Betty Compson filmography


This page has most if not all of Betty Compson's known film appearances 1915–48. Films from 1915 to 1919 are shorts, mostly for Al Christie unless otherwise stated. A big breakout came in 1919 with The Miracle Man now lost. In the early-to-mid 1920s Compson was a major player at Paramount with her name above the title of her films. By the end of the decade she was free-lancing and appearing as feature and support with name below the title of the film. Her star definitely took a fall somewhere after marrying director James Cruze, and she would remain a feature support into the sound era for the rest of her film career.

Shorts

YearTitleRoleNotes
1915The Leading Lady
1915Their Quiet HoneymoonBetty – 1st Newlywed
1915Where the Heather BloomsLady Mary
1915Love and a SavageBetty
1915Some ChaperoneBetty – the 1st Daughter
1916Jed's Trip to the FairLizzie
1916Mingling SpiritsMrs. Newlywed
1916Her Steady CarfareBetty
1916A Quiet Supper for FourMrs. Newlywed
1916When the Losers WonMrs. Newlywed
1916Her Friend, the DoctorMary West
1916Cupid Trims his LordshipBetty – the Daughter
1916When Lizzie Disappeared
1916The Deacon's WaterlooBetty – the Girl
1916Love and VaccinationThe Doctor's Sister
1916A Friend, But a Star Boarder
1916The Janitor's Busy DayBetty Hammond
1916He Almost ElopedBetty – Billie's Roommate
1916A Leap Year TangleBetty – One of the Girls – Eddie's Sweetheart
1916Eddie's Night OutBetty Newlywed
1916The Newlyweds' Mix-UpMrs. Newlywed
1916Lem's College CareerMary
1916Potts Bungles AgainBetty
1916He's a DevilBetty – Eddie's Sweetheart
1916The Wooing of Aunt JemimaBetty
1916Her Celluloid HeroBetty – the Actor's Sweetheart
1916All Over a StockingThe Stenographer
1916Wanted: A HusbandThe Wife
1916Almost a WidowMrs. Gordon
1916The Browns See the FairThe Train Passenger
1916His BabyBetty – the Peach
1916Inoculating HubbyWifie
1916Those Primitive DaysHeela Hoola
1916The Making Over of MotherMrs. Newlywed
1916He Wouldn't TipThe Pippin
1916That Doggone BabWifie Parker
1916He Loved the LadiesMrs. Gordon
1916When Clubs Were TrumpsWifie Parker
1916Dad's MasterpieceBetty Morton
1916Nearly a HeroBetty – the Sheriff's Daughter
1916A Brass-Buttoned Romance
1916Her Sun-Kissed HeroThe Peach
1916Some Kid
1916Sea NymphsBetty – the Wife
1916Hist! At Six O'ClockTillie de Vamp
1916Cupid's UppercutBetty
1916Lovers and LunaticsBetty Grey
1917Her Crooked CareerThe Girl
1917Her Friend, the ChauffeurThe Girl
1917Small ChangeThe Girl
1917Hubby's Night OutWifey
1917Out for the Coin
1917As Luck Would Have It
1917Sauce for the Goose
1917Suspended Sentence
1917Father's Bright Idea
1917His Last Pill
1917Those Wedding Bells
1917Almost a Scandal
1917A Bold, Bad Knight
1917Five Little WidowsBetty Morgan
1917Down by the Sea
1917Won in a Cabaret
1917A Smoky Love Affair
1917Crazy by Proxy
1917Betty's Big Idea
1917Almost a Bigamist
1917Love and Locksmiths
1917Nearly a PapaMrs. Gordon
1917Almost Divorced
1917Betty Wakes UpSally
1917Their Seaside Tangle
1917Help! Help! Police!
1917Cupid's CamouflageBetty
1918Many a Slip
1918Whose Wife?
1918Circumstantial Evidence
1918Here Comes the Groom
1918Somebody's Baby
1918Betty's AdventureBetty
1918Never Surprise Your Wife
1918All Dressed Up
1918The SheriffSchool teacher
1922A Trip to ParamountownHerself
1931Hollywood HalfbacksHerself
1934No Sleep on the DeepMrs. Eldridge
1934The Watchman Takes a WifeMolly Clyde

Features

Silent Films: 1918–1929

Sound Films: 1928–1931

YearTitleRoleStudioNotes
1928The BarkerCarrieFirst NationalPart-talkie; Nomination—Academy Award for Best Actress
1929Weary RiverAlice GrayFirst NationalPart-talkie
1929On with the ShowNitaWarner Bros.Filmed in Technicolor;first all-talking, all-color picture; survives in black and white
1929The Time, the Place and the GirlDoris WardWarner Bros.Lost
1929Street GirlFrederika JoyzelleRKOFirst film made by RKO
1929Skin DeepSadie RogersWarner Bros.Lost
1929The Great GabboMarySono Art-WorldOriginally contained sequences in Multicolor
1929Woman to WomanDeloryce/LolaGainsborough
1929The Show of ShowsHerselfWarner Bros.Originally shot in Technicolor
1929Blaze o' GloryHelen WilliamsSono Art-WorldLost; Soundtrack survives
1930BabkaRKOLost
1930Isle of EscapeStellaWarner Bros.Lost; Fragment totalling 40 seconds survives
1930Those Who DanceKittyWarner Bros.
1930The Czar of BroadwayConnie ColtonUniversal
1930Midnight MysterySally WayneRKO
1930Inside the LinesJane GershonRKO
1930The SpoilersCherry MalotteParamount
1930She Got What She WantedMahynaTiffanyLost
1930The Boudoir DiplomatHeleneUniversal
1931The Lady RefusesJuneRKO
1931The Virtuous HusbandInez WakefieldUniversal
1931Three Who LovedHelga Larson HansonRKO
1931The Gay DiplomatBaroness Alma CorriRKO

Films 1932–1948