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Jean Arthur

Jean Arthur

Birthday: 1900-10-16 | Place of Birth: Plattsburgh, New York, USA

Jean Arthur (October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur. So much was she part of it, so much was her star personality defined by it, that the screwball style itself seems almost unimaginable without her." Arthur has been called "the quintessential comedic leading lady." Arthur is best known for her feature roles in three Frank Capra films: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), films that championed the everyday heroine. Her last performance was the memorable—and distinctly non–comedic—role as the rancher's wife in George Stevens' Shane (1953). Arthur was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1944 for her performance in The More the Merrier (1943). Description above from the Wikipedia article Jean Arthur, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1953
Shane

as    Marian Starrett

1948
A Foreign Affair

as    Congresswoman Phoebe Frost

1944
The Impatient Years

as    Janie Anderson

1943
The More the Merrier

as    Constance Milligan

1942
The Talk of the Town

as    Nora Shelley

1940
Arizona

as    Phoebe Titus

1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

as    Clarissa Saunders

1938
You Can't Take It with You

as    Alice Sycamore

1937
History Is Made at Night

as    Irene Vail

1937
Easy Living

as    Mary Smith

1936
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

as    Babe Bennett

1936
The Plainsman

as    Calamity Jane

1936
More Than a Secretary

as    Carol Baldwin

1936
Adventure in Manhattan

as    Claire Peyton

1936
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

as    Paula Bradford

1935
If You Could Only Cook

as    Joan Hawthorne

1935
Public Hero Number 1

as    Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly

1935
The Whole Town's Talking

as    Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark

1934
Whirlpool

as    Sandra Rankin Morrison

1931
Ex-Bad Boy

as    Ethel Simmons

1931
Danger Lights

as    Mary Ryan

1930
Paramount on Parade

as    Dream Girl

1930
The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu

as    Lia Eltham

1929
The Greene Murder Case

as    Ada Greene

1929
The Canary Murder Case

as    Alice LaFosse

1929
The Saturday Night Kid

as    Janie Barry

1929
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

as    Lia Eltham

1925
Seven Chances

as    Miss Smith the Country Club Receptionist (uncredited)