In a bid to repeat the popular and critical acclaim of 7TH HEAVEN (1927), Fox reunited Borzage, Gaynor and Farrell in STREET ANGEL Even more mystical and visually ravishing than its predecessor, this stylized studio melodrama rings a few variations on Borzage's patented romantic formula. Gaynor stars in the title role as an impoverished Neapolitan waif running from the law who finds refuge in the arms of Farrell's vagabond painter. The least-known of the three films for which Gaynor received an Oscar, STREET ANGEL was adapted from a novel by Monckton Hoffe and incorporates authentic details into an expressionistic backlot design surely influenced by the émigré genius Murnau.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on a novel by Monckton Hoffe. Scenario: Marion Orth. Adaptation: Philip Klein, Henry Roberts Symonds. Titles: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Barney Wolf. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Alberto Rabagliati, Gino Conti. 35mm, silent, with music soundtrack, 117 min.

Fox poached Gaynor from Universal with the offer of a supporting role in this proto-disaster movie, a period melodrama inspired by the actual catastrophe that struck the titular Pennsylvania town in 1889. George O'Brien stars as a prescient engineer who spots flaws in the local dam. Florence Gilbert is O'Brien's love interest, but Gaynor steals the show in the minor but crucial role of Anna Burger, a workman's daughter who rides through the valley on horseback to warn the people of the impending deluge. Gaynor's memorable performance earned her a five-year contract with Fox, effectively launching her meteoric career.

Fox Film Corp.. Producer: William Fox. Scenario: Edfrid Bingham, Robert Lord. Cinematographer: George Schneiderman. Cast: George O'Brien, Florence Gilbert, Janet Gaynor, Anders Randolf. 35mm, silent, 58 min.

Gaynor got top billing in only her second feature at Fox. Directed by John Ford, THE SHAMROCK HANDICAP is a lighthearted racehorse drama set in Ireland. Gaynor plays the daughter of a kindly but destitute aristocrat (Louis Payne) forced to sell the bulk of his equestrian stable to a wealthy American. Romance blooms with the young jockey (Leslie Fenton) who rides her father's prize filly in a steeplechase to restore the family fortune. Ford displays earnest affection for the land of his forefathers and a knack for ethnographic detail in this breezy tale rife with witty sight gags and old-fashioned Irish blarney.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on a story by Peter B. Kyne. Producer: William Fox. Scenario: John Stone. Cinematographer: George Schneiderman. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Leslie Fenton, J. Farrell McDonald, Louis Payne. 35mm, silent, 55 min.

Gaynor's last collaboration with Borzage finds her once again playing opposite Charles Farrell in a melancholy melodrama about an embattled couple whose love for each other overcomes all odds. Set largely in a rural village, LUCKY STAR features Gaynor as an impoverished, willful young woman enamored of Farrell's wheelchair-bound WWI veteran. The misty fairy-tale-like milieu, fabricated entirely inside the studio, is vividly evoked via Borzage's trademark chiaroscuro lighting schemes and soft-focus camera style. American gothic in the most sincere, unironic sense, the film entwines sentimental optimism with touches of terror, pathos and even lighthearted humor.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the story "Three Episodes in the Life of Timothy Osborne" by Tristam Tupper. Producer: William Fox. Scenario: Sonya Levien. Intertitles: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell. Cinematographer: Chester Lyons, William Cooper Smith. Editor: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams, Paul Fix. 35mm, silent, 86 min.

Frank Borzage auditioned a parade of major theater and movie stars before selecting Gaynor and Charles Farrell as the central couple in his magnum opus, 7TH HEAVEN. Based on the phenomenally successful Broadway play by Austin Strong, Borzage's tender and luminous film version features Gaynor as the vulnerable gamine who falls in love with Farrell's stoic Parisian street cleaner against the backdrop of WWI. The picture won a raft of awards, and Gaynor was praised for her ability "to combine ingénue sweetness with a certain suggestion of wideawake vivacity; to mix facial lyricism with a credible trace of earthiness" (New York Herald Tribune).

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the novel by Austin Strong. Scenario: Benjamin Glazer. Titles: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Barney Wolf. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Ben Bard, David Butler. 35mm, silent, with music track, 120 min.

Edmund Cobb's Pep O'Keefe is a down-on-his-luck cowpoke who saunters into the Lazy "J" ranch looking for work. Instead, he falls for missing heiress May Kennedy, who is accompanied by friend June Adams, played by the fetching 19-year old Janet Gaynor. This two-reeler makes up for its slight plot with all-out boxing matches and rousing horseback rescues.

Universal. Scenario: Leigh Jacobson. Cast: Edmund Cobb, Janet Gaynor. 35mm, silent, (22fps.), 21 min.

The great German director F.W. Murnau handpicked Gaynor to star in his first Hollywood feature. A masterpiece of silent cinema widely considered among the greatest films ever made, SUNRISE tells an elemental tale with virtuosic visual invention. The relatively simple story revolves around a hard-working farmer (George O'Brien) torn between devotion to his virtuous wife (Gaynor) and desire for a seductive vamp from the city (Margaret Livingston). Gaynor's work here for Murnau, combined with her subsequent performances in Frank Borzage's 7TH HEAVEN and STREET ANGEL, famously earned her the first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1928.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on "The Journey to Tilsit" by Hermann Suderman. Scenario: Carl Mayer. Titles: Katherine Hilliker, H. H. Caldwell. Cinematographer: Charles Rosher, Karl Struss. Editor: Harold D. Schuster. Cast: George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingstone, Bodil Rosing. 35mm, silent, with music track, 97 min.

George Gershwin's first original screen musical starred the popular romantic duo of Gaynor and Farrell in an immigrant saga about a Scottish lass who falls in love with a wealthy New York polo enthusiast. Though Gaynor performs only one song ("Somebody from Somewhere"), she's the focal point of several major set pieces: the elaborate "Dream Sequence" that presages her welcome to the melting pot; and "New York Rhapsody," an impressionistic urban tour that captures Gaynor's fear and alienation as she wanders despairingly around Manhattan. DELICIOUS combines the best of Broadway musical comedy with the visual dynamism unique to the medium of motion pictures.

Fox Film Corp.. Producer: Winfield Sheehan. Scenario: Guy Bolton, Sonya Levien. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Irene Morra. Music: George Gershwin. Lyrics: Ira Gershwin. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, El Brendel, Raul Roulien. 35mm, 106 min.

Gaynor again essays musical comedy in this delightful costume romp based on a popular German film from the same period. Set in a mythical European kingdom lavishly realized on the studio backlot, ADORABLE spotlights Gaynor as a rebellious princess with a penchant for partying incognito with the proles, including a suave delicatessen owner (Henry Garat) who is himself a lieutenant in disguise. This humorous tale of romance and mistaken identity is further enlivened by catchy songs added to the original German score and some positively whimsical flights of fantasy and cinematic legerdemain directed with great panache by the patrician German expat Wilhelm (aka William) Dieterle.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on a screenplay by Robert Liebmann, Paul Frank, Billy Wilder. Screenwriter: George Marion, Jr., Jane Storm. Cinematographer: John Seitz. Editor: Irene Morra, R.W. Bischoff. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Henry Garat, C. Aubrey Smith, Herbert Mundin. 35mm, 83 min.

THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE features Henry Fonda in his big-screen debut reprising the role that originally won him acclaim on the Broadway stage. Fonda plays a soft-spoken farmer who falls in love with the feisty cook (Gaynor) aboard a working canal barge. Gaynor was a top box-office attraction of 1934 but felt she was fast outgrowing her ingénue period. Her forthright, spunky role in THE FARMER TAKES A WIFE enabled her to stretch her wholesome star persona into fresh territory. As Variety noted, "Gaynor is given a part which permits her to get away from her sometimes too sweet assignments."

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the play by Frank B. Elser and Marc Connelly, and the novel Rome Haul by Walter D. Edmonds. Producer: Winfield Sheehan. Screenwriter: Edwin Burke, Edward E. Paramore, Jr. Cinematographer: Ernest Palmer. Editor: Harold Schuster. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Henry Fonda, Charles Bickford, Slim Summerville. 35mm, 91 min.

Gaynor and Will Rogers headlined this family comedy that celebrates the rustic rituals of the annual state fair. Directed by Henry King from the bestseller by Philip Stong, STATE FAIR gets big laughs out of farmer Rogers' struggles to prepare his prize hog, Blue Boy, for competition. Variety however preferred the film's charming love story to its broad humor, claiming the "chief interest is the debut of a new romance team in Janet Gaynor and Lew Ayres." Critics hailed the actors—"Miss Gaynor here gives her best performance in talking pictures" (New York Times)—while the film itself garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the novel by Philip Ston. Producer: Winfield Sheehan. Screenwriter: Sonya Levien, Paul Green. Cinematographer: Hal Mohr. Editor: R.W. Bischoff. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Louise Dresser. 35mm, 96 min.

Based on a popular Swedish novel-turned-film, SERVANTS' ENTRANCE was one among the immensely successful talkie vehicles Fox designed for Gaynor in the early '30s. Gaynor stars as an erstwhile rich girl who takes work as a maid in preparation for an impoverished future and falls in love with a handsome chauffeur played by Lew Ayres. The New York Times praised the picture as "an agreeable romantic comedy which should—and unquestionably will—find high favor with those who visit the cinema primarily in search of entertainment." Especially noteworthy is Gaynor's cartoon anxiety dream, an animated sequence produced for the film by none other than Walt Disney.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the novel by Sigrid Boo. Producer: Winfield Sheehan. Screenwriter: Samson Raphaelson. Cinematographer: Hal Mohr. Animation: Walt Disney. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Lew Ayres, Ned Sparks, Walter Connolly. 35mm, 88 min.

Fox conceived this remake of a Mary Pickford silent as another melodramatic vehicle for Gaynor and Farrell, their eleventh of twelve screen teamings. TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY stars Gaynor in the title part as the plucky daughter of an ornery skipper (Dudley Digges), while Farrell portrays the son of a dastardly local landowner on the seafaring coastline of the otherwise unnamed "Storm Country." Director Alfred Santell considerably softened the naturalistic, often brutal source novel by Grace Miller White in an effort to fashion an upbeat, affirmative and romantic film for Gaynor's legion of faithful fans.

Fox Film Corp.. Based on the novel and play by Grace Miller White. Screenwriter: S.N. Berhman, Sonya Levien, William Rankin. Cinematographer: Hal Mohr. Editor: Ralph Dietrich. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, Dudley Digges, June Clyde. 35mm, 75 min.

Fox loaned Gaynor to MGM for this sophisticated romantic comedy originally intended as a vehicle for Jean Harlow. Gaynor plays a sharp young woman stifled by the limits of provincial life. Brain surgeon (and charming lush!) Robert Taylor sweeps her away to Boston after a quickie marriage, but snobbish urban society is soon scandalized by their spontaneous union. Variety hailed the film as "a smacko assignment for Gaynor and she displays considerable authority in her performance." Based on a serialized novel by Ben Ames Williams, SMALL TOWN GIRL was directed with wit and energy by William Wellman.

MGM. Based on the novel by Ben Ames Williams. Producer: Hunt Stromberg. Screenwriter: John Lee Mahin, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Edith Fitzgerald. Cinematographer: Oliver T. Marsh, Charles Rosher. Editor: Blanche Sewell. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine. 35mm, 90 min.

In her last film for Fox, Gaynor appears alongside Constance Bennett and Loretta Young in a romantic drama about three girlfriends sharing a deluxe apartment while they search for husbands in modern-day Budapest. Gaynor got top billing to play the sensible gal enamored of a dignified doctor (Don Ameche). The New York Times reported on-set friction between the leading actresses, claiming that "[e]ach of the young ladies is known for being temperamental and diplomacy has been called into use more than once." Based on the stage play Three Girls, the film's story line became a virtual template at Fox in years to come.

20th Century Fox Film Corp.. Based on the play Three Girls by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete. Screenwriter: Melville Baker, Charles Kenyon. Cinematographer: Hal Mohr. Editor: Ralph Dietrich. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Loretta Young, Constance Bennett, Don Ameche, Paul Lukas. 35mm, 97 min.

After leaving Fox, Gaynor starred in David O. Selznick's gimlet-eyed melodrama about the Hollywood movie colony. A STAR IS BORN traces the rise of an aspiring actress (Gaynor) to the heights of fame and fortune, while also charting the obverse trajectory of her matinée idol husband (Fredric March), whose own career nosedives as hers soars to even greater success. Nominated for numerous Academy Awards—including one for Gaynor's subtle, sympathetic lead performance—A STAR IS BORN became the biggest box-office hit of the year and provided Gaynor with her most famous line—and one of the most memorable last lines in movie history—"This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

Based on a story by W. A. Wellman, R. Carson. Producer: David O. Selznick. Screenwriter: Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson. Cinematographer: W. Howard Greene. Editor: James E. Newcomb, Anson Stevenson. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson. 35mm, 111 min.

A witty, heartfelt screwball comedy from super-producer David O. Selznick, THE YOUNG IN HEART was also Gaynor's last released feature before her retirement from the movies—and marriage to famed fashion designer Gilbert Adrian—in 1939. Gaynor stars as the wily daughter in a family of high-class con artists intent on fleecing a kindly old widow (Broadway veteran Minnie Dupree in her showstopping screen debut) out of her vast fortune. An original downbeat conclusion, derived from the source novel, apparently tested so poorly in previews that Selznick reassembled the cast and shot a new, upbeat ending for the final cut of the film.

Based on the novel The Gay Banditti by I.A.R. Wylie. Producer: David O. Selznick. Screenwriter: Paul Osborn, Charles Bennett, Barbara Keon. Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy. Editor: Hal C. Kern. Cast: Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paulette Goddard, Roland Young, Billie Burke. 35mm, 90 min.