Career
Among her few films were Up the River (1930), directed by John Ford and costarring Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, and Under Secret Orders, the English-language version of G. West. Pabst"s French-language feature, Mademoiselle Docteur (1937). Luce starred in many Broadway plays from 1923 until 1952, including costarring with Fred Astaire in the original musical Gay Divorce (1932). Astaire tried to get Luce for the film version of Gay Divorce, The Gay Divorcee (1934) but was overruled by the studio, Radio-Keith-Orpheum Radio Pictures, which preferred to use their contract player, Ginger Rogers.
In his autobiography, Astaire credits Luce as the inspiration for his revolutionary "Night and Day" dance routine: "Claire was a beautiful dancer and it was her style that suggested to me the whole pattern of the "Night and Day" dance.
This was something entirely different from anything Adele and I had done together. That was what I wanted, an entirely new dancing approach."
Luce recalls her own experience with the chronically insecure Astaire: "I actually felt more sorry for Fred than I did for myself, despite the horrendous schedules of rehearsals that he kept up.
He was a very worried manitoba"
She also starred in the Broadway version of Of Mice and Men (1937), written by John Steinbeck and directed by George South. Kaufman. Luce often appeared on the English stage and having been seen in Of Mice and Men in London in 1939, stayed in the United Kingdom throughout the war years.
She played a number of Shakespearean roles during that time and in 1945 scored a big success leading the company at the annual Stratford-on-Avon Memorial Theatre"s summer Shakespeare Festival, particularly as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra.
Her last appearance in London at that time was as Becky Sharp in an adaptation of Thackeray"s Vanity Fair at the Comedy Theatre in 1946. Much Ado About Nothing as Beatrice May 1, 1952 - May 3, 1952
The Taming of the Shrew as Katharina, April 25, 1951 - May 6, 1951
With a Silk Thread as Rose Raymond, April 12, 1950 - April 22, 1950
Portrait in Black as Tanis Talbot, May 14, 1947 - July 5, 1947
Of Mice and Men as Curley"s Wife, November 23, 1937 - May 1938
Gay Divorce as Mimi November 29, 1932 - July 1, 1933
Society Girl as Judy Gelett, December 30, 1931 - January 1932
Scarlet Pages as Nora Mason, September 9, 1929 - November 1929
Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 August 16, 1927 - January 7, 1928
Number Foolin June 24, 1926 - September 25, 1926
Music Box Revue December 1, 1924 - May 1925
Dear Sir as Clair, September 23, 1924 - October 4, 1924
Little Jessie James as Claire, August 15, 1923 - July 19, 1924.