Martha Sleeper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Martha Sleeper (June 24, 1910 – March 25, 1983) was a film actress of the 1920s–1930s and, later, a Broadway stage actress. She studied dancing for five years with Russian ballet master, Louis H. Chalif, at his New York dancing studio. Her first public exhibitions were at Carnegie Hall at his class exhibitions. Sleeper's film career began in 1923 and continued until 1945. Her first screen appearance, at the age of 13, was in The Mailman (1923), an independent production. After appearing in several kiddie comedies at the Christie studio she was signed by the Hal Roach studio for the Our Gang" series but she quickly outgrew that role. From 1925-27 she appeared in comedies playing opposite the studio's most popular male stars. She left the Roach studio in late 1927 and moved to the FBO studio where she starred in six silent features during 1928–29. With the coming of sound she was signed by MGM and placed in their training program. From 1930 to 1936 she played supporting roles in many melodramas her role typically that of a well-bred somewhat snobbish society woman who ends up losing her man to the film's leading lady. Frustrated by the types of roles she was being offered, Martha began playing onstage in and about Los Angeles, at one point drawing raves as Eliza Doolittle in a performance of Pygmalion in 1932. After appearing in some low budget melodramas for the poverty row Monogram studio Martha and her husband, actor Hardie Albright, left Hollywood for New York in 1936 where Martha began a long run in both on- and off-Broadway plays. In 1945, as a favor to director Leo McCarey, Martha played the role of Patsy's mother in The Bells of St. Mary's. It was her last screen role.
The Bells of St. Mary's
as Mary GallagherFather O'Malley is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation....
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Hollywood Party
as Show Girl (uncredited)Jimmy Durante is jungle movie star Schnarzan the Conqueror, but the public is tiring of his fake...
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Madam Satan
as Fish GirlA socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a...
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Bromo and Juliet
as Bit Role (uncredited)A young man puts on the play "Romeo and Juliet" as a fundraiser, but has to keep a close eye on...
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Bombshell
as Lola's Hair Stylist (uncredited)A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.
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Midnight Mary
as BarbaraWhile on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with...
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Penthouse
as Sue LeonardGertie Waxted knows how notorious gangster Jim Crelliman runs his rackets, because she's long...
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Rasputin and the Empress
as Party Girl (uncredited)The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the...
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The Scoundrel
as Julia VivianA ruthless, cynical, hated publisher is killed in a plane crash, doomed to be a "restless"...
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Confessions of a Co-Ed
as LucilleA young college student gets pregnant by the man she loves, but circumstances prevent their...
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Tomorrow's Youth
as Ellen HallA look at how his parents' divorce affects the life of a young boy.
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Girls Demand Excitement
as Harriet MundyPeter Brooks is a hard-working, hard-up college student whose dislike of women attending college...
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Spitfire
as Eleanor StaffordDirt-poor mountain girl Trigger Hicks is a loner. Her faith-healing is mistaken for witchcraft...
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Our Blushing Brides
as Evelyn WoodforthJerry, Connie, and Franky are small-town girls seeking wealthy husbands in New York City. But,...
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The Secret of Madame Blanche
as Chorus Girl Who Hears 'My Country Tis of Thee' (Uncredited)A murder trial reunites a former chorus girl and her son, a grandson of an English aristocrat.
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Crazy Like a Fox
as The brideTwo rich capitalists want to marry their children, but they don't like the idea at all. She...
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Madame Mystery
as uncreditedA female secret agent has gotten ahold of a new type of explosive gas. She has to avoid the...
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Pass the Gravy
as DaughterSchultz raises prize chickens and roosters that are always getting into neighbor Max Davidson's...
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West of the Pecos
as Ril LambethRichard Dix stars as Pecos Smith, a strong, silent Westerner suspected of cattle rustling.
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Ten Cents a Dance
as Nancy ClarkA taxi dancer with a jealous husband finds herself falling for a wealthy client.
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A Ten-Minute Egg
as Mrs. DuganThe main premise for the comedy is the Jimmy discovers he can convince people he is a tough...
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Huddle
as BarbaraTony, the son of Italian immigrants, works in a smoky steel mill in Gary, Indiana. He wins a...
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What's the World Coming To?
as The ButlerShort comedy which posits that in a hundred years men's styles will revert to Regency garb, and...
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A Punch in the Nose
as uncreditedA troupe of actors stranded in a small town take job as recreation directors in a sanitarium and...
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A Tailor-Made Man
as CorrineJohn Paul Bart is just a pants-presser in a tailor's shop, but he has big ambitions. One night,...
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Too Many Mammas
as The Apache DancerCharley is called upon to go out with his boss on a date with the boss' mistress, to act as a beard.
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Outdoor Pajamas
as Girl with Runaway PonyThis funny Hal Roach comedy has Jimmy Jump (Charley Chase) waking up late for his wedding so in...
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Bad Boy
as Jimmie's Girl FriendIn this two-reeler, Jimmy Jump wants to please both of his parents, but they disagree about...
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Along Came Auntie
as Marie, the MaidA divorced couple try to pretend they are still happily married in order to get $100,000 from...
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Laughing Ladies
as uncreditedLucien Littlefield is a dentist who believes in giving generous doses of laughing gas to the...
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War Nurse
as HelenWomen from various backgrounds volunteer as nurses in France at the outbreak of World War I.
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The Royal Razz
as uncreditedA doting father who plays Santa Claus for Christmas annoys a trolley full of people when he lugs...
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Jewish Prudence
as Rachel GimplewartPapa Gimplewart, father to three children is unimpressed by the young lawyer who wants to marry...
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Flaming Fathers
as DaughterPapa Gimplewart chaperones his daughter and her "steady" during a beach adventure.
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Fluttering Hearts
as DaughterDefying her father's wishes, a young woman runs off to a sale at store. She's pursued by a...
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All Wet
as Boarding house maid (uncredited)Charley Chase has car trouble.
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Should Tall Men Marry?
as Martha SkittleThis western comedy is about rancher Finlayson's beautiful daughter, Martha Sleeper, who refuses...
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Rhythm on the Range
as Constance HydeCowboy Jeff Larabee returns from the east and meets Doris Halloway, a young girl, that he...
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Broken Dreams
as Martha MorleyMedical intern Robert Morley is distraught after his wife dies in childbirth. He's resentful of...
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The Rat's Knuckles
as Flirty McFickleCharley Chase is a hapless inventor with a better mouse trap in this silent comedy from 1925.
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Seeing Nellie Home
as uncreditedThe situation is typically embarrassing and unlikely-but-possible for Charley, but it is at the...
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Innocent Husbands
as Girl at Party (uncredited)Despite his faithfulness, Melvin is always under suspicion by wife Mame. Complications erupt...
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There Goes the Bride
as Imogene-the BrideWhat bridegroom could be romantic with a swollen jaw and a yelling tooth? His young bride thinks...
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Long Fliv the King
as Princess Helga of ThermosaThis offbeat comedy from future Hollywood screwball director McCarey is about a princess who...
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Mum's the Word
as The Nervous Little GirlA widow has married rich, but didn't tell her husband about her son. And he's coming for a...
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Great God Gold
as Marcia HarperGreed, ambition and hunger-for-power drive John Hart, a New-York-City stock-market broker, into...
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Better Movies
as Teenaged 'Vamp'The gang decided to go into the movie-making business, using all kinds of sets and props. There...
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Plain and Fancy Girls
as FianceJimmy Jump has a "plain" girlfriend, and becomes intrigued by a "fancy" girl he spots in a park....
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The Honorable Mr. Buggs
as The FiancéeMr. Buggs is an insect collector. A beautiful and mysterious Asian woman (the lovely Anna May...
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Two Sinners
as Elsie SummerstoneAn ex-convict gets released after shooting a fellow who made a play for his wife. When he meets...
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Danger Street
as KittyRolly Sigsby, a society clubman bitterly weary of life, wanders into the middle of a gunfight...
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Thundering Fleas
as BrideThe kids from Our Gang have to attend a wedding, and they bring along their flea...
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Sweet Daddy
as DaughterJimmy Jump's boss asks him to meet his small niece and her dog and entertain them between...
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Sure-Mike!
as VermudaVermuda, a saleswoman in a department store, is very late for work. She relies on a ruse to fool...
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Days of Thrills and Laughter
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)An appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century...
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Big Red Riding Hood
as Book store clerkJimmy Jump is asked by the Swedish Government to translate for educational purposes "Little Red...
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The Little Yellow House
as Emmy MilburnPlot unknown and film presumed to be lost.
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