Dorcas Neville Matthews (5 November 1890 – 24 January 1969) was an English actress in silent films in the U.S. She had numerous roles as a supporting actress and was well known.

Biography

Dorcas Neville Matthews was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England,"Hawaii Marriages, 1826-1922" (12 January 2020)
Dorcas Neville Matthews in entry for Robert Morton McKim, 1912
in 1890. She came to North America as part of the Jeanne Russell Theatrical Company, along with actor William Henry Pratt who became known as Boris Karloff. 1911 census records show that Matthews resided in a lodging house in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada."Recensement du Canada de 1911" (16 March 2018)
Dorcas Matthews in entry for Antonio Toffoletto, 1911
citing Census, Vancouver Sub-Districts 19-50, British Columbia, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,662. of census sheet. She married fellow actor Robert McKim in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

on 25 April 1920, and had two children with him. According to Fandango, she retired to take care of them. She appeared in a small number of films in uncredited roles in later decades. New York Motion Picture Corporation sued Thomas H. Ince and among the allegations was poaching actors including Matthews. She was widowed when McKim died in 1927 and apparently never remarried.

Selected filmography

*''The Captive God'' (1916), along with her husband, Robert McKim *''The Jungle Child'' (1916) *''Honor Thy Name'' (1916) *''Puppets'' (1917) *'' A Strange Transgressor'' (1917) *'' Borrowed Plumage'' (1917) * '' Idolators'' (1917) * '' Love or Justice'' (1917) *'' The Little Brother'' (1917) *'' Ten of Diamonds'' (1917) *'' Madcap Madge'' (1917) *'' The Silent Man'' (1917) *''

Love Letters A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Love Letter(s) or The Love Letter may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''Love Letters'' (1917 film), an American drama silent film * ''Love Letters'' ( ...

'' (1917) *'' The Price Mark'' (1917) * '' The Tar Heel Warrior'' (1917) *'' The Millionaire Vagrant'' (1917) *'' Love Me'' (1918) *''

The Claws of the Hun ''The Claws of the Hun'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and written by Ella Stuart Carson and R. Cecil Smith. The film stars Charles Ray, Jane Novak, Robert McKim, Dorcas Matthews, Melbourne MacDowell, ...

'' (1918) *''

A Nine O'Clock Town ''A Nine O'Clock Town'' is a 1918 American comedy silent film written and directed by Victor Schertzinger. The film stars Charles Ray, Jane Novak, Otto Hoffman, Gertrude Claire, Catherine Young, and Dorcas Matthews. The film was released on ...

'' (1918) *''

The Virtuous Thief ''The Virtuous Thief'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind ...

'' (1919) *''

The Market of Souls ''The Market of Souls'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and written by John Lynch and C. Gardner Sullivan. The film stars Dorothy Dalton, Holmes Herbert, Philo McCullough, Dorcas Mathews, Donald McDonald, and ...

'' (1919) *'' The Law of Men'' (1919) *''

The Haunted Bedroom ''The Haunted Bedroom'' is a lost 1919 American silent drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kin ...

'' (1919) *''

Beckoning Roads ''Beckoning Roads'' is a 1919 American silent drama film based on the novel ''The Call of Life'' by Jeanne Judson. The novel was originally serialized in Red Book Magazine from August to December 1918. It was directed by Howard C. Hickman and ...

'' (1919) *''

The Luck of Geraldine Laird ''The Luck of Geraldine Laird'' is a 1920 silent film drama directed by Edward Sloman and starring Bessie Barriscale. It was produced by Bessie Barriscale Productions and released through the Robertson Cole Distributing Corp. Plot As described ...

'' (1920) *''

The Woman in the Suitcase ''The Woman in the Suitcase'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Fred Niblo, and is the first Paramount film released in the 1920s. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a ...

'' (1920) *'' Blood and Sand'' (1922) *'' Vanity Fair'' (1932) *''

The Famous Mrs. Fair ''The Famous Mrs. Fair'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent drama film produced by Louis B. Mayer, distributed through Metro Pictures, and directed by Fred Niblo. The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name by James Forbes (scre ...

'' (1923) *'' A Lady Takes a Chance'' (1943)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Dorcas 1890 births English film actresses English silent film actresses 20th-century English actresses English emigrants to the United States 1969 deaths Actresses from Lancashire