Charlotte Henry

Charlotte Virginia Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in Alice in Wonderland and Babes in Toyland (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial Jungle Menace (1937).

Early years Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Robert Emmett Henry and Charlotte Ann Sayers Henry. She began modelling at a very young age, and was always fascinated by the theatre. At age 14, she was cast in an important role in Courage, a hit Broadway play, in 1928.

Hollywood The following year, Henry's mother brought her to Hollywood. She repeated her part in the movie version of Courage (1930) and enrolled at Lawlors, the school for professional children. Some of her classmates were Jackie Cooper, Frankie Darro, Mickey Rooney, Anita Louise, and Betty Grable. Junior Durkin, who had worked with her in Courage, suggested Henry for a play in which he was appearing at the Pasadena Playhouse. By then, she had appeared in two more feature films: Huckleberry Finn in 1931 and Lena Rivers in 1932.

Alice in Wonderland garnered unanimous praise for Henry. In 1933, she appeared in the film Man Hunt as Josie Woodward.

Jungle Menace In his autobiography, director Harry L. Fraser described filming the scene in Jungle Menace during which a boa constrictor attacks the heroine Dorothy (Henry). The villain has tied Dorothy hand and foot and she thrashes about wildly, terrified when she suddenly sees the huge snake:

Stage Henry said that her success as a child actress left her "typed, definitely typed" and cited the difficulty of proving "that I am quite capable of playing serious adult parts." The resulting lack of work in films led her to act on stage in production of the Federal Theatre Project.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes Harmony at Home Courage On Your Back Belle Huckleberry Finn Mary Jane Arrowsmith Uncredited Forbidden Roberta - Age 18 Murders in the Rue Morgue Blonde Girl in Sideshow Audience Uncredited Lena Rivers Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm Emma Jane Uncredited Rasputin and the Empress Minor Role Uncredited Man Hunt Alice in Wonderland Alice Babes in Toyland Bo-Peep March of the Wooden Soldiers Bo-Peep Laddie Hannah Forbidden Heaven Ann, The Girl Three Kids and a Queen Hearts in Bondage Charlie Chan at the Opera Jungle Menace Serial God's Country and the Man Young Dynamite Bowery Blitzkrieg Flying Blind Corenson's Secretary She's in the Army I Live on Danger Nurse (final film role)