Alma Lloyd

Alma Lloyd (April 3, 1914 in Los Angeles – June 14, 1988 in Santa Barbara) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles in If I Were King as Colette, Song of the Saddle as Jen Coburn, and The Big Noise as Betty Trent.[1]

Alma Lloyd
Born(1914-04-03)April 3, 1914
Los Angeles, California, USA
DiedJune 14, 1988(1988-06-14) (aged 74)
Santa Barbara, California, USA
Years active1933 - 1941

Family background and personal life

Lloyd was the daughter of film director Frank Lloyd.[2] She was the only child of Frank and his wife Alma Haller, who was a vaudeville actress.[3]

On November 11, 1939, she and actor, playwright Franklin Gray were married in Los Angeles.[4] They had met five years earlier on a theater guild production.[5] She left acting to raise a family. She had four children, Christopher who was born in 1942, Antonia born in 1947, Jonathan born in 1951 and Miranda who was born in 1954.[6]

She died on June 14, 1988, aged 74. Her last place of residence was in California.[7]

Her daughter Antonia aka Tonia Guerrero is a retired teacher and translator who as of 2008 was living in Santa Barbara. She has been vocal about preserving the older films as well as introducing Frank Lloyd's films. Two of Alma Lloyd's other children Christopher Gray and Miranda Gray are involved in film. Chris makes documentary films and Miranda is a film editor.[8][9]

Career

Prior to her adult film entry, she had acted on stage and had done reasonably well. She had started out at the Pasadena Community Playhouse. She had also had a couple of acting roles as a child with one in a film that her father was in, playing a villain.[10] In July 1935, she was signed up by Warner Brothers in a long term contract.[11] In late 1935, along with, among others, Kay Linaker, June Travis, Paula Stone, and Marie Wilson, she was picked for stardom. It was predicted that she along with them would be a fully fledged star by 1938.[12] Also that year, she was pictured in the May 22 edition of the Nashua Telegraph presenting a winners trophy to athlete Frank Wykoff.[13]

In an article that ran in the Chicago Daily Tribune, March 13, 1936 edition, she said that her father was a burden to her career. She said that he embarrassed her friends with his questions, checking up on her and asking people such as Guy Kibbee if she had any talent. She also said that his taking her out and showing her off was affecting her studying her lines and doing her rehearsals.[14]

Film work

At the age of eleven she had a small part in The Wise Guy which her father directed.[15]

She was the co-star of the Louis King directed film Song of the Saddle. She played the part of Jen Coburn. This film which was released in 1936 also starred Dick Foran and Charles Middleton.[16][17] Her role contributed to the appeal of the film.[18] In the 1936 film The Big Noise aka Modern Madness, she played Betty Trent, a young woman who falls in love with her father's business partner Warren Hull, played by Ken Mitchell. The film plot also involves an extortion plot by gangsters who attempt to get money from her father and her lover.[19][20] In the November 27 edition of The Lewiston Daily Sun, she was listed along with Claude Rains, Olivia de Havilland and Steffi Duna as the latest cast editions to the Warner Bros. film Anthony Adverse.[21] She played the part of Florence Udney as an adult in the film.[22][23] She had prepared for the role and put in time studying day and night for her role. According to her co-stars, the director and producer, her work was noteworthy. Her scenes with Fredric March were said to be particular outstanding. The publicity prior to the film's completion indicated or predicted that her part would be one of the most brilliant in the production. When she attended the film's preview with her parents and friends, she was shocked to discover that all of her work had been cut from the film. The reason given was one of excessive footage.[24][25] Apparently what had happened to Alma Lloyd in Anthony Adverse had happened to other actors in other films. Similarly Valerie Hobson had her work cut from Great Expectations as did Sara Haden with her work in A Midsummer Nights Dream.[26][27]

1937 onwards

In 1938, even though she was one of the principal supporting actors,[28][29] and even though an important role,[30] it was less prominent than usual featured role as Colette in the film If I Were King.[31] It was both directed and produced by her father Frank Lloyd.[32] In spite of her star which earlier appeared to be on the rise with a co-starring role like she had in Song of the Saddle,[33] and unlike Ellen Drew who also acted with her in If I Were King,[34] her career slowed down.

Filmography
Film
Title Year Role Director Notes #
Oliver Twist 1922 ? Frank Lloyd
The Wise Guy 1926 ? Frank Lloyd
Jimmy and Sally 1933 Mary James Tinling
Stars Over Broadway 1935 Girl with Joan at Luigi's William Keighley Uncredited
Dangerous 1935 Nurse Behind Counter Alfred E. Green Uncredited
Freshman Love 1936 Sandra William C. McGann
Song of the Saddle 1936 Jen Coburn Louis King Co-star
Colleen 1936 Nurse Alfred E. Green Uncredited
Snowed Under 1936 Silent Secretary in Outer Office Ray Enright Uncredited
The Singing Kid 1936 Receptionist William Keighley Uncredited
I Married a Doctor 1936 Fern Winters Archie Mayo
Times Square Playboy 1936 Blonde Information Desk Clerk William C. McGann Uncredited
The Golden Arrow 1936 Telephone Girl Alfred E. Green Uncredited
Bullets or Ballots 1936 Woman in Curlers Who Won William Keighley Uncredited
The Big Noise 1936 Betty Trent Frank McDonald Key actor
The White Angel 1936 Nurse William Dieterle Uncredited
Public Enemy's Wife 1936 Telephone Operator Nick Grinde Uncredited
Anthony Adverse 1936 (adult Florence)[35] Mervyn LeRoy, Michael Curtiz Uncredited
If I Were King 1938 Collette Frank Lloyd
Bullets for O'Hara 1941 Switchboard Operator William K. Howard Uncredited, (final film role)
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References
  1. "Alma Loyd". IMDb. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  2. "Director Lloyd Is No Hero to His Daughter", Chicago Tribune, March 13, 1936.
  3. The Indianapolis Star March 17, 1999 Page 10 Family History Includes Oscar
  4. Milwaukee News-Sentinel Sunday, November 12, 1939 A-Page 3 Filmland Bride
  5. Credit-NEA and ACME Publicity photo L.A. 528513 - Dated 11-07-1939 - Title - PRODUCER'S DAUGHTER AND PLAYWRIGHT FIANCE HOLLYWOOD CAL,
  6. Those obscure objects of desire Alma LLoyd
  7. Moose Toots Alma Lloyd Gray - Death Record California Archived 2017-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Frank LLoyd Films Revealed: The incredible story of Scotland's most successful filmmaker Nov 8 2008 By Tom Hamilton
  9. The Indianapolis Star March 17, 1999 Page 10 Family History Includes Oscar
  10. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tuesday July 30, 1935 Page 8 Warners Sign Directors Kin, Frank Lloyd's Daughter, Alma, Gets Long-Term-Contract. By Eileen Percy
  11. The Milwaukee Sentinel July 30, 1935 Directors Daughter Becomes an Actress Alma Lloyd Wins Contract; Made Good on Stage First By Eileen Percy
  12. Milwaukee Sentinel December 4, 1935 Bright Future For Six Actresses
  13. The Nashua Telegraph Friday May 22, 1936 Hitting the Comeback Trail
  14. Chicago Tribune March 13, 1936 Page 28 Director Lloyd Is No Hero to His Daughter By George Shaffer
  15. Motion Picture Magazine Feb-Jul 1926 Page 53 Answer Man, Joe Frank Cobb Answers the questions
  16. King of the Cowboys, Queen of the West: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans - Raymond E. White Page 119 Song of the Saddle
  17. Motion Picture Herald, 123 Page 56 Cast
  18. Motion Picture Daily Jan-Mar 1936 The Picture Of The Week
  19. Wild Bill Elliott: A Complete Filmography - Gene Blottner Page 158 The Big Noise
  20. Herald-Journal July 5, 1936 Page 8 Comedy-Drama At The State
  21. The Lewiston Daily Sun Wednesday Morning, November 27, 1935 Page Four From The Studios, Production Jots
  22. The Indianapolis Star August 23, 1936 This Week Two Years Make Marked Change In Cast of Film "Anthony Adverse"
  23. Signature Entertainment Memorabilia Auction Page 19 20092 "Anthony Adverse" Shots
  24. Hollywood Jan-Dec 1936 Page 32 Features for December, Death On The Cutting Room Floor!
  25. Hollywood Jan-Dec 1936 Page 32 Features for December, Death On The Cutting Room Floor! How Alma Was "Killed"
  26. Hollywood Jan-Dec 1936 Page 63 Death on the Cutting Room Floor (Continued from Page Thirty-Two
  27. Hollywood Jan-Dec 1936 Page 63 Death on the Cutting Room Floor (Continued from Page Thirty-Two), Many Other Instances
  28. Basilrathbone.net If I Were King
  29. Evening Post 25 August 1938 Page 21 Busy Period
  30. The Film Daily Monday May 2, 1938 Page 6 Alma Lloyd In Dad's Pix
  31. Intrepid Laughter: Preston Sturges and the Movies - Andrew Dickos If I Were King (Paramount, 1938)
  32. The Cinema of Preston Sturges: A Critical Study - Alessandro Pirolini Page 174 If I Were King (1938)
  33. Spokane Daily Chronicle August 20, 1936 Page Thirteen At The Theaters Ritz
  34. The Spokesman Review Thursday Morning, June 9, 1938 Page 14 JAILS FEATURED IN NEW PICTURES, Ancient and Modern Varieties in Films Now in Production by SHEILAH GRAHAM
  35. Signature Entertainment Memorabilia Auction Page 19 20092 "Anthony Adverse" Shots
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