Thelma Todd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress. Appearing in about 120 pictures between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in films such as Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, a number of Charley Chase's short comedies, and co-starring with Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily. She also had roles in Wheeler and Woolsey farces, several Laurel and Hardy films, the last of which (The Bohemian Girl) featured her in a part that was truncated by her suspicious death at the age of 29.

During the silent film era, Todd appeared in numerous supporting roles that made full use of her beauty but gave her little chance to act. With the advent of the talkies, Todd was given opportunity to expand her roles when producer Hal Roach signed her to appear with such comedy stars as Harry Langdon, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy.

In 1931, Roach cast Todd in her own series of slapstick comedy shorts, running 17 to 27 minutes each. In an attempt to create a female version of Laurel and Hardy, Roach teamed Todd with ZaSu Pitts for 17 shorts, from "Let's do Things" (June 1931) through "One Track Minds" (May 1933). When Pitts left in 1933, she was replaced by Patsy Kelly, appearing with Todd in 21 shorts, from "Beauty and the Bus" (September 1933) through "An All American Toothache" (January 1936). These Roach shorts often cast Todd as a working girl having all sorts of problems, and trying her best to remain poised and charming despite the embarrassing antics of her sidekick.

Todd also appeared successfully in such dramas as the original 1931 film version of The Maltese Falcon starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade, in which she played Miles Archer's treacherous widow. During her career she appeared in 119 films although many of these were short films, and was sometimes publicized as "The Ice Cream Blonde."

Todd continued her short-subject series through 1935, and was featured in the full-length Laurel and Hardy comedy The Bohemian Girl. This was her last film; she died after completing all of her scenes, but most of them were re-shot. Producer Roach deleted all of Todd's dialogue and limited her appearance to one musical number.

Horse Feathers

6.9

Monkey Business

7.0

Another Fine Mess

6.8

The Devil's Brother

6.7

The Maltese Falcon

6.4

The Bohemian Girl

6.1

Chickens Come Home

6.6

Unaccustomed as We Are

6.8

Counsellor at Law

6.6

Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime

8.0

Her Man

5.3

Speak Easily

5.8

Call Her Savage

5.8

Seven Footprints to Satan

6.0

On the Loose

6.8

Corsair

4.4

This Is the Night

5.6

Mary Stevens, M.D.

6.0

Palooka

3.2

You Made Me Love You

6.9

Klondike

5.3

Whispering Whoopee

5.8

Broadminded

3.7

The Soilers

6.2

Cheating Blondes

5.0

Air Hostess

5.8

Hips, Hips, Hooray!

5.8

Sitting Pretty

7.5

The Big Timer

3.5

No Limit

6.0

Follow Thru

7.2

Command Performance

4.1

Cockeyed Cavaliers

6.0

Lightning Strikes Twice

4.7

The Hot Heiress

5.3

Show Business

6.0

The Tin Man

7.0

Dollar Dizzy

6.0

The King

4.3

Strictly Unreliable

5.5

The Shield of Honor

4.3

Bottoms Up

4.3

All Teed Up

3.3

Look out Below

5.0

Two for Tonight

6.5

High C's

3.8

The Bargain of the Century

1.5

Sealskins

5.5

The Pip from Pittsburg

6.5

Love Fever

4.0

The Head Guy

4.0

Babes in the Goods

9.0

Alum and Eve

7.0

Take the Stand

4.0

Naughty Baby

4.5

Nevada

6.0

Son of a Sailor

5.0

Asleep in the Feet

1.0

Catch-As Catch-Can

1.0

Sing Sister Sing

6.0

Red Noses

7.0

The Real McCoy

6.5

The Nickel Nurser

1.0

Backs to Nature

5.0

The Pajama Party

7.0

The Old Bull

3.0

Bum Voyage

6.0

Air Fright

5.0

After the Dance

6.0

Looser Than Loose

4.0

The Noose

7.0

Snappy Sneezer

6.5

Fashion News

5.0

Crazy Feet

5.5

Deception

6.0

Her Private Life

1.0

Stepping Out

5.0

Yesterday and Today

0.0

God Gave Me Twenty Cents

0.0

The Poor Rich

0.0

Rough Seas

0.0

Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

0.0

Maid in Hollywood

0.0

Top Flat

0.0

Soup and Fish

0.0

Opened by Mistake

0.0

Hot Money

0.0

One-Horse Farmers

0.0

Maids a la Mode

0.0

Heart to Heart

0.0

Hollywood's Hidden Secrets

0.0

The Fighting Parson

0.0

The Shrimp

0.0

War Mamas

0.0

The Misses Stooge

0.0

Twin Triplets

0.0

Three Chumps Ahead

0.0

Treasure Blues

0.0

Sneak Easily

0.0

Slightly Static

0.0

One Track Minds

0.0

I'll Be Suing You

0.0

Beauty and the Bus

0.0

Done in Oil

0.0

Let's Do Things

0.0

An All American Toothache

0.0

Hurdy Gurdy

0.0

Aloha

0.0

Hotter Than Hot

0.0

House of Horror

0.0

Careers

0.0

Fascinating Youth

0.0

The Bachelor Girl

0.0

The Crash

0.0

Trial Marriage

0.0

Vamping Venus

0.0

The Haunted House

0.0

Rubber Heels

0.0

Fireman, Save My Child

0.0

Swanee River

0.0

The Gay Defender

0.0

Sky Boy

0.0

Hal Roach Presents Harry Langdon

0.0