Born 1910 as Elizabeth Jane Young, American actress Sally Blane had her film debut at the age of seven when she appeared in Sirens of the Sea in 1917. She returned to the film business as an adult in the 1920s, playing small parts in a number of silent films. Her career continued into the 1930s when Blane appeared in several low-budget films, including Once a Sinner (1930), A Dangerous Affair (1930), Arabian Knights (1931), Annabelle’s Affairs (1931), Hello Everybody! (1933), City Limits (1934), Against the Law (1934), The Silver Streak (1934), and This is the Life (1935).
Some of her scenes, including one in Annabelle’s Affairs, in which Blane appeared in skimpy lingerie with Jeanette MacDonald and Joyce Compton, were risqué for their day, pre-dating the industry’s Hays Code that largely forbade such shots after 1934. The footage from Annabelle’s Affairs is considered lost.
Although her appearances began to fade toward the late 1930s, Blane acted in more than 100 films. She appeared onscreen at one time or another with all her sisters, for example with all three in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939). After this, she appeared in only four more films in small supporting roles: Fighting Mad (1939), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939), La Fuga (1944) and A Bullet for Joey (1955).
Blane died at her home near Beverly Hills, California in 1997 of cancer, aged 87. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see the beauty of young Sally Blane from between the 1920s and 1940s.
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