Beautiful ingénue Gloria Stuart made 46 films from 1932-1946, playing leads in 'B' movies and supporting roles in 'A' movies. She returned to acting in 1975 and performed on television and film, including the blockbuster “Titanic,” as the elderly Rose, her most famous role coming at age 87. Here's a look at the different films done by Gloria Stuart as she went from the cool, classy “ice cream blonde” type to older woman to elderly over the course of 65 years.
1. 'Titanic' - 1997
Twentieth Century Fox
Let’s start with Stuart’s greatest role. A salvage crew seeks information on the whereabouts of the lost 'Heart of the Ocean' gem from a 101-year-old survivor of the disaster, Rose (Stuart). James Cameron’s blockbuster film recounts the events of that tragic 1912 night from Rose’s perspective as she tells her story of love and loss. Titanic begins with actual footage of the doomed vessel leaving port. The film stars Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet (young Rose) as the star-crossed lovers, as well as Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bill Paxton, Victor Garber, and Suzy Amis.
2. 'The Old Dark House' - 1932
Universal
In this eerie film directed by James Whale, travelers seeking shelter from a dreadful rainstorm end up in a gloomy Welsh mansion owned by the Femm family, a bunch of real characters. When the servant gets drunk and releases the locked-up psychotic pyromaniac Femm brother Saul, things get really wild. Gloria Stuart is a beautiful, terrified young woman in the house along with Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Raymond Massey, and Lillian Bond.
3. 'The Invisible Man' - 1933
Universal
In another James Whale film, Claude Rains is Dr. Griffin, who uses his discovery of invisibility on himself and goes crazy. Wrapped in bandages, he holes up at an inn. Flora Cranley (Stuart), his girlfriend, appeals to her father when his assistant Griffin disappears. Little do they know that Griffin is the invisible homicidal maniac being written about in the newspapers. Though Rains was Stuart’s co-star, she didn’t see much of him in this film! Based on the H.G. Wells novel, the film also features Henry Travers, Una O’Connor, Holmes Herbert, and E.E. Clive.
4. 'Gold-Diggers of 1935'
First National Pictures
In this Busby Berkeley musical, a Russian stage director (Adolphe Menjou) wants to put on a show at a swank hotel in order to pay his bill. He convinces a Mrs. Prentiss (Alice Brady) to back the show. Mrs. Prentiss wants her daughter Ann (Gloria Stuart) to marry a millionaire named Thorpe. But Ann has eyes only for Dick Curtis (Dick Powell), a hotel employee with a beautiful tenor voice. Powell and Stuart have the number “I’m Going Shopping with You.” This film is best known for its fabulous “Lullaby of Broadway” number, considered by many to be Busby Berkeley’s best. Also starring Glenda Farrell and Frank McHugh.
5. 'The Prisoner of Shark Island' - 1936
Twentieth Century Fox
Director John Ford tells the story of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln. Suspected of conspiracy in the assassination, Mudd was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Dry Tortugas. Stuart plays his wife, who works tirelessly for his freedom. Warner Baxter is Dr. Mudd, and the cast includes John Carradine, Harry Carey, and Claude Gillingwater.
6. 'My Favorite Year' - 1982
MGM
Peter O’Toole plays hard-drinking actor Alan Swann, who is set to appear on King Kaiser’s hit 1950s TV variety/comedy show. In order to keep Swann from being thrown off the show, a young TV executive (Mark Linn-Baker) babysits him. This hilarious comedy features Gloria Stuart as a restaurant patron celebrating her anniversary who has the opportunity to dance with her idol. Directed by Richard Benjamin.
