This new series looks at some of the stars featured on Ardath cigarette cards from the 1930s.
"Janet Shaw, whose real name is Ellen Claney, was given a film contract by Warner Bros. in 1938. She appeared in the film "The Sisters" and also in "Torchy Blane in Chinatown" with Glenda Farrell. Has golden hair, a delicate complexion and vivacious features."
So it says on the rear of the card. Born in Nebraska in 1919, she made her uncredited film debut in 1935's "She married her boss". She appeared in dozens of films in the late 1930s and 1940s when her career hit it's high, appearing in films such as Bela Lugosi's Night Monster (1942), Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and the Charlie Chan film Dark Alibi (1946). However, she was never able to break out of being a supporting actress and into stardom, but her list of films is certainly very impressive.
In the early 1950s she appeared in a number of early TV programmes, her last screen appearance being in City Detective in 1955. She died in 2001 in Nebraska.
