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Mary Forbes

Date of birth: 1882-12-30

Place of birth: Hornsey, Middlesex [now in Haringey, London], England, UK

Known for: Acting

Also known as: Ethel Louise Young

Mary Forbes

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Forbes (1 January 1883 – 22 July 1974), born Ethel Louise Young, was a British-American film actress, based in the United States in her latter years, where she died. She appeared in more than 130 films between 1919 and 1958. Forbes was born in Hornsey, England. She made her first public appearance on the concert platform giving recitals. Her acting debut was in 1908 on the London stage at Aldwych Theatre. Her American stage debut came in Romance at Maxine Elliott's Theatre in 1913. She took over management of the Ambassadors Theatre in 1913 and had several years experience on stage in Britain and America before her appearances in Hollywood films. Two of her three children by her first marriage in the first quarter of 1904 to Ernest J. Taylor, Ralph and Dorothy Brenda, known as Brenda, were also actors. The middle child of the three, Phyllis Mary Taylor, was not in the acting business. Her second husband was British actor Charles Quartermaine, who married in 1925; the union ended in divorce. She married her third husband, Wesley Wall, an American businessman, in 1935; the couple remained married until her death in 1974. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943, with one of her character references being Lucile Webster Gleason, actress and wife of actor James Gleason.

Movie Credits

Theodora Goes Wild
3.3

Theodora Goes Wild

1936-11-12

The small-town prudes of Lynnfield are up in arms over 'The Sinner,' a sexy best-seller. They little

Terror by Night
3.3

Terror by Night

1946-02-01

Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhode

Laddie
0

Laddie

1935-03-18

A romance between two young lovers is complicated by their prohibitive parents. Preserved by the Ac

Almost Married
3

Almost Married

1942-05-22

To avoid a costly breach of contract suit, a rich young man marries a nightclub singer.

A Farewell to Arms
3.1

A Farewell to Arms

1932-12-08

A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederi

You Can't Take It with You
3.7

You Can't Take It with You

1938-09-01

Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony K

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
3.4

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

1939-02-17

Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from

The Awful Truth
3.6

The Awful Truth

1937-10-21

Unfounded suspicions lead a married couple to begin divorce proceedings, whereupon they start underm

Bombshell
3.2

Bombshell

1933-10-13

A glamorous film star rebels against the studio, her pushy press agent and a family of hangers-on.

Les Misérables
3.6

Les Misérables

1935-04-20

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless po

Roberta
3.5

Roberta

1935-03-07

Football player John Kent tags along as Huck Haines and the Wabash Indianians travel to an engagemen

She Was a Lady
0

She Was a Lady

1934-08-22

Before his daughter can formally claim her rightful title, her father dies. Now her blue-blooded Ame

Captain Blood
3.6

Captain Blood

1935-12-26

Dr. Peter Blood, unjustly convicted of treason and exiled from England, becomes a notorious pirate.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
3.5

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

1939-09-01

Having once again avoided criminal conviction, Professor Moriarity develops a murderous plan to “fin

British Agent
2.8

British Agent

1934-09-15

In the days leading up to the Russian Revolution, Stephen Locke, a minor British diplomat in St Pete

Tender Comrade
2.8

Tender Comrade

1944-05-30

Jo Jones, a young defense plant worker whose husband is in the military during World War II, shares

The Trespasser
3.3

The Trespasser

1929-11-11

A stenographer who works for a lawyer falls in love with and marries a wealthy young man. His family

Outside These Walls
3.8

Outside These Walls

1939-05-04

Walen plays Dan Sparling, a convicted embezzler who becomes editor of his prison newspaper. After se

Sunny Side Up
3.4

Sunny Side Up

1929-12-25

Molly and Bee, sweet young 'working girls,' live in a cheap room over a New York grocery store. Moll

Nothing But the Truth
3.5

Nothing But the Truth

1941-10-10

A stockbroker bets his new partners $10,000 that he can tell the truth, and only the truth, for twen

Rendezvous
2.1

Rendezvous

1935-10-25

A decoding expert tangles with enemy spies.

Les Miserables
2.6

Les Miserables

1952-08-14

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless po

Back Street
3.6

Back Street

1941-02-07

In turn-of-the-century Cincinnati, vibrant shop girl Ray Smith falls in love with banker Walter Saxe

The Thirteenth Chair
2.5

The Thirteenth Chair

1929-10-19

Although his murdered friend was by all accounts a scoundrel, Edward Wales is determined to trap his

Houseboat
3.2

Houseboat

1958-11-19

An Italian socialite on the run signs on as housekeeper for a widower with three children.

The Man Who Came Back
1.7

The Man Who Came Back

1931-01-11

A spoiled carefree rich kid gets into too much trouble for his father who sends him out on his own t

East Is West
2

East Is West

1930-10-23

Ming Toy is on the auction block in China. She is saved by Billy and taken to San Francisco by Lo Sa

Always Goodbye
3.4

Always Goodbye

1938-06-24

Following the death of her fiancé, Margot Weston is left pregnant and unmarried. Former doctor Jim H

You Can't Buy Everything
3.5

You Can't Buy Everything

1934-01-26

A scorned woman dreams of revenge on the man who betrayed her.

Lady on a Train
3.3

Lady on a Train

1945-08-03

While watching from her train window, Nikki Collins witnesses a murder in a nearby building. When sh

Chances
3.5

Chances

1931-07-18

Two brothers, Jack and Tom, are in love with the same woman, Molly. While the two brothers go off to

The Sun Never Sets
2.4

The Sun Never Sets

1939-05-31

The Randolph family have a tradition of working in the British colonial service. Clive comes home fr

A Lost Lady
2.8

A Lost Lady

1934-09-29

A bitter woman who thinks she'll never love again marries, only to fall for a brash young man.

The Woman's Portion
0

The Woman's Portion

1918-01-01

British fictionalised propaganda drama on the need for women to accept separation from, and loss of,

Two Tickets to London
3

Two Tickets to London

1943-06-14

Accused of helping an enemy submarine, a man escapes and joins a beautiful girl in trying to find th

Working Girls
3.4

Working Girls

1931-12-12

Two sisters from Indiana, the wide-eyed and innocent Mae Thorpe, and her more streetwise sister June

Everybody Sing
2.4

Everybody Sing

1938-02-04

Boisterous teen Judy Bellaire is expelled from her all-female boarding school for convincing her fel

Three Loves Has Nancy
1.9

Three Loves Has Nancy

1938-09-02

A small-town country homebody goes to New York to find her missing fiancé and gets romantically invo

Outside of Paradise
0

Outside of Paradise

1938-02-08

Daniel Francis O'Toole, singing maestro in a New York restaurant, finds himself the unexpected heir

Strictly Unconventional
1.4

Strictly Unconventional

1930-05-03

An adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's The Circle. A young woman married into an aristocratic Englis

Blind Date
3.5

Blind Date

1934-07-20

A young woman is torn between a wealthy suitor who wants her body and the honest young man who wants

Blame It on Love
1.3

Blame It on Love

1940-06-18

A short film put out by the Hotpoint Company to demonstrate their Electric Ranges.

Ivy
3.3

Ivy

1947-06-26

When Ivy, an Edwardian belle, begins to like Miles, a wealthy gentleman, she is unsure of what to do

Risky Business
3

Risky Business

1939-03-03

Radio commentator Dan Clifford takes desperate chances to save the life of a young girl who has been

Most Precious Thing in Life
2.6

Most Precious Thing in Life

1934-06-15

An unwed mother watches as her illegitimate son is raised by others. Director Lambert Hillyer's 1934

Women Who Win
0

Women Who Win

1919-01-02

A widow and her daughters join the Women's Service Training Bureau and become a nurse, a journalist

Laddie
3

Laddie

1940-01-18

Handsome Laddie Stanton courts neighbor Pamela Pryor, meeting opposition from her stern military fat

The Life of the Party
2.6

The Life of the Party

1937-09-03

A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.

Two Heads on a Pillow
0

Two Heads on a Pillow

1934-10-02

A lawyer handing a divorce case discovers the attorney for the opposition is his ex-wife.

Happiness Ahead
3

Happiness Ahead

1934-10-27

Society heiress Joan Bradford rebels against her mother's choice of a future husband by masquerading

The Devil to Pay!
2.9

The Devil to Pay!

1930-12-18

Spendthrift Willie Hale again returns penniless to the family home in London. His father is none too

Hollywood Cavalcade
2.6

Hollywood Cavalcade

1939-10-13

Starting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marr

South of Suez
2

South of Suez

1940-11-16

Greedy diamond mine owner Eli Snedeker, resentful that his ex-foreman John Gamble stopped him from t

The White Angel
3.6

The White Angel

1936-06-25

In Victorian England, Florence Nightingale's heroic measures slowly change the attitude towards nurs

Born to Love
2.5

Born to Love

1931-04-17

A pregnant American nurse living in London during WWI, believing her soldier-fiance has been killed

Fast and Loose
2.8

Fast and Loose

1939-02-17

The Sloanes tie murder to the theft of a Shakespeare manuscript.

Three Smart Girls Grow Up
3.5

Three Smart Girls Grow Up

1939-03-24

Three sisters who believe life is going to be easy, now that their parents are back together, until

These Glamour Girls
2.8

These Glamour Girls

1939-08-18

A drunken college student invites a dance hostess to the big college dance and then forgets he asked

We Live Again
3.3

We Live Again

1934-11-01

Nekhludoff, a Russian nobleman serving on a jury, discovers that the young girl on trial, Katusha, i

The Perfect Gentleman
2.3

The Perfect Gentleman

1935-11-22

A strait-laced country vicar is very embarrassed by his father's naughty exploits with a lively actr

Ninotchka
3.8

Ninotchka

1939-11-16

A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who repres

Cavalcade
2.8

Cavalcade

1933-02-08

A cavalcade of English life from New Year's Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-

The Judge Steps Out
3.5

The Judge Steps Out

1947-12-15

A judge flees the pressures of professional and family life for a job as a short-order cook.

Women of Glamour
2.5

Women of Glamour

1937-03-09

A girl with a reputation falls for a wealthy playboy.

Another Dawn
3.1

Another Dawn

1937-06-26

Colonel John Wister, on duty with the British army in the desert region of Dubik, returns to England

Shock
3

Shock

1934-07-19

Captain Bob Hayworth, his brother Lieutenant Gilroy Hayworth and Captain Derek Marbury are in a Worl

All This, and Heaven Too
3.6

All This, and Heaven Too

1940-07-05

When lovely and virtuous governess Henriette Deluzy comes to educate the children of the debonair Du

The Silent Witness
2.8

The Silent Witness

1932-02-07

A London nobleman (Lionel Atwill) takes the blame and stands trial after his son strangles a lover (

The Brat
2.6

The Brat

1931-08-23

A society novelist brings a brash young chorus girl home in order to study her for inspiration for h

It Had to Be You
3.5

It Had to Be You

1947-12-07

A chronic runaway bride is haunted by her conscience, who becomes reality.

Florian
0.5

Florian

1940-06-05

Set against the backdrop of WWI Europe, a man and woman of different classes are brought together by

Dangerous Blondes
3

Dangerous Blondes

1943-09-23

Mystery writer Barry Craig (Allyn Joslyn) and his wife Jane (Evelyn Keyes), prefer solving crimes ra

Klondike Fury
2.1

Klondike Fury

1942-03-20

In this Alaskan adventure, a surgeon becomes a pilot after he messes up an operation. Unfortunately,

Wee Willie Winkie
3.3

Wee Willie Winkie

1937-07-30

In 1897, little Priscilla Williams, along with her widowed mother, goes to live with her army colone

Wedding Present
3.3

Wedding Present

1936-10-09

Charlie Mason and Rusty Fleming are star reporters on a Chicago tabloid who are romantically involve

Earl Carroll Vanities
2.5

Earl Carroll Vanities

1945-04-05

Broadway producer Earl Carroll was a Ziegfeld-like entrepreneur who staged lavish revues featuring a

Cigarette Girl
0

Cigarette Girl

1947-02-13

A young man and woman base their love on lies that eventually manage to come true.

Vanity Fair
1.8

Vanity Fair

1932-03-15

In early 19th century England, ambitious and ruthless orphan Rebecca Sharp advances from the positio

I Stole a Million
3

I Stole a Million

1939-08-01

A cabbie and petty thief dreams of the big heist that will end his thieving ways.

Twin Beds
1.4

Twin Beds

1942-04-30

Mike Abbott just wants to spend a quiet evening at home with his wife, but her collection of zany fr

The Great Impersonation
2.9

The Great Impersonation

1942-12-18

An Englishman kills a German look-alike and poses as a Nazi spy in London.

The Widow from Monte Carlo
2.5

The Widow from Monte Carlo

1935-12-19

In this romantic comedy, an aspiring socialite heads for a vacation in Monte Carlo where she befrien

Stranded
2.9

Stranded

1935-06-29

A Traveler's Aid worker who delights in solving people's problems gets mixed up with gangsters.

The Picture of Dorian Gray
3.5

The Picture of Dorian Gray

1945-03-03

A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty, but a special painting gradually reveals his

What Do You Think? (Number Three)
3

What Do You Think? (Number Three)

1938-01-15

This short looks at the possibility that those who have passed on can communicate with us in ways we

Sherlock Holmes in Washington
3.4

Sherlock Holmes in Washington

1943-03-24

In World War II, a British secret agent carrying a vitally important document is kidnapped en route

So This Is London
3.5

So This Is London

1930-05-23

Hiram Draper is an all-American self-made man with a profound distaste for everything British. Yet h

Jane Eyre
3.5

Jane Eyre

1943-12-24

After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happi

Mr. Lucky
3.5

Mr. Lucky

1943-07-01

A conman poses as a war relief fundraiser, but when he falls for a charity worker, his conscience be

The Rage of Paris
2.9

The Rage of Paris

1938-06-09

Nicole has no job and is several weeks behind with her rent. Her solution to her problems is to try

The Exile
3

The Exile

1947-10-17

In 17th-century England, Charles II, the rightful heir to the kingdom, is driven from his country by

Stage Door
3.5

Stage Door

1937-10-08

A spirited heiress wishing to break into theatre on her own merit arrives at a boardinghouse where a

Abraham Lincoln
2.7

Abraham Lincoln

1930-11-08

A biopic dramatizing Abraham Lincoln's life through a series of vignettes depicting its defining cha

Anna Karenina
3.3

Anna Karenina

1935-08-30

In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the w

I'll Remember April
1.8

I'll Remember April

1945-04-01

The daughter of a formerly wealthy man tries to get a job singing on a radio show, but gets involved

Private Affairs
0

Private Affairs

1940-07-05

A girl decides to consult her natural father, whom she's never seen, for advice on her mixed-up love

Her Private Life
0.5

Her Private Life

1929-08-25

A English aristocrat causes a scandal when she divorces her husband and runs off with a young Americ

You Gotta Stay Happy
3.3

You Gotta Stay Happy

1948-10-28

Indecisive heiress Dee Dee Dillwood is pushed into marrying her sixth fiancée, but unable to face th

This Above All
3.4

This Above All

1942-05-12

In 1940 England, aristocratic Prudence Cathaway alarms her snobbish parents by joining the WAF servi

One Hundred Men and a Girl
3.2

One Hundred Men and a Girl

1937-09-05

The daughter of a struggling musician forms a symphony orchestra made up of his unemployed friends a

Dizzy Dames
3

Dizzy Dames

1935-05-29

A musical comedy in a theatrical boarding house.

The Ice Follies of 1939
2.8

The Ice Follies of 1939

1939-03-10

Mary and Larry are are a modestly successful skating team. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gets a

Holiday
3.1

Holiday

1930-07-03

A young man is torn between his free-thinking lifestyle and the tradition of his wealthy fiancée's f

Sadie McKee
3.5

Sadie McKee

1934-05-09

A maid has romances with a two-timer, a boozing millionaire and the master of the house.

The Lady Clare
0

The Lady Clare

1919-01-01

A Lord weds a Lady despite discovering that she is a substituted village child. Based on the poem La

The Black Arrow
2.6

The Black Arrow

1948-03-18

A young British nobleman comes back from fighting in the War of the Roses to discover that his fathe