Jane Arden was a nationally syndicated comic strip created by Monte Barrett and Russell E. Ross which focused on the adventures a girl reporter whose existence was likely inspired by the Stratemeyer Syndicate's Hardy Boys novels but who hit the ground running three years ahead of the introduction of bobbysoxer sleuth Nancy Drew. Running in syndication from 1927 until 1968, the daily inspired not only film and radio adaptations of its own but paved the way for such iconic lady newshounds as Superman's Lois Lane and Brenda Starr, Reporter. After actress Ruth Yorke provided the voice for Jane Arden in a short-lived radio adaptation, Warner Bros. acquired movie rights to the character as a vehicle for one of its newest acquisitions, 20 year-old Rosella Towns. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, as Rosella Townsend, the university professor's daughter was spotted by studio head Jack Warner as a participant in a department store fashion show and was offered a Hollywood contract. Rechristened Rosella Towns, the newcomer found herself acting opposite Ronald Reagan in such films as Sergeant Murphy (1938), Cowboy from Brooklyn (1938), and Secret Service of the Air (1939). The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939) was intended as the first in a series but subsequent entries never materialized and Towns was soon demoted to bit player - the same year she turned up in uncredited bits in Dark Victory and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Married to writer Harry Kronman in 1942, Towns retired after playing a supporting role in Republic's A Gentle Gangster (1943). She died at age 96 in 2014.

By Richard Harland Smith