Photos by Russell Ball (1891-1942)

Some familiar faces…

Billie Burke (Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke, 1884-1970), who was married to Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. 1914-32.

Mary Forbes

Ralph Forbes

Ben Lyon

Mary Forbes, Charles Farrell, and Ralph Forbes

I don’t know who took this striking photo of Mary Forbes and Charles Farrell, for SUNNYSIDE UP (1929), but I think it’s spectacular: two strong profiles playing mother and son, both handsome in a way that has nothing to do with age. Mary Forbes (Ethel Louise Young, 1883-1974) was an English actress whose film career spanned almost forty years: her most important credits include A FAREWELL TO ARMS (1932), THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937), and YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938).

Her son, Ralph Forbes (Ralph Forbes Taylor, 1904-1951), made an impression in BEAU GESTE (1926): like his mother, he seems to have specialized in roles for British and American aristocrats.

Here he is in THE TRAIL OF '98 (1928).