Six silent film stars in need of a biography

Colleen Moore, one of a number of important silent film stars in
need of a biography.

By Thomas Gladysz
SF Silent Film Examiner

Despite a steady stream of film books from trade publishers, university presses, and specialty houses, the market for books about silent film is getting smaller. At least, that’s the word on the street. And what’s also apparent is the number of important early stars without a significant, modern biography.

Publishers like McFarland and Bear Manor, as well as various university presses, continue their steady but selective issuance of biographies and critical studies. Admittedly, some of the small press books leave something to be desired, while some of the university press books are so dense and full of jargon as to be almost unreadable.

What’s needed is a happy medium – thoughtful, comprehensive, well-researched, books. And, it should be added, books whose authors are passionate about their subject. To that end, here’s a short list of six important actors deserving of a good biography. Admittedly, one could make another list – two or three times as long – featuring different individuals. Who would you like to see as the subject of a biography?

Gloria Swanson (1899 – 1983)
Though she authored a 1980 autobiography, Swanson on Swanson, and was the subject of books on different aspects of her career, this iconic figure deserves a comprehensive biography. Why? Because this determined and oft married actress was one of the most popular stars of the silent era – as well as a leading fashion icon. Early on, Swanson appeared in Mack Sennett comedies, and later worked with Cecil B. DeMille in important dramatic films like Male and Female (1919) and The Affairs of Anatol (1921). Her legendary unfinished film, Queen Kelly (1929), was directed by Erich von Stroheim and produced by Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., father of the future President. (She was also romantically linked to the elder Kennedy.) And, Swanson was nominated for the first ever Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as the title character in the once controversial Sadie Thompson (1928), costarring and directed by Raoul Walsh.

And then there is her up and down career in the talkies, and Sunset Boulevard, etc…. For more on Gloria Swanson, check out her Wikipedia page.

Wallace Beery (1885 – 1949)
Though an immensely popular and Academy Award winning actor in the 1930’s and 1940s, Wallace Beery was also a major star during the silent era. (At one point early on, Beery was also married to Gloria Swanson.) Along with Raymond Hatton, Beery was part of a much loved comedy team – yes! Wallace Beery, comedian - who appeared in a series of so-called service comedies. His notable dramatic films include Last of the Mohicans (1920), Robin Hood (1922), Arthur Conan Doyle's dinosaur epic The Lost World (1925), Old Ironsides (1926), and Beggars of Life (1928), the latter with Louise Brooks. Altogether, Beery appeared in 200 movies over a 36-year span! That, together with his gruff personality and the rumors which have swirled around his personal life, should make for an interesting read.

Wallace Beery was the brother of another well regarded actor, Noah Beery. For more on Wallace Beery, check out his Wikipedia page.

Colleen Moore (1900 – 1988)
F. Scott Fitzgerald called her the torch that lit up the Jazz Age. And indeed, this smart and spunky actress appeared in a number of popular films epitomizing the times - Flaming Youth (1923), The Perfect Flapper (1924), We Moderns (1925), Ella Cinders (1926), Naughty But Nice (1927), Her Wild Oat (1927), Synthetic Sin (1929), and Why Be Good? (1929). A distinct-looking actress, Moore's bobbed hairstyle was copied around the world. Also famous is her doll house – now housed in a museum in Chicago. Moore published an autobiography, Silent Star, in 1968.

Happily, a full-length and thoroughly researched biography is in the works. For details, see Jeff Codori’s San Francisco-based website at www.colleenmoore.org

John Gilbert (1899 – 1936)
He was known as "the great lover," and his popularity rivaled that of Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw. (And like Valentino, John Gilbert briefly lived in San Francisco.)

Gilbert appeared in a number of classic films including He Who Gets Slapped (1924), co-starring Lon Chaney, Sr. and Norma Shearer and directed by Victor Sjöström; and The Merry Widow (1925) directed by Erich von Stroheim and co-starring Mae Murray (another possible subject for a biography). In 1925, Gilbert was directed by King Vidor in the war epic The Big Parade, which became the second highest grossing film of the silent era. In 1926, Gilbert made Flesh and the Devil, his first film with Greta Garbo. They soon began a relationship (though Garbo would stand him up at the altar), and would appear together in a handful of films. Gilbert is often cited as an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, though his decline as a star had more to do with studio politics and not the sound of his voice. Gilbert’s daughter, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, wrote an outstanding book about her Father in 1985 – but with renewed interest in Gilbert’s career, it’s time for a detailed retelling of Gilbert’s somewhat tragic story.

For more on this actor, see the John Gilbert Appreciation Society.

Pola Negri (1897 – 1987)
Born in Poland, Pola Negri was a star there and in Germany (where she worked with Max Reinhardt and Ernst Lubitsch) before coming to America. In the States, her exotic style – as vamp and femme fatale - proved popular with audiences while reported affairs with Charles Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino ensured her continuing newspaper and magazine attention. Because she was born in Europe and did much of her best work on the continent, Negri may prove a challenging topic for a biographer. Similarly, many of her American films - many of which were made for Paramount and include A Woman of the World (1925) and Hotel Imperial (1927) - are thought lost. In 1970, Negri’s autobiography, Memoirs of a Star, was published – though it didn’t address some of the many questions still asked about the actress' personal life.

For more on this fascinating personality, see the Pola Negri Appreciation Site.

Adolphe Menjou (1890 – 1963)
The always well dressed Adolphe Menjou may be an unlikely candidate for a contemporary biography, but the sheer longevity of his career (which began in 1914) and the illustrious roster of co-stars and directors with which he worked makes a case. Menjou’s work spanned both silents and talkies, and he appeared in such landmark films as The Sheik (1921), The Three Musketeers (1921), Charlie Chaplin’s A Woman of Paris (1923), The Sorrows of Satan (1926), and the original A Star is Born (1937). And, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Front Page (1931). In 1948, Menjou published an anecdotal autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors. Certainly, there are more stories to tell.

For more on Adolphe Menjou, check out his Wikipedia page.

There are, of course, many other interesting actors and actresses deserving of a good, modern biography. The Talmadge sisters, Ronald Colman, Thomas Meighan, Renee Adoree, Vilma Banky, Blanche Sweet, Richard Arlen, Percy Marmont and Nita Naldi come to mind. Hopefully, some devoted fan or scholar will pen a worthwhile book.