Although she had a supporting role in Wings (1927), the very first Oscar winning film for Best Picture, Jobyna Ralston is mostly known today as Harold Lloyd's girl in some of his finest features, most notably Girl Shy (1924), The Freshman (1925) and The Kid Brother (1927).
Lloyd had a tendency to have the same leading lady in most of his films. The first was Bebe Daniels, followed by Mildred Davis. When Miss Davis retired to become Mrs. Harold Lloyd, the search was on within the Hal Roach studios to find a replacement. At the time she had already appeared in over fifty short films for Roach, often paired with comic James Parrott. Once teamed with Harold Lloyd, the chemistry became evident with the movie going public, and she stayed paired with Lloyd in pictures until her contract expired.
From there she went on to film the award winning Wings, where she fell in love and married her co-star, Richard Arlen. The marriage lasted twelve years, and by the time her relationship with Arlen was over, so was her career. Like so many of her peers, the sound era was not kind to her and her acting career was soon a thing of the past.
Lloyd had a tendency to have the same leading lady in most of his films. The first was Bebe Daniels, followed by Mildred Davis. When Miss Davis retired to become Mrs. Harold Lloyd, the search was on within the Hal Roach studios to find a replacement. At the time she had already appeared in over fifty short films for Roach, often paired with comic James Parrott. Once teamed with Harold Lloyd, the chemistry became evident with the movie going public, and she stayed paired with Lloyd in pictures until her contract expired.
From there she went on to film the award winning Wings, where she fell in love and married her co-star, Richard Arlen. The marriage lasted twelve years, and by the time her relationship with Arlen was over, so was her career. Like so many of her peers, the sound era was not kind to her and her acting career was soon a thing of the past.
Today, she appears to only be remembered by Harold Lloyd fans who split their devotion three ways between the main trio of his leading ladies. This author prefers the more mature Jobyna Ralston to the younger and innocent acting Bebe Daniels and Mildred Davis. Not that her predecessors weren't good (they were - very), but as movies matured, so did the characters. Jobyna Ralston was the perfect love interest for Harold Lloyd at that time. And if you catch one of their films today, she still is.
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