hilton throw a New Year's Eve party. They agree not to drink the punch themselves,...

Movie page

The Miser's Heart

as Neighbor
Released: 1911-11-20

Thieves decide to steal the money an old miser has hidden away. He refuses to open the safe for...

Movie page

Twenty Years After

as (archive footage)
Released: 1944-01-01

This short celebrates the 20th anniversary of MGM. Segments are shown from several early hits,...

Movie page

The Deadlier Sex

as Mary Willard
Released: 1920-03-28

The Deadlier Sex features Blanche Sweet playing the daughter of a railroad magnate (Winter Hall)...

Movie page

The Primal Call

as uncredited
Released: 1911-06-21

A young woman who is engaged to a millionaire she doesn't love meets and falls in love with a...

Movie page

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

as Teresa "Tess" Durbeyfield
Released: 1924-08-11

A young girl is seduced and raped by an older middle class man in Victorian England. After...

Movie page

Singed

as Dolly Wall
Released: 1927-08-23

Dance-hall girl Dolly Wall invests her life savings in an oil well. A gusher comes in, enriching...

Movie page

The Painted Lady

as The Older Sister
Released: 1912-10-24

A lonely young woman lives with her strict father who forbids her to wear make-up. One day at an...

Movie page

A Flash of Light

as uncredited
Released: 1910-07-17

An experiment goes wrong and blinds a newly married chemist. The chemist's wife does not want to...

Movie page

The Little Country Mouse

as Dorothy
Released: 1914-11-16

Country girl May loses at cards and must borrow $250 from Captain Stiles, but the wealthy roué's...

Movie page

The House of Discord

as The Wife
Released: 1913-12-13

In her youth the mother was saved from the fatal mistake by an accident, but it caused her years...

Movie page

Diplomacy

as Dora Weymouth
Released: 1926-09-20

Heroine Dora de Zares comports herself in a most mysterious fashion in this spy mystery.

Movie page

The Lesser Evil

as The Young Woman
Released: 1912-04-29

A young woman's peaceful existence is shattered when she is abducted by the crew of a boat of...

Movie page

Her Unwilling Husband

as Mavis
Released: 1920-11-21

In this farce, Mavis Jerome, is an actress who has just broken up with her fiancé, Homer Owen....

Movie page

Through Darkening Vales

as Grace
Released: 1911-11-16

Hard-working Dave loves Grace, but she rejects him for a flashier suitor. Grace is blinded in an...

Movie page

The Hushed Hour

as Virginia Appleton Blodgett
Released: 1919-05-18

Judge Robert Appleton (Winter Hall) has led an exemplary life. His four children, however, fell...

Movie page

The Massacre

as Stephen's Ward
Released: 1912-12-19

The story of the massacre of an Indian village, and the ensuing retaliation.

Movie page

The Case of Becky

as Dorothy/Becky
Released: 1915-09-13

When a young girl is placed under hypnotism, it's discovered that she has a split personality.

Movie page

The Tear That Burned

as Meg - the Wild Girl
Released: 1914-11-08

The Tear That Burned is a silent movie drama.

Movie page

That Girl Montana

as Montana Rivers
Released: 1921-01-31

Montana Rivers finally escapes her father who had forced her to wear men's clothing and help in...

Movie page

Quincy Adams Sawyer

as Alice Pettengill
Released: 1922-12-04

Quincy Adams Sawyer is a young attorney who one day meets a girl in the park and is immediately...

Movie page

For His Son

as The Son's Fiancée
Released: 1912-01-21

A father, anxious for his son's financial well being, develops a special soda pop called...

Movie page

The Eternal Mother

as Martha, the Wife
Released: 1912-01-10

John and Mary divorce their spouses to marry each other. Mary dies after giving birth and the...

Movie page

Under Burning Skies

as Emily
Released: 1912-02-21

Joe, "The Bad Man of San Fernand," is one tough customer. He sets his sights on a lovely young...

Movie page

The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch

as The Goddess
Released: 1912-03-25

The Goddess, the prettiest and best-natured girl that ever graced that little mining town, meets...

Movie page

The Making of a Man

as Young Woman
Released: 1911-10-04

A young woman becomes infatuated with the leading man of a traveling theatrical troupe. She...

Movie page

The Coming of Angelo

as Theresa
Released: 1913-01-01

Young Theresa was thought to be much favored in the love of Guido, the leader of the Italian...

Movie page

The Transformation of Mike

as The Tenement Girl
Released: 1912-02-01

Mike breaks into an apartment to steal an old man's money, not realizing it's his girlfriend's...

Movie page

Three Friends

as The Wife
Released: 1913-01-02

Each night, after the day's work at the factory, the three bachelor friends met and declared...

Movie page

A Temporary Truce

as Alice Hardy - the Prospector's Wife
Released: 1912-06-10

A Mexican is thrown out of a bar by a young prospector and swears to get even. Later, he kidnaps...

Movie page

Strongheart

as Dorothy Nelson, Frank's Sister
Released: 1914-03-08

STRONGHEART (1914) is a Native American Indian drama. Based on a famous play of the time, the...

Movie page

Broken Ways

as The Road Agent's Wife
Released: 1913-03-08

In this story the young wife concerned is called upon to solve a rather momentous question....

Movie page

The Warrens of Virginia

as Agatha Warren
Released: 1915-02-14

As the Civil War begins Ned Burton leaves his Southern love Agatha Warren and joins the Union...

Movie page

Girl in the Web

as Esther Maitland
Released: 1920-08-05

A woman decides to take money from her wealthy mother to pay her gambling debts, but discovers...

Movie page

Always Faithful

as Mrs. George W. Mason
Released: 1929-12-29

The wife and secretary of a mine operator attempt to conceal their romantic affair.

Movie page

Bluebeard's Seven Wives

as Juliet
Released: 1926-01-13

Bank clerk John Hart is about to marry Mary Kelly, but she insists that before that happens he...

Movie page

Anna Christie

as Anna Christie
Released: 1923-11-24

A troubled young woman comes to live with her estranged father on the New York waterfront. A...

Movie page

Those Who Dance

as Rose Carney
Released: 1924-04-27

A federal agent assigned to stop a bootlegging gang joins forces with the gang leader's wife and...

Movie page

The Chief's Blanket

as The Young Woman
Released: 1912-10-10

When the Great Chief's body is placed before the funeral pile by his mourning braves, his sacred...

Movie page

A Sailor’s Heart

as The Sailor's Second Sweetheart
Released: 1912-11-25

A short film directed by Wilfred Lucas for the Biograph Company.

Movie page

Oil and Water

as Mlle. Genova
Released: 1913-02-10

A stage dancer (Sweet) and a serious-type homebody (Walthall) discover, after marriage, that...

Movie page

Why Women Love

as Molla Hansen
Released: 1925-10-18

A lost film.

Movie page

To Save Her Soul

as Stage Dancer
Released: 1909-12-27

Agnes, a singer in a country church, is practicing one day when a vaudeville manager hears her...

Movie page

Stolen Goods

as Margery Huntley
Released: 1915-05-14

The lives of a poor orphan and a rich kleptomaniac intertwine after the former is framed for a...

Movie page

The Unpardonable Sin

as Alice Parcot / Dinny Parcot
Released: 1919-04-01

Based on the Rupert Hughes novel, this film concerns the German atrocities committed in Belgium...

Movie page

All on Account of the Milk

as The Maid
Released: 1910-01-13

The hero, a young contractor, is mistaken by the heroine for a laborer, while he thinks she is...

Movie page

Blind Love

as The Young Woman
Released: 1912-09-11

A country girl is persuaded to elope with the minister's nephew but she discovers that he is...

Movie page

The New Commandment

as Renee Darcourt
Released: 1925-11-01

Billy Morrow (Ben Lyon), who comes from a wealthy family, is sailing to Europe with his father...

Movie page

The Clue

as Christine Lesley
Released: 1915-07-08

Russian brothers Count Boris and Alexis Rabourdin obtain a Japanese coastline defense map and...

Movie page

His Daughter

as uncredited
Released: 1911-02-23

William promises to marry his sweetheart, Mary, after completing medical school. William's...

Movie page

The Ragamuffin

as Jenny
Released: 1916-01-23

In planning to break into the house of the wealthy Bob Van Dyke, Jenny's stepfather decides that...

Movie page

The Secret Sin

as Edith Martin / Grace Martin
Released: 1915-10-21

Blanche Sweet has a dual role in this picture -- she plays twin sisters, Edith, a sweet, normal...

Movie page

A Country Cupid

as Edith
Released: 1911-07-23

Schoolteacher Edith breaks off her engagement after an argument with her fiancé. She writes him...

Movie page

The Long Road

as Edith
Released: 1911-10-26

Edith enters a convent after losing her fiancé to someone else. Years later, Edith finds him...

Movie page

Those Without Sin

as Melanie Landry
Released: 1917-03-01

Melaine is captured by a northern soldier while she is carrying secret southern messages. She...

Movie page

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

as uncredited
First aired: 1959-09-29

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The...

TV Show page

The Thin Man

as uncredited
First aired: 1957-09-20

Nick Charles was a private detective who married the wealthy Nora and decided to settle down and...

TV Show page

Hollywood

as Self
First aired: 1980-01-08

A 1980 documentary series exploring the establishment and development of the Hollywood studios...

TV Show page