Arthur Rankin — On His Own (1925) 🇺🇸

In spite of his heritage of theatrical tradition, it has taken Arthur Rankin several years to earn recognition in the movies. Inherited glory often focuses attention upon young talents, regardless of their own merits. But to the motion-picture public the glamorous names of the stage mean little.

So the fact that he comes of the illustrious Rankin and Drew families was no tremendous asset in Arthur’s cap when he set out to carve a name for himself in the movies. The son of Harry Davenport and Phyllis Rankin, the grandson of McKee Rankin, related to the late Sidney Drew and to the three Barrymores [John Barrymore | Lionel Barrymore | Ethel Barrymore], he was surrounded upon all sides by theatrical achievement. Their attainments, however, had been mostly confined to the stage.

His apparent youth also has been a handicap. Though his years are mature, time neglects to set its mark upon him and he continues to be cast, against his wish, as a juvenile. His ambition is to play deeply dramatic roles similar to those acted by his famous relatives.

Upon occasion this longing is satisfied to a degree, as when he is permitted to play a sympathetic character such as he essays in “Sun Up,” the dope-crazed youngster of “Yellow Faces,” an F. B. O. production, or the crippled French soldier of “The Dressmaker from Paris.” But too often his dramatic eagerness must be curbed within the restrictions of ingenuous, untested youth. Even in these roles, however, he reveals a spark of that inbred talent.

His favorite pastime is whippet racing, and he never tires of showing the ribbons that his miniature greyhound, Stromboli, has won.

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Photo by: Walter Fredrick Seely

Collection: Picture Play Magazine, June 1925