Fay Bainter didn’t appear in her first film until 1934 and didn’t fully transition from Broadway to Hollywood until 1937, when she was well into her forties. I’m used to her looking something like this:
Above: Bainter in The Human Comedy (1943)
I was doing some research for another post when my eye became distracted by the beauty in the illustration below. It turned out to be Miss Bainter at age 24.
Above: Fay Bainter illustrated by Marcus. From the New York Times, May 9, 1918 edition, page 8.
Below is a photo (click to enlarge) of Bainter in The Kiss Burgler, from a little later that same year:
Fay Bainter in The Kiss Burgler. Dramatic Mirror, June 8, 1918 edition.
Long hair served Bainter well! She’s a bit more recognizable, though every bit as youthful, without her long locks (or wig) in this shot from Everybody’s Magazine, August 1918:
Here’s an even earlier article praising her talents. I love the snide shot the author takes at the movies:
Found in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 11, 1917 edition, page 2.
One more of the more familiar Fay Bainter, this time on a tobacco card showing a scene from Young Tom Edison (1940):
Left to right: Virginia Weidler, Mickey Rooney, Bainter, and George Bancroft.
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