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
Peter Pan
1924
as Wendy Darling
Girl Missing
1933
as June Dale
Calaboose
1943
as Doris Lane
Fog
1933
as Mary Fulton
The Kibitzer
1930
as Josie Lazarus
The Virginian
1929
as Molly Stark Wood
Only Saps Work
1930
as Barbara Tanner
Homicide Squad
1931
as Millie
Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935
as Hope Wolfinger
Spendthrift
1936
as Sally Barnaby
Someone to Love
1928
as Joan Kendricks
Blessed Event
1932
as Gladys Price
The Front Page
1931
as Peggy Grant
Manhattan Tower
1932
as Mary Harper
The River of Romance
1929
as Lucy Jeffers
Beau Geste
1926
as Isabel Rivers
Hard to Handle
1933
as Ruth Waters
Monte Carlo Nights
1934
as Mary Vernon
Moonlight and Pretzels
1933
as Sally Upton
Charlie Chan in Paris
1935
as Yvette Lamartine
Forgotten Faces
1928
as Alice Deane
Hollywood Halfbacks
1931
Gun Smoke
1931
as Sue Vancey
Stepping Along
1926
as Molly Taylor
Song of the Eagle
1933
as Elsa Kranzmeyer
Shadows of Sing Sing
1933
as Muriel Ross aka Muriel Rossi
Man Power
1927
as Alice Stoddard
Paramount on Parade
1930
as Sweetheart (Dream Girl)
Three Married Men
1936
as Jennie Mullins
Captain Applejack
1931
as Poppy Faire
The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss
1936
as Frances Clayton
I Was a Criminal
1941
as Frau Obermueller, the Mayor's Wife
The Marriage Playground
1929
as Judith Wheater
The World Gone Mad
1933
as Diane Cromwell
Varsity
1928
as Fay
Ever Since Eve
1934
as Elizabeth Vandergrift
Under the Tonto Rim
1928
as Lucy Watson
The Royal Family of Broadway
1930
as Gwen Cavendish
Navy Blues
1937
as Doris Kimbell
The Man I Love
1929
as Celia Fields
Running Wild
1927
as Elizabeth Finch
Shanghai Bound
1927
as Sheila
The Unwritten Law
1932
as Ruth Evans
Only the Brave
1930
as Barbara Calhoun
The Social Lion
1930
as Cynthia Brown
The Light of Western Stars
1930
as Ruth Hammond
Brown of Harvard
1926
as Mary Abbot
The Enchanted Hill
1926
as Hallie Purdy
Dragnet
1947
as Anne Hogan
Affairs of Cappy Ricks
1937
as Frances 'Frankie' Ricks
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
1934
as Self
More Pay - Less Work
1926
as Betty Ricks
Black Waters
1929
as Eunice
Behind the Front
1926
as Betty Bartlett-Cooper
Danger! Women at Work
1943
as Pert
Killer at Large
1936
as Linda Allen
I Escaped from the Gestapo
1943
as Helen
The Runaround
1931
as Evelyn
It's Tough to Be Famous
1932
as Janet Porter McClenahan
Knockout Reilly
1927
as Mary Malone
Partners in Crime
1928
as Marie Burke, The Cigarette Girl
Paris at Midnight
1926
as Victorine Tallefer
The Street of Forgotten Men
1925
as Mary Vanhern
The Big Killing
1928
as Mary Beagle - Old Man Beagle's Daughter
He's a Prince!
1925
as Girl
Harold Teen
1928
as Lillums Lovewell
Once in a Million
1936
as Suzanne
One Year Later
1933
as Molly Collins
The Air Mail
1925
as Minnie Wade
Two's Company
1936
as Julia Madison
Two Flaming Youths
1927
as Mary Gilfoil
Burning Up
1930
as Ruth Morgan
Her Father Said No
1927
as Charlotte Hamilton
The Prince of Tempters
1926
as Mary
The Little French Girl
1925
as Alix Vervier
Noisy Silencers
2024
as (archive footage)
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 Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Mary Brian Movies
- College Rhythm (1934) — as Gloria Van Dayham
- Peter Pan (1924) — as Wendy Darling
- Girl Missing (1933) — as June Dale
- 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 Bowood.TV 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.