Joyzelle Joyner (August 27, 1905 – November 30, 1980) was an American actress and dancer. She appeared in at least thirty films between 1925 and 1935, garnering some notoriety for her appearance in ''
The Sign of the Cross''.
Career
Joyner began appearing in films around 1924 or 1925, often playing dancers. Her first major role in a major motion picture came in 1930, when she appeared as twin queens of Mars, Boo Boo and Loo Loo in ''
Just Imagine
''Just Imagine'' is a 1930 American pre-Code science fiction musical-comedy film, directed by David Butler. The film is known for its art direction and special effects in its portrayal of New York City in an imagined 1980. ''Just Imagine'' st ...
''. Her role as Ancaria in ''The Sign of the Cross'', a major production directed by
Cecil B. deMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
, drew attention from censors; in the film, she performed the lesbian-overtoned "Dance of the Naked Moon".
The scene was eliminated from the re-released 1935 version of the film, but reinserted in 1993 for the
MCA-Universal video version.
[Vieira, Mark A. (1999). Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. p. 109] That same year, she had prominent roles in two
westerns
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
, ''Whistlin' Dan'' for
Tiffany Pictures
Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overal ...
, and ''
The Vanishing Frontier
''The Vanishing Frontier'' is a 1932 American pre-Code adventure film directed by Phil Rosen, written by Stuart Anthony, and starring Johnny Mack Brown, Evalyn Knapp, ZaSu Pitts, Raymond Hatton, Ben Alexander, J. Farrell MacDonald and Wallace M ...
'' (starring
Johnny Mack Brown
John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western (genre), Western films.
Early lif ...
) for
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
Most of Joyzelle's work after 1932 constituted uncredited parts, though she did appear under the name "Laya Joy" in ''
House of Mystery
''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.
First serie ...
'', a horror film for
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...
. Her last-known screen appearance, in ''
Dante's Inferno
''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, guid ...
'' (
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
), was uncredited, but did afford her the opportunity to show off her dancing skills.
Personal life
Joyner was born in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and had a younger brother, Clarence.
["Jealous Husband Shoots Actress", ''The Southeast Missourian''. August 11. 1927. pg. 1. Web. April 3. 2011] According to U.S. census records, Clarence was living in California in 1930 with a wife, Lois.
Her first marriage was to Dudley V. Brand. The two became estranged over Joyner's acting career pursuit. During an argument on August 11, 1927, Brand fired two shots through a closed bedroom door, one shot injuring Joyner in the arm. Clarence Joyner was on hand to protect his sister by restraining Brand.
Joyner's second marriage was to film director
Phil Rosen
Philip E. Rosen (May 8, 1888 – October 22, 1951) was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed more than 140 films between 1915 and 1949.
He was born in Marienburg, German Empire (now, Malbork, Poland), grew up in Ma ...
in 1929.
She died in
Orange, California
Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...
on November 30, 1980, aged 75.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Photographat gettyimages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyner, Joyzelle
1905 births
1980 deaths
American female dancers
Dancers from California
American silent film actresses
American film actresses
Actresses from Alabama
Place of birth missing
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American dancers