Silent Film: Bardelys the Magnificent(1926).

Bardelys the Magnificent (1926). A Romantic silent film directed by King Vidor. Cast: John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman. The film is based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini. It was the second film of the 19 year old John Wayne, who had a small role.

King Louis XIII sends Chatellerault to romance Roxalanne de Lavedan, hoping to keep the girl's fortune within the family. When Chatellerault says that Roxalanne is unapproachable, Bardelys, bets his entire estate that he will win her heart in three months time.

While traveling, Bardelys finds a dying man along the way and is given some letters with the name Lesperon, whose identity he uses as his own. Finding that Lesperon is a traitor, he looks for shelter in the Lavedan estate and he begins courting her.

Video: The river scene in the willows is romantic and beautiful.



 St. Eustache, warns her that Lesperon is engaged to Mademoiselle Mersac and Bardelys is arrested for treason. Will the king arrive in time to save him from execution?

John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman make a wonderful on screen couple. Loved the the opening duel scene, the river seen among the willows and the great closeups of Gilbert as he swings on tapestries. I tried to find John Wayne as an extra, with no luck...

Eleanor Boardman (August 19, 1898 – December 12, 1991), was originally on stage but, after temporarily losing her voice, she acted in silent films.

After, Rupert Hughes saw her riding a horse, he gave her a part in a film and she quickly became popular.

She was Goldwyn Pictures "New Face of 1922." After many supporting roles, she played the lead in, Souls for Sale(1923).

Her best known film was, The Crowd(1928), which is recognized as one of the best performances in American silent films.

Unable to make the transition from silent to talking pictures, Boardman retired in 1935.

Boardman was married to the film director King Vidor, with whom she had two daughters, Antonia (born 1927) and Belinda (born 1930). Their marriage lasted from 1926 until 1931. Fellow actors John Gilbert and Greta Garbo had planned a double wedding with them, but Garbo broke off the plans at the last minute. Boardman's second husband was Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast to whom she was married from 1940 until his death in 1968.

Boardman died in Santa Barbara, California at the age of 93.

A Tribute to Madge Bellamy

A Tribute to Madge Bellamy

Born on June 30, 1902, in Hillsboro, Texas, Madge Bellamy was one of the few silent stars who came to Hollywood from the Broadway stage. She made her film debut in The Riddle : A Woman (1920) for Pathe and soon after was signed to a four-year contract by pioneer producer Thomas Ince.

In 1922, reviewers hailed her performance in Maurice Tourneur’s “Lorna Doone.” Her first film for Fox was in John Ford’s classic epic Western, The Iron Horse (1924) in which she played the heroine with leading man George O’Brien. A year later Madge signed a contract with Fox quickly becoming the studio’s most feminine star.

Madge’s brilliance as a comedienne in such films as Summer Bachelors (1926), Ankles Preferred (1927)  Very Confidential (1927) and Soft Living (1928) gained the attention of critics. Madge was loaned to Paramount to make The Call of the North (1921) with Jack Holt.

As an actress, Madge was entirely spontaneous and felt most of the directors didn’t know very much. In 1922, Maurice Tourneur directed Madge in "Lorna Doone"  Madge felt that "Lorna Doone" could have been a better film but Tourneur and the scriptwriter were not interested in characterization so it was just a series of pictures. Madge’s worst film was the improbable drama, Soul of the Beast (1923) in which her co-star is Anna May, the elephant.

Frank Borzage directed Madge in Lazy Bones (1925) where Madge plays an illegitimate child adopted by Buck Jones, who falls in love with her.

Mother Knows Best (1928) was a part talkie that starred Madge with Louise Dresser and Barry Norton. It was one of the few dramatic films she made. The popular song, “Sally of My Dreams” was written for this film.

In the early years of talkies, Madge had a spat with Fox Studios and fell from grace. She was unable to keep her stardom much longer. Madge made only nine films between 1929 and 1945.  White Zombie (1932) in which she has second billing after Bela Lugosi is the best known. Madge’s last film was Northwest Trail (1945).

Beautiful but dumb is how Madge Bellamy was described in the 1920’s. Madge was convicted and received a suspended sentence for shooting at her boyfriend, millionaire lumberman Albert Murphy. The Great Depression radicalized Madge, and she became a Socialist. Throughout her life, Madge was exploited by her parents and by Hollywood. In old age, she at least enjoyed the interest of young film buffs, who saw her as a link to the exotic era of silent films.

Madge lived her final years in Ontario, California in semi-rural  squalor. She died at the age of 91 in Upland California on January 24, 1990.

Broken Blossoms(1919).

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl is a 1919 silent film directed by D.W. Griffith. Cast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess and Donald Crisp. It is based on Thomas Burke's short story "The Chink and the Child" from the 1916 collection Limehouse Nights.

With high hopes in changing Westerners' violent ways Chang, with his Buddhist believes moves to England. Many years later, working as a shopkeeper in London's Lime-house district, Chang watches Lucy Burrows, out his window. Even though he sees that she is underfed and wearing ragged clothes. Chang, thinks that she is beautiful and falls in love with her from afar. Then one day he comes to her aide when another Oriental attacks her.

After Burrows whips Lucy, almost to death after she spills soup on his hand, she walks the streets and falls unconscious in front of Chang's shop, he then takes her in and dresses her as a princess in beautiful silks. They become fast friends. Lucy gives Chang the respect he needs and he gives Lucy the only gentleness she has ever known.

After a friend of Burrows, finds Lucy staying with Chang,  he then goes to inform her father. More than angry, Burrows finds her and drags her home. Will Chang get there in time to save Lucy from another beating?

Video:
Full length movie.

Fun Facts:

Lillian Gish did not want to make the picture and D.W. Griffith had to work hard to persuade her to do it. She later said she was glad she consented.

Filming took 18 days and nights. Donald Crisp's scenes were filmed at night because he was directing another film during the day.

D.W. Griffith saw Lillian Gish using her smile gesture with her fingers and decided to incorporate it into the filming.

The only makeup Richard Barthelmess used in order to appear Oriental was a very tight rubber band stretched around his forehead, pulling his facial features slightly upward. The rubber band was cleverly concealed beneath his cap.

The film was produced by D.W. Griffith for Adolph Zukor's Artcraft company, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. But when Griffith delivered the final print of the film to Zukor, the producer was outraged. "How dare you deliver such a terrible film to me!" Zukor raged. "Everybody in the picture dies!" Infuriated, Griffith left Zukor's office and returned the next day with $250,000 in cash, which he threw on Zukor's desk. "Here," Griffith shouted, "If you don't want the picture, I'll buy it back from you." Zukor accepted the offer, thus making this the first film released by United Artists, the production company formed in 1919 by Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and Griffith. It was a remarkably successful film, both critically and at the box office.

The film's premiere engagement included a live prologue featuring a dance routine performed by actress Carol Dempster. During Dempster's dance the stage was illuminated by blue and gold footlights. Later, during the screening of the film, a stagehand accidentally switched on those footlights and the movie screen tinted the film in an unusual way. D.W. Griffith, standing in the rear of the auditorium, was so surprised and delighted at the blue and gold-tinted effect that he ordered all copies of the film to be tinted in those colors during certain key sequences.

One of the films listed in "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

"Broken Blossoms" is the story about two abused people who find comfort and strength in one another. This is one of the most heartbreaking silent movies ever filmed.

A Tribute to Conrad Nagel

A Tribute to Conrad Nagel

Born in Keokuk, Iowa, on March 16, 1897, into an upper middle class family, Conrad Nagel was stage-struck when he played Scrooge at the age of 15, and after experiences in a Midwestern stock company, his dignity and good looks won him roles on Broadway. World Film Company cast him in “Little Women” (1919) and this took him to Hollywood, where he worked for both Cecil and William DeMille.

Conrad Nagel was never a big star, and he did not appear in one production which leaves a memorable impression. However, he was the perfect leading man for strong female stars such as Pola Negri in “Bella Donna” (1923), Blanche Sweet in “Tess of the D’Urbevilles” (1924), Marion Davies in “Quality Street” (1927) and Greta Garbo in “The Mysterious Lady” (1928) and “The Kiss” (1929).

The coming of sound helped Conrad thanks to his stage background. Conrad’s diction was superb and he could play both light comedy and drama. He was perfect as one of the on-screen hosts for MGM’s  Hollywood Review of 1929

Conrad’s characterizations in later years were those of gentlemen husbands and lovers. He was never the virile leading man and it would be unthinkable to see him in a fistfight. I remember identifying an older Conrad Nagel in a bit part as Jane Wyman’s lover in “All That Heaven Allows” (1955) His last appearance in a feature was “Stranger in My Arms”(1959). Conrad probably deserves more praise for being the founder and president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and as a spokesman for Actor’s Equity than as an actor. In 1940, Conrad was given an Honorary Academy Award for his work.

Just as he had made the transtion to sound, Conrad also made an easy crossover to television, appearing as a regular on Broadway to Hollywood: Headline Clues (DuMont, 1953-1954) and hosting The Silver Theater (CBS, 1949-1950) and Celebrity Time (CBS and ABC, 1949-1952).

For his contributions to film, radio and television, Conrad was given three stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It’s surprising that after appearing in over one hundred features in a career that spanned forty years, Conrad Nagel did not appear in one film that might be regarded as a classic.

Some film critics consider Conrad to be a bland performer, but he was the wholesome and handsome matinee idol whose all American charm appealed to the film goers.

Conrad Nagel married and divorced three times. He had a daughter with his first wife and a son with his third wife. In 1970, Conrad died in New York City. He was seventy-two years old.

Our Modern Maidens(1929).

Our Modern Maidens(1929). A silent film directed by Jack Conway. Cast: Joan Crawford in her last silent film role, Rod La Rocque, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Anita Page. Our Modern Maidens is the second of three film where Crawford and Page appear together. Fun Fact: Joan Crawford married co-star Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in a well orchestrated publicity event for the film.




The story begins during the "Jazz Age". Billie Brown and Gil Jordan, decide to secretly get married. To find Gil a diplomatic job in Paris, Billie, decides to trick Glenn Abbott, who falls in love with her, saying Gil is only a boy. While this is all going on Gil and Kentucky have an affair, which he regrets, telling her of his engagement to Billie. Kentucky, says she will never tell Billie, her best friend.

Soon After, Glenn gets Gil the job and their engagement is announced, enraging Glenn to the point he almost rapes Crawford. Billie and Gil, go ahead with their plans and get married in an elaborate wedding.

All is well.. until Billie discovers Gil's affair with Kentucky. Giving them good wishes, she leaves her husband.

Sometime later.. in France, she and Abbott meet again. Will, they find themselves back in each other arms?

This silent film has it all... Fast cars, jazz parties, a love quadrangle, great art deco sets.. a wonderful glimpse back in time..

Modern Maidens(1929)  Please check out Silents movie review..

Joan Crawford

Anita Page.

Silent Film Star: Dorothy Devore.

Video is from: No Vacancies 1923. Cast: Earl Rodney, Dorothy Devore, Eddie Baker, Blanche Payson, Jack Akroyd and Duffy and Billy Armstrong.

 

Blanche Sweet: The Massacre (1914)

Video: 


The Massacre is a 1914 silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and released by Biograph Studios. The film stars Blanche Sweet and Wilfred Lucas. The film was shot in 1912 and released in Europe that year, but not released in the United States until 1914.

“The Kiss” 1929

“The Kiss” (1929) is a silent romantic drama starring Greta Garbo, Conrad Nagel, Anders Randolf, and Lew Ayres. Directed by Jacques Feyder, this film was Garbo’s last silent film and Lew Ayres’ first major screen role.

In this film, Garbo plays Irene Guarry, a young woman unhappily married to an older man, Charles Guarry, played by Anders Randolf. Irene is in love with a young lawyer, Andre Dubail, played by Conrad Nagel. When Irene decides to stop seeing Andre, she starts spending her time with Pierre Lassalle, the son of her husband’s associate, played by Lew Ayres. When Pierre leaves for college, he begs Irene for a goodbye kiss, a gesture that leads to jealousy, death and an explosive murder trial.



I think what makes “The Kiss” a good film is the combination of Garbo’s acting and the fine cinematography. Under Feyder’s direction, Garbo was even more impressive than she was in her other silent films. I like the way she convincingly played the sympathetic, but no longer in love wife. I also liked the use of light and dark and the superb close-ups. Lew Ayres, whose distinguished career would include “All Quiet on the Western Front” and the Dr. Kildare movies, impresses in his first major screen role. Only 64 minutes in length, “The Kiss” is a good story of tortured romance with a bit of mystery.

Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson on September 18, 1905, in Stockholm, Sweden, Garbo was brought to the United States by Swedish director Mauritz Stiller after Louis B. Mayer saw her in “Gosta Berlings saga” (1924) and found it exciting enough to sign both Garbo and Stiller to MGM contracts. In her first American film, “Torrent” (1926), Garbo dazzled audiences with her beauty and complex emotions. Her films with silent screen star John Gilbert and their offscreen romance made for big box office as well. One of her most provocative pairings with John Gilbert was “Flesh and the Devil” (1926). With the advent of talkies, Garbo’s career continued to rise and she was successful in “Anna Christie” (1930), “Grand Hotel” (1932), “ Anna Karenina” (1935), “Camille” (1936) and “Ninotchka” (1939). When “Two-Faced Woman” (1941) turned into a humiliating debacle, Garbo decided not to make another film until the time was right. That day never came. The secret of the success of Garbo is not that she lived too long or too short a space in years, but that she knew when to retire and how to fashion herself into a mysterious and reclusive figure. Garbo had one of the most flawless faces in film history, and she looks beautiful in the silent films.

Silent Film Star: Corinne Mae Griffith. "The Orchid Lady of the Screen".

Corinne Mae Griffith (November 21, 1894 – July 13, 1979), she was one of the most popular film actresses of the 1920s and was considered the most beautiful actress of the silent screen. Griffith, began her acting career at the Vitagraph Studios in 1916. She later moved to First National. In 1928, she had the starring role in the film, The Garden of Eden. A film about Toni Le Brun, a Viennese singer, who becomes a wardrobe mistress of a Monte Carlo nightclub. Toni falls in love with Richard, but she comes to believe he is only after her money..

Please click here to view Silents Garden of Eden, movie review.




The next year in 1929, Griffith received an Academy Award nomination for her role in the film, The Divine Lady. The story is about the romance between Emma, Lady Hamilton, and British war hero Admiral Horatio Nelson.



This video is from Griffith's first sound film, Lilies of the Field, was released in 1930. This performance is called, "The Mechanical Ballet".



Unfortunately, Griffith's voice did not record well. After performing in one more motion picture, the British film Lily Christine in 1932, she retired from acting. She returned to the screen in 1962 in the low-budget melodrama, Paradise Alley.

“The Garden of Eden” (1928)

“The Garden of Eden” (1928) is a silent romantic comedy starring Corinne Griffith, Louise Dresser and Charles Ray. Directed by Lewis Milestone, this film is nicely balanced between romance and comedy.

The story begins with a naïve young woman, Toni LeBrun, played by Corinne Griffith, who decides to pursue a career as an opera singer. One night, Toni sneaks out of her aunt and uncle’s house to catch a train for Budapest. She arrives alone in the big city and goes to the cabaret, Palais de Paris, to audition for a role. It is at the cabaret that Toni meets the wicked owner Madame Bauer, played by Maude George. She is a businesswoman who wants to pimp her out to Henry D’Avril, one of Bauer’s wealthy customers, played by Lowell Sherman. When Madame Bauer provides a private room for Toni and D’Avril, Toni refuses his advances, and Rosa, the wardrobe mistress, played by Louise Dresser, helps her escape and they are both fired. What Toni doesn’t know is that Rosa is a baroness whose husband was killed in the Great War. She works all year and when she gets her late husband’s pension, she lives in Monte Carlo until her money runs out and then returns to Budapest. When Rosa’s pension arrives, she legally adopts Toni and takes her on a Cinderella-like adventure where she is pursued by two men, Richard Dupont, played by Charles Ray, and Colonel Dupont, his uncle, played by Edward Martindel.




“The Garden of Eden” (1928) is a delightful romantic comedy. I was really impressed with the photography and Corinne Griffith’s graceful performance. Charles Ray, who had been a popular actor in the 1910’s under the direction of Thomas H. Ince, delivers a solid performance. What I liked most about the film were the scenes with Corinne Griffith and Louise Dresser. They were perfect foils for each other, and their faces were so expressive.


Corinne Griffith was born Corinne Mae Griffin in Texarkana, Texas on November 21, 1894. She was a leading lady with Vitagraph from 1916 to 1922, appearing in more than forty films. From Vitagraph, Corinne moved on to First National where she headed her own production unit and where she would remain until 1930, except for one film, “The Garden of Eden” (1928), released by United Artists. Of the more than twenty-five First National films, three stand out: “Black Oxen” (1924), “Lilies of the Field” (1924) and “The Divine Lady” (1929). Corinne did appear in a couple of 1929 features with sound sequences, followed by two complete talkies, “Lilies of the Field” and “Back Pay” in 1930. With those films, her First National contract ended and her film career was over. Corinne was married four times, first to her Vitagraph director Webster Campbell then to producer Walter Morosco. In 1936, she married George Marshall, owner of the Boston Braves, and became a baseball fan. Corinne wrote her experiences in a 1946 “Saturday Evening Post” article, “My Life with the Redskins.” It was the first of six books that Corinne was to author, including “Papa’s Delicate Condition (1952), which was filmed in 1963 as a vehicle for Jackie Gleason. Corinne divorced George Marshall in 1958, and in 1965, she married realtor and singer, Dan Scholl. He was 44 and she was 71. The couple separated after six weeks and the divorce proceedings were extraordinarily messy. At the time of her death, Corinne’s estate was valued at $150 million dollars. She was one of the wealthiest women in the world.

“The Flying Fleet “ (1929)

“The Flying Fleet “ (1929) is a silent drama starring Ramon Novarro, Ralph Graves, and Anita Page. Directed by George Hill, this film features excellent footage of naval aircraft. The story begins with six graduating seniors at the U.S. Naval Academy on the eve of their graduation. The six have been the best of friends for four years, and all of them are hopeful flyboys, but only two, Lt. Tommy Winslow, played by Ramon Novarro, and Lt. Steve Randall, played by Ralph Graves, complete the program. Unfortunately, they become romantic rivals when they fall in love with the same girl, Anita Hastings, played by Anita Page.







I think “The Flying Fleet” is a very good film. Ramon Novarro and Ralph Graves deliver great performances as hopeful flyboys and romantic rivals. The 18 year old Anita Page looks lovely and gives a charming performance as the love interest of the two buddies. This film depicted naval flight training in a very authentic way. I liked the way synchronized sound effects and music were added to this otherwise silent film. A box office hit, “The Flying Fleet” is a late MGM silent that is worth watching, especially for those that love old aircrafts.





Anita Page was born Anita Pomares on August 4, 1910, in Queens, New York. Her father’s side of the family was from El Salvador of Spanish ancestry. Her entrance into films came courtesy of her friend, actress Betty Bronson. Betty’s mother put one of Anita’s photos in her home, and a man who was handling Betty’s fan mail saw it and said he was going into the business of handling stars. Anita called him, and he told her to be at the front gate of Paramount at 9:00 the next morning and to bring the picture. The casting director took one look at the picture and gave Anita a test. MGM was also interested. Anita was put through the dilemma of having to choose between MGM and Paramount contracts. She decided to take the MGM contract. Anita’s first MGM film was “Telling the World” (1927) with William Haines. Another early role was “While the City Sleeps” (1928) as Lon Chaney’s love interest. Anita’s biggest break was “Our Dancing Daughters” (1928) with Joan Crawford and Johnny Mack Brown. Anita made two more films with Joan Crawford, “Our Modern Maidens” (1929) and “Our Blushing Brides” (1930). In 1929, Anita appeared in two talkies, “The Hollywood Revue” and the Academy Award-winning “The Broadway Melody.” From about 1930 on, MGM began to lose interest in Anita’s career. Anita had admired the way Louis B. Mayer, studio head at MGM, groomed stars if he liked them and remained in his favor. However, when Mayer tried to get her into bed, that is when Anita drew the line. She liked him as a boss, but that is where it ended. In 1934, Anita wed songwriter Nacio Herb Brown, who had dedicated the song “You Were Meant for Me” to her. They never lived together because Anita said they were not married in the Catholic church. After nine months of marriage, Anita found out he was still married to his previous wife, so Anita had their marriage annulled. In 1937, Anita did marry in church, to a handsome naval officer named Herschel House. They were married fifty-four years until House died in 1992. The couple had two daughters.

Anita had many fond memories of her career, and thought she was blessed to have worked with so many of the greats like Lon Chaney, Buster Keaton, John Gilbert, William Haines, Clark Gable and Ramon Novarro, her favorite leading man. Anita Page died on September 6, 2008 of natural causes. She was 98 years old.

Silent Film Star: Helen Jerome Eddy.

Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 - January 27, 1990), was a character actress who played in films such as: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917).

Eddy's first movie was, The Discontented Man (1915). Soon she left Lubin and joined Paramount Pictures. At this time she began to play roles for which she is remembered. Other films in which the actress participated include: The March Hare (1921), The Dark Angel, Camille, Quality Street, The Divine Lady (1929) and the first Our Gang talkie Small Talk (1929). She performed in the film, Girls Demand Excitement(1931) and her final film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty(1947). Even as a seasoned performer in the late 1920s it was remarked that Eddy looked very young to have been in pictures for so many years.

First video of 5. Old Wives For New(1918). The story is about how Charles Murdoc, neglects his fat and lazy and begins having a affair with Juliet Raeburn but, when Juliet's name is involved in murder, he marries Viola and takes her to Paris.
Please click here to read movie review.

“Quality Street” (1927)

“Quality Street” (1927) is a silent comedy drama starring Marion Davies, Conrad Nagel and Helen Jerome Eddy. Based on the famous James M. Barrie play and directed by Sidney Franklin, “Quality Street” was a good showcase for Marion Davies. In this period story, Marion Davies plays Phoebe Throssel, a young woman who fails to land a proposal from her beloved, Dr. Valentine Brown, played by Conrad Nagel, before he leaves to the Napoleonic Wars. When he returns, Phoebe has become old and drab, and he is no longer interested in her. To punish him, Phoebe pretends to be her teenage niece Livvy in order to win him back.



Even though I’m not a big fan of costume dramas, I enjoyed this film mainly for the screen presence of Marion Davies. It was as a comedienne that Marion truly lit up the screen, and in this comedy of manners she is wonderful in the dual roles of Phoebe and Livvy. I think this silent version of “Quality Street” is terrific in its costumes, sets, and cinematography. I just wish there were more scenes where Marion could show off her comic skills. Although the film has some nitrate decomposition in some scenes, it shouldn’t deter from its enjoyment.

Marion Davies was born Marion Cecilia Douras to a large Brooklyn family on January 3, 1897. All three of her sisters went on the stage but, despite their beauty, never became big stars. The Douras family (soon stage-named Davies) moved to Manhattan and little Marion began finding the theater more fascinating than school. It was during her run in the 1917 “Follies” that she caught the eye of the married, powerful newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. It was life-long love at first sight for the fifty-four-year old Hearst. Within a few years, Marion was as dedicated to him as any wife could be. The legal Mrs. Hearst, however, refused him a divorce. Marion had made her film debut in “Runaway, Romany” (1917). The reviews were good, and Marion seemed well on her way to becoming another Mabel Normand, but then Hearst stepped in to guide her career. His taste ran to overblown period films. Ironically, Marion was a brilliant comedienne with limited dramatic skills.

In 1919, Hearst formed Cosmopolitan Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount, through which the films were released. In 1924, Cosmopolitan changed the affiliation to Goldwyn, and thereby to MGM when the studios merged. Among Marion’s more successful costume dramas were “Little Old New York” (1923), “Lights of Old Broadway” (1925), “Beverly of Graustark” (1926), “The Red Mill” (1927), and “Quality Street” (1927). Later in the decade, Marion was given a few opportunities to show off her comic skills in films like “The Patsy” (1928) where she did hilarious imitations of Mae Murray, Lillian Gish and Pola Negri. In “Her Cardboard Lover” (1928), Marion did a wicked parody of costar Jetta Goudal. “Show People” (1928) was Marion’s finest hour. She showed great comic timing and the rare opportunity to poke fun at both herself and her profession.

Despite her slight stammer, Marion had nothing to fear from talkies. It was the quality of her scripts which gave her trouble. Hearst did fall out with Louis B. Mayer, and in 1934, Marion, Hearst, and Cosmopolitan moved to Warner Brothers. That studio dolled her up in stiff platinum-blonde wigs and starred her in four films. Only “Cain and Mabel” (1936) with Clark Gable really had any merit. Marion had enough and at the age of forty retired. She spent the next fourteen years as Hearst’s wife in all but name. Despite Hearst’s constant efforts to keep her away from liquor, Marion was an alcoholic. Her looks and health began to fade, but not her charm. After Hearst’s death in 1951, Marion quickly wed old friend Captain Horace Brown, more for companionship than for love. The marriage was a stormy one, but it endured. After suffering from jaw cancer for three years, Marion died on September 22, 1961. She was 64 years old.


It’s interesting to note that Marion’s beloved “niece,” Patricia van Cleve Lake, died in her early seventies on October 3, 1993, in California. Shortly thereafter, her son Arthur Lake, Jr. (son of the late actor Arthur Lake), announced that his mother was the daughter of Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst, born in Paris sometime in the early 1920’s.

“What Happened To Rosa?” (1920)

“What Happened To Rosa?” (1920) is a silent romantic comedy starring Mabel Normand, Doris Pawn, Tully Marshall, and Hugh Thompson. Directed by Victor Schertzinger, this film is the best known of the three surviving films from Mabel Normand’s Goldwyn period.

In this film, Mabel Normand plays Mayme Ladd, a hosiery counter girl whose life is drudgery and has never been brightened by romance. Mayme is told about an occult medium by a customer and decides to go to see what her future would bring. The medium, Madame O’Donnelly, played by Eugenie Besserer, convinces Mayme that in a previous life she was a Spanish temptress named Rosa Alvaro.

Back in her apartment, Mayme remembers that her mother had been a Spanish dancer and takes out her old costume. With a flower in her teeth, Mayme believes she has the power to become Rosa Alvaro and pursues the man of her dreams, Dr. Maynard Drew, played by Hugh Thompson. Will Mayme succeed in her romantic pursuit of Dr. Drew?





In “What Happened To Rosa?” (1920), Mabel Normand is perfectly cast as the little comic loser. Her expressive body and excellent timing are put to good use in her comic scenes. One of my favorite scenes is when Mabel wrestles with putting silk stockings on the legs of a store mannequin. Another funny scene is when she pulls out a fish from her blouse after swimming to shore off a yacht. Although not worthy of her incredible talents, this film is worth viewing because it’s one of Mabel Normand’s few surviving feature films.


Born on November 10, 1895, in Staten Island, New York, Mabel Normand’s film career began in 1910 after posing as a model for some of the best illustrators of the day. At the Vitagraph Company, at the beginning of her film career, she even had her own screen character, Betty, but soon her onscreen character would be known simply as Mabel. She was the only silent star linked by name to the heroine she portrayed on film. As Mabel came to fame, she worked with two of cinema’s greatest pioneers, D.W. Griffith and J. Stuart Blackton, but neither left any indication that they were particularly impressed with the actress. It was Mack Sennett who recognized Mabel’s comedic talents in 1911, and from then on, no matter for whom she worked, Mabel’s name was always to be associated with that of Sennett, the so-called King of Comedy. When he formed his Keystone Company, Mabel was with him, and when Charlie Chaplin joined the company, Mabel was his first leading lady. In 1913 and 1914, Mabel directed twelve comedy shorts, in all of which she was the star, and in five of which she was supported by Chaplin. In 1914, Sennett undertook a highly ambitious project, “Tillie’s Punctured Romance,” one of his greatest hits, with Chaplin, Mabel, the Kops, and Marie Dressler all appearing together. Often referred to as “the first feature-length comedy,” it is a full six reels. Sennett not only made Mabel a star but was instrumental in combining her with a great comic foil, Roscoe Arbuckle. Mabel talked Sennett into starring her with Arbuckle, and within a short time the two comedians were Keystone’s most popular team. Arbuckle was 5’10” to Mabel’s barely five feet, and over 250 pounds to her less than 100. Just the way they looked standing side by side could get a laugh and their contrasting size and shape were exploited for all kinds of comic variations. The breakup of the Mabel and Sennett relationship came in the summer of 1915, when their engagement fell apart, supposedly after Mabel found Sennett in a compromising situation with another actress, Mae Busch. The 1920’s was not a good decade for Mabel. There were two scandals, involving her relationships with director William Desmond Taylor and oil tycoon Courtland S. Dines. There was also Mabel’s over reliance on drugs. It was the last that killed her, four years after her only marriage to actor Lew Cody. Mabel Normand died on February 22, 1930 of pulmonary tuberculosis. She was 34 years old.

“A Fool There Was” (1915) Theda Bara

“A Fool There Was” (1915) is a silent drama starring Theda Bara, Edward Jose, Mabel Frenyear, and May Allison. Directed by Frank Powell, this film was inspired by both the Rudyard Kipling poem, “A Fool There Was” and the Sir Philip Burne-Jones painting, “The Vampire.”













In this film, an exotic vamp, played by Theda Bara, learns happily married John Schuyler, played by Edward Jose, will be sailing for Europe on a business trip. When Schuyler’s sister-in-law, played by May Allison, falls with an illness, his wife, Kate, played by Mabel Frenyear, decides to stay home with their daughter, played by Runa Hodges. While onboard, the vamp spends some time with Schuyler. Just a glimpse of the vamp’s bare ankles fills Schuyler with desire, and he succumbs to her. The month long trip lasts two months. Schuyler is now addicted to the sex and drugs provided by the vamp. Will the vamp destroy Schuyler’s life?










Born Theodosia Goodman on July 29, 1885, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Theda Bara was not the first screen vamp but the foremost. Theda Bara’s reign as the queen vampire of American films began in 1915. Her first film took its title directly from the first line of Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “A Fool There Was.” The word “vamp” is certainly a movie-inspired word, and although the raven-haired Theda Bara with her smouldering dark eyes, became the embodiment of the wicked, scheming woman, she was not the screen’s first by several years. In fact, the key film of the vamp genre was “The Vampire” (1913) starring Alice Hollister as the seductress. From “A Fool There Was” (1915) on, Theda took screen sex seriously and aggressively. Even though she made historical spectacles and non-vamp films, too, it was the vamp films that were the most successful. Unfortunately, most of Theda’s films were lost to a fire at Fox Studios in 1937. As a result, far too little footage has survived to allow us to make reliable observations on the merits of her work. In fact, of all the major Hollywood stars from any period, she is the most poorly represented in terms of surviving films. However, from what does survive, one can draw the conclusion that her films were exaggerated only for dramatic effect. Bara was a dynamic personality, and even in “A Fool There Was” (1915), one of her earliest and more primitive films, one has no urge to laugh at its lack of restrain. If “A Fool There Was” gave a clear-cut definition of Theda Bara as a death-dealing, smouldering-eyed vampire, William Fox of Fox Pictures poured out to the press a portrait of Theda that was easily as exaggerated and outlandish as her screen portrayals. I found the historical details in “A Fool There Was” fascinating, especially in the scene where the Ford Model T’s intermingle with horse-drawn vehicles. Even though it’s primitive by silent standards, “A Fool There Was” (1915) is worth watching just for the screen magnetism of Theda Bara in one of her few surviving films.