Shirley Mills
Encyclopedia
Shirley Olivia Mills was an American
actress. Mills' most notable role was in the 1938 film Child Bride
, made when she was only twelve years old. As the title character, she is shown nude
in a "skinny dipping
" scene, which became the basis for Child Bride being exhibited for many years as an exploitation film
.
, Mills started her career as a dancer, and later starred in such films as The Grapes of Wrath
, Child Bride
, and the Shirley Temple
film Young People. She stopped making films in her early twenties, and went on to be a singer and a data processing salesperson. She was married to Mel Hanson from 1977 until his death in 1995; they had no children.
Shirley Hanson died in Arcadia, California
on March 31, 2010, a week or so before her 84th birthday, from complications of pneumonia
. She was a devout Christian
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. Mills' most notable role was in the 1938 film Child Bride
Child Bride
Child Bride, also known as Child Brides , is a 1938 film directed by Harry Revier. Set in a remote town in the Ozarks, it claims to be an attempt to draw attention to the lack of laws banning child marriage in many states...
, made when she was only twelve years old. As the title character, she is shown nude
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
in a "skinny dipping
Skinny dipping
Nude swimming, colloquially called skinny dipping, is a term used to describe swimming naked.-Etymology:The term skinny dip, first recorded in English in the 1950s, includes the somewhat archaic word skinny, known since 1573, meaning "having to do with skin", as it exposed the naked...
" scene, which became the basis for Child Bride being exhibited for many years as an exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
.
Biography
Born in Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, Mills started her career as a dancer, and later starred in such films as The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
, Child Bride
Child Bride
Child Bride, also known as Child Brides , is a 1938 film directed by Harry Revier. Set in a remote town in the Ozarks, it claims to be an attempt to draw attention to the lack of laws banning child marriage in many states...
, and the Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
film Young People. She stopped making films in her early twenties, and went on to be a singer and a data processing salesperson. She was married to Mel Hanson from 1977 until his death in 1995; they had no children.
Shirley Hanson died in Arcadia, California
Arcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
on March 31, 2010, a week or so before her 84th birthday, from complications of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. She was a devout Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1938 | Child Bride Child Bride Child Bride, also known as Child Brides , is a 1938 film directed by Harry Revier. Set in a remote town in the Ozarks, it claims to be an attempt to draw attention to the lack of laws banning child marriage in many states... |
Jennie Colton | Alternative titles: Child Bride of the Ozarks Child Brides Dust to Dust |
| 1939 | The Under-Pup The Under-Pup The Under-Pup is the 1939 feature film that introduced soprano singing star Gloria Jean to the screen. The story, adapted by Grover Jones from a magazine story by Australian author I. A. R. Wylie, casts Gloria as a streetwise girl who is sent to a summer camp for wealthy girls... |
Cecilia Layton | |
| 1940 | The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath (film) The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F... |
Ruth Joad | |
| Virginia City Virginia City (film) Virginia City is a 1940 black-and-white movie starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, and Randolph Scott, and featuring a mustachioed Humphrey Bogart in the role of the real-life outlaw John Murrell. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz... |
Crying young Southern girl | Uncredited | |
| Young People | Mary Ann | ||
| Five Little Peppers in Trouble | June | ||
| Diamond Frontier | Girl in Bonnet playing in Street | Uncredited | |
| 1942 | Miss Annie Rooney | Audrey Hollis | |
| 1943 | Shadow of a Doubt Shadow of a Doubt Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell... |
Young girl | Alternative title: Shadow of Doubt |
| Reveille with Beverly Reveille with Beverly Reveille with Beverly is an American film starring Ann Miller, Franklin Pangborn, and Larry Parks directed by Charles Barton, released by Columbia Pictures, based on the Reveille with Beverly radio show hosted by Jean Ruth Hay... |
Laura Jean Oliver | Uncredited | |
| Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour | Hortense | Uncredited Alternative title: Henry Gets Glamour |
|
| Mister Big | Member, Jivin' Jills | Uncredited | |
| Top Man | Dancer | Uncredited Alternative title: Man of the Family |
|
| Always a Bridesmaid | Uncredited | ||
| True to Life | Radio Sister | Uncredited | |
| 1944 | Chip Off the Old Block | Member, Jivin' Jills | Uncredited |
| None Shall Escape None Shall Escape None Shall Escape is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial... |
Anna Oremska | ||
| Nice Girls | "Tennessee" Collingwood | ||
| 1945 | Patrick the Great | Member, Jivin' Jills | Uncredited |
| Snafu | Student | Uncredited Alternative title: Welcome Home |
|
| 1946 | Blondie's Lucky Day | Grace Perkins | Scenes deleted |
| Betty Co-ed | Gloria Campbell | Alternative title: The Melting Pot | |
| That Brennan Girl | Olivette the Babysitter | Uncredited Alternative title: Tough Girl |
|
| 1949 | An Old-Fashioned Girl | Belle | |
| 1950 | It's a Small World | Susan Musk at Age 16 | Credited as Shirley O. Mills |
| What Happened to Jo Jo | Credited as Shirley O. Mills | ||
| 1951 | The Family Secret | File Girl | Uncredited |
| The Model and the Marriage Broker The Model and the Marriage Broker The Model and the Marriage Broker is a 1951 comedy film about a model who is so pleased with the work of a marriage broker, she decides to return the favor.-Cast:* Jeanne Crain as Kitty Bennett* Scott Brady as Matt Hornbeck* Thelma Ritter as Mae Swasey... |
Ina Kuschner | Uncredited | |
| 1952 | My Six Convicts My Six Convicts My Six Convicts is an American 1952 comedy-drama film adapted from the autobiographical book written by Donald Powell Wilson. The film was adapted for the screen by screenwriter Michael Blankfort and directed by Hugo Fregonese who was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for... |
Blonde Tilly | Uncredited Alternative title: My 6 Convicts |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | My Little Margie My Little Margie My Little Margie is an American situation comedy that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California at Hal Roach Studios by Hal Roach, Jr. and Roland D... |
Muriel Joyner | 1 episode Credited as Shirley O'Mills |
| 1956 | Ford Star Jubilee Ford Star Jubilee Ford Star Jubilee was a usually live, ninety minute, color anthology series that aired once a month on Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T. from the fall of 1955 to the fall of 1956... |
1 episode | |