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Jane Novak

Jane Novak

Actor · Died February 3, 1990, aged 94 · Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

A soulful, fragile-looking blonde beauty, silent screen star Jane Novak was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 12, 1896, and supposedly began her film career at age 17 when a director took to a photo of the young girl on the makeup table of her own aunt, the film star Anne Schaefer. From 1913 Jane appeared in a host of short films from the Vitagraph Company, a few of her earliest being Anne of the Trails (1913), At the Sign of the Lost Angel (1913) and Sacrifice (1913) all of which starred her Aunt Anne. Jane almost immediately moved into female leads and second leads with such films as Deception (1913) and Any Port in a Storm (1913). She continued to make Vitagraph shorts during the years 1914 and 1915, including a couple of comedies vehicles for Harold Lloyd -- Willie's Haircut (1914) and Just Nuts (1915) -- before gradually moving into feature films. At Universal she appeared opposite Harry Carey in the serial Graft (1915) and with actor/director Hobart Bosworth in The Iron Hand (1916). Elsewhere, she, like her equally successful younger sister/actress, Eva Novak, got a handle on the western genre with her delicate looks slightly belying a vitality for the outdoors. Jane appeared opposite William S. Hart, who directed many of his own productions, in The Tiger Man (1918), _Selfish Yates (1918), The Money Corral (1919), Wagon Tracks (1919), and Three Word Brand (1921). At one point she was Hart's fiancée after divorcing actor Frank Newburg, but it ended and their professional relationship ended as well. The actress also appeared alongside her sister's favorite co-star, Tom Mix, in Treat 'Em Rough (1919), . Throughout the productive 1920s, Jane's high-caliber male co-stars included Charles Ray, Sessue Hayakawa, Lewis Stone, Wallace Beery, Tom Moore, House Peters, John Bowers, Buck Jones, Kenneth Harlan, Earle Williams, James Rennie, John Harron, and even Lightning the Dog. Sisters Jane and Eva did appear on screen together in The Man Life Passed By (1923). Two of Jane's finest performances came in melodrama -- Thelma (1922) and The Lullaby (1924). Like her sister, Jane's leading lady career faltered come the advent of talking pictures. Following her sixth billed role in the Richard Dix western Redskin (1929), she would not return to the screen until seven years later with the Harry Carey western Ghost Town (1936) in which she had a prime supporting role as a gun moll. From then on, small, often uncredited roles came her way sporadically in such notable films as Foreign Correspondent (1940), Gallant Lady (1942), Desert Fury (1947), The File on Thelma Jordon (1949), The Furies (1950), and her last, About Mrs. Leslie (1954). Jane made a fortune in late 1920s real estate and film production but lost it all following the 1929 stock market crash. In 1974, Harper & Row published her cookbook entitled "Treasury of Chicken Cookery". Sister Eva died at age 90 of pneumonia at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, California in 1988. Jane followed her two years later (of a stroke), about a month after her 94th birthday also at the Woodland Hills Hospital.

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Biography from IMDb.

Born
January 11, 1896
Died
February 3, 1990 (aged 94)
From
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 75 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 38 days to Oct 27Up 24% in 30 days

What are Jane Novak's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
52%
Bonds
29%
Power
7%
Survival
7%
Self
4%
Justice4 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1

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

Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 1

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

Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

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

A split, not a type: Casual 2 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

2 analyzed roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Romantic
1
Thrilling
1
Melancholic
1
Warm
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Feel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous1

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 Jane Novak's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jane Novak'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

75 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Scared Stiff(1953)

    as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • The Furies(1950)

    as Party Guest (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • The File on Thelma Jordon(1949)

    as Mrs. Blackwell

    Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films

  • Desert Fury(1947)

    as Mrs. Lindquist

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Man of Courage(1943)

    as Mrs. Black

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Yanks Are Coming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Flora

  • Gallant Lady (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)

    as Lucy Walker

  • Foreign Correspondent(1940)

    as Miss Benson (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Hollywood Boulevard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)

    as Mrs. Steinman

  • Ghost Town(1936)

    as Rose

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Redskin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1929)

    as Judith Stearns

  • What Price Love? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Ruth Randall

  • Closed Gates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Alice Winston

  • One Increasing Purpose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)

    as Alice Paris

  • Lost at Sea (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Natalie Travers

  • Whispering Canyon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Antonia Lee

  • The Danger Signal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)

    as Mary Browning

  • The Lure of the Wild (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Agnes Belmont

  • The Prude's Fall (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Beatrice Audley

  • Lazybones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Agnes Fanning

  • The Blackguard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)

    as Princess Marie Idourska

  • Two Shall Be Born (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Countess Mayra Zulenska

  • The Lullaby (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Felipa / Antoinette

  • The Man Without a Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)

    as Barbara Weir

  • The Man Life Passed By (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Hope Moore (courtesy of Chester Bennett)

  • Jealous Husbands (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Alice Martinez

  • Divorce (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1923)

    as Jane Parker

  • Thelma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Thelma Guildmar

  • The Snowshoe Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Virginia Tremont

  • Colleen of the Pines (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Joan Cameron

  • Belle of Alaska (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Ruth Harkin

  • The Rosary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1922)

    as Vera Mather

  • Kazan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as Joan Radisson

  • Three Word Brand(1921)

    as Ethel Barton

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Barbarian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1921)

    as Floria Heatherton

  • Isobel or the Trail's End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as Isobel Dean

  • The Golden Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as 'Faro' Kate / Jane Sunderlin

  • The Great Accident (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as Joan Caretall

  • The River's End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1920)

    as Miriam Kirkstone

  • Behind the Door (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Alice Morse

  • The Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Hilda MacTavish

  • Wagon Tracks(1919)

    as Jane Washburn

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Man's Desire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Mary Larkin

  • His Debt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Gloria Manning

  • The Fire Flingers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Winifred Olwell

  • The Money Corral (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Rose

  • Treat 'Em Rough (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1919)

    as Mary Radford

  • String Beans (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Jean Morris

  • The Temple Of Dusk (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Ruth Vale

  • A Nine O'Clock Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Katherine Farrell

  • The Claws of the Hun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Virginia Lee

  • Selfish Yates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Mary Adams

  • The Tiger Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1918)

    as Ruth Ingram

  • The Innocent Sinner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    as Jane Murray

  • The Eyes of the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    as Sybil Andres - Nature

  • The Spirit of '76 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1917)

    as Cecil Steuart

  • The Iron Hand (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Enid Winslow

  • The Target (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Nita

  • The Harbor Transportation Trust (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • The Insurance Swindlers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • Old King Coal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • America Saved from War (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • The Railroad Monopoly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • Grinding Life Down (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • The Power of the People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1916)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • Graft (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Dorothy Maxwell

  • The Greater Courage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Jane

  • A Little Brother of the Rich (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Sylvia Castle

  • The Scarlet Sin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Cecelia Nortn

  • The Hungry Actors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Jane

  • From Italy's Shores (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as Angelica

  • Just Nuts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as The Pretty Girl

  • Willie Runs the Park (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1915)

    as The Pretty Girl

  • A Little Madonna (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    Actor

  • The Kiss (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1914)

    as Mazie - a Saleslady

Career shape

Star power in the 57th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 75 titles from 1914 to 1953.

Biggest box office

Desert Fury (1947)

$325 worldwide

Highest rated

Desert Fury (1947)

Midcredits 64th

Film career

  • 1947Screen debut· Desert Fury

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting75 of 75: 75 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score61st

By decade

1910s36 · acting1920s29 · acting1930s2 · acting1940s6 · acting1950s2 · 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 Jane Novak's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 61st percentile, the median of all 9; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 60th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

60thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

48thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

12thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

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

Shape of the crowd

6 of their 9 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed2

Most divisive · actor

Man of Courage (1943)

54th percentile spread · 39% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Midcredits 92nd · 82% liked

Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 47. 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 Jane Novak work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jane Novak's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lambert Hillyer shares the most, 2.

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers