Vera James Explained

Vera James Munro (born Vera Gwendoline James, 2 April 1892 – 19 October 1980) was a New Zealand actress who worked in theatre and film. In 1929 she appeared in the first all-talking, all-colour feature length movie ever made, Warner Bros On with the Show!, and was already well known for starring in A Girl of the Bush in 1921.

Biography

James was born Vera Gwendoline James on 2 April 1892, the daughter of William Francis James and Alice Jane James (née Hill) of Dunedin, New Zealand.[1] [2] She moved to Australia in 1919 and appeared in two films for Franklyn Barrett.[3] The first was A Girl of the Bush,[4] [5] which was screened in both Australia and New Zealand.[6] Her performance in the lead role was widely praised for the versatility of her acting, her mimicry, feats of horsemanship, and her good looks.[7] She had learned to ride horses and swim in order to land the role.[8] The second film was Know Thy Child,[9] in which James' character was first shown at the age of seventeen, then aged twenty-five, and finally aged about forty; "in each age she plays the part with restraint and dramatic skill".[10]

After these successes, James moved to Hollywood in 1922,[11] with her new husband, Arthur Henry Munro,[12] [13] who she had married on 29 June 1921 at the Presbyterian Church, Neutral Bay, Sydney.[14] In Hollywood, James appeared in a B-Western, McGuire of the Mounted (1923), playing a member of a drug smuggling gang who was married to the hero while he was doped.[15] [16] She was cast in Bavu (1923), and appeared in pre-release publicity images,[17] [18] [19] but does not appear in the cast list of the final release. James also had supporting roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923),[19] [5] The Radio Detective (1925) (a serial),[5] [20] Three Wise Men (1925) with Janet Gaynor and Ben Corbett,[21] Fade-Away Foster (1926),[5] and On with the Show! which was the first all-colour, all-talking full-length movie in history.[12] [19] She was one of the few New Zealand actors to find some fame in Hollywood at the time.[22]

In 1928 she appeared in a production of the operetta The Desert Song. The Los Angeles Times described her as "not only pleasing to gaze upon, but is possessed of a beautiful contralto voice".[23]

In 1929, she travelled back to Australia and New Zealand, intending to return to Hollywood the following year.[19] [24] [25] However, there is no evidence that she did.[1] [12] [19] She was offered parts after returning to Australia, but always turned them down.[26] She went on to manage a beauty salon in Sydney. She died on 19 October 1980 in Sydney.

Credits

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: A New Zealand girl . Auckland Star . LX . 158 . 6 July 1929 . Supplement.
  2. Web site: Birth search: registration number 1892/6191 . Births, deaths & marriages online . Department of Internal Affairs . 19 November 2018.
  3. News: Footlight flashes . . 1626 . New South Wales, Australia . 6 March 1921 . 16 November 2018 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
  4. Book: Stratton . David . The last new wave: the Australian film revival . 1980 . Angus & Robertson . 9780207141461 . 2 . 17 November 2018.
  5. Web site: Memory! 3rd edition International Film Heritage Festival . Memory Film Festival . 18 November 2018 . Yangon, Myanmar . 64.
  6. News: New York Goes to Bed. . . Sydney, NSW . 17 April 1921 . 4 October 2014 . 22 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: MISS VERA JAMES . 17 November 2018 . Evening Star . 17630 . 8 April 1921 . 4.
  8. News: Out of the Silents, A Flashback to 1921. Frizell. Helen. 6 June 1975. The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 November 2018. Newspapers.com.
  9. Book: Edmondson . Ray . Pike . Andrew . Australia's Lost Films: The Loss and Rescue of Australia's Silent Cinema . 1982 . National Library of Australia . Canberra . 9780642992512 . 51 . 17 November 2018.
  10. News: The Grand to-night: Know Thy Child . 17 November 2018 . Hawera and Normanby Star . XLIII: XLIII . 21 January 1924 . 8.
  11. Vera James . Camera! . April 1922 – April 1923 . 20 . 17 November 2018 . Raymond Cannon . Los Angeles, California.
  12. News: Talkie Trials : Experience of N.Z. Actress . . 5796 . New South Wales, Australia . 7 June 1929 . 16 November 2018 . 18 (FINAL EXTRA) . National Library of Australia.
  13. News: Theatredom and Movie Gossip. . . 408 . Western Australia . 10 March 1922 . 16 November 2018 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  14. News: Marriages . Otago Daily Times . 9 July 1921 . 8 . 19 November 2018.
  15. Kelly . Mary . McGuire of the Mounted . Moving Picture World . 14 July 1923 . 157 . 17 November 2018.
  16. News: Irene . "M'Guire of the Mounted" not that kind of a film . 17 November 2018 . Daily News . 6 July 1923 . New York . 21.
  17. Three New Universal Films Nearly Ready . Moving Picture World . 17 February 1923 . 701 . 17 November 2018.
  18. News: "Bavu" Here Friday and Saturday is Great Russian Melodrama Which Has Thrills and Mystery Galore . 17 November 2018 . The Brookville American . 30 August 1923 . Brookville, Pennsylvania . 8.
  19. News: Hollywood from the inside . . Sydney, NSW . 23 June 1929 . 4 October 2014 . 23 . National Library of Australia.
  20. 'Studio and Stage', Los Angeles Times 15 Sep 1925: A11.
  21. 'Mary Pickford Premiere Set for Thursday', Los Angeles Times 16 Oct 1925: A9.
  22. News: A tour through the United States and Canada . Lake County Press . 3065 . 6 November 1924.
  23. 'Vera James Known as Contralto too', Los Angeles Times 5 July 1928: A11.
  24. News: Social and personal . 17 November 2018 . Evening Star . 20316 . 26 October 1929 . Dunedin, New Zealand . 26.
  25. Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 106.
  26. News: Vera gives up a lead role. 26 October 1980. The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 November 2018. Newspapers.com.

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