Line #28 Creator/JeanArthur


1	[[quoteright:290:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jean_arthur_1930s_everett.jpg]]
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3	->''"It's a strenuous job every day of your life to live up to the way you look on the screen."''
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5	Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American film actress who began her career in [[UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfHollywood the silents]] but is best known for her comedic roles during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood. She appeared in many films; most famously as Creator/FrankCapra’s favorite wisecracking, down-to-earth heroines in ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'' and ''Film/MrDeedsGoesToTown''.
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7	After appearing in films for various studios in the 1920s and early '30s, Arthur had a brief stint on the Broadway stage before signing with Creator/ColumbiaPictures in 1934. Unfortunately, Columbia was headed by the notorious penny-pincher and all-around [[TheScrooge Scrooge]] Harry Cohn, who repeatedly angered her with subpar roles and needless suspensions – and, [[https://www.danspapers.com/2017/12/danny-peary-two-cheers-for-hollywood-joseph-mcbride/ she later implied to writer and film historian Joseph McBride]], included her among the list of actresses who he would routinely sexually harass. But she also made her best films for Columbia, claiming the throne as ''the'' matchless comedic leading lady. While she never won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, she was nominated for Best Actress for her role in ''Film/TheMoreTheMerrier''.
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9	Arthur was considered a recluse and rarely did interviews. She was naturally shy and never found the appeal of Hollywood fame. Asked if she would like to have an interview, Arthur replied, "Quite frankly, I'd rather have my throat slit." She also suffered from [[PerformanceAnxiety immense stage fright]], making her seem aloof or cold; however, her screen presence said the opposite: warm, outgoing, and inviting.
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11	Arthur went into semi-retirement after her Columbia contract expired in 1944, with her final film for the studio being ''The Impatient Years'', released that same year; after filming wrapped she reportedly ran through the studio backlot, shouting "I'm free, I'm free!" Over the next several years, she turned down virtually all film roles that were offered to her, with two exceptions: as a congresswoman and romantic rival of Creator/MarleneDietrich in Creator/BillyWilder's ''Film/AForeignAffair'' (1948), and as a homesteader's wife helped by Creator/AlanLadd in George Stevens's classic Western ''Film/{{Shane}}'' (1953), which turned out to be the biggest box-office hit of her career. The latter was her final film, and the only color film in which she appeared. After filming ''Shane'', she retired from the silver screen for good and went on Broadway; however, her insecurity would often get the best of her. In the mid-'60s she made a brief foray into television, guest starring in an episode of ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' and headlining the short-lived sitcom ''The Jean Arthur Show''.
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13	Her last days were spent in her home in Carmel, California. She died at the ripe age of 90.
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16	!!Select Jean Arthur films:
17	* ''Film/SevenChances'' (1925) - An extremely small, pre-stardom role where Arthur plays an engaged girl who rejects Creator/BusterKeaton's advances.
18	* ''Film/IfYouCouldOnlyCook'' (1935) - A Main/ScrewballComedy where Herbert Marshall is a millionaire who pretends to be a butler to Arthur's cook to help her get a job.
19	* ''Film/PublicHeroNumberOne'' (1935) - Arthur is a gangster's sister, and Chester Morris is the infiltrating cop trying to stop him.
20	* ''Film/TheWholeTownsTalking'' (1935) - Creator/EdwardGRobinson plays dual roles as a gangster, and the innocent clerk who looks like him. This film is considered Jean's StarMakingRole.
21	* ''Film/TheExMrsBradford'' (1936) - Paula Bradford tries to get her husband Brad (Creator/WilliamPowell) back by getting him involved with a murder.
22	* ''Film/MrDeedsGoesToTown'' (1936) - Creator/GaryCooper as Mr. Deeds, and Babe Bennett is the reporter who falls in love with him.
23	* ''Film/EasyLiving'' (1937) - A woman down on her luck finds a fur coat and HilarityEnsues. Creator/RayMilland co-stars.
24	* ''Film/HistoryIsMadeAtNight'' (1937) - A woman's evil husband tries to stop her from divorcing and finding love with a headwaiter. Creator/CharlesBoyer co-stars.
25	* ''Film/YouCantTakeItWithYou'' (1938) - A young woman's wacky family ruins her chances with her rich boyfriend, Creator/JimmyStewart. Also co-starring Creator/LionelBarrymore and Ann Miller.
26	* ''Film/OnlyAngelsHaveWings'' (1939) - An adventure story about pilots in South America. An adventuress falls for daring pilot Creator/CaryGrant. An early appearance of Creator/RitaHayworth.
27	* ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'' (1939) - An assistant to newly made congressman, Creator/JimmyStewart, knows more about the law then he does. Also includes Creator/ClaudeRains.
28	* ''Film/{{Arizona\|1940}}'' (1940) - A pioneer woman in 1860s Tucson struggles to succeed in the freight and cattle business while facing corrupt and violent local businessmen and rampaging Indians.
29	* ''Film/TooManyHusbands'' (1940) - A woman finds out her dead husband is alive and well, but she's remarried since. With Creator/FredMacMurray and Creator/MelvynDouglas.
30	* ''Film/TheDevilAndMissJones'' (1941) - A working woman tries to get her department store to unionize with the owner right under her nose.
31	* ''Film/TalkOfTheTown'' (1942) - A fugitive hides at a woman's house with a judge lodging there. Co-starring Creator/CaryGrant and Creator/RonaldColman.
32	* ''Film/TheMoreTheMerrier'' (1943) - A young woman takes in an old man during a housing shortage, and his antics cause havoc. Co-starring Creator/JoelMcCrea and Creator/CharlesCoburn.
33	* ''Film/AForeignAffair'' (1948) - A congresswoman falls in love with a Captain, who turns out to be a cad. Co-starring Creator/MarleneDietrich.
34	* ''Film/{{Shane}}'' (1953) - Co-starring Creator/AlanLadd.
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36	!!Tropes related to Arthur's film roles:
37	* TheCutie: Practically all of the roles in her career. Even when she was a MsFanservice, no one was convinced.
38	* DawsonCasting: She generally played women in their twenties while actually being in her mid-to-late thirties/forties.
39	* DeadpanSnarker: Her characters were wise-cracking and witty.
40	* DumbBlonde: Averted. Always played the smart-aleck type of girl who mostly hangs out with the boys.
41	* DyeHard: She dyed her natural brunette to blonde to avoid looking like an actress on the studio's lot and stuck with it.
42	* OlderThanTheyLook: Born in 1900, she was in her late-thirties, early-forties when she played her most famous roles, but could easily pass for her mid-twenties. She was ''fifty'' when she played the young mother in ''Film/{{Shane}}''
43	* OneOfTheBoys: Her most famous roles show her as this.
44	* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Most of her roles are women finding honest, good guys.
45	* ThoseTwoActors: With Creator/JimmyStewart, Creator/JoelMcCrea, and Creator/CaryGrant.
46	* WomenAreWiser: In films like ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'' and ''Film/MrDeedsGoesToTown'', she plays woman-of-the-world types, trying to teach these bumbling men how the real world works.

Context Creator / JeanArthur