Cast
Bessie Love
Acting
Cast
Bessie Love
Known for
Acting
Born
1898-09-09
From
Midland, Texas, USA
Died
1986-04-26
Also known as Juanita Horton
Biography
Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916). During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywoodâs most promising young actresses. Love made a successful transition to sound filmsâsomething many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history. In the 1930s, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she continued acting in film, theatre, radio, and later television. Her career ultimately spanned from 1915 to 1983, making her one of the longestâworking performers of her generation. She died on April 26, 1986, in London at age 87.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
as Baccarat Player (uncredited)
Ragtime
as Old Lady - T.O.C.
The Hunger
as Lillybelle
Reds
as Mrs. Partlow
Vampyres
as American Lady
Lady Chatterley's Lover
as Flora
The Barefoot Contessa
as Mrs. Eubanks
Polly Ann
as Polly Ann
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
as Self (archive footage)
Bonnie May
as Bonnie May
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)
Lovey Mary
as Lovey Mary
Pegeen
as Pegeen O'Neill
Conspiracy
as Margaret Holt
New Brooms
The Swamp
as Mary
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
as Bunny
The Lost World
as Paula White
Dynamite Smith
as Violet
Good News
as Babe
Sunday Bloody Sunday
as Answering Service Lady
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
as Self
Catlow
as Mrs. Frost
The Ritz
as Maurine
No Highway in the Sky
as Plane Passenger (uncredited)
Cupid Forecloses
as Geraldine Farleigh
Children of the Damned
as Mrs. Robbin
The Magic Box
as Bride's Mother in Wedding Group
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
as American tourist (uncredited)
Isadora
as Mrs. Duncan
Human Wreckage
as Mary Finnegan
Mousey
as Mrs. Richardson
The Aryan
as Mary Jane Garth
The Broadway Melody
as Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney
See America Thirst
as Ellen
The Good Bad-Man
as Amy
Gulliver's Travels
as (voice)
Next to No Time
as Becky Wiener
Gentle Julia
as Julia
Sundown
as Ellen Crawley
Promise Her Anything
as Pet Shop Customer
The Idle Rich
as Helen Thayer
Touch and Go
as Mrs Baxter
Deserted at the Altar
as Anna Moore (The Country Girl)
The Story of Esther Costello
as Art Gallery Customer
Soul-Fire
as Teita
Round About Hollywood
as Self
Stranded
as The Girl
The Matinee Idol
as Ginger Bolivar
The Wild Affair
as Marjorie's Mother
Morals for Women
as Helen Hutson
Slave of Desire
as Pauline Gaudin
Nowhere to Go
as Harriet P. Jefferson
Too Young to Love
as Mrs. Busch
Souls for Sale
as Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)
The Weak and the Wicked
as Prisoner
Dress Parade
as Janet Cleghorne
The Village Blacksmith
as Rosemary Martin
The American
as Jane Wilton
Rubber Tires
as Mary Ellen Stack
The Pistol
as Martha Burroughs
The Woman on the Jury
as Grace Pierce
Mary of the Movies
as Herself (uncredited)
Battle Beneath the Earth
as Matron
A Son of His Father
as Nora Shea
Edward & Mrs. Simpson
as Lady Cunard
Night Life in Hollywood
as Self
The Heiress at Coffee Dan's
as Waffles
Torment
as Marie
They Learned About Women
as Mary
Wee Lady Betty
as Wee Lady Betty
A Yankee Princess
as Patsy O'Reilly
A Daughter of the Poor
as Rose Eastman
The Eternal Three
as Hilda Gray
The Flying Torpedo
as Hulda
The King On Main Street
as Mary Young
The Wishing Ring Man
as Joy Havenith
The Dawn of Understanding
as Sue Prescott
Three Who Paid
as John Caspar / Virginia Cartwright
The Vermilion Pencil
as Hyacinth
The Little Boss
as Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)
Chasing Rainbows
as Carlie Seymour
St. Elmo
as Edna Earle
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
as The Little Fish Blower
The Silent Watcher
as Mary, his wife
The Midlanders
as Aurelie Lindstrom
Going Crooked
as Marie
Bulldog Courage
as Gloria Phillips
The Girl in the Show
as Hattie Hartley
Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12
as Self
The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous
as Bernice
Journey Together
as Mrs. Mary McWilliams
Carolyn of the Corners
A Little Sister of Everybody
as Celeste Janvier
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?
as Mitzi Lavelle
Those Who Dance
as Veda Anargas
Young April
as Victoria
The Great Adventure
as Rags
Alice Guy-Blaché
as Self
The Song and Dance Man
as Leola Lane
The Sawdust Ring
as Janet Magie
Reggie Mixes In
as Agnes
The Sea Lion
as Blossom Nelson
How Could You, Caroline?
as Caroline Rogers
A Fighting Colleen
as Alannah Malone
London Scrapbook
as Herself
The Purple Dawn
as Mui Far
Sally of the Scandals
as Sally Rand
Tongues of Flame
as Lahleet
Forget Me Not
as Ann, The Girl
Hell-to-Pay Austin
as Briar Rose Dawson
Penny of Top Hill Trail
as Penny
Gareth Hughes
as Self (archive footage)
Atlantic Ferry
as Begonia Baggot
The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922
as Self
Cheerful Givers
as Judy
A Harp in Hock
as Nora Banks
Acquitted
as Helen Carter
The Enchanted Barn
as Shirley Hollister
The Spirit of the Lake
Over the Garden Wall
as Peggy Gordon
The Ghost Patrol
as Effie Kugler
A Sister of Six
as Prudence
Nina, the Flower Girl
as Nina
The Honor of Rameriz
as The Geologist's Wife
The Swell Head
I Think They Call Him John
as Narrator (voice)