An actress from the Silent Movies Era, Mary Astor is best known for her role in the 1941 movie "The Maltese Falcon" starring opposite Humphrey Bogart (as Sam Spade).

Brigid: "If you loved me, you'd need nothing more on that side."

Spade: "I won't play the sap for you."

Here she played Brigid, a Ruth(less) seductress, a femme fatale who even Sam had difficulty resisting.

She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sandra Kovak in the 1941 Bette Davis movie "The Great Lie".

The last movie I can recall seeing her in was the 1944 musical "Meet Me In St Louis" with Judy Garland. After that I always thought of her as playing the "mother" roles.

I every so often catch her in an episode of this or that old t.v. series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, or The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, or perhaps Thriller (that's the name of the Boris Karloff-hosted series). Miss Astor was compelling in her later-life t.v. roles, just like she'd always been in her film performances.

It seems amazing that, like you pointed out, Wonder, she had such a long, extensive career, from Silent films, through the Hollywood Golden Age era, then continuing on into the 1960s on t.v. It appears, glancing over her films credits just now, that her final-ever either film or t.v. performance was in 1964's Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Thereafter, she lived for 23 more years.

I remember, during probably the early 1980s, seeing about her in LIFE magazine, in an article (which possibly I may still have) about elderly retired stars, that she was, by then, living in a Hollywood retirement home. A nice picture of her was included - I believe shown, in close-up, seated in a wheelchair.

A fine actress, equally adept at high drama or outrageous comedy (she is hilarious in The Palm Beach Story). I am currently watching Desert Fury - a rather run-of-the-mill '40s noir (although beautifully shot in colour) and Astor's performance is the saving grace.

Personal favourite roles: Dodsworth, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Maltese Falcon.

Ah, Mary Astor. She never hit a wrong note in anything I've ever seen her in. No matter the film or the character she played, she was perfection.

One of her films that's a true revelation, that if you haven't seen it please try to make a point to, is 1949's noir Act of Violence, in which she plays a low-end prostitute (of all unlikely things for classy Mary!). And she absolutely nails it! Here's a thread, focusing specifically on Mary, that I last year created regarding that gripping film.

That's the most unexpected role I've ever seen her in. It's remarkable how fully and believably she inhabits the character. I consider that to be one of the greatest performances of her career.

In addition to that movie, and the other ones that have been mentioned throughout the present thread, a Pre-Code that's a real treat, and in which she stars, is 1931's Smart Woman. That's an hilarious light comedy (with a minor necessary bit of drama content), done very entertainingly and appealing by Mary and all other cast members (exception of actor Robert Ames, who portrays Mary's cheating husband, and who was quite a dud). That and Act of Violence are my two favourite new Mary Astor film discoveries - along with 1924's Beau Brummel - of the last ten years, and a pleasure to have been able to add to my personal collection.

Two additional faves, that I almost forgot to mention, are 1932's Red Dust and 1939's Midnight.

Good comment, all!

That really says it all with little to add except that I had always been under the impression that Mary was a real-life daughter of Mrs. Astor.

Some Hollywood commentators regard Miss Astor as a supporting actress, but I've usually seen her as a star in her own right even when playing second lead to Claudette in Midnight or Palm Beach, or Judy and sisters' mother in Saint Louis, or Bette and Livvy's nemesis in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

She holds her own as leading lady in Maltese Falcon and other places already mentioned, as well as everywhere else. Still, hard to believe that Mrs. Astor didn't send her off to finishing school because if she did, then no one could play the Mary Astor type better than Mary Astor herself.

The name "Mary Astor" certainly does suit her "to a t"!

I don't know if anyone reading this thread has seen the 2018 documentary Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor. I had never heard of it prior to this evening, when I noticed it listed on tonight's TCM programming schedule (two airings, one primetime, the other late night), making its television debut.

Here's the TCM.com article about the documentary. Unfortunately, I'll miss it tonight, as I downgraded my Comcast subscription in November, losing TCM in the process. No doubt I'll see it at some eventual point though.

Mary Astor's daughter Marylyn Thorpe Roh (one of the subjects of the covered child custody case) is interviewed in the documentary. I just now did some snooping around on the internet and found Marylyn's Facebook - which includes pictures. Here's a beautiful portrait of Mary Astor that's posted there.

Here's a collection of family pictures that I've found elsewhere on the internet. Marylyn doesn't today look like her mom, but sure did, while growing up, after a certain point (like from around age 10-ish or thereabouts) in childhood.

@genplant29 said:

I don't know if anyone reading this thread has seen the 2018 documentary Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor. I had never heard of it prior to this evening, when I noticed it listed on tonight's TCM programming schedule (two airings, one primetime, the other late night), making its television debut.

Here's the TCM.com article about the documentary. Unfortunately, I'll miss it tonight, as I downgraded my Comcast subscription in November, losing TCM in the process. No doubt I'll see it at some eventual point though.

Mary Astor's daughter Marylyn Thorpe Roh (one of the subjects of the covered child custody case) is interviewed in the documentary. I just now did some snooping around on the internet and found Marylyn's Facebook - which includes pictures. Here's a beautiful portrait of Mary Astor that's posted there.

Here's a collection of family pictures that I've found elsewhere on the internet. Marylyn doesn't today look like her mom, but sure did, while growing up, after a certain point (like from around age 10-ish or thereabouts) in childhood.

I heard about that. I think her husband found her diary. She was fooling around with some writer from NY. The fact he was Jewish was quite a scandal during that time.