Mona Barrie

Mona Barrie was born on Dec 18, 1909 in UK. Mona Barrie's big-screen debut came with His Royal Highness directed by F.W. Thring in 1932. Mona Barrie is known for Never Give a Sucker an Even Break directed by Edward F. Cline, W.C. Fields stars as The Great Man and Gloria Jean as Gloria. The most recent award Mona Barrie achieved is Walk of Fame. The upcoming new movie Mona Barrie plays is Strange Fascination which will be released on Sep 01, 1952.

Sometimes described as a poor man's Kay Francis, brunette, hazel-eyed Mona Barrie possessed neither quite the looks nor the personality required to become a major player in 1930's Hollywood. Nonetheless, the London-born and Australian-educated former childhood ballerina (born Mona Barlee, daughter of veteran comedian Phil Smith) enjoyed a fairly substantial career as a versatile 'second lead' for more than two decades. Soon after being spotted by a talent scout on a Fifth Avenue bus in New York, Mona signed with Fox in 1932 and was immediately cast as one of two female leads in Sleepers East (1934), a failed attempt by Fox to remake MGM's all-star mega hit Grand Hôtel (1932) as a train-bound crime drama. That same year, she also played a supporting role in the post-Civil War romance Carolina (1934), which established the fact that she wore elaborate gowns exceedingly well. The New York Times (January 9, 1935) caustically commented about her role in Mystery Woman (1935): "The players go through the required motions with a minimum of effort, except perhaps for Mona Barrie, who must have had to spend a great deal of time and energy being fitted for the extensive wardrobe she displays". In fact, Mona was voted by several newspapers as one of the best dressed women in Hollywood and acclaimed by the designer Royer for her innate fashion sense.During her tenure at Fox, Mona's varied career encompassed an entry into the Charlie Chan series, as well as starring roles in the mystery-comedy Les femmes aiment le danger (1935) and the action adventure Storm Over the Andes (1935), opposite Antonio Moreno. There were others. However, none of these second features generated much publicity or box office success and Mona took a chance, walked out on her contract and was out of work for six months. Picked up by Warner Brothers, she bought a house in Beverly Hills, complete with swimming pool and croquet lawn. Loaned out to MGM, she at last appeared in distinguished company, alongside Joan Crawford and Clark Gable in Loufoque et Cie (1936). In the course of the next decade, as before, Mona made the most of her limited opportunities, often typically cast as 'the other woman', as perfunctory western heroines, the occasional villainess or glamorous clothes horse, or even popping up as Franklin Pangborn's wife in W.C. Fields's madcap farce Passez muscade (1941). There were some good reviews, too, for films like La Folle Alouette (1941) and Cairo (1942). By the end of the 40's, the law of diminishing returns began to apply, with ever fewer roles on offer. After an uncredited bit in Warner's Les pillards de Mexico (1953), Mona called it a day and retired from films. She maintained her residence in Los Angeles, where she died in June 1964, aged just 54.