Lina Basquette (born Lena Copeland Baskette; April 19, 1907 – September 30, 1994) was an American actress.

The film was based on the life of Queen Silver, known as a 20th-century child prodigy, and feminist and socialist activist.

After she retired from the entertainment world, in 1947 Basquette moved to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she became a noted breeder of Great Danes; her dogs won numerous professional show prizes.

He hired her at the age of eight (through her parents) to advertise Victrolas at the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco.

Their daughter Marjorie Belcher, half-sister to Lina, was born in 1919 in Los Angeles, where the family was then living.

[6] In 1923, Baskette and her mother traveled across the country by train to New York City, so that the girl could audition for John Murray Anderson.

The girl gained notice from Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, who wanted to mentor her in classical ballet.

Her mother Gladys Baskette decided that a career as a ballerina would not yield enough money and turned down Pavolva's offer.

Basquette plays the title character Judith, who is based on Queen Silver, a child prodigy who early made speeches as a socialist activist.

Judith is the leader of a high school atheist society; she forces members to renounce the Bible while placing a hand on the head of a live monkey.

Basquette later recalled that she received a fan letter from Adolf Hitler (before he achieved his political power) saying that she was his favorite movie star.

[6] After appearing in The Godless Girl, Basquette found her popularity declining and she was offered fewer film roles.

[9] In January 1937, Basquette was offered a contract with the Universum Film AG studio in Germany after the Nazi Party had taken power.

After arriving in Germany, she was driven to Berchtesgaden, where she met Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess, and Joseph Goebbels.

[12] In 1939, Basquette and her fifth husband, English actor Henry Mollison, appeared on stage together in Idiot's Delight, which toured in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

[9] On August 9, 1943, Basquette was raped and robbed in Burbank, California after she gave a ride to 22-year-old army private George Paul Rimke.

[14][15] In 1947, Basquette used money from a trust fund left to her by her first husband, Sam Warner, and purchased a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

In 1950, she and her sixth husband Warner Gilmore opened Honey Hollow Kennels; they began breeding and showing Great Danes.

Basquette became the single biggest winner of Great Dane breed shows and was known as a noted dog breeder.

Her films were screened in Washington, D.C. at the National Gallery of Art and at the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles.

She played a grandmother who dreamed God was coming to grant a wish to residents of an Appalachian trailer park.

Harry Warner and his wife offered Basquette large amounts of money to relinquish custody but she refused.

[23] On October 31, 1931, she married Theodore Hayes, the former trainer of world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey.

[4] For her contributions to the film industry, Basquette has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1529 Vine Street.