Person
Claire McDowell
Actor · Crew· New York City, New York, USA
Claire McDowell (2 November 1877 – 23 October 1966) was an American actress. She appeared in 360 films between 1908 and 1945.
Still somewhat of a youthful beauty when she started in early silent films, McDowell appeared in numerous films, eventually graduating to playing character and mother types. She can be seen to good advantage in Douglas Fairbanks's 1920 The Mark of Zorro. McDowell appeared in two of the biggest films of the silent era, The Big Parade (1925) and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), both in which she played mothers.
She was married to silent screen character actor Charles Hill Mailes from 1906 to his 1937 death. The couple appeared in numerous silent films together, including The Mark of Zorro. They had two sons, Robert Mailes and Eugene Mailes.
Known For
The roles that explain the career.
It Happened One Night
1934
Hangmen Also Die!
Counterwoman (uncredited) · 1943
The Big Parade
Mrs. Apperson · 1925
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Princess of Hur · 1925
Boys Town
Nun (uncredited) · 1938
Imitation of Life
Teacher Outside Classroom (uncredited) · 1934
Test Pilot
Funeral Home Associate (uncredited) · 1938
The Mark of Zorro
Dona Catalina Pulido · 1920
Filmography
77 credits across 2 departments.
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble | Dr. Standish's Servant (uncredited) | Film |
| 1943 | Hangmen Also Die! | Counterwoman (uncredited) | Film |
| 1941 | Lady Scarface | Mrs. Tuckerman | Film |
| 1938 | Test Pilot | Funeral Home Associate (uncredited) | Film |
| 1938 | Three Comrades | Landlady Frau Zalewski (uncredited) | Film |
| 1938 | They're Always Caught | Mrs. Fletcher (uncredited) | Film |
| 1938 | Boys Town | Nun (uncredited) | Film |
| 1937 | A Night at the Movies | Movie Patron (uncredited) | Film |
| 1936 | Small Town Girl | Woman in Bed (uncredited) | Film |
| 1936 | August Week End | Alma Washburne | Film |
| 1935 | Murder by Television | Mrs. Houghland | Film |
| 1934 | Imitation of Life | Teacher Outside Classroom (uncredited) | Film |
| 1934 | Dr. Monica | Miss Bryerly (uncredited) | Film |
| 1934 | British Agent | Woman Saying 'Lenin will Live' (uncredited) | Film |
| 1934 | Bedside | Nurse | Film |
| 1934 | Two Heads on a Pillow | Mrs. Helen Gorman | Film |
| 1933 | Wild Boys of the Road | Mrs. Smith | Film |
| 1933 | The Working Man | Benjamin's Secretary | Film |
| 1933 | By Appointment Only | Mrs. Mary Carroll | Film |
| 1933 | Central Airport | Mrs. Blaine | Film |
| 1932 | The Famous Ferguson Case | Brooks' Landlady (uncredited) | Film |
| 1932 | A Successful Calamity | Struthers' Secretary (uncredited) | Film |
| 1932 | Lawyer Man | Gilmurry's Secretary (uncredited) | Film |
| 1932 | The Strange Love of Molly Louvain | Ann Marie's Caregiver Mrs. Schiller (uncredited) | Film |
| 1932 | Under Eighteen | Seamstress (uncredited) | Film |
| 1932 | The Phantom Express | Ma Nolan | Film |
| 1931 | An American Tragedy | Mrs. Samuel Griffiths | Film |
| 1931 | Manhattan Parade | Nancy - the Maid | Film |
| 1930 | The Big House | Mrs. Marlowe | Film |
| 1930 | Young Desire | Mrs. Spencer | Film |
| 1930 | The Second Floor Mystery | Aunt Hattie | Film |
| 1930 | Redemption | Anna Pavlovna | Film |
| 1929 | The Flying Fleet | Mrs. Hastings (uncredited) | Film |
| 1928 | The Viking | Lady Editha (as Claire MacDowell) | Film |
| 1928 | 4 Devils | Woman | Film |
| 1926 | The Devil's Circus | Mrs. Peterson | Film |
| 1926 | The Show Off | Mom Fisher | Film |
| 1925 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | Princess of Hur | Film |
| 1925 | The Big Parade | Mrs. Apperson | Film |
| 1924 | Secrets | Elizabeth Channing | Film |
| 1923 | Black Oxen | Agnes Trevor | Film |
| 1923 | The West~Bound Limited | Mrs. Bill Buckley | Film |
| 1922 | Rent Free | Countess de Mourney | Film |
| 1922 | Quincy Adams Sawyer | Mrs. Putnam | Film |
| 1920 | The Mark of Zorro | Dona Catalina Pulido | Film |
| 1920 | The Jack-Knife Man | Lize Merdin | Film |
| 1919 | Heart o' the Hills | Martha Hawn | Film |
| 1916 | The Right to Be Happy | Mrs. Cratchit | Film |
| 1913 | The Telephone Girl and the Lady | The Lady | Film |
| 1913 | The House of Darkness | The Doctor's Wife | Film |
| 1913 | The Switchtower | The Switchman's Wife | Film |
| 1912 | So Near, Yet So Far | Rich Woman in Other Town | Film |
| 1912 | The Female of the Species | The Miner's Wife | Film |
| 1912 | The New York Hat | The Main Gossip | Film |
| 1912 | The Old Actor | At Audition | Film |
| 1912 | The School Teacher and the Waif | The Street Fakir's Sweetheart | Film |
| 1912 | Under Burning Skies | The Friend | Film |
| 1912 | The Sunbeam | The Spinster | Film |
| 1912 | The Sands of Dee | Artist's fiancee | Film |
| 1912 | The Massacre | Stephen's Belle - In Prologue | Film |
| 1911 | His Trust | Col. Frazier's wife | Film |
| 1911 | His Trust Fulfilled | Mrs. Frazier | Film |
| 1911 | The Manicure Lady | Lunchroom Hostess | Film |
| 1911 | The Sorrowful Example | The Wife | Film |
| 1911 | What Shall We Do with Our Old? | The Old Carpenter's Wife | Film |
| 1911 | A Country Cupid | The Half-Wit's Mother | Film |
| 1911 | Fate's Turning | At Hotel/At Wedding | Film |
| 1911 | The Squaw's Love | Silver Fawn | Film |
| 1911 | Swords and Hearts | Irene Lambert | Film |
| 1911 | The Adventures of Billy | Rich Woman | Film |
| 1910 | The Usurer | Despairing Mother / One of the Third Debtors | Film |
| 1910 | Wilful Peggy | Housemaid | Film |
| 1910 | The Oath and the Man | Rebel | Film |
| 1910 | Rose o' Salem Town | Film | |
| 1908 | The Planter's Wife | Mrs. John Holland | Film |
| 1908 | The Call of the Wild | Party Guest | Film |
| 1908 | The Devil | Film |
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