Helen Mack was born November 12, 1913 in Rock Island, Illinois. At age seven she was enrolled at the Professional Children's School in New York City. She appeared on Broadway, in vaudeville and in five silent films beginning at age ten, her first being Ralph Ince's
Success, (1923) featuring Mary Astor. Her first talkie saw her in a small role in D. W. Griffith's last film
The Struggle (1931). Her Fox Film screen test came in March 1931 and within three weeks she was making films. Her debut as a leading lady was opposite Victor McLaglen in
While Paris Sleeps (1932). Helen played in several westerns in the early 1930s, including
Fargo Express (1933) with Ken Maynard, and
The California Trail with Buck Jones. Helen may be best remembered for the 1933 movie sequel
The Son of Kong, and also played an important role as Tanya in Merian C. Cooper's production of H. Rider Haggard's
She (1935). Helen made over twenty films from the mid to late 30's including
The Lemon Drop Kid (1934) opposite Lee Tracy, as the female lead in
The Return of Peter Grimm (1935), starring Lionel Barrymore, Harold Lloyd's
The Milky Way (1936),
King of the Newsboys (1938) with Lew Ayres, and she closed out the decade with
Calling All Marines (1939). Helen made six films between 1940 and 1945, including
His Girl Friday and
Girls of the Road, both in 1940.
In the 1940's and 1950's, Helen worked as a producer and director of radio programs including the series Richard Diamond, Private Detective, and The Saint. With the advent of TV Helen wrote and produced episodes for a number of programs.
Helen died in California Aug. 13, 1986.
Double click on the images for a larger view.


Publicity stills for While Paris Sleeps.

Publicity still for The California Trail.

The California Trial poster image.

Blind Adventure frame captures.

Fargo Express poster image.

Fargo Express frame captures.

Son of Kong poster image.


Son of Kong publicity stills.


All Of Me publicity stills.

Paramount publicity still - 1934.

The Lemon Drop Kid lobby card image.

She publicity still.

She frame captures.

The Return of Peter Grimm publicity still.

Fit For A King frame captures.

King of the Newsboys frame captures.

Girls Of The Road poster image.

Girls Of The Road frame captures.
Helen Mack - What do you think - Allure?
9 comments:
Most definitely Allure. I like that she's a brunette, and she certainly had an intelligence in her acting. good choice!
Of her work that I've seen, she was a pretty good actress, and deserves to be more well known. Funny, I'm right in the middle of typing up a review of While Paris Sleeps(1932) for my blog...lol.
Allure definately - I have
"Girls of the Road" - that
is going on my watch list
for the next week or two.
A few months ago we were
watching "I Promise to Pay"
(1937) and my husband piped
up with "Wow I like her - she
has got glamour" - It was Helen
Mack and I had to admit she did.
great photos. i say Allure! :)
Very nice, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for the profile of Helen Mack! Recently through my genealogical research, I've found that she is a distant relative of mine. It was very cool to see her on Allure
Where do you get your images from?
25 + years of collecting, off line and on, friends, etc. I restore most of them for presentation. We have an extensive personal collection.
Allure is a matter of taste, but you certainly have enough selection there for every taste, thanks for sharing.
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