For Thursday September 26, we have a half dozen new TIGers and they are a pretty notable bunch.

Nora Cecil (1878) is one of Virginia’s greatest foils that you’ve never heard of. She appeared as the Home Economics Woman in THE BIG BROADCAST of 1937, but her big role was as Little Edie’s mean school teacher, Miss Trent, in GIRL OF THE OZARKS (1936). As the teacher, she generally assumed the worst about the dirt poor Edie Moseley and blamed her even when others picked on her. There is a great scene in the film where Edie outmaneuvers Miss Trent to keep the teacher from reporting her “bad behavior” to Edie’s extremely ill mother. Cecil also appeared in films like UNION PACIFIC, LITTLE MISS NOBODY, and THE BANK DICK. Her strength was playing humorless, stern figures as she did in GOTO.

I was surprised to find that Fay Holden (1893) was in as many pictures with Virginia as Mickey Rooney. Besides the expected appearance in OUT WEST WITH THE HARDYS (1938), Holden played Mrs. Martin, an uncredited role, in SOULS AT SEA (1937), Peter’s secretary Mary in LOVE IS A HEADACHE (1938), and Ginny’s mom Mrs. Miller in I’LL WAIT FOR YOU (1942). She was by far best known for her Hardy films, but was regularly placed into roles in support of many different MGM stars, The photo is of Mrs. Miller trying to distract Lizzie from discovering what’s (or who’s) for dinner in IWFY.

George Raft (1901) was one of the great gangster players at Warner Brothers in the 1930s. Some call his style wooden, but I always get a kick out of his films. He played Powdah, not a gangster, in SOULS AT SEA (1937), a Paramount film. The photo is of him with co star Gary Cooper in that film.

 Donald Cook (1901) played Bill Strong in LONG LOST FATHER (1934), one of Ginny’s early walk on films. Cook had his biggest Hollywood successes early on, then settled into smaller character parts. He is seen here in his best known role as Mike Powers in THE PUBLIC ENEMY.

Howard Campbell (1904) was the associate art director in THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA (1942). He also served that role on several Tarzan films, SWING SHIFT MAISIE and another Marsha Hunt film, Pilot No.5. Later on he was the art director for several popular television series. In his place, Miranda Sommerfield declares, “It’s a filibuster!”

Mildred Shay (1911) was nicknamed “Pocket Venus” by MGM in the mid-1930s, but she became known more for her gossip column antics than for the roles she played. She shone, however, in a ginnyfilm when she played Crystal’s French maid in THE WOMEN (1939).  She is also listed as playing a Main Line Society Woman-the equivalent role to a train passenger in YOUNG TOM EDISON-in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940).