Emma Dunn

Born: 1874-02-24

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English character actress on the stage and in motion pictures. Emma Dunn appeared onstage in her early teens, graduating to the London stage for several years and later became a noted Broadway actress. She appeared in the first American production of Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1906) with Richard Mansfield as Peer. She played Peer's mother, Ase, even though she was, in real life, 20 years younger than Mansfield. She appeared in three productions for theatre impresario David Belasco: The Warrens of Virginia (1907), The Easiest Way (1909) and The Governor's Lady (1912). In The Easiest Way, Dunn portrayed Annie, who was black, in blackface. In 1913 Dunn appeared in vaudeville. Dunn made her first film in 1914, a silent film of her 1910 stage success, Mother, directed by Maurice Tourneur. This was Tourneur's first American film. Dunn's second film was 1920's Old Lady 31, reprising the role she played in the 1916 Broadway play of the same name. One more silent film followed in 1924, Pied Piper Malone, before she made her talkie debut in Side Street, co-starring the Moore brothers, Matt, Owen and Tom as her sons. Dunn wrote two books on elocution and speech: Thought Quality in the Voice (1933) and You Can Do It (1947). Emma Dunn was born 26 February 1875, in Birkenhead, England, although she sometimes gave her year of birth as 1883. Dunn married Harry Beresford, an actor who was then known professionally as Harry J. Morgan, in Chicago on 4 October 1897. They divorced on 10 February 1909, in New York City. She was awarded sole custody of their young daughter, Dorothy. On 19 May 1909, Dunn married John W. Stokes (John W. S. Sullivan), an actor, playwright and theatrical manager. They subsequently adopted a second daughter, Helen. The couple divorced sometime between 1923 and Stokes' death in 1931. After suffering a heart attack some months before, Dunn died 14 December 1966, in Los Angeles, California, aged 91.


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The Great Dictator

as Mrs. Jaeckel
Released: 1940-10-15

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid...

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith

as Martha
Released: 1941-01-31

Happily married for three years, Ann and David Smith live in New York. One morning Ann asks...

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Son of Frankenstein

as Amelia
Released: 1939-01-13

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma...

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I Married a Witch

as Wife of Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Released: 1942-10-30

A 17th-century witch returns to wreak havoc in the life of a descendant of the Puritan witch...

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The Talk of the Town

as Mrs. Shelley
Released: 1942-08-20

Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood...

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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

as Mrs. Meredith (uncredited)
Released: 1936-04-09

Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town, leading a small town kind of life. When a relative dies...

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Life with Father

as Margaret
Released: 1947-09-13

A straitlaced turn-of-the-century father presides over a family of boys and the mother who...

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The Duke of West Point

as Jack's Mother
Released: 1938-12-29

A cocky new West Point cadet from Cambridge is given the cold shoulder by his classmates because...

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The Monster and the Girl

as Aunt Della (uncredited)
Released: 1941-02-28

After a young woman is coerced into prostitution and her brother framed for murder by an...

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Dance, Girl, Dance

as Mrs. Simpson
Released: 1940-08-30

Judy O'Brien is an aspiring ballerina in a dance troupe. Also in the company is Bubbles, a brash...

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Each Dawn I Die

as Mrs. Ross
Released: 1939-08-19

A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism...

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It Happened Tomorrow

as Mrs. Keaver (uncredited)
Released: 1944-03-31

A young turn-of-the-century newspaper man finds he can get hold of the next day's paper. This...

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The Cowboy and the Lady

as Ma Hawkins
Released: 1938-11-17

Mary Smith decides after a lifetime of being a shut-in to do something wild while her father is...

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The Emperor's Candlesticks

as Anna - Olga's Housekeeper
Released: 1937-07-02

Spies on opposite sides fall in love in pre-revolutionary Russia.

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The Keeper of the Bees

as Margaret Campbell
Released: 1935-07-14

A severely traumatized World War I veteran, believing that he's living on borrowed time, comes...

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One Crowded Night

as Ma Matthews
Released: 1940-08-09

The future of a group of strangely connected lives is determined on one crucial night at a dinky...

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This Modern Age

as Margaret Blake
Released: 1931-08-29

A Harvard football star disobeys his upper class parents and runs off with his true love.

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Ladies in Retirement

as Sister Theresa
Released: 1941-09-09

Ellen Creed is a housekeeper who looks after Leonora Fiske, a retired actress living in the...

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Dark Hazard

as Mrs. Mayhew
Released: 1934-01-31

Jim is a compulsive gambler. He meets Marge at a boarding house and they get married. His...

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Seven Keys to Baldpate

as Mrs. Quimby
Released: 1935-12-13

A writer, looking for some peace and quiet in order to finish a novel, takes a room at the...

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Under Eighteen

as Mrs. Evans (uncredited)
Released: 1932-01-02

Working girl Margie Evans has decided there are two kinds of opportunities for a slum kid during...

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Mourning Becomes Electra

as Mrs. Borden
Released: 1947-11-19

Near the end of the Civil War, the proud residents of Mannon Manor await the return of shipping...

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Half a Sinner

as Granny Gladden
Released: 1940-04-05

Although young and beautiful, schoolteacher Anne Gladden fears a dull future. She finally...

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Hell's House

as Emma Clark
Released: 1932-01-30

A teenager lands in a brutal reform school for refusing to squeal on his bootlegger boss.

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Broken Lullaby

as Frau Miller
Released: 1932-01-19

A young French soldier in World War I is overcome with guilt when he kills a German soldier who,...

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Cowboy from Brooklyn

as Ma Hardy
Released: 1938-07-09

A singing cowboy turns out to be a tenderfoot.

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The Hoodlum Saint

as Maggie
Released: 1946-04-04

A former reporter comes back home after serving in the army during World War I and finds that...

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When You're in Love

as Mrs. Hamilton
Released: 1937-02-12

An Australian opera singer hires a husband so she can work in the U.S. Moore sings "Minnie the...

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The Woman in White

as Mrs. Vesey
Released: 1948-05-07

A young painter stumbles upon an assortment of odd characters at an English estate where he has...

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Babes on Broadway

as Mrs. Williams
Released: 1941-12-31

Penny Morris and Tommy Williams are both starstruck young teens but nobody seems to give them...

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Scattergood Baines

as Mirandy Baines
Released: 1941-02-21

Young Scattergood Baines arrives in the small New England town of Coldriver. Through some shrewd...

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Blessed Event

as Mrs. Roberts
Released: 1932-09-10

A New York gossip columnist feuds with a singer and enjoys the power of the press.

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Lord Jeff

as Mrs. Briggs
Released: 1938-06-17

Spoiled child Geoffrey Bramer teams up with a pair of small time crooks to pose as an aristocrat...

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Dr. Kildare Goes Home

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1940-09-06

A young doctor gives up big-city success to help his father set up a small-town clinic.

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Madame X

as Rose, Fleuriot's Houskeeper
Released: 1937-10-01

An alcoholic woman was charged and tried for murder and a young defense attorney, unaware that...

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The Glass Key

as 'Mom' Madvig
Released: 1935-06-15

When Paul Madvig, a successful politician who fights his rivals to seize the city, becomes...

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Dr. Kildare's Strange Case

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1940-04-12

Kildare tries brain surgery, advised by Dr. Gillespie, and faces a rival for nurse Lamont.

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Calling Dr. Kildare

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1939-04-28

Following an argument with his young protege, the curmudgeonly Dr. Gillespie dumps Jimmy Kildare...

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Young Dr. Kildare

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1938-10-14

A medical school graduate takes an internship at a big city hospital, only to be subjected to a...

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Hard to Handle

as Mrs. Hawks (uncredited)
Released: 1933-01-28

A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.

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The Bad Sister

as Mrs. Madison
Released: 1931-03-29

Marianne falls in love with con man Valentine who uses their relation to get her father's...

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The Penalty

as 'Ma' McCormick
Released: 1941-03-13

In this crime drama, a ruthless gangster's son is soon following in his father's footsteps. When...

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The Secret of Dr. Kildare

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1939-11-24

Intern Kildare heals a millionaire's daughter and tricks Dr. Gillespie into taking a vacation.

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Waikiki Wedding

as Mother
Released: 1937-03-23

Tony Marvin is a laid back but incredibly successful promoter and fair-haired boy for J. P....

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Letty Lynton

as Mrs. Darrow
Released: 1932-04-30

Socialite Letty Lynton is returning to New York, abandoning one-time lover Emile Renaul in South...

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A Man of Sentiment

as Mrs. John Russell Sr.
Released: 1933-09-15

A man and woman fall in love at first sight, but everyone in their universe tries to keep them...

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Thanks for the Memory

as Mrs. Platt
Released: 1938-11-11

Steve Merrick is an out of work writer who stays home and plays house husband while his wife...

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The Son of Frankenstein

as Amelia the housekeeper (archive footage)
Released: 1965-01-01

9 minute home-movie version of the 1939 feature film "Son of Frankenstein" from Castle Films.

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This Is the Life

as Mrs. Davis
Released: 1935-10-07

A popular child star, exploited and overworked by her greedy guardians, decides enough is...

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Ladies Crave Excitement

as Mrs. Phelan
Released: 1935-06-21

Bored rich girl hooks up with news photographer, gets caught up in his adventures.

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The Mad Martindales

as Agnes
Released: 1942-05-15

A girl tries to pay the mortgage on a Nob Hill home and gets involved in selling her father's...

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Little Big Shot

as Orphanage Matron
Released: 1935-09-07

A con man and his partner inherit a dead gangster's precocious daughter.

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Varsity Show

as Mrs. Smith
Released: 1937-09-04

Winfield College students rebel against a stodgy professor who won't permit "swing" music be...

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George White's 1935 Scandals

as Aunt Jane
Released: 1935-03-29

A Broadway producer discovers new talent in a small Georgia town and brings them to New York for...

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The Wet Parade

as Mrs. Chilcote
Released: 1932-03-26

The evils of alcohol before and during prohibition become evident as we see its effects on the...

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The Guilty Generation

as Nina Palmero
Released: 1931-11-19

The children of feuding gangsters fall in love and fight to escape their parents' notoriety.

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High School

as Mrs. O'Neill
Released: 1940-01-26

A teenager who's been raised and home-schooled at her father's Texas ranch must adjust to her...

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It's Tough to Be Famous

as 'Moms' McClenahan
Released: 1932-04-02

Scotty, an unwilling Navy war hero is cast into the limelight. He wants to get married and be an...

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Grand Slam

as Reporter
Released: 1933-02-22

A Russian waiter in New York City becomes a national celebrity after he develops a "system" for...

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Manslaughter

as Miss Bennett
Released: 1930-07-22

A spoiled young rich girl is sent to prison for accidentally running down a pedestrian. There...

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Minesweeper

as Mom Smith
Released: 1943-11-10

A naval officer who had deserted several years earlier is drawn back to the Navy when World War...

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Private Jones

as Mrs. Jones
Released: 1933-03-25

After America enters World War I, young William "Bill" Jones tries to avoid military service by...

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Morals for Women

as Mrs. Hutson
Released: 1931-10-24

A desperate woman turns to prostitution but is saved by true love.

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Elmer, the Great

as Mrs. Kane
Released: 1933-04-29

Elmer does not want to leave Gentryville, because Nellie is the one that he loves. Even when Mr....

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Scattergood Meets Broadway

as Mirandy Baines
Released: 1941-08-22

Scattergood finds out that his neighbor, Elly Drew, is going to sell her home to support her son...

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Hideaway

as Emma Peterson
Released: 1937-08-13

A poor family receives unwanted houseguests when they're visited by gangsters looking for a...

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Three Loves Has Nancy

as Mrs. Briggs
Released: 1938-09-02

A small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically...

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Pied Piper Malone

as Mother Malone
Released: 1924-02-04

Pied Piper Malone (1924)

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The Postman Didn't Ring

as Martha Carter
Released: 1942-07-03

Stolen way back in 1880, a sack of United States mail is discovered in an old attic in 1942. The...

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Hero for a Day

as Emmy "Moms" Higgins
Released: 1939-10-06

When a night watchman is mistaken for a wealthy college alumnus, his family and friends help him...

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Side Street

as Nora O'Farrell
Released: 1929-09-14

Three New York Irish brothers cross paths as policeman, doctor and bootlegger.

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Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day

as Mrs. Martha Kildare
Released: 1941-08-22

A variety of predicaments arise to distract Dr. Kildare from his wedding to Nurse Mary Lamont.

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The Prodigal

as Mrs. Farraday
Released: 1931-02-21

An aspiring singer, who has fallen on hard times and is now living as a hobo, returns to his...

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You Can't Fool Your Wife

as Mother Fields
Released: 1940-05-21

Longtime school sweethearts discover married life, thanks to a disagreeable live-in...

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Rise and Shine

as Mrs. Murray
Released: 1941-11-21

The college president, the head cheerleader and a gambling gangster try to keep a flunking...

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The Llano Kid

as Doña Teresa
Released: 1939-12-08

Lora Travers is the only person who can identify hold-up artist The Llano Kid and she persuades...

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The Bridge of San Luis Rey

as Doña Mercedes
Released: 1944-02-11

A rope bridge over a gorge in the Peruvian Andes snaps, sending five people plunging to their...

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Dr. Monica

as Mrs. Monahan
Released: 1934-06-23

A prominent New York doctor, unable to have a child, discovers her philandering husband has...

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The Texan

as Señora Doña Marguerita Ibarra
Released: 1930-05-10

Outlaw Llano Kid poses as a rich Mexican widow's son and falls in love with a cousin.

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The Quitter

as Cordelia Tilford
Released: 1934-02-05

When her husband, who founded the town's crusading local newspaper, doesn't come back from the...

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Flirtation

as Mrs. Poole
Released: 1934-11-09

A naive farmer encounters a beautiful burlesque dancer on the streets of New York and agrees to...

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Bad Company

as Emma
Released: 1931-10-16

A psychotic and sadistic mob boss is infatuated with the young wife of his newlywed attorney,...

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Scattergood Pulls the Strings

as Mirandy Baines
Released: 1941-05-23

Small-town store owner Scattergood Baines helps a runaway boy find his father, who has escaped...

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Another Face

as Sheila's Mother (uncredited)
Released: 1935-12-20

The surgeon who did the job was dead. Only the nurse knew what this gangster looked like in his...

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Little Orvie

as Mrs. Welty
Released: 1940-03-11

Family film, based on a Booth Tarkington tale, about a young boy who takes extreme measures to...

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Second Wife

as Mrs. Brown
Released: 1936-08-21

Kenneth discovers that his son by his first wife is ill in a remote Swiss village, and is forced...

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It's Great to Be Alive

as Mrs. Wilton
Released: 1933-07-08

An aviator who crash landed on an island in the South Pacific returns home to find that he is...

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Circus Girl

as Molly
Released: 1937-03-01

A jealous trapeze star decides he must eliminate his romantic rival.

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The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood

as Mrs. Sarah Cohen
Released: 1932-03-27

The Cohens and the Kellys invade a Hollywood studio after Kitty becomes the darling of the studio.

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My Buddy

as Mary Ballinger
Released: 1944-10-12

A priest relates the tale of his friend, a WWI veteran, to the Post-War Planning Committee....

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Too Young to Marry

as Mrs. Bumpstead
Released: 1931-05-03

In this comedy drama set in a small town, a milque-toast gets a backbone and stands up to his...

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Compromised

as Mrs. Squires
Released: 1931-11-19

Poor working-class girl Stella marries wealthy Sidney Brock, recently jilted by his fiancée and...

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