Celebrating Carla Laemmle and early Universal

October 28, 1:43 PMSF Silent Movie ExaminerThomas Gladysz

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An early image of actress Carla Laemmle, who turned 100 this month

Carla Laemmle

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By Thomas Gladysz
SF Silent Film Examiner

Happy birthday Carla Laemmle.

On October 20th, the near namesake and niece of Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle turned 100 years old! More than just the member of a famous family, Carla Laemmle was also an actress, albeit a bit player, during the silent and early sound eras.

Laemmle entered films in 1925 playing an uncredited role as a dancer in the original silent film version of The Phantom of the Opera. She also had a very small role in the opening scene of Dracula (1931). Today, she is the last surviving cast member of both films.

Though her parts were small, Laemmle appeared in a number of notable motion pictures. She can be spotted dancing on top of a piano to George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" in The King of Jazz (1930), and appeared as one of the young heroines in the Universal serial The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936). Her other credits include small roles in Topsy and Eva (1927), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), The Broadway Melody (1929), The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), and Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935).

By the end of the 1930’s, Laemmle had disappeared from the screen – though she continued to appear on-stage and in musicals. In 2001, she came out of retirement to play an “elder vampire” in the indie horror/comedy short, The Vampire Hunters Club. In recent years, she has also appeared as herself commenting on classic horror films in documentaries including Universal Horror (1998), The Road to Dracula (1999), and The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked (2000).

And just recently, Laemmle co-authored, with Daniel Kinske, a short illustrated book of verse, Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios, in Rhymes! (BearManor). It is both amusing and informative. The book includes a foreword by sci-fi legend and horror film aficionado Ray Bradbury. The 100 year old actress is also the subject of a more substantial, 222 page biography by Rick Atkins, Among the Rugged Peaks: An Intimate Biography of Carla Laemmle (Midnight Marquee Press).

In celebration of her life and these two new releases, Laemmle will be appearing at Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood on Friday, October 30th at 7 pm. The famous film bookstore will be hosting an event celebrating the release of these two new books, with Laemmle and Atkins in attendance. Also on hand will be acclaimed film historian Robert S. Birchard, author of the just released pictorial Early Universal City (Arcadia). Birchard will give a presentation on his new book.

Early Universal City tells the story of the early days of the largest and the longest continuously operating movie studio in Hollywood. The Universal Film Manufacturing Company (known today as Universal) was formed by a dozen independent producers in 1912, and Universal City was designed to provide a single facility in which to make their films.

Since its opening in 1915, Universal City has served as a training ground for great directors such as James Whale, William Wyler, and John Ford, as well as a home to stars like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Sr. and Lon Chaney Jr. Birchard’s excellent new book explores the history of the studio that brought The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Dracula (1930), and Frankenstein (1931) to the screen. It also serves as a kind of pictorial accompaniment to Carla Laemmle’s long and fascinating involvement in the movies.

More info: For more on the Carla Laemmle / Rick Atkins / Robert S. Birchard event at Larry Edmunds Bookshop, visit the store’s website at http://www.larryedmunds.com/. Each of the books mentioned above are available on-line and at better bookstores.