Dorothy Reid

The daughter of stage and screen actors Harry and Alice Davenport, Dorothy Davenport first appeared in films in 1909 when she was all of 13. An accomplished horsewoman, she soon graduated to leading roles in action films and Westerns. She was an established leading lady when, in 1913, she was first cast opposite movie newcomer Wallace Reid; before the year was out, Dorothy and Wallace were married. In 1917, while her husband ascended to Hollywood superstardom, Davenport decided to retire to care for her newborn son. After Wallace Reid's death from morphine addiction in 1923, his widow returned to the screen, determined to educate the public against the dangers of narcotics, syphilis, and other social blights. Beginning with 1924's Human Wreckage, Davenport --- billed first as Mrs. Wallace Reid, then as Dorothy Reid -- produced, directed, wrote, and starred in a series of "exposé" films, the most notorious of which was the anti-prostitution tract The Red Kimono (1927). Active into the talkie era, Reid continued in this cautionary vein until 1934. After briefly serving as an independent producer for Monogram, Dorothy Reid concentrated on screenwriting, specializing in comparatively lightweight entertainments until her retirement in 1955.