Mae Clarke

This blonde leading lady of the 1930s was a former cabaret dancer and Broadway actress. With attractive but unremarkable looks, Clarke kept very busy during her first decade in films, most notably as the woman on the receiving end of James Cagney's quicksilver temper. In "The Public Enemy" (1931), the film which made Cagney a star, Clarke received the famous grapefruit-in-the-face, and in "Lady Killer" (1933), Cagney dragged Clarke around by the hair. Clarke also suffered memorably at the hands of Frankenstein's monster; Boris Karloff carried her off on her wedding day in James Whale's marvelous 1931 film.

Whale also gave Clarke a much more challenging role in "Waterloo Bridge" the same year. In the first screen version (twice remade with Vivien Leigh and Leslie Caron) of Robert Sherwood's play, Clarke was superb as the young woman forced into prostitution during WWI. Clarke appeared mainly in supporting roles from the 40s onward.