Betty Compson

Acting

Betty Compson

Born March 17, 1897 · Beaver, Utah, USA

Died April 18, 1974 · aged 77

Betty Compson (March 19, 1897 – April 18, 1974) was an American actress and film producer. Most famous in silent films and early talkies, she is best known in her performances in The Docks of New York and The Barker, the latter earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Known For

Virtuous HusbandVirtuous Husband · 1931
Virtuous Husband
★ 8.01931
MovieComedyRomance
When a rich young man marries, he lets the books and letters left him by his dead mother guide his life.
Mr. & Mrs. SmithMr. & Mrs. Smith · 1941
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
★ 5.91941
MovieComedyRomance
Happily married for three years, Ann and David Smith live in New York. One morning Ann asks David if he had to do it over again, would he marry her? To her shock, he answers, "No". Later that day, they separately discover that, due to a legal complication, they are not legally married.
Torchy Blane in PanamaTorchy Blane in Panama · 1938
Torchy Blane in Panama
★ 5.81938
MovieCrimeComedy
Torchy, Steve, and Gahagan are on the trail of a bank robber aboard an ocean liner traveling from New York to L.A. via the Panama Canal.
Strange CargoStrange Cargo · 1940
Strange Cargo
★ 7.01940
MovieDramaRomance
Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.
The BarkerThe Barker · 1928
The Barker
★ 7.01928
MovieRomanceDrama
A successful carnival barker deals with the arrival of his eager son, who he'd hoped would stay far from the carnival world, his son's entanglement with a showgirl, and his own jealous mistress.
Law and the WomanLaw and the Woman · 1922
Law and the Woman
★ 7.01922
MovieDrama
Although Margaret and Julian Rolfe are deeply in love, Rolfe has a bit of a past. At one time he had befriended Clara Foster, a woman of the streets. When he discovers that his ward Phil Long is about to wed Clara, he tries to stop him. But he finds that Long and Clara have already married, so he heads back home. When Phil is found murdered, Rolfe is arrested and tried for the crime.
Three Who LovedThree Who Loved · 1931
Three Who Loved
★ 6.01931
MovieDrama
A bank teller's love life falls apart when he's accused of embezzling.
Midnight MysteryMidnight Mystery · 1930
Midnight Mystery
★ 5.91930
MovieMysteryCrime
A fog-shrouded house provides the setting for a weekend party prank gone wrong and the resulting murder being blamed on an innocent man.

Filmography

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The Show of ShowsThe Show of Shows · 1929
The Show of Shows
★ 6.61929
MovieMusic
Now hear this. The studio that gave the cinema its voice offered 1929 audiences a chance to see and hear multiple silent-screen favorites for the first time in a gaudy, grandiose music-comedy-novelty revue that also included Talkie stars, Broadway luminaries and of course, Rin-Tin-Tin. Frank Fay hosts a jamboree that, among its 70+ stars, features bicyclers, boxing champ Georges Carpentier, chorines in terpsichore kickery, sister acts, Myrna Loy in two-strip Technicolor as an exotic Far East beauty, John Barrymore in a Shakespearean soliloquy (adding an on-screen voice to his legendary profile for the first time) and Winnie Lightner famously warbling the joys of Singing in the Bathtub. Watch, rinse, repeat!

Performer in 'The Pirate Number' & 'Lady Luck' Numbers (uncredited)