Pretty Ladies

When the name Joan Crawford is mentioned today, most have images of a crusty old actress opposite Bette Davis in 1961's "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" or as the abusive mother in her daughter's scathing book, "Mommie Dearest," made into a 1981 Faye Dunaway flick. But early in her career, Lucille Fay LeSueur was a lithesome young dancer who stood out in the eyes of producer Jacob Shubert while she was on the dance circuit. Brought to Broadway to be part of a chorus line in 1924, she hired a publicist to arrange a screen-test with MGM. Studio executives saw the potential from her looks and agility and offered her a $75 a week salary.

Arriving in Hollywood, she immediately received bit parts, first as a body double for her idol Norma Shearer in 1925's 'Lady In The Night,' as well as a few other nondescript flash appearances. Then for the first time, she's recognizable in some brief scenes in September 1925's "Pretty Lady." The ZaSu Pitts vehicle was perfect for the dancer since the movie concerns life as a chorus girl. Billed under her birth name, Lucille LeSueur, the budding actress appears in several sequences in a backstage setting. She also has two additional scenes with ZaSu Pitts together and at a party. Myrna Williams, soon to be Myrna Loy, made her screen debut in "Pretty Lady" as one of the chorus line dancers who, with Lucille, is seen dangling from a chandelier. Thus the baby steps towards two storied Hollywood careers begin.