Mary Brian
Known for Acting · 79 credits
- Born
- 1906-02-17
- Died
- 2002-12-30
- Place of birth
- Corsicana, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- The Sweetest Girl in Pictures (nickname) · Louise Byrdie Dantzler
Biography
Mary Brian (born Louise Byrdie Dantzler, February 17, 1906 – December 30, 2002), was an American actress, who made the transition from silent films to sound films. Brian was dubbed "The Sweetest Girl in Pictures."
After her showing in a beauty contest, she was given an audition by Paramount Pictures and cast by director Herbert Brenon as Wendy Darling in his silent movie version of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. There she starred with Betty Bronson and Esther Ralston, and the three of them stayed close for the rest of their lives. Ralston described both Bronson and Brian as 'very charming people'. The studio, who created her stage name for the movie and said she was age 16 instead of 18, because the latter sounded too old for the role, then signed her to a long-term motion picture contract. Brian played Fancy Vanhern, daughter of Percy Marmont, in Brenon's The Street of Forgotten Men, which had newcomer Louise Brooks in an uncredited debut role as a moll.
Her first talkie was Varsity, which was filmed with part-sound and talking sequences, opposite Buddy Rogers. After successfully making the transition to sound, she co-starred with Gary Cooper, Walter Huston and Richard Arlen in one of the earliest Western talkies, The Virginian, her first all-talkie feature. In it, she played a spirited frontier heroine, schoolmarm Molly Stark Wood, who was the love interest of the Virginian.
Brian co-starred in several hits during the 1930s, including The Royal Family of Broadway, Paramount on Parade, and The Front Page.
After her contract with Paramount ended in 1932, Brian decided to freelance, which was unusual in a period when multi-year contracts with one studio were common. That same year, she appeared on the vaudeville stage at New York's Palace Theatre. Also in the same year, she starred in Manhattan Tower.
Known For
TV Shows (1)
Movies (78)
College Rhythm
1934
as Gloria Van Dayham
Girl Missing
1933
as June Dale
Peter Pan
1924
as Wendy Darling
Calaboose
1943
as Doris Lane
Fog
1933
as Mary Fulton
The Kibitzer
1930
as Josie Lazarus
Someone to Love
1928
as Joan Kendricks
Homicide Squad
1931
as Millie
Beau Geste
1926
as Isabel Rivers
The Virginian
1929
as Molly Stark Wood
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
as Hope Wolfinger
Only Saps Work
1930
as Barbara Tanner
The Front Page
1931
as Peggy Grant
Captain Applejack
1931
as Poppy Faire
Hollywood Halfbacks
1931
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935
as Yvette Lamartine
Manhattan Tower
1932
as Mary Harper
Moonlight and Pretzels
1933
as Sally Upton
Monte Carlo Nights
1934
as Mary Vernon
The World Gone Mad
1933
as Diane Cromwell
Spendthrift
1936
as Sally Barnaby
Hard to Handle
1933
as Ruth Waters
Blessed Event
1932
as Gladys Price
Forgotten Faces
1928
as Alice Deane
Song of the Eagle
1933
as Elsa Kranzmeyer
Stepping Along
1926
as Molly Taylor
The River of Romance
1929
as Lucy Jeffers
The Royal Family of Broadway
1930
as Gwen Cavendish
I Was a Criminal
1941
as Frau Obermueller, the Mayor's Wife
Three Married Men
1936
as Jennie Mullins
Shanghai Bound
1927
as Sheila
Under the Tonto Rim
1928
as Lucy Watson
Man Power
1927
as Alice Stoddard
The Enchanted Hill
1926
as Hallie Purdy
Navy Blues
1937
as Doris Kimbell
The Man I Love
1929
as Celia Fields
Gun Smoke
1931
as Sue Vancey
Paramount on Parade
1930
as Sweetheart (Dream Girl)
The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss
1936
as Frances Clayton
Ever Since Eve
1934
as Elizabeth Vandergrift
The Big Killing
1928
as Mary Beagle - Old Man Beagle's Daughter
The Social Lion
1930
as Cynthia Brown
Shadows of Sing Sing
1933
as Muriel Ross aka Muriel Rossi
The Runaround
1931
as Evelyn
The Street of Forgotten Men
1925
as Mary Vanhern
Running Wild
1927
as Elizabeth Finch
Partners in Crime
1928
as Marie Burke, The Cigarette Girl
Varsity
1928
as Fay
Brown of Harvard
1926
as Mary Abbot
The Marriage Playground
1929
as Judith Wheater
Harold Teen
1928
as Lillums Lovewell
The Light of Western Stars
1930
as Ruth Hammond
I Escaped from the Gestapo
1943
as Helen
Only the Brave
1930
as Barbara Calhoun
One Year Later
1933
as Molly Collins
Dragnet
1947
as Anne Hogan
It's Tough to Be Famous
1932
as Janet Porter McClenahan
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
1934
as Self
Danger! Women at Work
1943
as Pert
Behind the Front
1926
as Betty Bartlett-Cooper
The Unwritten Law
1932
as Ruth Evans
Paris at Midnight
1926
as Victorine Tallefer
More Pay - Less Work
1926
as Betty Ricks
Noisy Silencers
2024
as (archive footage)
Killer at Large
1936
as Linda Allen
Once in a Million
1936
as Suzanne
Knockout Reilly
1927
as Mary Malone
The Air Mail
1925
as Minnie Wade
Affairs of Cappy Ricks
1937
as Frances 'Frankie' Ricks
The Little French Girl
1925
as Alix Vervier
Two's Company
1936
as Julia Madison
He's a Prince!
1925
as Girl
Black Waters
1929
as Eunice
Her Father Said No
1927
as Charlotte Hamilton
Two Flaming Youths
1927
as Mary Gilfoil
Burning Up
1930
as Ruth Morgan
The Prince of Tempters
1926
as Mary
Jealous
1942
as dancer
About Mary Brian
Mary Brian (born Louise Byrdie Dantzler, February 17, 1906 – December 30, 2002), was an American actress, who made the transition from silent films to sound films. Brian was dubbed "The Sweetest Girl in Pictures." After her showing in a beauty contest, she was given an audition by Paramount Pictures and cast by director Herbert Brenon as Wendy Darling in his silent movie version of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan. There she starred with Betty Bronson and Esther Ralston, and the three of them stayed close for the rest of their lives. Ralston described… With 79 credits spanning from 1924 to 2024, Mary Brian has appeared in 78 films and 1 TV show.
Fans searching for Mary Brian movies, Mary Brian filmography, or the latest projects starring Mary Brian can stream many of these titles on CineFlixo, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Mary Brian Movies
- College Rhythm (1934) — as Gloria Van Dayham
- Girl Missing (1933) — as June Dale
- Peter Pan (1924) — as Wendy Darling
- Calaboose (1943) — as Doris Lane
- Fog (1933) — as Mary Fulton
Where to Watch Mary Brian Films
Most Mary Brian movies and series are available to stream on CineFlixo in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Mary Brian, check our movies catalogue and browse page.