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Helen Broderick

Helen Broderick

Actor · Died September 25, 1959, aged 68 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 - September 25, 1959) was a wonderfully funny character comedienne with vaudeville and stage experience, a close friend of Jeanne Eagels. The story goes, that at the age of 14 she ran away from home, because her mother, who appeared in operatic comedy, was totally obsessed by the theatre. Paradoxically, all the people she met turned out to be performers, and Helen (who needed to make a living, after all) ended up where she hadn't wanted to end up - on the stage. She started out as a chorus girl in the first Ziegfeld Follies in 1907. Her talent for comedy was discovered quite by accident. In 1911, she was understudy to the actress Ina Claire in the Broadway play 'Jumping Jupiter'. One night, Claire was unable to perform and Helen Broderick stood in as the romantic lead. She soon had the audience in stitches, trampling about the stage like an elephant, rolling her big saucer eyes and attempting to croon 'Cuddle Near Me All Day Long' in her rather unique voice. The romance was no more and instead turned into a popular farce with Helen now permanently installed in the lead role. For a while, Helen partnered her husband, Lester Crawford, in vaudeville. In the 1920's, she enjoyed success on Broadway, most notably in 'Fifty Million Frenchmen' ( a role she took to Hollywood in 1931). Her best parts in the movies were as the perennial friend or chaperone of the heroine (an earlier Eve Arden), delivering acidic wisecracks in her inimitable dead-pan manner. She was particularly amusing in Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936) with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; and in The Rage of Paris (1938) with Danielle Darrieux.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 11, 1891
Died
September 25, 1959 (aged 68)
From
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 31 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 39 days to Oct 28Up 15% in 30 days

What are Helen Broderick's films like?

Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
40%
Morality
29%
Self
19%
Society
6%
Power
3%
Ideas
3%
Romantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth4 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 10 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 10 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 7 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 7

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 2

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 9 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

6 analyzed roles

Usually the Mentor: 2 of 6 analyzed roles.

Mentor
2 of 6
Trickster
2 of 6
Hero
1 of 6
Ally
1 of 6

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
5
Warm
5
Romantic
4
Absurd
3
Tense
3
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Helen Broderick's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Helen Broderick's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

31 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • Because of Him (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)

    as Nora

  • Love, Honor and Goodbye (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1945)

    as Mary Riley

  • Three Is a Family(1944)

    as Irma

    Midcredits score: 14th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Her Primitive Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Mrs. Winthrop

  • Chip Off the Old Block (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    as Glory Marlow Sr.

  • Stage Door Canteen(1943)

    as Helen Broderick

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Father Takes a Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Aunt Julie

  • Nice Girl? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Cora Foster

  • Virginia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    as Theo Clairmont

  • No, No, Nanette (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Mrs. Susan Smith

  • The Captain is a Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    as Nancy Crocker

  • Honeymoon in Bali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    as Lorna Smith

  • Naughty But Nice(1939)

    as Aunt Martha Hogan

    Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films

  • Stand Up and Fight(1939)

    as Amanda Griffith

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Service de Luxe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Pearl

  • The Road to Reno (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Aunt Minerva

  • The Rage of Paris(1938)

    as Gloria Patterson

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Radio City Revels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    as Gertie

  • She's Got Everything(1937)

    as Aunt Jane

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • The Life of the Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Pauline

  • Meet the Missus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Emma Foster

  • We're on the Jury (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    as Agnes Dean

  • Smartest Girl in Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Gwen

  • Swing Time(1936)

    as Mabel Anderson

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • The Bride Walks Out(1936)

    as Mattie Dodson

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Murder on a Bridle Path(1936)

    as Hildegarde Withers

    Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films

  • Love on a Bet(1936)

    as Aunt Charlotte

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films

  • To Beat the Band (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)

    as Mrs. Freeda McCrary

  • Top Hat(1935)

    as Madge Hardwick

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • 50 Million Frenchmen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)

    as Violet

  • The Mystery Club (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    Scenario Writer

Career shape

Star power in the 70th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 31 titles from 1926 to 1946.

Biggest box office

Top Hat (1935)

$15K worldwide

Highest rated

Top Hat (1935)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Swing Time (1936)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting30 of 31: 30 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score56thWriting1 of 31: 1 only writing, 0 with another role

By decade

1920s1 · crew1930s19 · acting1940s11 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Helen Broderick's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 56th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 55th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Approval · how many liked their films

50thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Reach · how many have seen their films

37thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 10

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

4 of their 11 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser4
  • Broadly Agreed4
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · actor

Three Is a Family (1944)

62nd percentile spread · 39% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Top Hat (1935)

Midcredits 95th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 72/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 79, detractors 48. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Helen Broderick work with?

People who share at least 2 of Helen Broderick's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gene Raymond shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers

Producers

Mixed roles