Editing Jean Arthur (section)

===Silent film===
[[File:Cameo Kirby (1923) - 1.jpg|thumb|''[[Cameo Kirby (1923 film)|Cameo Kirby]]'' advertisement from the July 8, 1923 ''[[The Film Daily|Film Daily]]'']]

Discovered by [[Fox Film|Fox Film Studios]] while she was doing commercial modeling in New York City in the early 1920s, the newly named Jean Arthur landed a one-year contract and debuted in the [[silent film]] ''[[Cameo Kirby (1923 film)|Cameo Kirby]]'' (1923), directed by [[John Ford]]. She reputedly took her stage name from two of her greatest heroes, [[Joan of Arc]] (Jeanne d'Arc) and [[King Arthur]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ANB |doi=10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1803494|title=Arthur, Jean (17 October 1900–19 June 1991) |year=2000 |last1=Collins |first1=Thomas W. Jr }}</ref> The studio was at the time looking for new American sweethearts with sufficient sex appeal to interest the [[Jazz Age]] audiences. Arthur was remodeled as such a personality, a [[flapper]].<ref>Oller 1997, p. 40.</ref>

[[File:The Temple of Venus (1923) - 1.jpg|thumb|''[[The Temple of Venus (film)|The Temple of Venus]]'' advertisement from the July 8, 1923 ''Film Daily'']]

Following the small role in ''Cameo Kirby'', she received her first female lead role in ''[[The Temple of Venus (film)|The Temple of Venus]]'' (1923), a plotless tale about a group of dancing nymphs. Dissatisfied with her lack of acting talent, the film's director, [[Henry Otto]], replaced Arthur with actress [[Mary Philbin]] during the third day of shooting. Arthur agreed with the director: "There wasn't a spark from within. I was acting like a mechanical doll personality. I thought I was disgraced for life."<ref>Oller 1997, p. 41.</ref>

Arthur was planning on leaving the California film industry for good, but reluctantly stayed due to her contract, and appeared in comedy shorts, instead. Despite lacking the required talent, Arthur liked acting, which she perceived as an "outlet". To acquire some fame, she registered herself in the Los Angeles city directory as a photo player operator, as well as appearing in a promotional film for a new Encino nightclub, but to no avail.<ref>Oller 1997, p. 42.</ref>

{{quote box|bgcolor=#CCDDFF|align=right|width=25%|quote=It would have been better business if I cried in front of the producers. It isn't a bad idea to get angry and chew up the scenery. I've had to learn to be a different person since I've been out here. Anybody that sticks it out in Hollywood for four years is bound to change in self-defense... Oh, I'm hard-boiled now. I don't expect anything. But it took me a long time to get over hoping, and believing, people's promises. That's the worst of this business, everyone is such a good promisor.<ref>Oller 1997, p. 46.</ref>|source=—Arthur commenting on her unsuccessful film career in 1928.}}

Change came when one day she showed up at the lot of Action Pictures, which produced [[B movie|B Westerns]], and impressed its owner, Lester F. Scott, Jr., with her presence. He decided to take a chance on a complete unknown, and she was cast in over 20 Westerns in a two-year period. Only receiving $25 a picture, Arthur suffered from difficult working conditions: "The films were generally shot on location, often in the desert near Los Angeles, under a scorching sun that caused throats to parch and make-up to run. Running water was nowhere to be found, and even outhouses were a luxury not always present. The extras on these films were often real cowboys, tough men who were used to roughing it and who had little use for those who were not."<ref>Oller 1997, p. 43.</ref> The films were moderately successful in second-rate Midwestern theaters, though Arthur received no official attention. Aside from appearing in films for Action Pictures between 1924 and 1926, she worked in some independent Westerns, including ''The Drug Store Cowboy'' (1925), and Westerns for [[Poverty Row]], as well as having an uncredited bit part in [[Buster Keaton]]'s ''[[Seven Chances]]'' (1925) as the receptionist.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/seven-chances/cast/2000278818/ |title=Seven Chances – Full Cast & Crew |magazine=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106100725/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/seven-chances/cast/2000278818/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1927, Arthur attracted more attention when she appeared opposite [[Mae Busch]] and [[Charles Delaney]] as a gold-digging chorus girl in ''[[Husband Hunters]]''. Subsequently, she was romanced by actor [[Monty Banks]] in ''Horse Shoes'' (1927), both a commercial and critical success. She was cast on Banks's insistence, and received a salary of $700.<ref>Oller 1997, p. 45.</ref> Next, director [[Richard Wallace (director)|Richard Wallace]] ignored Fox's wishes to cast a more experienced actress by assigning Arthur to the female lead in ''[[The Poor Nut]]'' (1927), a college comedy, which gave her wide exposure to audiences. A reviewer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' did not spare the actress in his review:
<blockquote>
With everyone in Hollywood bragging about the tremendous overflow of charming young women all battering upon the directorial doors leading to an appearance in pictures, it seems strange that from all these should have been selected two flat specimens such as Jean Arthur and [[Jane Winton]]. Neither of the girls has screen presence. Even under the kindliest treatment from the camera, they are far from attractive and in one or two side shots almost impossible.<ref>Oller 1997, pp. 45–46.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[File:Warming Up lobby card.jpg|thumb|[[Lobby card]] featuring Jean Arthur and [[Richard Dix]] in ''[[Warming Up (1928 film)|Warming Up]]'' (1928)]]

Fed up with the direction that her career was taking, Arthur expressed her desire for a big break in an interview at the time. She was skeptical when signed to a small role in ''[[Warming Up (1928 film)|Warming Up]]'' (1928), a film produced for a big studio, [[Famous Players–Lasky]], and featuring major star [[Richard Dix]]. Promoted as the studio's first [[sound film]], it received wide media attention, and Arthur earned praise for her portrayal of a baseball club owner's daughter. ''Variety'' opined, "Dix and Arthur are splendid in spite of the wretched material", while ''[[Screenland]]'' wrote that Arthur "is one of the most charming young kissees who ever officiated in a Dix film. Jean is winsome; she neither looks nor acts like the regular movie heroine. She's a nice girl&nbsp;– but she has her moments."<ref>Oller 1997, p. 47.</ref> The success of ''Warming Up'' resulted in Arthur being signed to a three-year contract with the studio, soon to be known as [[Paramount Pictures]], at $150 a week.