The Little Picture House

Barbara Kent played the young woman John Gilbert overlooks in Flesh and the Devil. Two years later she carried much of Lonesome with a look across a Coney Island crowd. Harold Lloyd chose her for his first two talking features, and she went on to play everything from a woman drawn into a theatre murder investigation to Amelia Sedley.

Barbara Cloutman • Born 16 December 1907 in Gadsby, Alberta • Died 13 October 2011 in Palm Desert, California • Actress in silent films and early talkies

Watch at The Little Picture House · Chronological filmography · Other appearances and disputed credits · Sources

From Alberta to Universal

Barbara Kent was born Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, Alberta, on 16 December 1907, the date used by her family’s Desert Sun notice and the Smithsonian. Bruce Weber’s obituary notes that 1906 also appears in reference sources. The family’s account and the museum support 1907. The move to California is harder to date. The Smithsonian gives 1913, Weber says she was thirteen, and the family notice associates 1925 with her arrival in Los Angeles to pursue acting. These accounts may describe different moves, but the available records leave the sequence open. (1–5)

Winning Miss Hollywood in 1925 led to a Universal contract. Kent later recalled that casting director Paul Kohner advised her to change her name. In Prowlers of the Night, an Ernst Laemmle western released in November 1926, she played Anita Parsons opposite Fred Humes. A New Zealand newspaper’s April 1927 coverage still presented her as Humes’s new leading lady. That is a local publicity date, while AFI records the earlier American release. (2, 4, 6, 7, 36)

At MGM, Clarence Brown gave her the part of Hertha in Flesh and the Devil. Hertha loves John Gilbert’s Leo, whose attention is fixed on Greta Garbo’s Felicitas. Kent’s quiet reactions give the triangle a life beyond the scenes between the two stars. She later recalled the scale of the production and regarded the part highly. Its late-1926 release and wider 1927 circulation account for the different years that appear in listings. (4, 9)

A western scandal and two films at the edge of sound

In No Man’s Law (1927), Kent is Toby Belcher, opposite an unusually menacing Oliver Hardy. A swimming scene gave the impression of nudity. Obituaries report she wore a flesh-coloured costume. Some later accounts credit the film’s popularity with earning her a WAMPAS Baby Star place. AFI cites Motion Picture News in February 1927 already calling her a recent selection. The film’s general release followed in April, so the chronology gives the Baby Star recognition a separate place in her rise. (2, 8)

Paul Fejos’s Lonesome follows Mary, a telephone operator, and Jim, a factory worker, as they meet at Coney Island and lose one another in the holiday crowd. Kent is especially good at showing how someone can feel alone in a busy city. Universal Weekly put her on its cover in June 1928. The surviving sound edition is predominantly silent in style, with synchronised music and effects and three dialogue sequences. That makes it easy to see why one source calls it a silent and another a part-talkie. The Library of Congress included it in the National Film Registry. (10–12)

In William Wyler’s The Shakedown, Kent’s Marjorie, a boxer and a boy become a small family of sorts. Brownlow dates the making of the picture to 1928. AFI records its release in March 1929. The surviving silent version is distinct from the original sound-version history. Another easily overlooked title is His Destiny, the Alberta production in which Kent plays a prison warden’s daughter. TIFF records a later U.S. sound version called North of 49°. (4, 13–15)

Harold Lloyd and the early talkies

Photoplay introduced Kent to readers in December 1929 as the Universal actress borrowed for Harold Lloyd’s Welcome Danger, while giving almost as much space to her furs as to her acting. The picture was first made as a silent, then reworked for sound. In Feet First (1930), her second film with Lloyd, she is the woman his ambitious shoe salesman keeps encountering as he tries to better himself. Kent already had experience working in pictures made for both sorts of theatre, and her early sound work continued into the following decade. (14, 16–18)

Her range in 1931 is easy to miss. In Gloria Swanson’s Indiscreet she is the younger sister whose choice of fiancé threatens to expose the heroine’s past. Brownlow’s obituary dates the film to 1932, but AFI places it in 1931. In Grief Street she is Jean Royce, drawn into a theatre murder investigation. She also worked in westerns and low-budget mysteries and played Amelia Sedley opposite Myrna Loy’s Becky Sharp in the modern-dress Vanity Fair. (4, 6, 19, 20, 31)

Two marriages and a quieter life

Kent married talent agent Harry Edington in 1932. Brownlow places the wedding on her twenty-fifth birthday, consistent with 16 December 1932 if the family’s birth date is used. Later accounts place it in Yuma, Arizona. The day and location are reported details, and this profile has no independently checked marriage registration. A 1939 newspaper item identifies Kent as Edington’s wife. The family notice records his death in 1949 and the death of her second husband, Jack Monroe, in 1998. Silent Era dates the second marriage to 1954, while Brownlow gives the mid-1950s. (1, 3, 4, 21, 22)

Marriage did coincide with a gradual retreat from major film roles. The dates people give for retirement depend on what they count. The Guardian and Silent Era give 1935, which fits the end of her run of substantial roles. AFI also assigns her a small dance-floor part in Blondie Meets the Boss (1939) and lists her as Jackie in Under Age (1941). Brownlow names 1941 as her last film. AFI’s 1942 entry for The Fleet’s In is for a small hostess role. This profile records the attribution with a qualification because it lacks separate confirmation that the unbilled performer was the former Universal actress. (3, 4, 22–25)

With Monroe, an aircraft engineer, Kent developed an interest in flying. Brownlow recalls that she preferred golf to talking about Hollywood, while the family notice remembers her fishing, gardening, entertaining and helping others with their education. Accounts associate her retirement with Sun Valley, Idaho, and Palm Desert, California. The Guardian corrected its original account of her later residence. The family notice and Weber give her death as 13 October 2011 in Palm Desert, aged 103. The Independent prints 20 October, a date this profile does not follow. (1–4)

Watch Barbara Kent at The Little Picture House

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Chronological filmography

This checklist covers 36 documented theatrical acting credits. It follows release years, with U.S. and Canadian dates distinguished where relevant. It includes TIFF’s Canadian entry, which does not appear in AFI’s cast list. Where release records give only a month or year, the exact order within that period is provisional. Shorts, later footage and uncertain credits are listed separately. (6, 13, 22–29)

1926–1928

Year	Film and role	Credit and release notes
1926	Prowlers of the Night Anita Parsons	Universal western with Fred Humes, released 21 November. Her first documented feature. No complete print traced in the records consulted.
1926	Flesh and the Devil Hertha	Also The Flesh and the Devil. AFI gives 25 December 1926, with wider circulation in 1927.
1927	No Man’s Law Toby Belcher	Hal Roach western with Rex the horse and Oliver Hardy. Announced as The Avenging Stallion.
1927	The Lone Eagle Mimi	Universal aviation melodrama with Raymond Keane. No complete print traced in the records consulted.
1927	The Drop Kick Cecily Graves	College football drama with Richard Barthelmess. AFI also lists The Dropkick.
1927	The Small Bachelor Molly Waddington	Adapted from P. G. Wodehouse. The silent farce pairs Kent with André Beranger.
1928	That’s My Daddy Nora Moran	Reginald Denny comedy. AFI uses Nora, while secondary lists sometimes use Molly Moran.
1928	Stop That Man! Muriel Crawford	Some secondary lists assign 1927. AFI places the Universal release in 1928 and styles the title without the exclamation mark.
1928	Modern Mothers Mildred	Columbia melodrama featuring Helene Chadwick and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. No complete print traced.
1928	Lonesome Mary	Paul Fejos’s New York romance. The surviving sound edition includes three dialogue scenes.
1928	His Destiny Betty Baker	Canadian production documented by TIFF. The U.S. sound version was released as North of 49°.

1929–1931

Year	Film and role	Credit and release notes
1929	The Shakedown Marjorie	William Wyler’s boxing drama. Made in 1928, released in March 1929. Silent and sound-version histories should be kept distinct.
1929	Welcome Danger Billie Lee	AFI uses Billy Lee; Billie appears in other listings. Lloyd began it as a silent and reworked it for sound.
1930	Night Ride Ruth Kearns	Also catalogued as The Night Ride. Early Universal crime film with Joseph Schildkraut.
1930	Dumbbells in Ermine Faith Corey	Also styled Dumb-bells in Ermine. Early Warner Bros. talkie based on the play Weak Sisters.
1930	What Men Want Betty Joyce	Also called Babs. Announced under Men in Her Life and Flaming Flappers. Separate from the 2019 comedy.
1930	Feet First Mary / Barbara	AFI’s cast and synopsis use Mary. Other filmographies call the character Barbara. Kent’s casting is agreed.
1931	Indiscreet Joan Trent	Gloria Swanson’s film, released in 1931. Separate from the 1958 Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman film.
1931	Grief Street Jean Royce	Richard Thorpe’s mystery about the killing of a stage actor.
1931	Chinatown After Dark Lotus	Separate low-budget crime film directed by Stuart Paton, with Carmel Myers and Rex Lease.
1931	Freighters of Destiny Ruth Mercer	RKO western starring Tom Keene.

1932–1935

Year	Film and role	Credit and release notes
1932	Emma Gypsy Smith	Supporting role in Marie Dressler’s MGM vehicle. AFI prints the surname in brackets.
1932	Vanity Fair Amelia Sedley	Myrna Loy plays Becky Sharp. Working title Vanity Fair of Today. Separate from 1935’s Becky Sharp.
1932	Beauty Parlor Sally Dale	AFI lists her as Sally. A beauty-shop melodrama with Joyce Compton and John Harron.
1932	Exposed Ruth	Independent drama released in September. Separate from later films of the same name.
1932	No Living Witness Carol Everett	Independent mystery with Gilbert Roland, listed in September.
1932	The Pride of the Legion Martha Tully	Also The Big Payoff in AFI’s record. Features Victor Jory.
1932	Self-Defense Nona Devoux	Often styled Self Defense. Kent appears opposite Pauline Frederick.
1933	Oliver Twist Rose Maylie	Herbert Brenon’s Monogram production with Dickie Moore. Separate from the 1922 silent adaptation.
1933	Her Forgotten Past Doris Maynard	AFI consulted an incomplete viewing print and a pressbook to reconstruct the missing story material.
1933	Marriage on Approval Elizabeth MacDougal	AFI uses Elizabeth MacDougal. Beth MacDougall is a secondary-list variant.
1935	Swell-Head Mary Malone	Also styled Swellhead. Baseball story with Wallace Ford and Dickie Moore.
1935	Old Man Rhythm Edith Warren	RKO college musical. Working title Papa’s in the Cradle.
1935	Guard That Girl Jeanne Martin	Columbia mystery with Robert Allen and Florence Rice. One of Kent’s last substantial roles.

1939–1941

Year	Film and role	Credit and release notes
1939	Blondie Meets the Boss Jitterbug	Small dance-floor role listed by AFI. Working title Blondie Steps Out.
1941	Under Age Jackie	AFI lists Kent among the cast of the Columbia exploitation drama. Brownlow treats this as her last role.

Other appearances and disputed credits

Year	Title or appearance	Evidence
1927	The Peace Deputy	Reported in secondary Kent filmographies as a short. A contemporary cast credit, surviving print or archive listing tying Kent to the title was not located.
1928	Fun in the Clouds	Reported as an uncredited appearance as herself. The Library of Congress copyright record confirms the short. AFI lists Arthur Lake and does not corroborate Kent’s cameo. Separate from Won in the Clouds. (27, 28)
1932	The Perfect Alibi	Reported stage appearance in A. A. Milne’s play at the Beverly Hills Little Theatre for Professionals. Kept separate from the screen credits.
1934	His Greatest Gamble	Trade production charts include Kent, but AFI reports that she did not appear in the released film. (26)
1942	The Fleet’s In	AFI lists Barbara Kent as a Swingland hostess. The identification of this small role as Barbara Cloutman remains provisional. Separate from Clara Bow’s 1928 film of the same title. (25)
1970	4 Clowns	Compilation reported to reuse Kent’s appearance as Toby in No Man’s Law. The earlier footage is counted with the 1927 film.
Separate credit	Moonlight and Honeysuckle and Damaged Hearts	The AFI name index also collects screenwriting records from 1921 and 1924. Silent Era distinguishes the writer Barbara Kent from Barbara Cloutman. (6, 22, 38)
Separate credit	Million Dollar Mystery	The same AFI page indexes a miscellaneous credit on the 1987 film. The name match alone does not establish a credit for the actress. (6)

Sources

1. Desert Sun, Barbara Monroe obituary, October 2011. Family account of her birth, the two marriages, her later interests and the date and place of death.
2. Bruce Weber, New York Times obituary, syndicated by the Boston Globe. Records the 1906 birth-year variant and the account that Kent moved to California at 13.
3. Ronald Bergan, Guardian obituary, 21 October 2011. Career account that places retirement in 1935 and corrects its original description of her later home.
4. Kevin Brownlow, Independent obituary, November 2011. Includes Kent’s recollections via Michael Ankerich, a 1941 final-role date and a conflicting death date.
5. Smithsonian, Barbara Kent cinema card. Uses 1907 for her birth and 1913 for the family’s move to California.
6. American Film Institute, Barbara Kent cast and history index. Starting point for cast credits, checked against individual titles and other archives.
7. Stratford Evening Post, 19 April 1927. Period publicity for Prowlers of the Night in New Zealand.
8. AFI, No Man’s Law. Cites Film Mercury and Motion Picture News. Its production chronology places Kent’s WAMPAS selection before the film’s general release.
9. AFI, Flesh and the Devil. Cast, release history, working title and the original ending.
10. Universal Weekly, 23 June 1928. Studio trade magazine featuring Kent in Lonesome on its cover.
11. Library of Congress, National Film Registry essay on Lonesome. Film history and the context of its inserted dialogue scenes.
12. Criterion, Lonesome. Preservation and release details for the Paul Fejos film.
13. TIFF Canadian Film Encyclopedia, His Destiny. Verifies the Canadian feature, Kent’s role and the American sound version.
14. AFI, The Shakedown. Release, cast and early sound versions.
15. New Zealand International Film Festival, The Shakedown. Documents the surviving silent version and restoration presentation.
16. Photoplay, December 1929. Publicity photo describing Kent as borrowed from Universal for Welcome Danger.
17. AFI, Welcome Danger. Production and release of Harold Lloyd’s first talking feature.
18. AFI, Feet First. AFI’s cast list and synopsis use Mary for Kent’s character.
19. AFI, Indiscreet. Dates the Gloria Swanson film to 1931.
20. AFI, Grief Street. Kent’s Jean Royce credit and release information.
21. Otago Daily Times, 24 May 1939. Contemporary newspaper identification of Kent as Harry Edington’s wife.
22. Silent Era, Barbara Kent. Marriage chronology, the 1935 retirement account and the distinction from the screenwriter of the same name.
23. AFI, Blondie Meets the Boss. 1939 cast entry for Kent as a jitterbug.
24. AFI, Under Age. 1941 cast entry as Jackie.
25. AFI, The Fleet’s In. 1942 attribution to a Barbara Kent as one of the Swingland hostesses.
26. AFI, His Greatest Gamble. Separates names in production charts from confirmed appearances.
27. AFI, Fun in the Clouds. Short-film entry listing Arthur Lake, without corroborating Kent’s reported cameo.
28. Library of Congress, Fun in the Clouds copyright description. Confirms the 1928 Universal short as a separate production from Won in the Clouds.
29. Library of Congress, American Silent Feature Film Database. Holdings and survival research for U.S. silent features.
30. AFI, What Men Want. Studio trade coverage and announced titles.
31. AFI, Vanity Fair. Modernised Thackeray adaptation, working title and Kent’s role.
32. AFI, The Pride of the Legion. Alternate title and Kent’s credit.
33. AFI, Oliver Twist. 1933 Monogram adaptation, with Kent as Rose Maylie.
34. AFI, Old Man Rhythm. Kent’s RKO credit and the working title Papa’s in the Cradle.
35. AFI, Marriage on Approval. AFI’s character name Elizabeth MacDougal differs from the Beth MacDougall form used in secondary lists.
36. AFI, Prowlers of the Night. Records the November 1926 U.S. release and Kent’s role as Anita Parsons.
37. AFI, Lonesome. Kent’s role, Universal’s production and release history.
38. AFI, Moonlight and Honeysuckle and Damaged Hearts. One of two early screenplay credits indexed under the same name. Silent Era identifies the writer as a different person.

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