Wed 7 Jan 2009
Iris Meredith has been a favorite of mine for nearly 40 years now. She’s not the greatest actress in the world — although she wasn’t exactly given challenging roles or directorial guidance in Westerns and serials — but her beautiful face and distinctive voice still exert a vaguely hypnotic influence on male viewers, as Steve is now learning.
Unfortunately, like so many who toiled in “B” movies, she didn’t get the breaks she deserved. As a Columbia contract player, she worked long hours on cheap pictures and was forever being promised better opportunities that never seemed to materialize.
Iris lost both parents before she started working in Hollywood (while still a teenager) and supported a younger brother. She retired from the screen in 1943 after getting married; I think that Buster Crabbe Western was her last film.
In the late 60s or early 70s she developed a particularly virulent form of cancer that necessitated the removal of half her jaw and part of her tongue, disfiguring that once-beautiful face. She showed unusual grace and courage, in my view, by accepting an invitation to appear at a 1975 convention of Western movie fans in Nashville. Fortunately, her old fans — by now middle-aged men and women — showered her with affection during the convention, and she was moved to tears when an audience of several hundred gave her a standing ovation at the closing-night banquet.
Although she found speaking difficult — the loss of part of her tongue made it hard for her to articulate many words — Iris graciously granted me an interview. She recalled with fondness her stint as Charles Starrett’s regular leading lady (they made 20 Westerns together) and her appearance as Nita Van Sloan in The Spider’s Web.
Curiously, when I mentioned her third and final serial, 1940’s The Green Archer, Iris said, “I don’t like to discuss that film. Please don’t ask me about it.” I hastily changed the subject, but I’ve always wondered what happened on that set to make the shooting of Green Archer such an unpleasant memory for her.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Iris Meredith made five B-movie Westerns with director Joseph H. Lewis. In three, she appeared with Charles Starrett and the singing group The Sons of the Pioneers:
Two-Fisted Rangers
Blazing Six Shooters
Texas Stagecoach.
In the two others, she was in non-musical Westerns with Will Bill Elliott:
The Man from Tumbleweeds
The Return of Wild Bill.
Joseph H. Lewis is an important director, and the four of these I’ve seen are varied and accomplished.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Mike
Five more movies have immediately moved up on my want list!
— Steve
February 24th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I was so glad to see this tribute to my family member. I remember going to see my “Aunt Iris”. Actually she was my dad’s cousin, but we called her our aunt. I remember her wearing a veil over one side of her face. Her beauty still would shine through. My mom has a few photos of her that I haven’t seen anywhere. Thanks again.
April 21st, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Hi Bruce Hickey from Auckland,New Zealand here.I have collected on b western items since 1948.
If you go to the Bob Nolan website(bobnolan-sop.net)then click on Reflections my blog there has some great shots of Iris,including one of the last taken of her at a b western convention in the mid 1970’s.Charles Starrett spoke very highly of her when I visited him in 1984 but said “she smoked like a chimney”.
You can download the images easily.
Regards
Bruce
Well worth checking out.
August 1st, 2014 at 9:58 pm
Iris Meredith was one of the greatest actresses that ever starred in a movie. I have never seen an actress who could display the emotions like her. I suppose that she learned from real life responsibilities.
I have viewed hundreds of westerns and their is no one who was as beautiful and acted so well. The lady never received the credit she deserved.
August 1st, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Lynette Shunn, you should be very proud of your “Aunt Iris”. Of all the stories that I have read about this lady, she was remarkable in real life as well as the movies.
I hope that she realized how much we appreciate her work in the movies and most especially what a courageous person she was in real life. I hope she is looking down and smiling on us.