--- name: "Mae Busch" canonical: "https://film.one/person/mae-busch" fi1m_id: "mae-busch" imdb_id: "nm0123994" tmdb_id: 34757 wikidata_id: "Q153501" roles: ["Actor"] born: "17 June 1891" died: "19 April 1946" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 80 average_as: "actor" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-25T05:54:03.785210+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mae Busch ## Identity Mae Busch - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/mae-busch - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** mae-busch - **IMDb ID:** nm0123994 - **TMDB ID:** 34757 - **Wikidata ID:** Q153501 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Busch, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q153501, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0123994/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/34757 Actor. Born 17 June 1891 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Died 19 April 1946. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 17 June 1891, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - **Died:** 19 April 1946 - **Active:** 1922–1933 - **Also known as:** Annie May Busch, Mae Bush - **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 75 (1), 1930s 85 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Busch, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q153501, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0123994/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/34757 ## Streaming the US now - **Tubi:** [*Sons of the Desert*](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) (85) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Mae Busch > Mae Busch makes Oliver Hardy's domestic authority look doubtful, and gives us good reason to enjoy the challenge. Her comic force is worth more than the exasperated-wife parts allow, especially in *Sons of the Desert*. Oliver Hardy's authority looks provisional as soon as Mae Busch sets herself against it in *Sons of the Desert* (1933). As Mrs Lottie Hardy, she makes impatience funny without requiring us to take her husband's side. We laughed at his discomfort, but it was her refusal to be impressed that pleased us most. She gives the familiar business of a husband facing his wife's objections a contest worth watching. Before the domestic comedies came substantial silent-film work with Erich von Stroheim, including *Foolish Wives* (1922), in which she played Princess Vera Petchnikoff. *The Unholy Three* (1925), directed by Tod Browning, cast her as Rosie O'Grady alongside Lon Chaney. The seductive or morally ambiguous women of that period were a different sort of restriction from the angry wives that followed. Her first Mrs Hardy came in the sound short *Unaccustomed as We Are* (1929). In all, she appeared in thirteen Laurel and Hardy comedies. The comic timing matters because Busch has to keep up the pressure without making Ollie's wounded dignity uninteresting. In *Sons of the Desert*, her forcefulness gives him something substantial to be uncomfortable about; she is doing useful work for both of them. Yet the film's affection is directed chiefly towards its foolish husbands, and that leaves the women with fewer opportunities. Dorothy Christy's Mrs Betty Laurel is similarly given little to do beyond objecting to the men's pleasures. We would have liked both wives to have more to enjoy for themselves. Being repeatedly cast as a volatile wife made that restriction harder to escape. The sharp dialogue and crockery-throwing gave Busch opportunities for both verbal and physical comedy, but also helped fix the familiar type. Her final Laurel and Hardy film was *The Bohemian Girl* (1936); later work often meant small or uncredited parts. Start with *Sons of the Desert*, and watch Busch rather than merely waiting for Ollie's response. ## Biography Mae Busch (born Annie May Busch) was an Australian actress who worked in silent and sound films. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, to vaudeville performers and began her stage career before making her film debut in 1912. She appeared in Erich von Stroheim’s *Foolish Wives* (1922) as Princess Vera Petchnikoff and in *The Unholy Three* (1925). In the 1930s she featured in numerous Laurel and Hardy comedies, including *Sons of the Desert* (1933) as Mrs. Lottie Hardy, *Their First Mistake* (1932) as Mrs. Arabella Hardy, *Them Thar Hills* (1934) as Mrs. Hall and *Tit for Tat* (1935) as Mrs. Hall. She also had an uncredited role in *The Blue Dahlia* (1946). Busch died in California on 20 April 1946. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *Sons of the Desert* (1933), Fi1m 85, as Mrs. Lottie Hardy — [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) - *Foolish Wives* (1922), Fi1m 75, as Princess Vera Petchnikoff — [page](https://film.one/film/foolish-wives.md) ## Complete filmography (106) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Parrott Chase* (2009), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys* (1992), as (archive footage) - *Dance of the Cookoos* (1982), as Mrs. Hardy - *Cross My Heart* (1946), as Juror - *The Blue Dahlia* (1946), as Jenny (Maid) (uncredited) - *The Stork Club* (1945), as Vera (uncredited), Vera - *Something to Shout About* (1943), as Samson's Secretary - *The Mad Monster* (1942), as Susan - *Hello, Annapolis* (1942), as Miss Jenkins - *French Fried Patootie* (1941), as Fifi - *Ziegfeld Girl* (1941), as Jenny - *Women Without Names* (1940), as Rose - *Fangs of the Wild* (1939), as Mae Barton - *Nancy Drew… Detective* (1938), as Miss Tyson - *Marie Antoinette* (1938), as Mme. La Motte (uncredited) - *Prison Farm* (1938), as Trixie - *The Big Broadcast of 1938* (1938), as Chaperone (uncredited) - *Daughter of Shanghai* (1937), as Lil - *The Accusing Finger* (1936), as Younger Woman on Bus - *The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand* (1936), as Mrs. Paul Gironda - *The Bohemian Girl* (1936), as Mrs. Hardy - *The Fixer Uppers* (1935), as Madame Pierre Gustave - *Tit for Tat* (1935), as Mrs. Hall - *The Live Ghost* (1934), as Maisie the Vamp, Blonde Floozy - *Them Thar Hills* (1934), as Mrs. Hall - *Going Bye-Bye!* (1934), as Butch's Girlfriend - *The Road to Ruin* (1934), as Mrs. Monroe (uncredited) - *Picture Brides* (1934), as Gwen, British Bride - *I Like it That Way* (1934), as Elsie - *Beloved* (1934), as Marie - *Oliver the Eighth* (1934), as Widow - *Sons of the Desert* (1933), as Mrs. Lottie Hardy — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) - *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1933), as Lou Kendall - *Lilly Turner* (1933), as Hazel - *Cheating Blondes* (1933), as Mrs. Jennie Carter - *Sucker Money* (1933), as Mame - *Blondie Johnson* (1933), as Mae - *The Racing Strain* (1932), as Tia Juana Lil - *Women Won't Tell* (1932), as Mrs. Ruth Howard - *Scarlet Dawn* (1932), as French Wedding Witness (Uncredited) - *Their First Mistake* (1932), as Mrs. Arabella Hardy - *Heart Punch* (1932), as Goldie Zenias - *Doctor X* (1932), as Cathouse Madame - *The Purchase Price* (1932), as Train Passenger Queenie (uncredited) - *The Man Called Back* (1932), as Rosie - *High Hats and Low Brows* (1932), as Stale Annie - *The Rider of Death Valley* (1932), as Tillie - *Extra! Extra!* (1932), as Madam Olga - *Without Honor* (1932), as Mary Ryan - *The Big Scoop* (1931), as Lulu Bellamy - *Wicked* (1931), as Arlene - *Come Clean* (1931), as Kate - *Fly My Kite* (1931), as Dan’s New Wife (uncredited) - *Defenders of the Law* (1931), as Mae Ward - Undercover Policewoman - *Chickens Come Home* (1931), as Ollie's Old Flame (uncredited) - *Young Desire* (1930), as May Roberts - *A Man's Man* (1929), as Violet - *Unaccustomed as We Are* (1929), as Mrs. Hardy - *Alibi* (1929), as Daisy Thomas - *Black Butterflies* (1928), as Kitty Perkins - *Fazil* (1928), as Helen Dubreuze - *San Francisco Nights* (1928), as Flo - *While the City Sleeps* (1928), as Bessie Ward - *The Bride of the Colorado* (1928), as Extra - *The Beauty Shoppers* (1927), as Mabel Hines - *Love 'Em and Weep* (1927), as Old flame - *Perch of the Devil* (1927), as Ida Hook - *Husband Hunters* (1927), as Marie Devere - *The Truthful Sex* (1926), as Sally Carey Mapes - *Fools of Fashion* (1926), as Enid Alden - *The Nut-Cracker* (1926), as Martha Slipaway - *Time, the Comedian* (1925), as Nora Dakon - *Camille of the Barbary Coast* (1925), as Camille Balishaw - *The Unholy Three* (1925), as Rosie O'Grady - *The Triflers* (1924), as Marjorie Stockton - *Married Flirts* (1924), as Jill Wetherell - *Broken Barriers* (1924), as Irene Kirby - *Bread* (1924), as Jeanette Sturgis - *A Woman Who Sinned* (1924), as Mrs. Hillburn - *Nellie, the Beautiful Cloak Model* (1924), as Polly Joy - *The Shooting of Dan McGrew* (1924), as Flo Dupont - *Name the Man* (1924), as Bessie Collister - *Souls for Sale* (1923), as Robina Teele - *The Christian* (1923), as Glory Quayle - *Only a Shop Girl* (1922), as Josie Jerome - *Pardon My Nerve!* (1922), as Marie - *Foolish Wives* (1922), as Princess Vera Petchnikoff — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/foolish-wives.md) - *Her Own Money* (1922), as Flora Conroy - *The Love Charm* (1921), as Hattie Nast - *Her Husband's Friend* (1920), as Clarice - *The Devil's Passkey* (1920), as La Belle Odera - *The Grim Game* (1919), as Ethel Delmead - *The Fair Barbarian* (1917), as Lucia - *Wife and Auto Trouble* (1916), as The Speedy Stenographer - *Because He Loved Her* (1916), as The Cashier - *Fatty and the Broadway Stars* (1915), as Keystone Performer - *A Favorite Fool* (1915), as The Farmer's Daughter - *Merely a Married Man* (1915), as The Wife - *Those Bitter Sweets* (1915), as The Sweetheart - *For Better - But Worse* (1915), as The Police Chief's Daughter - *The Rent Jumpers* (1915), as The Landlord's Daughter - *Settled at the Seaside* (1915), as Girlfriend - *A One Night Stand* (1915), as The Actress - *Love in Armor* (1915), as The Sweetheart - *Ye Olden Grafter* (1915), as The Lady - *Mabel and Fatty’s Married Life* (1915), as Woman in Black (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![Mae Busch](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-757075a92942.jpg) Mae Busch — Photoplay magazine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Mae_Busch_Stars_of_the_Photoplay.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Publicity photo of Mae Busch from The Blue Book of the Screen by Ruth Wing, editor (1923)](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-277a5528ffcb.jpg) Publicity photo of Mae Busch from The Blue Book of the Screen by Ruth Wing, editor (1923) — Roman Freulich, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/71/Mae_Busch_The_Blue_Book_of_the_Screen.jpg/1280px-Mae_Busch_The_Blue_Book_of_the_Screen.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Mae Busch Subjects: actresses (1923)](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-df7878acaccb.jpg) Mae Busch Subjects: actresses (1923) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Mae_Busch_%28SAYRE_10941%29.jpg/1280px-Mae_Busch_%28SAYRE_10941%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Low resolution screenshot of Mae Busch in the uncredited role of Mrs. Monroe in the American public domain exploitation film The Road to Ruin (1934).](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-52a4458cd897.jpg) Low resolution screenshot of Mae Busch in the uncredited role of Mrs. Monroe in the American public domain exploitation film The Road to Ruin (1934). — Willis Kent Productions, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/The_Road_to_Ruin_%281934%29_-_Mae_Busch.jpg/1280px-The_Road_to_Ruin_%281934%29_-_Mae_Busch.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Mae Busch](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-14489d06443d.jpg) Mae Busch — Image via TMDB - ![Mae Busch](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-d319540a5724.jpg) Mae Busch — Image via TMDB - ![Mae Busch](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-777afd930a95.jpg) Mae Busch — Image via TMDB - ![After a two year engagement Australian-born screen actress and writer Mae Busch files an intent to wed her fiancé Thomas C. Tate, who is employed as a civil eng (1936)](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-c60ffbaa50d4.jpg) After a two year engagement Australian-born screen actress and writer Mae Busch files an intent to wed her fiancé Thomas C. Tate, who is employed as a civil eng (1936) — Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Thomas_Tate_and_Mae_Busch.jpg/1280px-Thomas_Tate_and_Mae_Busch.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Still from the American drama film Alibi (1929). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actors, actresses](https://film.one/media/person/3849348/gallery-85dbb8445ff0.jpg) Still from the American drama film Alibi (1929). Subjects (LCTGM): motion pictures, actors, actresses — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Alibi_%28SAYRE_15779%29.jpg/1280px-Alibi_%28SAYRE_15779%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/mae-busch