Bessie Love

Known For: Acting
Born: September 9, 1898
Place of Birth: Midland, Texas, USA
Died: April 26, 1986

Bessie Love

Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton, September 10, 1898 - April 26, 1986) became one of the most recognizable faces of early American cinema. After her family moved to Los Angeles, she was sent to Biograph Studios, where legendary director D.W. Griffith noticed her talent and cast her in several films, including Intolerance (1916). During the silent era, she gained popularity for her lively, wholesome screen presence and worked with major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks. Her career soared in the 1920s, and she was named a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922, marking her as one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses. Love made a successful transition to sound films—something many silent stars struggled with. Her performance as Hank Mahoney in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, cementing her place in film history. In the 1930s, she moved to the …

Filmography

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

2018 · Self (archive footage)

Gareth Hughes

2000 · Self (archive footage)

Alice Guy-Blaché

1997 · Self

The Hunger

1983 · Lillybelle

Reds

1981 · Mrs. Partlow

Ragtime

1981 · Old Lady - T.O.C.

Lady Chatterley's Lover

1981 · Flora

Hollywood

1980 · Self

Edward and Mrs Simpson

1978 · Lady Cunard

Edward & Mrs. Simpson

1978 · Lady Cunard

Gulliver's Travels

1977 · (voice)

The Ritz

1976 · Maurine

Vampyres

1974 · American Lady

Mousey

1974 · Mrs. Richardson

Catlow

1971 · Mrs. Frost

Sunday Bloody Sunday

1971 · Answering Service Lady

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

1969 · Baccarat Player (uncredited)

Isadora

1968 · Mrs. Duncan

I'll Never Forget What's'isname

1967 · American tourist (uncredited)

Battle Beneath the Earth

1967 · Matron

Promise Her Anything

1966 · Pet Shop Customer

The Wild Affair

1965 · Marjorie's Mother

The Pistol

1965 · Martha Burroughs

I Think They Call Him John

1964 · Narrator (voice)

Story Parade

1964 · Mrs. Arquette

Children of the Damned

1964 · Mrs. Robbin

The Sentimental Agent

1963 · Mamie

Man of the World

1962 · Mrs Van Kempson

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

1961 · Bunny

Too Young to Love

1960 · Mrs. Busch

International Detective

International Detective

1959 · Marta Steibel, Mrs. Morgan

Nowhere to Go

1958 · Harriet P. Jefferson

Next to No Time

1958 · Becky Wiener

The Story of Esther Costello

1957 · Art Gallery Customer

Touch and Go

1955 · Mrs Baxter

ITV Play of the Week

1955 · Mrs Strong

The Barefoot Contessa

1954 · Mrs. Eubanks

The Weak and the Wicked

1954 · Prisoner

The Magic Box

1952 · Bride's Mother in Wedding Group

No Highway in the Sky

1951 · Plane Passenger (uncredited)

Journey Together

1945 · Mrs. Mary McWilliams

London Scrapbook

London Scrapbook

1942 · Herself

Atlantic Ferry

1941 · Begonia Baggot

Morals for Women

1931 · Helen Hutson

Round About Hollywood

1931 · Self

See America Thirst

1930 · Ellen

Good News

1930 · Babe

Conspiracy

1930 · Margaret Holt

They Learned About Women

1930 · Mary

Chasing Rainbows

1930 · Carlie Seymour

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

1929 · Self

The Girl in the Show

1929 · Hattie Hartley

The Idle Rich

1929 · Helen Thayer

The Broadway Melody

1929 · Harriet 'Hank' Mahoney

Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

1928 · Mitzi Lavelle

Sally of the Scandals

1928 · Sally Rand

The Swell Head

1928

The Matinee Idol

1928 · Ginger Bolivar

Dress Parade

1927 · Janet Cleghorne

A Harp in Hock

1927 · Nora Banks

Rubber Tires

1927 · Mary Ellen Stack

The American

1927 · Jane Wilton

Going Crooked

1926 · Marie

Young April

1926 · Victoria

Lovey Mary

1926 · Lovey Mary

The Song and Dance Man

The Song and Dance Man

1926 · Leola Lane

The King On Main Street

1925 · Mary Young

New Brooms

1925

A Son of His Father

1925 · Nora Shea

Soul-Fire

1925 · Teita

The Lost World

1925 · Paula White

Tongues of Flame

Tongues of Flame

1924 · Lahleet

Sundown

1924 · Ellen Crawley

Dynamite Smith

1924 · Violet

The Silent Watcher

1924 · Mary, his wife

Those Who Dance

1924 · Veda Anargas

The Woman on the Jury

1924 · Grace Pierce

Torment

1924 · Marie

Gentle Julia

1923 · Julia

Slave of Desire

1923 · Pauline Gaudin

St. Elmo

1923 · Edna Earle

The Eternal Three

1923 · Hilda Gray

Human Wreckage

1923 · Mary Finnegan

Mary of the Movies

1923 · Herself (uncredited)

The Purple Dawn

1923 · Mui Far

Souls for Sale

1923 · Self - Celebrity Actress (uncredited)

The Strange Adventures of Prince Courageous

1923 · Bernice

The Ghost Patrol

1923 · Effie Kugler

Three Who Paid

1923 · John Caspar / Virginia Cartwright

Deserted at the Altar

1922 · Anna Moore (The Country Girl)

Night Life in Hollywood

1922 · Self

Screen Snapshots, Series 3, No. 12

1922 · Self

The Village Blacksmith

1922 · Rosemary Martin

Bulldog Courage

Bulldog Courage

1922 · Gloria Phillips

Forget Me Not

1922 · Ann, The Girl

The Vermilion Pencil

1922 · Hyacinth

The Wampas Baby Stars of 1922

1922 · Self

The Sea Lion

1921 · Blossom Nelson

The Swamp

1921 · Mary

The Spirit of the Lake

The Spirit of the Lake

1921

The Honor of Rameriz

1921 · The Geologist's Wife

Penny of Top Hill Trail

1921 · Penny

The Midlanders

1920 · Aurelie Lindstrom

Bonnie May

1920 · Bonnie May

Pegeen

1920 · Pegeen O'Neill

A Fighting Colleen

1919 · Alannah Malone

Over the Garden Wall

1919 · Peggy Gordon

Cupid Forecloses

1919 · Geraldine Farleigh

The Little Boss

1919 · Peggy Winston (The Little Boss)

A Yankee Princess

A Yankee Princess

1919 · Patsy O'Reilly, Screenplay

The Wishing Ring Man

1919 · Joy Havenith

Carolyn of the Corners

1919

The Enchanted Barn

1919 · Shirley Hollister

The Dawn of Understanding

1918 · Sue Prescott

A Little Sister of Everybody

1918 · Celeste Janvier

How Could You, Caroline?

1918 · Caroline Rogers

The Great Adventure

1918 · Rags

Polly Ann

1917 · Polly Ann

Wee Lady Betty

1917 · Wee Lady Betty

The Sawdust Ring

1917 · Janet Magie

Cheerful Givers

1917 · Judy

A Daughter of the Poor

1917 · Rose Eastman

Nina, the Flower Girl

1917 · Nina

The Heiress at Coffee Dan's

The Heiress at Coffee Dan's

1916 · Waffles

A Sister of Six

1916 · Prudence

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

1916 · The Bride of Cana (Judean Story)

Hell-to-Pay Austin

Hell-to-Pay Austin

1916 · Briar Rose Dawson

Stranded

1916 · The Girl

The Mystery of the Leaping Fish

1916 · The Little Fish Blower

Reggie Mixes In

1916 · Agnes

The Good Bad-Man

1916 · Amy

The Aryan

1916 · Mary Jane Garth

The Flying Torpedo

1916 · Hulda

Acquitted

1916 · Helen Carter

Bessie Love · Virelixia