The floozy, the gangster’s moll, the nasty debutante: Most Hollywood actresses played at least one of these bad girls in the 1930s. Since censorship customarily demanded that goodness prevail, vixens were in mainly supporting roles—but the actresses who played them were often colorful scene stealers.
These characters and the women who played them first began to appear in film in 1915 when Theda Bara played home-wrecker Elsie Drummond in The Vixen. Movie theaters filled and the industry focused on heaving bosoms and ceaseless lust. Bara never shed the vamp image. The type evolved into the flapper, the gangster’s moll, the “dame,” and the “bad girl.” This work covers the lives and careers of 28 actresses, providing details about their lives and giving complete filmographies of their careers.

Hans J. Wollstein has appeared as an actor on screen and in television in Denmark, Germany and the United States. Retired from performing, he now lives in his native Copenhagen.

Hans J. Wollstein
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 284
Bibliographic Info: 56 photos, filmographies, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005 [1999]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2260-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1181-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     v

Introduction     1

1: Hollywood’s Other Women     5

2: Olga Baclanova     9

3: Binnie Barnes     19

4: Evelyn Brent     31

5: Dorothy Burgess     49

6: Juliette Compton     57

7: Katherine DeMille     65

8: Claire Dodd     73

9: Mary Duncan     81

10: Josephine Dunn     87

11: Noel Francis     95

12: Wynne Gibson     103

13: Bernadene Hayes     113

14: Beulah Hutton     119

15: Rita La Roy     123

16: Nina Mae McKinney     131

17: Sari Maritza     139

18: Natalie Moorhead     147

19: Ester Muir     155

20: Ona Munson     161

21: Vivienne Osborne     169

22: Gail Patrick     177

23: Dorothy Revier     187

24: Gail Sondergaard     197

25: Lilyan Tashman     211

26: Verree Teasdale     225

27: Helen Vinson     233

28: Thelma White     241

29: Anna May Wong     247

Bibliography     261

Index     263

“lively descriptions”—Choice; “provides career essays on a group of actresses who were responsible for some unique characterizations”—Classic Images; “a fascinating survey of 28 actresses of the late 1920s and 1930s Hollywood…essential”—Midwest Book Review; “contains well-researched quotations…entertaining and informative…highly recommended”—Colorado Libraries; “well researched…plenty of information about the careers and private lives of the actresses”—Film Review; “provides key biographical information on these floozies…a pleasant read”—Film & History.