Smilin' Through: The Life of Jane Murfin

Prolific screenwriter of the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Jane Murfin was born in a Michigan village in 1884. Moving to New York City to playwright with her 1904 costar, Jane Cowl, Murfin soon transitioned to screenwriting. Never appearing before the camera, Murfin poured her love into a German shepherd dog "Strongheart". Strongheart soon dominated cinema, two years before Rin-Tin-Tin. Collaborating with her potential lover Laurence Trimble, Trimble left her for a younger woman after Strongheart's death in 1929. Murfin then married successful banker (and former British spy) Donald Crisp in 1932 but divorced him in 1944. Murfin and Adela Rogers St. Johns were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story for What Price Hollywood? (1932) and Murfin was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Sources:

Columbia University, Women Film Pioneers Project, https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-jane-murfin/https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/ccp-jane-murfin/

Turner Classic Movies, Donald Crisp, https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/41166%7C40050/Donald-Crisp/

Los Angeles Times, Donald Crisp, https://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/donald-crisp/index.html

Hollywood's Golden Age, Donald Crisp, https://www.hollywoodsgoldenage.com/actors/donald-crisp.html

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