Page "Claudette Colbert" Paragraph 8

After signing a five-year contract with the producer Al Woods, Colbert played ingenue roles on Broadway from 1925 through 1929.

During her early years on stage, she fought against being typecast as a maid, and received critical acclaim on Broadway in the production of The Barker ( 1927 ), playing a carnival snake charmer.

She later reprised this role for the play's run in London's West End.

Colbert was noticed by the theatrical producer Leland Hayward, who suggested her for a role in Frank Capra's film For the Love of Mike ( 1927 ), now believed to be lost.

The film, Colbert's only silent film role, was a box office failure.