Janet Gaynor

Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress and painter. She began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century-Fox) in 1926, she rose to fame and became one of the biggest box office draws of the era. In 1929, she was the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Frank Borzage’s 7th Heaven (1927), with Charles Farrell; F.W. Murnau‘s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), with George O’Brien and Margaret Livingston; and Bozage’s Street Angel (1928), This was the only occasion on which an actress has won one Oscar for multiple film roles. Gaynor’s career success continued into the sound film era, and she achieved a notable success in the original version of A Star Is Born (1937), with Fredric March; for which she received a second Best Actress Academy Award nomination.

Other notable films include The Man Who Came Back (1931), with Farrell and William Holden; Henry King‘s Carolina (1934), with Lionel Barrymore, Robert Young, Stepin Fetchit and Shirley Temple; John G. Blystone’s Change of Heart (1934), with James Dunn and Ginger Rogers; Victor Fleming‘s The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935), with Henry Fonda (in his film debut) and Charles Bickford; William A. Wellman’s Small Town Girl (1936), with Robert Taylor, and James Stewart; Edward H. Griffith’s Ladies in Love (1936), with Constance Bennett, Loretta Young, Simone Simon, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas, and Tyrone Power; and Richard Wallace’s The Young in Heart (1938), with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Paulette Goddard, Roland Young, and Billie Burke

After retiring from acting in 1939, Gaynor married film costume designer Adrian with whom she had a son. She briefly returned to acting in films and television in the 1950s and later became an accomplished oil painter. Her last film role was in Henry Levin’s Borderline (1957), with Pat Boone, Terry Moore, Dean Jagger, and Dick Sargent. In 1980, Gaynor made her Broadway debut in the stage adaptation of the 1971 film Harold and Maude and appeared in the touring theatrical production of On Golden Pond in February 1982. In September 1982, she sustained multiple injuries when the taxicab in which she and others were passengers was struck by a drunken driver. These injuries eventually caused her death in September 1984.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Cupid’s Rustlers (1924) – directed by Francis Ford – uncredited – short
Young Ideas (1924) – directed by Robert F. Hill – uncredited – short
All Wet (1924) – directed by Leo McCarey – uncredited – short
The Haunted Honeymoon (1925) – directed by Fred Guiol & Ted Wilde – uncredited – short
Dangerous Innocence (1925) – directed by William A. Seiter – uncredited – lost
The Burning Trail (1925) – directed by Arthur Rosson – uncredited
The Teaser (1925) – directed by William A. Seiter – uncredited – lost
The Plastic Age (1925) – directed by Wesley Ruggles – uncredited
Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ (1925) – directed by Fred Niblo – uncredited
The Crook Buster (1925) – directed by William Wyler – short
Flaming Flappers (1925) – directed by Fred Guiol – uncredited
A Punch in the Nose (1926) – directed by J.A. Howe – uncredited
The Johnstown Flood (1926) – directed by Irving Cummings
Oh! What a Nurse! (1926) – directed by Charles Reisner – uncredited
The Gunless Bad Man (1926) – directed by William Wyler – short
Ridin’ for Love (1926) – directed by William Wyler – short
Skinner’s Dress Suit (1926) – directed by William A. Seiter – uncredited
Fade Away Foster (1926) – directed by Vin Moore – uncredited – short
The Shamrock Handicap (1926) – directed by John Ford
The Galloping Cowboy (1926) – directed by William James Craft
The Man in the Saddle (1926) – directed by Lynn Reynolds & Clifford Smith – uncredited – lost
Don’t Shoot (1926) – directed by William Wyler – short
The Midnight Kiss (1926) – directed by Irving Cummings – lost
Pep of the Lazy J (1926) – directed by Victor Noerdlinger – short
The Blue Eagle (1926) – directed by John Ford – partially lost
The Return of Peter Grimm (1926) – directed by Victor Schertzinger
Martin of the Mountain (1926) – directed by William Wyler – uncredited – short
Lazy Lightning (1926) – directed by William Wyler
45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926) – directed by Fred Guiol – uncredited – short
The Stolen Ranch (1926) – directed by William Wyler
7th Heaven (1927) – directed by Frank Borzage
The Horse Trader (1927) – directed by William Wyler – uncredited – short
With Love and Hisses (1927) – directed by Fred Guiol
2 Girls Wanted (1927) – directed by Alfred E. Green – lost
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) – directed by F.W. Murnau
Street Angel (1928) – directed by Frank Borzage
4 Devils (1928) – directed by F.W. Murnau – lost
Lucky Star (1929) – directed by Frank Borzage
Happy Days (1929) – directed by Benjamin Stoloff
Christina (1929) directed by William K. Howard – part talkie – lost
Sunny Side Up (1929) – directed by David Butler
High Society Blues (1930) – directed by David Butler
The Man Who Came Back (1931) – directed by Raoul Walsh
Daddy Long Legs (1931) – directed by Alfred Santell
Merely Mary Ann (1931) – directed by Henry King
Delicious (1931) – directed by David Butler
The First Year (1932) – directed by William K. Howard
Tess of the Storm Country (1932) – directed by Alfred Santell
State Fair (1933) – directed by Henry King
Adorable (1933) – directed by William Dieterle
Paddy the Next Best Thing (1933) – directed by Harry Lachman
Carolina (1934) – directed by Henry King
Change of Heart (1934) – John G. Blystone
Servants’ Entrance (1934) – directed by Frank Lloyd (with an animated sequence by Walt Disney)
One More Spring (1935) – directed by Henry King
The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935) – directed by Victor Fleming
Small Town Girl (1936) – directed by William A. Wellman
Ladies in Love (1936) – directed by Edward H. Griffith
A Star Is Born (1937) – directed by William A. Wellman
Three Loves Has Nancy (1938) – directed by Richard Thorpe
The Young in Heart (1938) – directed by Richard Wallace
Bernardine (1957) – directed by Henry Levin

Share this: