Anne Shirley
Already performing as a toddler barely out of diapers, Anne Shirley toiled in the entertainment world for approximately 25 years. That in itself was not so unusual, but few actors or actresses with that sort of longevity could say that they retired before their 27th birthday. After years of minor appearances in largely unremarkable projects, Shirley had her big break when cast as Lucy Maud Montgomery's beloved "Anne of Green Gables" (1934). While not all of her subsequent movies were memorable, Shirley was sometimes able to play more involved and interesting characters in fare like the classic "Stella Dallas" (1937), where her turn as star Barbara Stanwyck's daughter earned Shirley an Oscar nomination. In spite of that notoriety, RKO seemed content to mostly use the New York City native as sweet, uncomplicated nice girls in equally basic pictures, but the actress was able to revisit her most famous part in "Anne of Windy Poplars" (1940); "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1941) and the film noir thriller "Murder, My Sweet" (1944) also proved to be well above average. Tired of the industry and everything it entailed, she eventually decided to leave and remained mostly unheard from until her passing in 1993. Although she never really stretched herself much as an actress, Shirley was very good at pulling off the assignments for which she gained notice and her interpretation of Anne of Green Gables was able to stand the test of time.
Photos
Anne Shirley
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
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No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Make Mine Laughs | Unknown (Character) | - | 1949 |
89% |
|
Murder, My Sweet | Ann Grayle (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Man From Frisco | Diana Kennedy (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Music in Manhattan | Frankie Foster (Character) | - | 1944 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Government Girl | May Harness Blake (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet |
|
Bombardier | Burton Hughes (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Lady Bodyguard | A.C. Baker (Character) | - | 1943 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Mayor of 44th Street | Jessey Lee (Character) | - | 1942 |
100% |
|
The Devil and Daniel Webster | Mary Stone (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Unexpected Uncle | Kathleen Brown (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet |
|
Four Jacks and a Jill | Karanina 'Nina' Novak (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | West Point Widow | Nancy Hull (Character) | - | 1941 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Saturday's Children | Bobby Halevy (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet |
|
Vigil in the Night | Lucy Lee (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet |
|
Anne of Windy Poplars | Anne Shirley (Character) | - | 1940 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Career | Sylvia Bartholomew (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Boy Slaves | Unknown (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Sorority House | Alice Fisher (Character) | - | 1939 |
No Score Yet |
|
A Man to Remember | Jean Johnson (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Law of the Underworld | Annabelle Porter (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Girls' School | Natalie Freeman (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Condemned Women | Millie Anson (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mother Carey's Chickens | Nancy Carey (Character) | - | 1938 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Too Many Wives | Betty Jackson (Character) | - | 1937 |
82% |
|
Stella Dallas | Laurel Dallas (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Meet the Missus | Louise Foster (Character) | - | 1937 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Chatterbox | Jenny Yates (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Make Way for a Lady | June Drew (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | M'Liss | M'liss Smith (Character) | - | 1936 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Night at the Biltmore Bowl | Self | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet |
|
Steamboat 'Round the Bend | Fleety Belle (Character) | - | 1935 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Chasing Yesterday | Jeanne Alexandre (Character) | - | 1935 |
83% |
|
Anne of Green Gables | Anne Shirley (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Key | Flower Girl (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet |
|
Finishing School | Billie (Character) | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Private Lessons | Self | - | 1934 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Unknown (Character) | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Picture Palace | Unknown (Character) | - | 1933 |
No Score Yet |
|
Emma | Unknown (Character) | - | 1932 |
50% |
|
Rasputin and the Empress | Princess Anastasia (uncredited) (Character) | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet |
|
Young America | Mabel Saunders (Character) | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet |
|
So Big | Selina Peake (Character) | - | 1932 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gun Smoke | Horton's Daughter (Character) | - | 1931 |
63% |
|
City Girl | Marie Tustine (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet |
|
Liliom | Louise (Character) | - | 1930 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Callahans and the Murphys | Mary Callahan (Character) | - | 1927 |
No Score Yet |
|
Riders of the Purple Sage | Unknown (Character) | - | 1925 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Spanish Dancer | Don Balthazar Carlos (Character) | - | 1923 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Spanish Dancer | Don Balthazar Carlos (Character) | - | 1923 |