CINEFILER

Betty Blythe

Born
August 31, 1893
Died
April 7, 1972
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Betty Blythe (born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter, September 1, 1893 – April 7, 1972) was an American actress best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as The Queen of Sheba (1921). She appeared in 63 silent films and 56 talking pictures (known as talkies) over the course of her career. She is famous for being one of the first actresses to appear on film in the nude, or nearly so, during the Roaring Twenties. She is reported to have said, "A director is the only man besides your husband who can tell you how much of your clothes to take off." Blythe began her stage work in such theatrical pieces as So Long Letty and The Peacock Princess. She worked in vaudeville as the "California Nightingale" singing songs such as "Love Tales from Hoffman". After touring Europe and the States, she entered films in 1918 at the Vitagraph Studios in Brooklyn, then she was brought to Hollywood's Fox studio as a replacement for actress Theda Bara. As famous for her revealing costumes as for her dramatic skills, she became a star in such exotic films as The Queen of Sheba (1921) (in which she wore nothing above the waist except a string of beads), Chu-Chin-Chow (made in 1923; released by MGM in the US 1925) and She (1925). She was also seen to good advantage in less revealing films like Nomads of the North (1920) with Lon Chaney and In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924), produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Other roles were as an opera star, unbilled in Garbo's The Mysterious Lady. She continued to work as a character actress. One of her last roles was a small uncredited role in a crowd scene in 1964's My Fair Lady. Betty Blythe's name lives on through the Betty Blythe Vintage TeaRoom in West Kensington.
Known For
My Fair Lady
(1964)
Lady at Ball (uncredited)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946)
Customer (uncredited)
The Women
(1939)
Mrs. South (uncredited)
Letter from an Unknown Woman
(1948)
Frau Kohner (uncredited)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
(1947)
Floor Manager (uncredited)
They Were Expendable
(1945)
Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Undercurrent
(1946)
Saleslady (uncredited)
Honky Tonk
(1941)
Mrs. Wilson
Topper
(1937)
Mrs. Goodrich (uncredited)
Crime Doctor
(1943)
Mrs. Harrington
Our Wife
(1941)
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Gorgeous Hussy
(1936)
Mrs. Wainwright
Full Filmography
Acting
Slander
(1916)
Over the Top
(1918)
Madame Arnot
Beating the Odds
(1919)
Hebe Norse
The Undercurrent
(1919)
Mariska
The Silver Horde
(1920)
Mildred Wayland
Burnt Wings
(1920)
Helen
Nomads of the North
(1920)
Nanette
The Queen of Sheba
(1921)
Queen of Sheba
Charge It
(1921)
Mille Garreth
Disraeli
(1921)
How Women Love
(1922)
Rosa Roma
Fair Lady
(1922)
Countess Margherita
The Truth About Wives
(1923)
Helen Frazer
In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter
(1924)
Rita Sismondi
Chu-Chin-Chow
(1924)
Zahrat
Folly of Vanity
(1924)
Mrs. Ridgeway (modern sequence)
Southern Love
(1924)
She
(1925)
Ayesha
Percy
(1925)
Lolita
Snowbound
(1927)
Julia Barry
A Million Bid
(1927)
Mrs. Gordon
Domestic Troubles
(1928)
Carrie
Glorious Betsy
(1928)
Princess Fredericka
Sisters of Eve
(1928)
Stolen Love
(1928)
Modiste
Stars of Yesterday
(1931)
Self
Lena Rivers
(1932)
Mathilda Nichols
Tom Brown of Culver
(1932)
Dolores Delight
Back Street
(1932)
Gossip (uncredited)
Pilgrimage
(1933)
Janet Prescot
Before Midnight
(1933)
Mavis Fry
Only Yesterday
(1933)
Mrs. Vincent (Uncredited)
A Girl of the Limberlost
(1934)
Mrs. Parker
Badge of Honor
(1934)
Mrs. Claire van Alstyne
The Scarlet Letter
(1934)
Innkeeper
Two Heads on a Pillow
(1934)
Mrs. Agnes Walker
Ever Since Eve
(1934)
Mrs. Vandergrift
Money Means Nothing
(1934)
Mrs. Ferris
Night Alarm
(1934)
Mrs. Elizabeth Van Dusen
Cheers of the Crowd
(1935)
Lil Langdon Walton
Western Courage
(1935)
Mrs. Hanley
I've Been Around
(1935)
The Spanish Cape Mystery
(1935)
Mrs. Godfrey
The Perfect Clue
(1935)
Ursula Chesebrough
The Gorgeous Hussy
(1936)
Mrs. Wainwright
Murder at Glen Athol
(1936)
Ann Randel
Rainbow on the River
(1936)
Flower Buyer (uncredited)
Yours for the Asking
(1936)
May
Topper
(1937)
Mrs. Goodrich (uncredited)
What Do You Think? (Number Two)
(1937)
Espionage
(1937)
Train Passenger
Life in Sometown, U.S.A.
(1938)
Mrs. Himber (uncredited)
Hold That Kiss
(1938)
Wedding Guest at Piermont's
Romance of the Limberlost
(1938)
Mrs. Parker
Delinquent Parents
(1938)
Mrs. Wharton
Gangster's Boy
(1938)
Mrs. Davis
The Women
(1939)
Mrs. South (uncredited)
Earl of Puddlestone
(1940)
Millicent Potter-Potter
Misbehaving Husbands
(1940)
Effie Butler
Top Sergeant Mulligan
(1941)
Mrs. Lewis
The Miracle Kid
(1941)
Madame Gloria
Sis Hopkins
(1941)
Mrs. Farnsworth
Honky Tonk
(1941)
Mrs. Wilson
Our Wife
(1941)
Minor Role (uncredited)
Tuxedo Junction
(1941)
Miss Hornblower
Puddin' Head
(1941)
Mrs. Bowser
Federal Fugitives
(1941)
Marcia
Dawn on the Great Divide
(1942)
Mrs. Elmira Corkle
House of Errors
(1942)
Mrs. Martha Randall
Piano Mooner
(1942)
Society Woman
Inflation
(1942)
Next Door Neighbor Who Begins Hoarding (uncredited)
Freckles Comes Home
(1942)
Minerva Potter
Bar 20
(1943)
Mrs. Stevens
Mr. Muggs Steps Out
(1943)
Spotlight Scandals
(1943)
Mrs. Baker
Sarong Girl
(1943)
Miss Ellsworth
Girls in Chains
(1943)
Mrs. Grey
Crime Doctor
(1943)
Mrs. Harrington
Presenting Lily Mars
(1943)
Dowager
A Fig Leaf for Eve
(1944)
Lavinia Sardham
Charlie Chan in The Chinese Cat
(1944)
Mrs. Manning
Docks of New York
(1945)
Mrs. Darcy
Adventure
(1945)
Mrs. Buckley (uncredited)
They Were Expendable
(1945)
Officer's Wife (uncredited)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
(1945)
Mrs. Murdock (uncredited)
The Undercover Woman
(1946)
Cissy Van Horn
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946)
Customer (uncredited)
Joe Palooka, Champ
(1946)
Mrs. Stafford
Undercurrent
(1946)
Saleslady (uncredited)
Something in the Wind
(1947)
Society Matron (uncredited)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
(1947)
Floor Manager (uncredited)
Jiggs and Maggie in Society
(1947)
Mrs. Vacuum
Luxury Liner
(1948)
Miss Fenmoor (uncredited)
Madonna of the Desert
(1948)
Mrs. Brown
Shed No Tears
(1948)
Mrs. Peet (Uncredited)
Letter from an Unknown Woman
(1948)
Frau Kohner (uncredited)
Hollywood Story
(1951)
Herself
Runaway Daughters
(1956)
Party Guest (uncredited)
My Fair Lady
(1964)
Lady at Ball (uncredited)
Data provided by TMDB