1920s Actresses (February 2004 - November 2010)

[somnambule]

gbart,that you mentioned those great ladies-anna pavlova,sarah bernhardt..yes,early cinema was most definitely influenced by other art forms and the people who helped to create innovative pieces of art that were often beyond the borders of their time.

i´ve wanted to see the wind for ages...makes me think of another film with lillian gish that would have been ruined by spoken dialogue-broken blossoms.the poetry of lillian gish´s expressions,gestures and movements is so strong that spoken words seem much too profane.

saw her in barbed wire only lately....she was such a great actress,even though today she´s probably more famous for her lavish style,exotic looks and her dramatic performances on the stage of life (valentino´s funeral )...

nita naldi,another vamp and probably the legitime successor to theda bara

and while i´m unfastening vamps lya shouldn´t be left out

an exquisite beauty and actress

virginia valli,saw her in hitchcock´s first film-the pleasure garden

charleston is in the air

 

[somnambule]

soft and beautiful vilma banky-valentino and her were a screen-dream couple imo

and

alice terry

another silent film i´d like to watch

from wikipedia.org
Lya Mara
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Lya Mara (* August 1, 1897 - † 1960?) was one of the biggest stars of the German silent cinema.
Lya Mra
Autographed photo of Lya Mara ca.1920BornAleksandra Gudowicz
August 1, 1897(1897-08-01)
Riga, LatviaDied1960?
Other name(s)Mia MaraSpouse(s)Frederic Zelnik (1885-1950)
Lya Mara was born as Aleksandra Gudowicz in a Polish family in Riga, Livonia. As a young girl she wanted to become a chemist, as then famous Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Just before the World War I,in 1913 Lya Mara moved with her family to Warsaw, as Poland and Latvia were part of the Russian Empire. She began her acting career as a dancer.
In Warsaw, Lya Mara played her first small part in a short fiction silent film under a characteristically simplified title We want husband (We want husband, 1916, as Mia Mara) and soon after in another film Bestia (The Beast, premiere on January 5, 1917) directed by a Polish director of older generation Alexander Hertz. Another Polish actress Pola Negri, who later made an extraordinary career in Germany and in America, was the star of this film. Soon after that film Pola Negri left for Berlin and Lya Mara followed her steps. It was a time of the World War I and Poland occupied since 1915 by the Germans, became a part of the German Empire.
Lya Mara's first film in Germany was Halkas Gelöbnis (1918) directed by an Austrian director Alfred Halm, who also scripted her another film Jadwiga. Both films were produced by young and energetic director-producer Frederic Zelnik. Lya Mara married him in 1918.
Frederic Zelnik promoted Lya Mara to a major star in Germany as she played mainly in films he directed and produced. Since 1920 Zelnik's film production company was named Zelnik-Mara-Film GmbH. Lya Mara played important parts as Charlotte Corday, Anna Karenina (1919) and Manon, attracting audience with her charm and youthful appeal. Lya Mara and her husband Frederic Zelnik became real celebrities, receiving at their home many known artists. Her popularity has been further cemented by hundreds of her photographs issued as postcards, chocolate and cigarettes trade cards.
A serious car accident at the end of the 1920s interrupted her career.
Somehow Lya Mara could not adapt her acting to the new artistic conditions after the introduction of sound in cinema in 1929, while Zelnik became first director in Germany who postsynchronized foreign films. Lya Mara's only film from the sound era is Jeder fragt nach Erika(1931) directed by her husband.
When Hitler took power in Germany (1933), Lya Mara left with Frederic Zelnik for London. There is no record of her acting there, in none of her husband films produced until 1939 in England and The Netherlands.
Frederic Zelnik died in London on November 29, 1950. It is generally admitted, that Lya Mara spent last years of her life in Switzerland.

 

[GBArt]

Welcome back, somnambule!

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

Some pictures of the fascinating Brigitte Helm:

delcampe, ebay

 

[somnambule]

thank you,gbart,i knew that you are a sharp observer !!!i´m glad my time machine works again since it´s fatiguing to be stuck in the future B).

i love those,lucy!!she had such a classic face and one of the most beautiful profiles....almost a female barrymore...

(from the booklet of the dvd l´argent)

--------------------------------------------
(source:silent stars by jeanine basinger)
constance talmadge

mabel normand

mary pickford

marion davies

pola negri

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

Wow, stunning scans, somnambule! Thank you I agree with you, Brigitte's profile is incredible, similar to John Barrymore, or even William Warren.

From left to right: Marian Nixon, Constance Bennett, Jobyna Ralston, Lya de Putti and Marie Prevost.

ebay

 

[ruslana rules]

Somnabule - You asked about Mary Philbin. One of her big claims to fame is co-starring with Lon Chaney (1925) in the Phantom...View attachment 447920

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View attachment 447922 Source: Pic.1 - Book - Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Denis Gifford- Published by Hamlyn Pub. Group Ltd. 1973 Pic 2 & 3 - goldensilents.com

 

[somnambule]

beautiful ,lucy.especially the ones of constance talmadge and jobyna ralston.i have never seen the former with a hairdo like this.reminds me a bit of a picture of alice white
(silentladies.com)

thank you ruslana for shedding some light and posting pictures.i once thought of buying the phantom of the opera- dvd but i wasn´t even aware that she´s in it.i went on imdb.com.they have quite an extensive bio.here´s the link for anyone who´s interested (and as ignorant as me

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0679907/bio

 

[ruslana rules]

You're quite welcome, somnabule. I certainly learn something new every day. I guess I never realized that it was our own beloved Madge Bellamy who was in "White Zombie" 1932 with Bela Lugosi. Born Margaret Derden Philpott, she got bit by the acting bug quite early. Her dad was an English professor. By the time she appeared in "White Zombie", she had a reputation for not being the easiest actress to work with because of her late night hours and partying, etc. But the thing that cracks me up is reading about how she shot her lover Stanwood Murphy in 1943. It generated a lot of publicity at the time & finished her career. At the time of the shooting she was quoted as saying....(this one is really good) "I only winged him, which is what I meant to do. Believe me, I'm a crack shot!" I still think she is adorable. She wrote an autobiography "Darling of the 20's" which she had planned since the 70's. She died 1990. It was published 7 months after her death. Here some pics...View attachment 448929

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View attachment 448933

View attachment 448934 Source: Quote- Peter Dindle -book - The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, Pg. 191 MacFarland & Co. 2001 Pic. 1 - White Zombie - flickr.com/andrea!? Pic 2 - White Zombie - bloody-disgusting.com 3. White Zombie - mondosmashagogo.com 4. Madge book - seraphicpress com Pic 5 - Madge on the cover of Photoplay January 1929 - seraphicpress.com Pic 6 - starleshowcase.blogspot.com

 

[somnambule]

never came across this quote.incredible !!!she had such a dolllike face.she was the perfect ingenue at the beginning of her carreer looking touchingly innocent yet later became flapperized with bobbed hair looking almost betty boopish because of her huge eyes,round face and the small dollmouth.she´s not the only actress whose on screen persona and image were far from her real personality off screen.i think the notorious flapper image suited her more than the ingenue.

my favourite vamp ladies (i hope i´m not overdosing them but there is still more to come)

scanned by me

 

[ruslana rules]

*Obscure Fact of the Day- Adolf Hitler considered Lya de Putti to be one of his favorite actresses.* I agree with you, somnabule. Loved Madge in her flapper persona. I don't think she was always "difficult" during her entire career, just the latter part. And I think her boisterousness was something folks loved about her. More of the ever adorable " I just winged him" Madge Bellamy. View attachment 449992

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View attachment 449995Sources: Pic 1- Book - Horror Cinema- Taschen- Penner, Schneider & Duncan 2008 My Scan Pic 2 - Postcard - Picturegoer - No89A - Series 88 - Long Acre London My Scan Pic 3 - Book - 4 Fabulous Faces - Galahad Books, NYC 1977 by Larry Carr My Scan Pic 4 - ebay.com

 

[somnambule]

beautiful pictures of "just winged him" -madge (still can´t get over that quote)!!!
i think it was pola negri who was hitler´s favourite.lya de putti died in 1931,so she didn´t come into touch with the hitler regime.pola negri had opportunistic tendencies.her carreer in the usa was more or less at an end since talkies had emerged and so she used the chance to start a new carreer in germany even if it meant "flirting with hitler" .many people still hold that againts her.

found a little treasure box on ebay with many sparkling visual jewels.i guess will be busy with posting in the nearer future...(some pics are from the 1910s,i hope it´s okay if i post them here anyway)

alice white (whom i found rather disappointing when i saw her on the screen the first time)

a young billie burke

derelys perdue (hadn´t heard of this actress before but i love her name-derelys lost )

gladys brockwell

grace darmond

louise lovely

calamity madge (looking like the personification of innocence)

mary pickford

janet gaynor

june collyer

wonderfully eccentric alla

 

[somnambule]

another beautiful profile pic of brigitte helm

colleen moore (her face looking weirdly powdered)

and the 2 vamp ladies who certainly tried to live up to their image.lya de putti probably in a more desperate way than pola

looks as if it was a picture from "die bergkatze"

 

[somnambule]

and still some more from ebay:
hope hampton

betty compson, looking quite dramatic

vilma banky

marion davies

mary miles minter (orchide wrote about her involvement in the william desmond taylor case earlier in this thread.it ruined her career as well as mabel normand´s )

betty blythe

celia padilla

josephine hutchinson

anita stewart

laura la plante

cute betty bronson as peter pan

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

Amazing pictures somnambule, thank you Don't stop this thread, I think all these pionner actresses (and also actors) deserve much more recognition. I have the feeling when people talk about classic stars, they tend to think of 40's, 50's and even 60's actors, better than 20's or 30's.

1. Evelyn Brent (by Edward Steichen), 2. Mary Pickford, 3,4. Norma Talmadge, 5,6. Constance Talmadge, 7. Brigitte Helm, 8. Alice White, 9. Gloria Swanson:

condenast, ebay

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

1,2. Janet Gaynor, 3. Renée Adorée, 4. ZaSu Pitts, 5,6,7. Alla Nazimova, 8,9. Lil Dagover, 10. Louise Lovely:

ebay

 

[GBArt]

Who is Lil Dagover!!! B)

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

Lil Dagover was a German actress who starred in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" among other films. Check her biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_Dagover






delcampe

 

[GBArt]

Thanks!

She's particularly fetching in that Wonder Woman outfit.

 

[-lucyinthesky-]

You're welcome Btw, in post #826 I was referring to actor Warren William, but I wrote his name backwards

Lilian Harvey, another German actress (some of the pictures must be from the thirties. Anyway, her career went on throuth the 30's too

ebay