Rita Johnson

Born: 1913-08-13

Rita Ann Johnson (August 13, 1913 – October 31, 1965) was an American actress. Early in her career, Johnson was busy in radio. Johnson began acting on Broadway in 1935 and started her film career two years later. She played a murderer in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) and a doomed wife in the RKO film noir They Won't Believe Me (1947). In an incident that was never fully explained, Johnson suffered a head trauma on September 6, 1948 that required brain surgery. Unsubstantiated rumors promulgated by gossip columnists such as Walter Winchell suggested she might have been abused by a boyfriend, but the only explanation she offered was that a large, industrial-grade hair dryer at her apartment had fallen on her. She was in a coma for two weeks and it was reported it took her a year to recover. Her left side was paralyzed temporarily and for a while she couldn't walk. The injury put a virtual halt to her film career. Her screen time in movies after that was limited due to her reduced mobility and powers of concentration. Johnson suffered from alcoholism from the time of her injuries until her death of a brain hemorrhage at age 52. From Wikipedia.


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The Big Clock

as Pauline York
Released: 1948-03-18

Stroud, a crime magazine's crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again,...

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The Major and the Minor

as Pamela Hill
Released: 1942-09-16

Returning to her hometown from New York, Susan Applegate learns that she hasn't enough for the...

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan

as Julia Farnsworth
Released: 1941-08-07

Boxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on...

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They Won't Believe Me

as Greta Ballentine
Released: 1947-07-16

On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand...

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Appointment for Love

as Nancy Benson
Released: 1941-10-31

Charming Andre Cassil woos physician Jane Alexander and the two impulsively get married. The...

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Sleep, My Love

as Barby
Released: 1948-02-18

A woman wakes up in the middle of the night on board a train, but she can't remember how she got...

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My Friend Flicka

as Nell McLaughlin
Released: 1943-05-26

Ken McLaughlin is a precocious 10-year-old who lives with his family on a remote Wyoming ranch....

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The Naughty Nineties

as Bonita Farrow
Released: 1945-06-20

In the gay '90s, cardsharps take over a Mississippi riverboat from a kindly captain. Their first...

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All Mine to Give

as Katie Tyler
Released: 1957-11-13

This is a story based on fact that follows a husband and wife who emigrate from Scotland to...

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Nick Carter, Master Detective

as Lou Farnsby
Released: 1939-12-13

Detective Nick Carter is brought in to foil spies at the Radex Airplane Factory, where a new...

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The Second Face

as Claire Elwood
Released: 1950-12-01

A homely girl is seriously injured in a car crash. When she eventually wakes up in the hospital,...

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Letter of Introduction

as Honey
Released: 1938-08-05

An aging actor, trying to make a comeback on Broadway, is surprised when his estranged daughter...

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Susan Slept Here

as Dr. Rawley
Released: 1954-07-28

On Christmas Eve, suffering from a case of writer's block, screenwriter Mark Christopher and his...

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Family Honeymoon

as Minna Fenster
Released: 1948-12-06

Grant Jordan, bachelor botany professor, marries Katie, a widow with three kids, despite the...

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Edison, the Man

as Mary Stilwell
Released: 1940-05-10

In flashback, fifty years after inventing the light bulb, an 82-year-old Edison tells his story...

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London by Night

as Patricia Herrick
Released: 1937-07-30

A newspaperman, his canine companion, and an adventurous socialite investigate an...

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6,000 Enemies

as Anne Barry
Released: 1939-06-09

A tough prosecutor who has sent dozens of criminals to prison finds himself framed on a bribery...

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The Golden Fleecing

as Mary Blake
Released: 1940-08-16

A mild-mannered insurance salesman gets mixed up with gangsters.

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They All Come Out

as Kitty
Released: 1939-08-04

A down on his luck young man stumbles into a gang of robbers who all get landed in prison. Will...

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Smashing the Rackets

as Leticia "Letty" Lane
Released: 1938-08-08

Jim 'Socker' Conway, former boxer and FBI hero, is maneuvered for political reasons into a...

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Congo Maisie

as Kay McWade
Released: 1940-01-19

Maisie gets lost in a jungle in Africa and the jungle of romance. The African jungle has snakes,...

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My Dear Miss Aldrich

as Ellen Warfield
Released: 1937-09-17

A young woman inherits a newspaper whose editor refuses to hire lady reporters.

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The Perfect Marriage

as Mabel Manning
Released: 1947-01-24

A couple celebrate their tenth anniversary by quarreling their way to divorce court.

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The Art Director

as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1949-11-12

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing....

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An Innocent Affair

as Eve Lawrence
Released: 1948-10-15

Vincent Doane is in the precarious position of trying to close an advertising account with his...

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Emergency Hospital

as Head Nurse Norma Mullen
Released: 1956-11-02

About the lives and loves of the staff of an emergency hospital as reflected in a single...

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Forty Little Mothers

as Marian Edwards
Released: 1940-04-26

An out-of-work professor gets a break from an old college buddy to teach at an exclusive girl's...

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Thunderhead: Son of Flicka

as Nelle McLaughlin
Released: 1945-03-15

A young boy tries to train Thunderhead, a beautiful white colt and the son of his beloved...

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Within the Law

as Agnes Lynch
Released: 1939-03-17

A wrongly convicted woman studies law and seeks her revenge.

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Broadway Serenade

as Judith 'Judy' Tyrrell
Released: 1939-04-07

A married singer, pianist/composer team are struggling to hit it big in New York. Finally, they...

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Honolulu

as Cecelia Grayson
Released: 1939-02-03

Wanting a break from his overzealous fans, a famous movie star hires a Hawaiian plantation owner...

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The Affairs of Susan

as Mona Kent
Released: 1945-07-08

Susan is about to be married, but the wedding may get called off after her fiancé summons three...

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Pardon My Past

as Mary Pemberton
Released: 1945-12-24

Eddie York (MacMurray) is mistaken for playboy Francis Pemberton and gets into trouble.

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Stronger Than Desire

as Barbara Winter
Released: 1939-06-30

An attorney handling a murder case in unaware his own wife played a crucial role in the killing.

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Rich Man, Poor Girl

as Sally Harrison
Released: 1938-08-12

A millionaire courts a working-class woman.

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The Girl Downstairs

as Rosalind Brown
Released: 1938-12-23

A wealthy playboy surreptitiously romances a scullery maid to gain access to her mistress with...

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Michigan Kid

as Sue Dawson
Released: 1947-08-11

A former U.S. marshal rescues an instant heiress from an outlaw's gang.

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Man-Proof

as Florence (dialogue scenes deleted)
Released: 1938-01-07

A newspaper illustrator tries to remain best friends with the man she secretly loves, even...

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Mr. & Mrs. North

as uncredited
First aired: 1952-10-03

Mr. & Mrs. North is an American comedy/mystery television series that aired on CBS from October...

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