Dorcas Neville Matthews (5 November 1890 – 24 January 1969) was an English actress in silent films in the U.S. She had numerous roles as a supporting actress and was well known.
Biography
Dorcas Neville Matthews was born in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England,
["Hawaii Marriages, 1826-1922" (12 January 2020)]
Dorcas Neville Matthews in entry for Robert Morton McKim, 1912
in 1890.
[ She came to North America as part of the Jeanne Russell Theatrical Company, along with actor William Henry Pratt who became known as Boris Karloff. 1911 census records show that Matthews resided in a lodging house in ]Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, Canada.["Recensement du Canada de 1911" (16 March 2018)]
Dorcas Matthews in entry for Antonio Toffoletto, 1911
citing Census, Vancouver Sub-Districts 19-50, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,662. of census sheet.
She married fellow actor Robert McKim in Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
on 25 April 1920,[ and had two children with him. According to Fandango, she retired to take care of them. She appeared in a small number of films in uncredited roles in later decades. New York Motion Picture Corporation sued ]Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor.
Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...
and among the allegations was poaching actors including Matthews.
She was widowed when McKim died in 1927 and apparently never remarried. According to Find-A-Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
, Dorcas Matthews McKim died in 1969, aged 78, in Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
.
Selected filmography
*''The Captive God'' (1916), along with her husband, Robert McKimA Strange Transgressor
''A Strange Transgressor'' is a 1917 silent drama film starring Louise Glaum, J. Barney Sherry, and Colin Chase.
Directed by Reginald Barker and produced by Thomas H. Ince, the screenplay was adapted by J. G. Hawks from the story by Jo ...
'' (1917)
*''Borrowed Plumage
''Borrowed Plumage'' is a 1917 American silent comedy adventure film directed by Raymond B. West and starring Bessie Barriscale. It was produced by the Triangle Film Corporation.
A print exists in the Library of Congress collection. It is incom ...
'' (1917)
* ''Idolators
''Idolators'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Louise Glaum, George Webb, and Dorcas Matthews.Connelly p. 365
Cast
* Louise Glaum as Viola Strathmore
* George Webb as Curtis de Forest Ralston
* Do ...
'' (1917)
* ''Love or Justice
''Love or Justice'' is a 1917 American silent crime drama film directed by Walter Edwards and starring Louise Glaum, Charles Gunn and Jack Richardson.Langman p.202
Cast
* Louise Glaum as Nan Bishop
* Charles Gunn as Jack Dunn
* Jack Richard ...
'' (1917)
*''The Little Brother
''The Little Brother'' is a 1917 American silent drama directed by Charles Miller and starring William Garwood and Australian actress Enid Bennett. The scenario was written by Lambert Hillyer based on a story by Lois Zellner.
Cast
*Enid Bennett ...
'' (1917)
*'' Ten of Diamonds'' (1917)
*''Madcap Madge
''Madcap Madge'' is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Raymond B. West and starring Olive Thomas, Charles Gunn, Dorcas Matthews, Aggie Herring, and Jack Livingston. The film was released by Triangle Film Corporation on June 24, ...
'' (1917)
*'' The Silent Man'' (1917)
*''Love Letters
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...
'' (1917)
*''The Price Mark
''The Price Mark'' is a 1917 American drama silent film directed by Roy William Neill and written by John B. Ritchie. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, William Conklin, Thurston Hall, Adele Farrington, Edwin Wallock and Dorcas Matthews. The film was ...
'' (1917)
* ''The Tar Heel Warrior
''The Tar Heel Warrior'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Walt Whitman, Ann Forrest and William Shaw.Connelly p.277
Cast
* Walt Whitman as Col. Dabney Mills
* Ann Forrest as Betty Malroy
* William ...
'' (1917)
*''The Millionaire Vagrant
''The Millionaire Vagrant'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Charles Ray, Sylvia Breamer and J. Barney Sherry.Golden p.32
Cast
* Charles Ray as Steven Du Peyster
* Sylvia Breamer as Ruth Vail ...
'' (1917)
*'' Love Me'' (1918)
*''The Claws of the Hun
''The Claws of the Hun'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ella Stuart Carson and R. Cecil Smith. The film stars Charles Ray, Jane Novak, Robert McKim, Dorcas Matthews, Melbourne MacDowell, an ...
'' (1918)
*''A Nine O'Clock Town
''A Nine O'Clock Town'' is a 1918 American comedy silent film written and directed by Victor Schertzinger. The film stars Charles Ray, Jane Novak, Otto Hoffman, Gertrude Claire, Catherine Young, and Dorcas Matthews. The film was released on July ...
'' (1918)
*''The Virtuous Thief
''The Virtuous Thief'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo.
Plot
As described in a film magazine, Dick Armitage (Hughes), essentially honest but weak, steals a small sum from his employer, Walter Haskell (Conklin) ...
'' (1919)
*'' The Market of Souls'' (1919)
*'' The Law of Men'' (1919)
*''The Haunted Bedroom
''The Haunted Bedroom'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo and starring Enid Bennett and Dorcas Matthews. The film was also distributed under the title ''The Ghost of Whispering Oaks''.Workman, Christopher; Howarth ...
'' (1919)
*''The Luck of Geraldine Laird
''The Luck of Geraldine Laird'' is a lost 1920 silent film drama directed by Edward Sloman and starring Bessie Barriscale. It was produced by Bessie Barriscale Productions and released through the Robertson Cole Distributing Corp.
Cast
*Bessie ...
'' (1920)
*''The Woman in the Suitcase
''The Woman in the Suitcase'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.
Plot
Mary's (Bennett) father James Moreland (Conklin) returns from a business trip to Philadelp ...
'' (1920)
*''Blood and Sand
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
'' (1922)The Famous Mrs. Fair
''The Famous Mrs. Fair'' is a 1923 American silent drama film produced by Louis B. Mayer, distributed through Metro Pictures, and directed by Fred Niblo. The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name by James Forbes that had starred ...
'' (1923)
*''A Lady Takes a Chance
''A Lady Takes a Chance'' is a 1943 American romantic comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Jean Arthur and John Wayne. Written by Robert Ardrey and based on a story by Jo Swerling, the film is about a New York working girl who ...
'' (1943)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Dorcas
1890 births
English film actresses
English silent film actresses
British emigrants to the United States
1969 deaths
20th-century English women
20th-century English people