Filmography

Though her first concrete credit didn’t come along until Love’s Hurdle (1926), Adrienne Doré was in Hollywood film circles from 1924. Various references were made in magazines to roles that either never materialized or were so insignificant they can’t be confirmed; one 1926 Spokane newspaper biography claims Adrienne was an extra in 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera, which is entirely plausible as its production lines up with her time at Universal. A picture of Adrienne outside a dressing room with her name on it appears in the May 2, 1925 issue of the studio periodical Universal Weekly, along with a mention of a five-year contract. This is significant, as most biographies claim Adrienne entered films after the 1925 Miss America pageant in September. In reality, she had already been a stock player for at least five months.

The first real mention of Adrienne Doré appearing in a film comes from the June 6, 1925 edition of the Motion Picture News. She was to support comedians Arthur Lake and Charles Puffy in a series of one-reel shorts by Universal, titled Bluebird Comedies. However, the author has not yet pinpointed which of these Bluebird comedies Adrienne appeared in, or if any scenes of her scenes were retained, given their relative obscurity. A few further misfires happened after the conclusion of the Miss America contest, such as a screen test for Sally, Irene, and Mary (1925) that resulted in nothing more than a staged publicity shot with director Edmund Goulding.

Eventually, all of the following titles will be clickable for full pages with plot summaries and stills (if available).

The Mystery Club (1926)

70 mins.
Silent
Universal Pictures
Dir. Herbert Blaché
Release date: August 30, 1926 (UK) and September 12, 1926 (USA)
Cast: Matt Moore, Edith Roberts, Mildred Harris, Charles Lane, Charles Puffy, Adrienne Doré (uncredited)

Love’s Hurdle (1926)

20 mins.
Silent
Two-reel short
Universal Pictures / Stern Bros.
Dir. Francis Corby
Release date: September 29, 1926
Cast: Charles King, Adrienne Doré

Adrienne disappeared from the Universal roster after Love’s Hurdle. Absent from films for the better part of 1927, Adrienne moved to the stage for a production of Oh, Kay! with Elsie Janis. It premiered on August 15, 1927, as the first production to be staged at the new Mayan Theater. Oh, Kay! proved so successful that the company moved to the Lurie Theater in San Francisco, where they performed an extended run throughout October. Adrienne was chosen as the lead for Beyond London’s Lights two months later, in December.

The Valley Of Hunted Men (1928)

54 mins.
Silent
Action Pictures / Pathé
Dir. Richard Thorpe
Release date: February 19, 1928
Cast: Jay Wilsey, Oscar Apfel, Kathleen Collins, Adrienne Doré (uncredited)

The Swim Princess (1928)

20 mins.
Two-reel short
Mack Sennett Comedies / Pathé
Dir. Alfred J. Goulding
Release date: February 26, 1928
Cast: Daphne Pollard, Andy Clyde, Carole Lombard, Jim Hallett, Adrienne Doré (uncredited)

Beyond London’s Lights (1928)

60 mins.
Silent
FBO Pictures
Dir. Tom Terriss
Production: began December 1927
Release date: March 18, 1928
Cast: Adrienne Doré, Lee Shumway, Gordon (Bill) Elliott, Herbert Evans, Jacqueline Gadsdon, Florence Wix

Wife Trouble (1928)

One-reel short
Cameo Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Wallace MacDonald
Release Date: September 23, 1928
Cast: Robert Graves, Muriel Evans, Adrienne Doré, Amber Norman

Hold That Monkey (1928)

Two-reel short
Mermaid Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Jules White
Release date: November 11, 1928
Cast: Monte Collins, Kit Guard, Adrienne Doré

The Roof Garden Revue (1929)

One-reel sound short
The Vitaphone Corp. / Warner Brothers
Dir. Larry Ceballos
Release date: November 14, 1928
Cast: Lyda Roberti, Bailey and Barnum, The Larry Ceballos Girls (Adrienne Doré)

Pep Up (1929)

One-reel silent short
Cameo Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Francis Martin
Release date: February 24, 1929
Cast: Cliff Bowes, Marshall Ruth, Adrienne Doré, William Dale, Emily Gerdes

Smart Steppers (1929)

Two-reel silent short
Mermaid Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Stephen Roberts
Release date: March 3, 1929
Cast: Al St. John, Glen Cavender, Adrienne Doré, Harold Goodwin, Al Thompson

Time To Expire (1929)

8 mins.
One-reel short
Cameo Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Francis Martin
Release date: March 24, 1929
Cast: Gene Stone, Adrienne Doré, Ethel Sykes, Harry Martell, Bobby Barber

The Wild Party (1929)

77 mins.
Sound
Paramount
Dir. Dorothy Arzner
Production: January 2–29, 1929
Release date: April 6, 1929
Cast: Clara Bow, Fredric March, Marceline Day, Shirley O’Hara, Adrienne Doré, Joyce Compton, Jack Oakie, Jack Luden, Alice Adair, Jean Lorraine

Delicious and Refreshing (1929)

One-reel short
Cameo Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Francis Martin
Release date: April 21, 1929
Cast: Adrienne Doré, Tania Akron, Eva Thatcher, Al Thompson, Robert Graves, Stanhope Wheatcroft

Peaceful Alley (1929)

20 mins.
Two-reel sound short
Lloyd Hamilton Talking Comedies / Educational Pictures
Dir. Alfred J. Goulding
Release date: September 29, 1929
Cast: Lloyd Hamilton, Adrienne Doré, Douglas Scott

Adam’s Eve (1929)

20 mins.
Two-reel sound short
Paramount / Famous Lasky Corp.
Dir. Leslie Pearce
Production: July 29, 1929 — late August 1929
Release date: October 12, 1929
Cast: Johnny Arthur, Frances Lee, Adrienne Doré, Geneva Mitchell, Paul Powell

Pointed Heels (1929)

62 mins.
Paramount / Famous Lasky Corp.
Dir. A. Edward Sutherland
Production: September 7 — October 1929
Release date: December 21, 1929
Cast: William Powell, Helen Kane, Fay Wray, Richard ‘Skeets’ Gallagher, Phillips Holmes, Eugene Palette, Adrienne Doré

Hello, Baby (1930)

20 mins.
Two-reel technicolor sound short
The Vitaphone Corp.
Dir. Larry Ceballos
Release date: March 24, 1930
Cast: Ann Pennington, Norman Selby, James Clemens, Wheeler Oakman, Phyllis Crane, Adrienne Doré

Johnny’s Week End (1930)

17 mins.
Two-reel short
Gayety Comedies / Educational Pictures / Al Christie
Dir. William Watson
Release date: September 14, 1930
Cast: Johnny Hines, Adrienne Doré, Vernon Dent, Estelle Bradley, Neal Burns, Helen Bolton, Frank Rice

Adrienne took another short hiatus from film to return to the stage in Temptations of 1930, also at the Mayan Theater where she previously played in Oh, Kay. Temptations opened on September 22, 1930, and had a successful run throughout the month of October and early November.

Under Eighteen (1931)

80 mins.
Warner Bros.
Dir. Archie Mayo
Release date: December 24, 1931 (New York premiere)
Cast: Marian Marsh, Anita Page, Regis Toomey, Warren William, Norman Foster, Joyce Compton, J. Farrell MacDonald, Claire Dodd, Dorothy Appleby, Lilian Bond, Mary Doran (uncredited), Adrienne Doré (uncredited).
*Note: Adrienne, for some reason, has been omitted from nearly all cast lists, despite appearing in stills and having a notable steamy poolside love scene with Warren William.

Union Depot (1932)

67 mins.
Warner Bros.
Dir. Alfred E. Green
Production: October 1931
Release date: January 14, 1932 (New York premiere)
Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale, David Landau, George Rosener, Earle Foxe, Frank McHugh, Adrienne Doré

The Expert (1932)

69 mins
Warner Bros.
Dir. Archie Mayo
Production: November 30, 1931 – Jan 1932
Release date: February 4, 1932 (Los Angeles premiere) / March 5, 1932 (General release)
Cast: Charles Sale, Dickie Moore, Lois Wilson, Ralf Harolde, Adrienne Doré, Earle Foxe, Noel Francis, Elizabeth Patterson, Dorothea Wolbert, Charles E. Evans, Louise Beavers, Walter Catlett

Alias The Doctor (1932)

69 mins.
Warner Bros. / First National
Dir. Michael Curtiz
Production: began December 5, 1931
Release date: February 25, 1932 (Los Angeles premiere) / March 26, 1932 (General release)
Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Marian Marsh, Norman Foster, Adrienne Doré, Lucille La Verne, Oscar Apfel, John St. Polis, George Rosener

Play Girl (1932)

60 mins.
Warner Bros.
Dir. Ray Enright
Production: began December 30, 1931
Release date: March 3, 1932 (Los Angeles premiere) / March 12, 1932 (General release)
Cast: Winnie Lightner, Loretta Young, Norman Foster, Guy Kibbee, Dorothy Burgess, Noel Madison, James Ellison, Edward Van Sloan, Adrienne Doré (uncredited)

The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)

74 mins.
Warner Bros. / First National
Dir. Lloyd Bacon
Production: December 1931 – April 1932
Release date: May 14, 1932
Cast: Joan Blondell, Grant Mitchell, Vivienne Osborne, Adrienne Doré, Tom Brown, Kenneth Thomson, Leslie Fenton, Oscar Apfel, Walter Miller, Purnell Pratt

The Rich Are Always With Us (1932)

71 mins.
Warner Bros. / First National
Dir. Alfred E. Green
Production: began October 1, 1931
Release date: May 21, 1932
Cast: Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Bette Davis, John Miljan, Adrienne Doré, John Wray, Robert Warwick, Walter Walker, Virginia Hammond, Berton Churchill


Chronologically, Adrienne’s next credit is “Annie” in the Mervyn LeRoy’s Two Seconds (1932), starring Edward G. Robinson. However, Annie (who only appears twice around the sixteen minute mark, at 16:00 and 16:28 respectively) is obviously played by an entirely different actress. Adrienne does not appear anywhere else in the film; the AFI Catalog listing for Two Seconds denotes her credit as “offscreen and derived from contemporary sources”. She is, however, repeatedly referred to in the film’s pressbook, which leads this writer to believe her scenes were belatedly cut.

Street of Women (1932)

59 mins.
Warner Bros.
Dir. Archie Mayo
Production: April – May 1932
Release date: June 4, 1932
Cast: Kay Francis, Roland Young, Alan Dinehart, Gloria Stuart, Marjorie Gateson, Allen Vincent, Adrienne Doré, Louise Beavers

Street of Women would be Adrienne’s last film for Warner Brothers upon the expiration of her six month contract from October/November 1931. Her option was not renewed.

Adrienne’s first role post-Warner Brothers is frequently given as an appearance in The Thirteenth Guest (1932), an early Ginger Rogers vehicle from Monogram Pictures. Many sites and publications list her as being in the uncredited role of “Winston’s date”. However, this is a case of mistaken identity. The actress in that role is plainly Nadine Dore, who was with Monogram at the time The Thirteenth Guest was produced. She appeared in a handful of other Monogram productions from that year, her biggest role being in Law of the North (1932). Nadine Dore was brunette and never connected to Adrienne, but the two are frequently confused, even in period newspapers.

It’s the same case with The Girl From Calgary (1932), also from Monogram. Adrienne is said to have an uncredited role as “Darrell’s secretary”, but the unidentified actress playing the part, yet again, obviously isn’t her. It couldn’t be, anyway, as Adrienne was in Chicago rendezvousing with Burt Kelly during production.

Adrienne’s next confirmed, legitimate credit wouldn’t be until 1933:

Love, Honor, and Oh, Baby! (1933)

62 mins.
Universal Pictures
Dir. Edward Buzzell
Production: began July 1933
Release date: October 16, 1933
Cast: ZaSu Pitts, Slim Summerville, George Barbier, Lucile Gleason, Verree Teasdale, Donald Meek, Purnell Pratt, Adrienne Doré, Dorothy Granger, Neely Edwards, Henry Kolker

Undercover Men (1935)

61 mins.
Booth-Dominion Productions
Dir. Sam Newfield
Production: August – September 1935
Release: April 6, 1936 (UK) / May 13, 1936 (USA)
Cast: Charles Starrett, Adrienne Doré, Kenne Duncan, Wheeler Oakman, Eric Clavering, Philip Brandon, Austin Moran, Grace Webster, Gilmore Young, Elliott Lorraine, Wilbur Freeman, Farnham Baxter, Muriel Deane
*Note: Not to be confused with the Johnny Mack Brown film Undercover Men (1936).

Although this does signal the end of Adrienne’s filmography, we know she didn’t immediately call it quits; she was one of the many actresses who filmed screen tests for the role of Belle Watling in Gone With The Wind (1939). The role eventually went to Ona Munson in April, 1939, after infamous casting trouble. Adrienne’s GWTW screen test is extant and held by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.