Florence Rice
Encyclopedia
Florence Rice was an American film actress.
Florence Davenport Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio
, the daughter of Grantland Rice
and Katherine Hollis, who became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood where she acted in almost fifty films between 1934 and 1943.
Blonde, pretty, and wholesome, Rice was cast as the reliable girlfriend in several MGM films, and during the 1930s, MGM gradually provided her with more substantial roles, occasionally in prestige productions.
Rice never became a major figure in films, but achieved popularity in a number of screen pairings with Robert Young
.
Her most widely seen performances were in Double Wedding
(1937), in which she was billed third in the cast credits behind William Powell
and Myrna Loy
, Sweethearts
(1938) with Jeanette MacDonald
and Nelson Eddy
, and The Marx Brothers film At The Circus
(1939).
During the 1940s the quality of her roles steadily decreased and in 1947 she retired.
She married three times, with her third marriage lasting until her death in Honolulu, Hawaii
from lung cancer
.
Florence Davenport Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, the daughter of Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
and Katherine Hollis, who became an actress during the early 1930s and after several Broadway roles, eventually made her way to Hollywood where she acted in almost fifty films between 1934 and 1943.
Blonde, pretty, and wholesome, Rice was cast as the reliable girlfriend in several MGM films, and during the 1930s, MGM gradually provided her with more substantial roles, occasionally in prestige productions.
Rice never became a major figure in films, but achieved popularity in a number of screen pairings with Robert Young
Robert Young (actor)
Robert George Young was an American television, film, and radio actor, best known for his leading roles as Jim Anderson, the father of Father Knows Best and as physician Marcus Welby in Marcus Welby, M.D. .-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Young was the son of an Irish immigrant father...
.
Her most widely seen performances were in Double Wedding
Double Wedding
Double Wedding is a 1937 romantic comedy film. A bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process....
(1937), in which she was billed third in the cast credits behind William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
and Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
, Sweethearts
Sweethearts (film)
Sweethearts is a 1938 musical romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The screenplay, by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta is the setting for...
(1938) with Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald
Jeanette MacDonald was an American singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier and Nelson Eddy...
and Nelson Eddy
Nelson Eddy
Nelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
, and The Marx Brothers film At The Circus
At the Circus
At the Circus is a 1939 Marx Brothers comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which they save a circus from bankruptcy...
(1939).
During the 1940s the quality of her roles steadily decreased and in 1947 she retired.
She married three times, with her third marriage lasting until her death in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Filmography
- Fugitive Lady (1934)
- The Best Man Wins (1935)
- Under Pressure (1935)
- CarnivalCarnival (1935 film)Carnival is a 1935 American film directed by Walter Lang and starring Jimmy Durante, Lee Tracy, and Sally Eilers.The film also includes a young Lucille Ball in a small uncredited role as a nurse....
(1935) - Death Flies East (1935)
- The Awakening of Jim Burke (1935)
- Guard that Girl (1935)
- Escape from Devil's Island (1935)
- Super-Speed (1935)
- Pride of the Marines (1936)
- Panic on the Air (1936)
- Blackmailer (1936)
- Women are Trouble (1936)
- Sworn Enemy (1936)
- The Longest Night (1936)
- Under Cover of Night (1937)
- Man of the People (1937)
- Riding on AirRiding on AirRiding on Air is a 1937 American film directed by Edward Sedgwick.The film is also known as All Is Confusion in the United Kingdom.- Cast :*Joe E. Brown as Elmer Lane*Guy Kibbee as J. Rutherford "Doc" Waddington...
(1937) - Married Before Breakfast (1937)
- Double WeddingDouble WeddingDouble Wedding is a 1937 romantic comedy film. A bohemian free spirit helps meek Waldo win back his fiancée and falls in love with her over-controlling sister in the process....
(1937) - Navy Blue and GoldNavy Blue and Gold (film)Navy Blue and Gold is a 1937 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film starring Robert Young, James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore.-Cast:*Robert Young as Roger Ash*James Stewart as "Truck" Cross*Lionel Barrymore as Captain "Skinny" Dawes...
(1937) - Beg, Borrow or Steal (1937)
- Paradise for ThreeParadise for ThreeParadise for Three, titled Romance for Three in the United Kingdom, is a 1938 romantic comedy film starring Frank Morgan as a wealthy industrialist who decides to find out about his German workers by temporarily living among them incognito...
(1938) - Fast CompanyFast Company (1938 film)Fast Company is a 1938 mystery film starring Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice as married rare-book dealers who try to solve a murder case. It was based on the novel of the same name by "Marco Page"...
(1938) - Vacation from Love (1938)
- SweetheartsSweethearts (film)Sweethearts is a 1938 musical romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. The screenplay, by Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell, uses the “play within a play” device: a contemporary Broadway production of the 1913 Victor Herbert operetta is the setting for...
(1938) - Stand Up and FightStand Up and FightStand Up and Fight is a 1939 film starring Wallace Beery and Robert Taylor. The supporting cast includes Florence Rice, Helen Broderick, Charles Bickford, Barton MacLane, Charley Grapewin, and John Qualen, and the movie was directed by W.S. Van Dyke...
(1939) - Four Girls in WhiteFour Girls in WhiteFour Girls in White is a 1939 Drama directed by S. Sylvan Simon, starring Florence Rice and Una Merkel. The comical exploits of four nursing students enrolled in a three-year training course.-Cast:* Florence Rice as Norma Page* Una Merkel as Robbins...
(1939) - The Kid from Texas (1939)
- Miracles for SaleMiracles for SaleMiracles for Sale is a 1939 mystery film directed by Tod Browning and starring Robert Young and Florence Rice. It was Browning's final film as a director. The film is based on a locked-room mystery novel by well-known mystery writer Clayton Rawson, Death from a Top Hat, which was the first to...
(1939) - At the CircusAt the CircusAt the Circus is a 1939 Marx Brothers comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which they save a circus from bankruptcy...
(1939) - Broadway Melody of 1940Broadway Melody of 1940Broadway Melody of 1940 is a 1940 MGM movie musical starring Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell and George Murphy. It was directed by Norman Taurog and features music by Cole Porter, including "Begin the Beguine"....
(1940) - Girl in 313 (1940)
- Phantom Raiders (1940)
- The Secret Seven (1940)
- Cherokee Strip (1940)
- Mr. District Attorney (1941)
- Father Takes a Wife (1941)
- Doctors Don't Tell (1941)
- The Blonde from SingaporeThe Blonde from SingaporeThe Blonde from Singapore is a 1941 American adventure film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Florence Rice as Mary Brooks* Leif Erickson as Terry Prescott* Gordon Jones as 'Waffles' Billings* Don Beddoe as Sgt...
(1941) - Borrowed HeroBorrowed Hero- Cast :*Alan Baxter as Roger Andrews*Florence Rice as Ann Thompson*Constance Worth as Mona Brooks*John Hamilton as William Brooks*Mary Gordon as Mrs. Riley*Marlo Dwyer as Carol Turner*Stanley Andrews as Mr. Taylor, Defense Attorney...
(1941) - Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942)
- Let's Get Tough!Let's Get Tough!Let's Get Tough! is a 1942 film and the ninth film in the East Side Kids series, starring Leo Gorcey , Huntz Hall , Bobby Jordan , and Robert Armstrong...
(1942) - Stand By All Networks (1942)
- The Boss of Big TownThe Boss of Big Town-Cast:*John Litel as Michael Lynn*Florence Rice as Linda Gregory*H.B. Warner as Jeffrey Moore*John Miljan as Craige*Jean Brooks as Iris Moore*David Bacon as Dr. Gil Page*Mary Gordon as Mrs. Lane*Frank Ferguson as Bram Hart*Lloyd Ingraham as Insp. Torrence...
(1942) - The Ghost and the GuestThe Ghost and the Guest- Plot summary :A newlywed couple winds up spending their honeymoon night in an old, dark, spooky mansion.- Cast :*James Dunn as Webster Frye*Florence Rice as Jacqueline "Jackie" DeLong / Frye*Robert Dudley as Ben Bowron*Mabel Todd as Little Sister Mabel...
(1943)