Trivia

One of the few women in Hollywood to act as a producer and director in the 1930s, albeit at smaller studios.

Daughter of Alice Davenport and Harry Davenport. Sister of Ann Davenport (1892-1968) and Kate Davenport (1896-1954); half-sister of Arthur Rankin (1900-47).

Children: Betty and Wallace Reid Jr.

Aunt of Dirk Wayne Summers and Arthur Rankin Jr..

As Mrs. Wallace Reid, Davenport produced The Red Kimona in 1925. The story was based on the true story of Gabrielle Darley, but Davenport did not secure her permission to film the events in her life. When Darley, who had moved on to marry and become an upstanding member of her community, found out that a film of her life had been made without her consent, she sued Davenport and won. The court in Melvin v. Reid, 112 Cal.App. 285, 297 (1931) stated, "any person living a life of rectitude has that right to happiness which includes a freedom from unnecessary attacks on his character, social standing or reputation." The case is still cited today as a "right to be forgotten case.".

Among her last credits is the co-author of the screenplay for Footsteps in the Fog (1955), and as dialogue director for The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) with Ginger Rogers.

In the 1970s, near the end of her life, Dorothy still had a print of her husband's 1921 feature Forever. She gave the print to an organization planning a museum. The museum plans fell through, and Dorothy's last remaining print of Wally's favorite movie was lost.

She was a talented horsewoman and did many of her own stunts in films.

Interviewed in "Talking to the Piano Player: Silent Film Stars, Writers and Directors Remember" by Stuart Oderman (BearManor Media).

Davenport and Thomas Ince co-produced the film Human Wreckage (1923) with James Kirkwood, Sr., Bessie Love and Lucille Ricksen, a film that dealt with the dangers of narcotics addiction. It was developed and marketed with expert assistance from members of the Los Angeles Anti-Narcotics League.[6] Davenport took Human Wreckage on a roadshow engagement with personal appearances, followed up with another "social conscience" picture about excessive mother-love called Broken Laws in 1924, again billed as "Mrs. Wallace Reid".