Runa Hodges was a child actor during the silent film era in the U.S.[1] She toured and appeared in person at some of the theater showings of her film series with Reliance.[2]

Hodges was born around 1907 or 1908.[3] According to a newspaper article in The Missoulian, she was first discovered when a film company was looking for someone to play a part as Cupid, and her photograph was passed along to the company.[4]

Along with working in film productions, Hodges attended the Professional Children's School in New York City.[3] She starred in multiple 1913 films for Reliance, including The Little Enchantress, Child Labor, Runa and the Black Hand, Faithful Shep, and The Dream Home.[5]

Hodges appeared in the 1915 film, A Fool There Was, as the child of "The Fool".[6] She acted the part of Stella, the daughter of Count Fabio, in the 1915 film The Unfaithful Wife. The film was based on Marie Corelli's book, Vendetta!.[7][8] She starred in a five-reel film The Colonel's Oath, produced by Reliance.[9]

She acted alongside fellow child actor Jack Curtis in the 1916 film The House of Mirrors.[10] In 1916 she appeared in the theatrical production Margaret Schiller.[11] In 1916, she worked with the Rialto Film Corporation for a role in their first film release.[12]

She starred as Virgie in the 1918 production of The Littlest Rebel, which opened at the Empire Theater in Paterson, New Jersey.[13][14]

IMDb lists numerous films she was in, many of them shorts. She never became a star following her childhood celebrity.[15]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Runa Hodges". Archived from the original on November 14, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Moving Picture World". 1913.
  3. ^ a b "A Lesson with a Moral". The Green Book Magazine. Vol. 16, no. 3. September 1916. p. 443. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  4. ^ "A Cute Cupid". The Missoulian. July 15, 1913. p. 6. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Untitled". Moving Picture News. Cinematograph Publishing Company: 43, 79, 696, 782, 792. January–June 1913. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  6. ^ a b Slide, Anthony (1982). Selected Film Criticism. Scarecrow Press. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-8108-1575-9. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Talented Child on Hawaii Bill". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. September 7, 1916. p. 12. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Runa Hodges". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "The Colonel's Oath". Princeton Daily Clarion. June 22, 1915. p. 4. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  10. ^ "News and Gossip of Screen and Stage". The Sunday Telegram. August 13, 1916. p. 13. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Runa Hodges – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB".
  12. ^ "Little Runa Hodges: Engaged by New Rialto Company". The Billboard. 28 (20). Prometheus Global Media: 53. May 13, 1916. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Theaters: Empire, Paterson". Passaic Daily News. February 25, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Child Actress Is Starring At Empire". The Morning Call. February 26, 1918. p. 10. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Golden, Eve (5 May 1998). Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara. ISBN 9781461730774.