Movie Star Mystery Photo

Posted on April 17, 2009 by lmharnisch

April 13, 2009, Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Aileen Pringle in the play "Tons of Money," 1932.

Our mystery movie star of the week is Aileen Pringle, Please congratulate Diane Ely, Floradora, Bob Birchard, Dewey Webb, Peter Mintun, Dru Duniway, Cynthia Keillor, Sam, R. Ahuna and Alekszandr for correctly identifying her.

Check back Monday for another mystery photo!

Just
a reminder on how this works: I post the mystery photo on Monday and
reveal the answer on Friday. To keep the mystery photo from getting
lost in the other entries, I move it from Monday to Tuesday to
Wednesday, etc., adding a photo every day.

I have to approve
all comments, so if your guess is posted immediately, that means you're
wrong. (And if a wrong guess has already been submitted by someone
else, there's no point in submitting it again.) If you're right, you
will have to wait until Friday. There's no need to submit your guess
five times. Once is enough. The only prize is bragging rights. 

The answer to last week's photo: Diana Sands.

Movie Star Mystery Photo

Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Aileen Pringle, 1932.

Here's another photo of our mystery woman. Please congratulate Anne Papineau, Eve Golden and Diane Ely for identifying her. This print was butchered down to a one-column mug shot. Isn't it a great photo?

April 15, 2009, Mystery Photo
Los Angeles Times file photo

Update: Aileen Pringle and Helen Johnson in "Soldiers and Women," 1930.

April 16, 2009. Mystery Photo
Los Angeles Times file photo

Aileen Pringle, 1934. Her Mexican divorce caused trouble for ex-husband Charles McKenzie because it was not recognized under English law.

 
Aileen Pringle
Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

Aileen Pringle discusses divorce from novelist James M. Cain, Sept. 5, 1946.

Aileen Pringle, 94; Star of Silent Screen

December 19, 1989

Aileen Pringle, an urbane socialite who became a
silent-screen star and the darling of such literary figures as H. L.
Mencken and George Jean Nathan, died Saturday in her Manhattan home
where she had entertained regularly since her retirement from movies
nearly 50 years ago.

She was 94.

Miss Pringle played
leading roles in more than 60 films. Two of her best known–"His Hour"
and "Three Weeks"–were based on scripts by Elinor Glyn. Miss Glyn had
hand-picked Miss Pringle for the latter role, that of a sensual heroine.

Known
for her sometimes off-color wisecracks as the silent camera captured
her movements, she was credited with a notable piece of Hollywood lore.

According
to the book "The Movies," Miss Pringle and Conrad Nagel were filming a
scene from "Three Weeks" in which he was carrying her horizontally. Her
lips are seen to move and, according to the book, she was not
whispering words of endearment to Nagel but was saying, "If you drop
me, you bastard, I'll break your neck."

Her other leading men included John Gilbert in adventure movies and Lew Cody in domestic farces.

Among
her other films were "Souls for Sale," "Earthbound," "Wife of the
Centaur," "A Kiss in the Dark," "Soul Mates," "Beau Broadway" and
"Puttin' on the Ritz."

She continued in films after the advent of sound but never with the impact of her earlier pictures.

She made brief appearances in two films of the 1940s, "Laura" and "Since You Went Away," before retiring.

Born
Aileen Bisbee in San Francisco to a wealthy family, she was educated in
private schools in Europe and first went on the stage in 1915. Her
first film was "Redhead" in 1919.

Her first husband was Charles
McKenzie Pringle, son of a former governor of Jamaica, and her second
was James M. Cain, author of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and
"Mildred Pierce." Both marriages ended in divorce, the second in 1946
after less than a year. Cain died in 1977.

Unknown's avatar

About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times
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60 Responses to Movie Star Mystery Photo

  1. Anne Papineau's avatar Anne Papineau says:
    April 13, 2009 at 9:09 am

    Eileen Pringle?

    Like

  2. Anne Papineau's avatar Anne Papineau says:
    April 13, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Dorothy Sebastian?

    Like

  3. Eve's avatar Eve says:
    April 13, 2009 at 9:52 am

    Hmmm, is she Aileen Pringle?

    Like

  4. Nick Santa Maria's avatar Nick Santa Maria says:
    April 13, 2009 at 9:57 am

    Dorothy Sebastion.

    Like

  5. Mary Mallory's avatar Mary Mallory says:
    April 13, 2009 at 11:48 am

    Evelyn Brent.

    Like

  6. Diane Ely's avatar Diane Ely says:
    April 13, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Aileen Pringle?

    Like

  7. Sam's avatar Sam says:
    April 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    Viola Dana

    Like

  8. Cynthia Keillor's avatar Cynthia Keillor says:
    April 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    Mary Alden.

    Like

  9. Kitty's avatar Kitty says:
    April 13, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Marion Davies

    Like

  10. Sam's avatar Sam says:
    April 13, 2009 at 3:01 pm

    BEBE DANIELS

    Like

  11. Nancy's avatar Nancy says:
    April 13, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    Ethel Merman

    Like

  12. Edward Cradduck's avatar Edward Cradduck says:
    April 14, 2009 at 8:28 am

    Could be silent star Bessie Love?

    Like

  13. annie frye's avatar annie frye says:
    April 14, 2009 at 9:15 am

    Vilma Banky?

    Like

  14. Eliza's avatar Eliza says:
    April 14, 2009 at 9:32 am

    Chloe Sevigny. It’s gotta be.

    Like

  15. Danielle's avatar Danielle says:
    April 14, 2009 at 10:39 am

    Margaret Hamilton?

    Like

  16. Mary Mallory's avatar Mary Mallory says:
    April 14, 2009 at 10:52 am

    June Collyer.

    Like

  17. Richard Heft's avatar Richard Heft says:
    April 14, 2009 at 11:50 am

    Una Merkel?

    Like

  18. Floradora's avatar Floradora says:
    April 14, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    Aileen Pringle

    Like

  19. Claire Lockhart's avatar Claire Lockhart says:
    April 14, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    Natalie Moorhead

    Like

  20. Eve's avatar Eve says:
    April 14, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    Claire, even though you didn’t guess right, I am incredibly impressed that you are one of the 1 in 100 people who can correctly spell Natalie Moorhead’s name!

    Like

  21. frieda406's avatar frieda406 says:
    April 14, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    danielle, i had the identical thought: margaret hamilton, i’ll copy you and go w/MH

    Like

  22. Gerry's avatar Gerry says:
    April 14, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    gale sondergaard

    Like

  23. cody's avatar cody says:
    April 14, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    mae west

    Like

  24. annie frye's avatar annie frye says:
    April 14, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Is it not Renee Adoree? I couldn’t find it in the comments.

    Like

  25. Jane Bryant's avatar Jane Bryant says:
    April 14, 2009 at 7:50 pm

    Gracie Allen?

    Like

  26. Joan Compagno-Wright's avatar Joan Compagno-Wright says:
    April 14, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Helen Broderick?

    Like

  27. Sharon's avatar Sharon says:
    April 15, 2009 at 5:58 am

    Fanny Bruce?

    Like

  28. Mark 64's avatar Mark 64 says:
    April 15, 2009 at 7:23 am

    Miriam Hopkins?

    Like

  30. Judge Crater's avatar Judge Crater says:
    April 15, 2009 at 8:03 am

    Laura LaPlante

    Like

  31. Sonny King's avatar Sonny King says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:01 am

    Katharine Alexander

    Like

  32. william's avatar william says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:14 am

    norma talmadge

    Like

  33. william's avatar william says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:14 am

    norma talmadge

    Like

  34. Bob Birchard's avatar Bob Birchard says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:21 am

    It is Aileen Pringle

    Like

  35. Bob Birchard's avatar Bob Birchard says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:27 am

    It is Aileen Pringle

    Like

  36. Dewey Webb's avatar Dewey Webb says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:34 am

    Aileen Pringle

    Like

  37. Gabriel Cazes Boezio's avatar Gabriel Cazes Boezio says:
    April 15, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Is she Miss Ann Q. Nilson?

    Like

  38. jany's avatar jany says:
    April 15, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Vera Ralston

    Like

  39. Allison Berntsen's avatar Allison Berntsen says:
    April 15, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Natalie Moorhead?

    Like

  40. DJ Murphy's avatar DJ Murphy says:
    April 15, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Looks like Helen Hayes.

    Like

  41. Mary Mallory's avatar Mary Mallory says:
    April 15, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Irene Rich.

    Like

  42. Elizabeth Berger's avatar Elizabeth Berger says:
    April 15, 2009 at 10:41 am

    I guess its Myrna Loy.

    Like

  43. Wally's avatar Wally says:
    April 15, 2009 at 11:27 am

    Vivian Vance ???

    Like

  44. Heather McKeag's avatar Heather McKeag says:
    April 15, 2009 at 11:28 am

    Ethel Barrymore?

    Like

  45. annie frye's avatar annie frye says:
    April 15, 2009 at 12:34 pm

    Ann Harding might be the mystery compansion

    Like

  47. Vegas_Dave's avatar Vegas_Dave says:
    April 15, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    Trisha Davis

    Like

  48. Clariece J's avatar Clariece J says:
    April 15, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    Ethel Barrymore?

    Like

  49. David P. Nelson's avatar David P. Nelson says:
    April 15, 2009 at 1:31 pm

    Clair Dodd?

    Like

  50. Gary Martin's avatar Gary Martin says:
    April 15, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    How about Ruth Etting?

    Like

  51. Kylene's avatar Kylene says:
    April 16, 2009 at 4:01 am

    Laura La Plante?

    Like

  52. Dru Duniway's avatar Dru Duniway says:
    April 16, 2009 at 11:12 am

    Aileen Pringle

    Like

  53. Cynthia Keillor's avatar Cynthia Keillor says:
    April 16, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    Aileen Pringle.

    Like

  54. Tiffney's avatar Tiffney says:
    April 16, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    Lilyan Tashman?

    Like

  55. Joan Y. Compagno's avatar Joan Y. Compagno says:
    April 16, 2009 at 7:41 pm

    Fifi Dorsay

    Like

  56. Joan Y. Compagno's avatar Joan Y. Compagno says:
    April 16, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    Louise Brooks?

    Like

  57. Sam's avatar Sam says:
    April 16, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    Aileen Pringle

    Like

  58. Rahuna's avatar Rahuna says:
    April 16, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    Aileen Pringle.

    Like

  59. Alekszandr's avatar Alekszandr says:
    April 16, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    Aileen Pringle?

    Like

  60. Stacia's avatar Stacia says:
    December 16, 2009 at 4:39 pm

    I obviously missed this the first time around, but I wanted to mention the file photo of Aileen that’s listed as 1932 is actually probably 1929. She’s in the same black and silver sequined gown that she wears in “Night Parade” which released in 1929, so I assume that’s a promo photo for that specific film.

    Like

Comments are closed.