Sybil Jason
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sybil Jacon was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, she began playing the piano at age two and, a year later, began making public appearances doing impersonations of Maurice Chevalier. She was introduced to the theatre-going public of London by way of her uncle, Harry Jacobson, a then-popular London orchestra leader and also pianist for Gracie Fields. The apex of her career came with a concert performance with Frances Day at London's Palace Theatre. Her theatre work led to appearances on radio and phonograph records as well as a supporting role in the film Barnacle Bill. Irving Asher, the head of Warner Bros.' London studio, saw Jason's performance in Barnacle Bill and arranged for her to make a screen test for the studio. The test was a success, resulting in Warner Bros. signing her to a contract. Her American film debut came as the lead in Little Big Shot, directed by Michael Curtiz and co-starring Glenda Farrell, Robert Armstrong, and Edward Everett Horton. Jason followed this with supporting roles opposite some of Warner Bros. most popular stars, including Kay Francis in I Found Stella Parish, Al Jolson in The Singing Kid, Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart in The Great O'Malley, and again with Kay Francis in Comet Over Broadway. Warners also starred her in The Captain's Kid, and four Vitaphone two-reelers filmed in Technicolor: Changing of the Guard, A Day at Santa Anita, Little Pioneer, and The Littlest Diplomat. Jason never became the major rival to Shirley Temple that Warner Bros. had hoped, and her film career ended after playing two supporting roles at 20th-Century Fox. These films — The Little Princess and The Blue Bird — were supported Temple, who became her lifelong friend.
The Little Princess
as BeckyA little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the...
Movie pageThe Blue Bird
as Angela BerlingotPeasant children Mytyl and Tyltyl are led on a magical quest for the fabulous Blue Bird of...
Movie pageA Dream Comes True
as Herself (uncredited)A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).
Movie pageLittle Big Shot
as Gloria GibbsA con man and his partner inherit a dead gangster's precocious daughter.
Movie pageThe Great O'Malley
as Barbara 'Babs' PhillipsHis role in the plight of an unemployed man (Humphrey Bogart) and his disabled daughter...
Movie pageComet Over Broadway
as JackieStory of a rising stage star and the trouble she causes by her ambition.
Movie pageA Day at Santa Anita
as Peaches BlackburnOrphaned horse-trainer's little daughter has reciprocated bond with horse, which needs her...
Movie pageMusical Movieland
as Scottish GirlA group of tourists is given a tour of a movie studio lot. They see the various permanent sets...
Movie pageI Found Stella Parish
as Gloria ParishA blackmailer preys on an actress who is trying to protect her daughter from her past.
Movie pageThe Singing Kid
as Sybil HainesNeurotic Broadway star Al Jackson faces professional ruin when he loses his voice. While...
Movie pageThe Littlest Diplomat
as Sybil HardwickYoung Sybil visits her grandfather, a British Colonel stationed at a garrison in India, and she...
Movie pageWoman Doctor
as Elsa GraemeWoman Doctor is a 1939 American drama film
Movie pageLittle Pioneer
as Betsy ManningIn 1880 South Africa, young Betsy has an adventure involving Zulu Tribesmen, Dutch Settlers, The...
Movie pageThe Captain's Kid
as Abigail PrentissIn this children's adventure, the children of a small town are enthralled by the tales of the...
Movie pageDance Band
as Little Girl On TrainLife gets complicated for bandleader Buddy when he falls for his greatest rival – the leader of...
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