Acting · Sunderland, England, UK · Born October 15, 1881
Sarah Padden was a character actress in theater and vaudeville from Chicago, Illinois. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. She is noted for her expressive voice and for her psychological studies of the characters she portrayed. Her finest single-act performance was in The Clod, a stage production in which she played an uneducated woman who lived on a farm during the American Civil War. Padden was a featured player on the Orpheum Circuit, Inc.. She had a role in His Grace de Grammont, a romantic comedy by Clyde Fitch which came to the Park Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts in September 1905. The production starred Skinner and was based on the life of a chevalier in the court of Charles II. Padden appeared again with Skinner in a four-act play produced by Charles Frohman, The Honor of the Family, by Emile Fabre, which was presented in New Rochelle, New York in September 1907. Another of her theatrical parts was in Hell-Bent Fer Heaven, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Hatcher Hughes. It was performed at the Wilkes Orange Grove Theater (Majestic Theater), 845 South Broadway (Los Angeles), in November 1925. She was also an active screen actress from 1926 to 1958, appearing in 178 films and TV shows. In 1938, she played Ma Thayer in MGM's Rich Man Poor Girl, directed by Reinhold Schunzel and starring Robert Young, Ruth Hussey, and Lana Turner. Bill Harrison (Robert Young) a wealthy young businessman moves in with secretary girlfriend Joan Thayer's (Ruth Hussey) eccentric family to convince her they can make their marriage work. In 1941, she played wealthy spinster Aunt Cassandra ("Cassie") Hildegarde Denham in Murder by Invitation, directed by Phil Rosen and starring Wallace Ford and Marian Marsh. In this "closed room" murder comedy, after they unsuccessfully attempt to have her declared legally insane to gain control of her fortune, her nephews and nieces are invited to a week's visit at her mansion where they are murdered one by one.
MovieGirl with an Itch
1958
as Cookie
MovieScreaming Mimi
1958
as Landlady
MovieThe Kettles in the Ozarks
1956
as Mrs. Tinware
MoviePrince of Players
1955
as Mary Todd Lincoln (uncredited)
TVPublic Defender
1954
as Eula Mae Carter
TVLetter to Loretta
1953
as Frau Lang
TVThe Life Of Riley
1953
as Martha Riley
TVThe Abbott and Costello Show
1952
as Old Lady on Street
TVAdventures of Superman
1952
as Mrs. Carmody
MovieBig Jim McLain
1952
as Mrs. Lexiter
TVDragnet
1951
MovieUtah Wagon Train
1951
as Sarah Wendover
MovieThe Missourians
1950
as Mother Kovacs
MovieAgain Pioneers
1950
as Ma Ashby
The Cisco Kid
1950
as Mrs. Smiley
MovieA Life of Her Own
1950
as Betsy Ross Hotel Overseer (uncredited)
MovieGunslingers
1950
as Rawhide Rosie Rawlins
MovieHouse by the River
1950
as Mrs. Beach - Stephen's elderly cook
TVThe Lone Ranger
1949
as Grandma Williams
MovieRange Justice
1949
as Ma Curtis
MovieHomicide
1949
as Mrs. Webb
MovieFrontier Revenge
1948
as Widow Owens
MovieThe Dude Goes West
1948
as Mrs. Hallihan
MovieThe Return of the Whistler
1948
as Mrs. Hulskamp
MovieJoe Palooka in Fighting Mad
1948
as Mom Palooka
MovieJoe Palooka in the Knockout
1947
as Mom Palooka
MoviePossessed
1947
as Mrs. Norris, the Caretaker’s Wife (uncredited)
MovieLove and Learn
1947
as Mrs. Grant (uncredited)
MovieRamrod
1947
as Mrs. Parks
MovieTrail Street
1947
as Mrs. Ferguson (uncredited)
MovieThat Brennan Girl
1946
as Mrs. Graves, the Nice Landlady
MovieWild West
1946
as Carrie Bannister
MovieMy Dog Shep
1946
as Carrie Hodgkins
MovieGentleman Joe Palooka
1946
as Mom Palooka
MovieAngel on My Shoulder
1946
as Agatha (uncredited)
MovieJoe Palooka, Champ
1946
as Mom Palooka
MovieSo Goes My Love
1946
as Bridget
Idea Girl
1946
as Old Lady
MovieDakota
1945
as Mrs. Plummer
MovieRiders of the Dawn
1945
as Melinda Pringle
MovieSong of Old Wyoming
1945
as Ma Conway
MovieMarshal of Laredo
1945
as Mrs. Randall
MovieApology for Murder
1945
as Maggie
MovieWildfire
1945
as Aunt Agatha
MovieThe Master Key
1945
as Aggie
MovieIdentity Unknown
1945
as Mrs. Anderson
MovieGhost Guns
1944
as Aunt Sally
MovieGirl Rush
1944
as Mrs. Emma Mason
MovieSan Diego I Love You
1944
as Mrs. Gulliver (uncredited)
MovieCasanova Brown
1944
as Mrs. Smith
MovieTrail to Gunsight
1944
as Grandma Wagner
MovieSummer Storm
1944
as Beggar Woman (uncredited)
MovieRange Law
1944
as Boots Annie
MovieThis Is the Life
1944
as Sarah (uncredited)
MovieThe Navy Way
1944
as Mrs. Margaret Gimble (uncredited)
MovieSo This Is Washington
1943
as Aunt Charity Speers
MovieFamily Troubles
1943
as Mrs. Jones
MovieHangmen Also Die!
1943
as Mrs. Georgia Dvorak
MovieAssignment in Brittany
1943
as Albertine
MovieRiders of the West
1942
as Ma Turner
MovieLaw and Order
1942
as Mary Todd
MovieThe Pride of the Yankees
1942
as Mrs. Roberts (uncredited)
MovieLady in a Jam
1942
as Miner’s Wife (uncredited)
MovieThe Mad Monster
1942
as Grandmother
MovieThis Gun for Hire
1942
as Mrs. Mason (uncredited)
MovieHeart of the Rio Grande
1942
as 'Skipper' Forbes
MovieWild Bill Hickok Rides
1942
as Mrs. Kimball
MoviePrivate Snuffy Smith
1942
as Lowizie Smith
MovieThe Power of God
1942
as Esther Worne
MovieThe Corsican Brothers
1941
as Nurse
MovieReg'lar Fellers
1941
as Hetty Carter
MovieMurder by Invitation
1941
as Cassandra Hildegard Denham
MovieA Woman's Face
1941
as Police Matron
MovieCity of Missing Girls
1941
as Mrs. Randolph
MovieThe Man Who Lost Himself
1941
as Maid
MovieIn Old Colorado
1941
as Ma Harriet Woods
MovieChad Hanna
1940
as Mrs. Todd
MovieLone Star Raiders
1940
as Lydia 'Granny' Phelps
MovieSon of the Navy
1940
as Mrs. Baker - Landlady
MovieForgotten Girls
1940
as Miss Donaldson
MovieI Stole a Million
1939
as Lady in Post Office (uncredited)
MovieShould a Girl Marry?
1939
as Mrs. Wilson
MovieThe Zero Hour
1939
as Sister Theodosia
MovieLet Freedom Ring
1939
as 'Ma' Logan
MovieThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1939
as Woman Wanting Needle Threaded (uncredited)
MovieOff the Record
1939
as Mrs. Fallon (uncredited)
Little Orphan Annie
1938
as Mrs. Nora Moriarty
MovieLittle Tough Guys in Society
1938
as Victim
MovieRich Man, Poor Girl
1938
as Ma
MovieWoman Against Woman
1938
as Dora
MovieRomance of the Limberlost
1938
as Sarah
MovieWomen in Prison
1938
as Martha Wilson
MovieExiled to Shanghai
1937
as Aunt Jane
MovieYouth on Parole
1937
as Mrs. Blair
MovieAnna Karenina
1935
as Governess
MovieMad Love
1935
as Crippled Girl's Mother (Uncredited)
MovieStranded
1935
as Workman's Wife (uncredited)
MovieThe Hoosier Schoolmaster
1935
as Sarah
MovieA Dog of Flanders
1935
as Frau Keller
MovieWhen Strangers Meet
1934
as Lucy Tarman
MovieThe Defense Rests
1934
as Mrs. Evans
MovieTomorrow's Children
1934
MovieHe Was Her Man
1934
as Mrs. Gardella
MovieDavid Harum
1934
as Widow
MovieAs the Earth Turns
1934
as Mrs. Janowski
MovieMan of Two Worlds
1934
as Olago
MovieThe Sin of Nora Moran
1933
as Mrs. Watts
MovieThe Power and the Glory
1933
as Henry's Wife
MovieAnn Vickers
1933
as Lil
MovieDoctor Bull
1933
as Mary the Canning Cook
MovieThe Important Witness
1933
as Deaf Woman
MoviePilgrimage
1933
MovieFace in the Sky
1933
as Ma Brown
MovieRasputin and the Empress
1932
as Duna the Landlady (uncredited)
MovieTess of the Storm Country
1932
as Old Martha
MovieWomen Won't Tell
1932
as Aggie Specks
MovieWild Girl
1932
as Lize
MovieKongo
1932
as Nun (uncredited)
MovieGrand Hotel
1932
as Chambermaid in Room 174 (uncredited)
MovieBlondie of the Follies
1932
as Ma McClune
MovieRebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
1932
as Mrs Cobb
MovieRed-Headed Woman
1932
as Mary, Legendre Maid (uncredited)
MovieThe Midnight Lady
1932
as Nita St. George
MovieYoung America
1932
as Mrs. Mary Taylor
MovieCross-Examination
1932
as Mary Stevens
MovieMata Hari
1931
as Sister Teresa (uncredited)
MovieThe Yellow Ticket
1931
as Mother Kalish
MovieSob Sister
1931
as Ma Stevens
MovieBad Girl
1931
as Mrs. Gardner
MovieThe Great Meadow
1931
as Mistress Molly Hall
MovieToday
1930
as Emma Warner
MovieBilly the Kid
1930
as Homesteader Mrs. Foster (uncredited)
MovieHide-Out
1930
as Mrs. Dorgan
MovieTrifles
1930
as Mrs. Wright
MovieThe Sophomore
1929
as Mrs. Collins
MovieWonder of Women
1929
as Anna
MovieCompanionate Marriage
1928
as Mrs. Williams
MovieThe Bugle Call
1927
as Luke's Wife
MovieThe Woman Who Did Not Care
1927
as Mrs. Carroll
MovieObey the Law
1926
as The Mother
