Isabel Jewell

{{Infobox person

| name = Isabel Jewell

| image = Isabel Jewell by Clarence Bull, 1933.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Jewell in 1933 by Clarence Sinclair Bull

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|07|19|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Shoshoni, Wyoming, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1972|04|05|1907|07|19|mf=y}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| other_names = Isabel Jewel
Isobel Jewell

| years_active = 1932–1972

| occupation = Actress

| spouse = {{plainlist|

Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood ({{abbr|m.|married}} 1927; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 19??)
{{marriage|Owen Crump|1939|1941|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|Paul Marion|1941|1944|end=divorced}}

}}

Isabel Jewell (July 19, 1907 – April 5, 1972) was an American actress, who rose to prominence in the 1930s and early 1940s. Some of her more famous films were Ceiling Zero, Marked Woman, A Tale of Two Cities, and Gone with the Wind.

Early life

Born in Shoshoni, Wyoming on July 19, 1907, Jewell was the daughter of Emory Lee Jewell and Livia A. Willoughby Jewell. Her father was "a prominent...doctor and medical researcher."{{cite news |title= Isabel Jewell, film star, dead at 62 |work=Redlands Daily Facts |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7152579/redlands_daily_facts/ |agency= United Press International |date= April 6, 1972|location=California, Redlands |page= 12 |via= Newspapers.com |access-date= October 23, 2016}} She was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Minnesota and at Hamilton College in Kentucky.

Career

After years in theatre stock companies, including an 87-week stint in Lincoln, Nebraska, she got a part on Broadway in Up Pops the Devil (1930).{{cite news |title= Isabel Jewell succumbs at 62 |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10113633/evening_herald/ |work= Evening Herald |agency= United Press International |date= April 6, 1972 |location= Pennsylvania, Shenandoah |page= 16 |via= Newspapers.com |access-date= April 7, 2017}} {{Open access}} She received glowing critical reviews for Blessed Event (1932) as well.{{cite book |last1= Twomey |first1= Alfred E. |last2= McClure |first2= Arthur F. |title= The Versatiles : Supporting Character Players in the Cinema 1930-1955 |chapter= Isabel Jewell |page= 125 |date= 1969 |edition= First |type= hardcover |publisher= A. S. Barnes |location= Cranbury, NJ |isbn= 978-0-498-06792-1}}

Jewell's film debut came in Blessed Event (1932). She had been brought to Hollywood by Warner Brothers for the film version of Up Pops the Devil. Jewell gained other supporting roles, appearing in a variety of films in the early 1930s. She played stereotypical gangsters' women in such films as Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and Marked Woman (1937). She was well-received playing against type as the seamstress sentenced to death on the guillotine with Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). Her most significant role was Sally Bates in She Had to Choose. Jewell's films included Gone with the Wind (1939) (in the role of "that white trash, Emmy Slattery"), Northwest Passage (1940), High Sierra (1941), and the low-budget The Leopard Man (1943).

By the end of the 1940s, her roles had reduced in significance to the degree that her performances often were uncredited, e.g. The Snake Pit. She performed in radio dramas in the 1950s, including This Is Your FBI.

In February 1965, she played Madame Ahr, a member of a bank-robbing circus troupe, in an episode of Gunsmoke entitled "Circus Trick."

In 1972, Jewell appeared opposite Edie Sedgwick in the film Ciao! Manhattan. Her final film was the B movie Sweet Kill (1973), the directorial debut of Curtis Hanson.

Personal life

Jewell was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers She was also a practicing Episcopalian.Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2)

Jewell's first marriage (which "was not generally known during Jewell's lifetime...[nor] mentioned in the press during her heyday in American films") occurred when she wed Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood when she was 19. In the mid to late 1930s, Jewell was seen at nightclubs with actor William Hopper.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-02-22-8701150949-story.html|title=-- What happened to Dennis Hopper who...|first=Bettelou Peterson, Knight-Ridder|last=Newspapers|website=chicagotribune.com|date=22 February 1987 }} In 1936, she was engaged to actor Owen Crump,{{Cite book |last=Nissen |first=Axel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9PIDAAAQBAJ&dq=owen+crump&pg=PA246 |title=Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood |date=2016-08-26 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-9732-4 |pages=101, 245–246 |language=en}} marrying in 1939 and divorcing in 1941.{{cite web |url=http://classichollywoodbeauties.blogspot.com/2012/12/isabel-jewell.html |title=Classic Hollywood Beauties |access-date=2014-11-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227031002/http://classichollywoodbeauties.blogspot.com/2012/12/isabel-jewell.html |archive-date=2014-02-27 }}{{Unreliable source?|date=August 2018}} In 1941, Jewell married actor Paul Marion, who was then a private in the United States Army. They separated in 1943,{{cite book|last1=Nissen|first1=Axel|title=Accustomed to Her Face: Thirty-Five Character Actresses of Golden Age Hollywood|date=2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476626062|pages=96–104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOPIDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|access-date=7 April 2017|language=en}} and were divorced on May 12, 1944.{{cite magazine|title=Divorces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT31|access-date=7 April 2017|magazine=Billboard|date=May 27, 1944|page=32}}

Death and legacy

Jewell died in Los Angeles, California on April 5, 1972, aged 64, from suicide after taking an overdose of barbiturates.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA378|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|first=Scott|last=Wilson|date=16 September 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9781476625997|via=Google Books}} Her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1960, Jewell was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures. The star is located at 1560 Vine Street.{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/isabel-jewell|title=Isabel Jewell - Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|date=25 October 2019 }}{{cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/isabel-jewell/|title=Isabel Jewell - Hollywood Star Walk - Los Angeles Times|website=projects.latimes.com}}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:%;" \|+ Complete filmography
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
scope="row"\| 1931 \| The Week End Mystery \| Miss Keith \| Short
scope="row"\| 1932 \| Blessed Event \| Dorothy Lane \| Uncredited
scope="row"\| 1933 \| The Crime of the Century \| Bridge Player \| Uncredited
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Bondage \| Beulah \|
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Beauty for Sale \| Hortense \| Credited as Isobel Jewell
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Bombshell \| Lily, Junior's Girl Friend \| Credited as Isobel Jewell
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Day of Reckoning \| Kate Lovett \|
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Design for Living \| Plunkett's Stenographer \|
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Advice to the Lovelorn \| Rose \|
scope="row"\| 1933 \| The Women in His Life \| Catherine 'Cathy' Watson \|
scope="row"\| 1933 \| Counsellor at Law \| Bessie Green \|
scope="row"\| 1934 \| Men in White \| \| Scenes cut
scope="row"\| 1934 \| Let's Be Ritzy \| Betty \|
scope="row"\| 1934 \| Manhattan Melodrama \| Annabelle \|
scope="row"\| 1934 \| Here Comes the Groom \| Angy \|
scope="row"\| 1934 \| She Had to Choose \| Sally Bates \|
scope="row"\| 1934 \| Evelyn Prentice \| Judith Wilson \|
scope="row"\| 1935 \| Shadow of Doubt \| Inez 'Johnny' Johnson - singer \|
scope="row"\| 1935 \| I've Been Around \| Sally Van Loan \|
scope="row"\| 1935 \| Times Square Lady \| 'Babe' Sweeney \|
scope="row"\| 1935 \| The Casino Murder Case \| Amelia Llewellyn \|
scope="row"\| 1935 \| Mad Love \| Marianne \| Scenes cut
scope="row"\| 1935 \| A Tale of Two Cities \| Seamstress \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Ceiling Zero \| Lou Clarke \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Dancing Feet \| Mabel Henry \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| The Leathernecks Have Landed \| Brooklyn \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Big Brown Eyes \| Bessie Blair \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Small Town Girl \| Emily 'Em' Brannan \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| 36 Hours to Kill \| Jeanie Benson \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| {{sortname\|The\|Man Who Lived Twice}} \| Peggy Russell \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Valiant Is the Word for Carrie \| Lilli Eipper \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Go West, Young Man \| Gladys \|
scope="row"\| 1936 \| Career Woman \| Gracie Clay \|
scope="row"\| 1937 \| Lost Horizon \| Gloria Stone \|
scope="row"\| 1937 \| Marked Woman \| Emmy Lou Eagan \|
scope="row"\| 1937 \| Love on Toast \| Belle Huntley \|
scope="row"\| 1938 \| Swing It, Sailor! \| Myrtle Montrose \|
scope="row"\| 1938 \| The Crowd Roars \| Mrs. Martin \|
scope="row"\| 1939 \| They Asked for It \| Molly Herkimer \|
scope="row"\| 1939 \| Missing Daughters \| Peggy \|
scope="row"\| 1939 \| Gone with the Wind \| Emmy Slattery \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| 'Oh Johnny, How You Can Love \| Gertie \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| 'Northwest Passage' (Book I -- Rogers' Rangers) \| Jennie Coit \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| Irene \| Jane McGee \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| Babies for Sale \| Edith Drake \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| Scatterbrain \| Esther Harrington \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| Marked Men \| Linda Harkness \|
scope="row"\| 1940 \| Little Men \| Stella \|
scope="row"\| 1941 \| High Sierra \| Blonde \|
scope="row"\| 1941 \| For Beauty's Sake \| Amy Devore \|
scope="row"\| 1943 \| {{sortname\|The\|Leopard Man}} \| Maria \|
scope="row"\| 1943 \| {{sortname\|The\|Seventh Victim}} \| Frances Fallon \|
scope="row"\| 1943 \| Danger! Women at Work \| Marie \|
scope="row"\| 1943 \| {{sortname\|The\|Falcon and the Co-eds}} \| Mary Phoebus \|
scope="row"\| 1944 \| {{sortname\|The\|Merry Monahans}} \| Rose Monahan \|
scope="row"\| 1945 \| Steppin' in Society \| Jenny the Juke \|
scope="row"\| 1945 \| Sensation Hunters \| Mae \|
scope="row"\| 1946 \| Badman's Territory \| Belle Starr \|
scope="row"\| 1947 \| Born to Kill \| Laury Palmer \|
scope="row"\| 1947 \| {{sortname\|The\|Bishop's Wife}} \| Hysterical mother \|
scope="row"\| 1948 \| Michael O'Halloran \| Mrs. Laura Nelson \|
scope="row"\| 1948 \| The Snake Pit \| Ward 33 Inmate \| Uncredited
scope="row"\| 1948 \| Unfaithfully Yours \| First Telephone Operator \| Uncredited
scope="row"\| 1948 \| Belle Starr's Daughter \| Belle Starr \|
scope="row"\| 1949 \| {{sortname\|The\|Story of Molly X}} \| Mrs. Mack—Prison Laundry Matron \| Uncredited
scope="row"\| 1953 \| Man in the Attic \| Katy \|
scope="row"\| 1954 \| Drum Beat \| Lily White \|
scope="row"\| 1957 \| Bernardine \| Mrs. McDuff \|
scope="row"\| 1972 \| Sweet Kill \| Mrs. Cole \|
scope="row"\| 1972 \| Ciao! Manhattan \| Mummy \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:%;"

|+ Complete filmography

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

scope="row"| 1931

| The Week End Mystery

| Miss Keith

| Short

scope="row"| 1932

| Blessed Event

| Dorothy Lane

| Uncredited

scope="row"| 1933

| The Crime of the Century

| Bridge Player

| Uncredited

scope="row"| 1933

| Bondage

| Beulah

scope="row"| 1933

| Beauty for Sale

| Hortense

| Credited as Isobel Jewell

scope="row"| 1933

| Bombshell

| Lily, Junior's Girl Friend

| Credited as Isobel Jewell

scope="row"| 1933

| Day of Reckoning

| Kate Lovett

scope="row"| 1933

| Design for Living

| Plunkett's Stenographer

scope="row"| 1933

| Advice to the Lovelorn

| Rose

scope="row"| 1933

| The Women in His Life

| Catherine 'Cathy' Watson

scope="row"| 1933

| Counsellor at Law

| Bessie Green

scope="row"| 1934

| Men in White

| Scenes cut

scope="row"| 1934

| Let's Be Ritzy

| Betty

scope="row"| 1934

| Manhattan Melodrama

| Annabelle

scope="row"| 1934

| Here Comes the Groom

| Angy

scope="row"| 1934

| She Had to Choose

| Sally Bates

scope="row"| 1934

| Evelyn Prentice

| Judith Wilson

scope="row"| 1935

| Shadow of Doubt

| Inez 'Johnny' Johnson - singer

scope="row"| 1935

| I've Been Around

| Sally Van Loan

scope="row"| 1935

| Times Square Lady

| 'Babe' Sweeney

scope="row"| 1935

| The Casino Murder Case

| Amelia Llewellyn

scope="row"| 1935

| Mad Love

| Marianne

| Scenes cut

scope="row"| 1935

| A Tale of Two Cities

| Seamstress

scope="row"| 1936

| Ceiling Zero

| Lou Clarke

scope="row"| 1936

| Dancing Feet

| Mabel Henry

scope="row"| 1936

| The Leathernecks Have Landed

| Brooklyn

scope="row"| 1936

| Big Brown Eyes

| Bessie Blair

scope="row"| 1936

| Small Town Girl

| Emily 'Em' Brannan

scope="row"| 1936

| 36 Hours to Kill

| Jeanie Benson

scope="row"| 1936

| {{sortname|The|Man Who Lived Twice}}

| Peggy Russell

scope="row"| 1936

| Valiant Is the Word for Carrie

| Lilli Eipper

scope="row"| 1936

| Go West, Young Man

| Gladys

scope="row"| 1936

| Career Woman

| Gracie Clay

scope="row"| 1937

| Lost Horizon

| Gloria Stone

scope="row"| 1937

| Marked Woman

| Emmy Lou Eagan

scope="row"| 1937

| Love on Toast

| Belle Huntley

scope="row"| 1938

| Swing It, Sailor!

| Myrtle Montrose

scope="row"| 1938

| The Crowd Roars

| Mrs. Martin

scope="row"| 1939

| They Asked for It

| Molly Herkimer

scope="row"| 1939

| Missing Daughters

| Peggy

scope="row"| 1939

| Gone with the Wind

| Emmy Slattery

scope="row"| 1940

| 'Oh Johnny, How You Can Love

| Gertie

scope="row"| 1940

| 'Northwest Passage' (Book I -- Rogers' Rangers)

| Jennie Coit

scope="row"| 1940

| Irene

| Jane McGee

scope="row"| 1940

| Babies for Sale

| Edith Drake

scope="row"| 1940

| Scatterbrain

| Esther Harrington

scope="row"| 1940

| Marked Men

| Linda Harkness

scope="row"| 1940

| Little Men

| Stella

scope="row"| 1941

| High Sierra

| Blonde

scope="row"| 1941

| For Beauty's Sake

| Amy Devore

scope="row"| 1943

| {{sortname|The|Leopard Man}}

| Maria

scope="row"| 1943

| {{sortname|The|Seventh Victim}}

| Frances Fallon

scope="row"| 1943

| Danger! Women at Work

| Marie

scope="row"| 1943

| {{sortname|The|Falcon and the Co-eds}}

| Mary Phoebus

scope="row"| 1944

| {{sortname|The|Merry Monahans}}

| Rose Monahan

scope="row"| 1945

| Steppin' in Society

| Jenny the Juke

scope="row"| 1945

| Sensation Hunters

| Mae

scope="row"| 1946

| Badman's Territory

| Belle Starr

scope="row"| 1947

| Born to Kill

| Laury Palmer

scope="row"| 1947

| {{sortname|The|Bishop's Wife}}

| Hysterical mother

scope="row"| 1948

| Michael O'Halloran

| Mrs. Laura Nelson

scope="row"| 1948

| The Snake Pit

| Ward 33 Inmate

| Uncredited

scope="row"| 1948

| Unfaithfully Yours

| First Telephone Operator

| Uncredited

scope="row"| 1948

| Belle Starr's Daughter

| Belle Starr

scope="row"| 1949

| {{sortname|The|Story of Molly X}}

| Mrs. Mack—Prison Laundry Matron

| Uncredited

scope="row"| 1953

| Man in the Attic

| Katy

scope="row"| 1954

| Drum Beat

| Lily White

scope="row"| 1957

| Bernardine

| Mrs. McDuff

scope="row"| 1972

| Sweet Kill

| Mrs. Cole

scope="row"| 1972

| Ciao! Manhattan

| Mummy

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:%;" \|+ Partial television credits
Year ! Series ! Role ! Episode
scope="row"\| 1952 \| The Adventures of Kit Carson \| Mary Barker \| "The Trap"
scope="row"\| 1952 \| The Unexpected \| Sister \| "One for the Money"
scope="row"\| 1952 \| Mr. & Mrs. North \| Anne Noble \| "The Nobles"
scope="row"\| 1952 \| Fireside Theatre \| \| "The Boxer and the Stranger"
scope="row"\| 1953 \| Fireside Theatre \| \| "The Twelfth Juror"
scope="row"\| 1955 \| Treasury Men in Action \| \| "The Case of the Lady in Hiding"
scope="row"\| 1956 \| Dr. Christian \| Mae \| "Insurance Policy"
scope="row"\| 1957 \| Climax! \| Actress \| " Murder Has a Deadline"
scope="row"\| 1961 \| {{sortname\|The\|Aquanauts}} \| Miss Port \| "The Defective Tank Adventure"
scope="row"\| 1961 \| Lock Up \| \| "Planter's Death"
scope="row"\| 1962 \| The Untouchables \| Sophie \| "The Night They Shot Santa Claus"
scope="row"\| 1964 \| Kraft Suspense Theatre \| Mrs. Lyons \| "The Gun"
scope="row"\| 1965 \| Gunsmoke \| Mme. Ahr \| "Circus Trick"

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="font-size:%;"

|+ Partial television credits

Year

! Series

! Role

! Episode

scope="row"| 1952

| The Adventures of Kit Carson

| Mary Barker

| "The Trap"

scope="row"| 1952

| The Unexpected