Lillian Gish: Dying for Her Audience

Lillian Gish

The great twin tragedies of the fate of silent films in the modern era is indifference and ignorance. And for those who have seen clips from silent films, they invariably view muddy, degraded prints projected at the wrong speed, hence the jerky motions that give the impression that all silent films are bad slapstick.

Of course, we all owe a great debt to Robert Osborne and TCM for programming so many fine silent films. At last, film lovers have the opportunity to screen a varied selection of silent films and appreciate the great craft that was abruptly short-circuited with the advent of talkies. The best silent films were a universal language in which image, motion and emotion were paramount. (more…)

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Tags: Duel in the Sun, Jennifer Jones, John Gilbert, King Vidor, La Boheme
Posted Apr 21st 2009 at 8:13 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment | 110614No Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/04/21/lillian-gish-dying-for-her-audience/Lillian+Gish%3A+Dying+for+Her+Audience2009-04-21+15%3A13%3A27Robert+J.+Avrech

Colleen Bobs Her Hair and The Stars and Stripes

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: “I was the spark that lit up Flaming Youth, Colleen Moore was the torch. What little things we are to have caused all that trouble.”

In 1923, Colleen Moore’s starring vehicle, Flaming Youth was an international box office hit that ushered in the era of the Flapper. The Jazz crazy kids wore their galoshes unbuckled causing the rubber tongue to flap. Thus: Flappers.

 
Colleen Moore, studio portrait in the Stars and Stripes.

I’m waiting for that particular fashion statement to reappear.

Colleen Moore, born Kathleen Morrison, (1900-1988) and her husband John McCormick embarked on a grand tour of Europe to promote Flaming Youth, Colleen’s career, and enjoy a belated honeymoon.

Colleen’s look, specifically her Bobbed haircut, was a global fashion rage. Contrary to popular opinion it was Moore who pioneered the severe cut—not Louise Brooks. It is sad and certainly a skewed vision of film history that the current Louise Brooks cult has spread like a virus, whereas Moore, a far more important figure in motion pictures, is virtually forgotten.  George Cukor, a director who knew something about Hollywood stardom, was utterly baffled by the post-modern Brooks fever. When queried about the star of Pandora’s Box, Cukor forcefully exclaimed: “Louise Brooks? She was nothing!” (more…)

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Tags: anti-semitism, Charles Ray, Colleen Moore, flappers, George Cukor
Posted Apr 14th 2009 at 6:39 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment | 1045222 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/04/14/colleen-bobs-her-hair-and-the-stars-and-stripes/Colleen+Bobs+Her+Hair+and+The+Stars+and+Stripes2009-04-14+13%3A39%3A33Robert+J.+Avrech

True Hollywood Confession: I am a Dope Fiend But Not a Jewess!

Alma Rubens, Early Studio Portrait

Many persons who have followed my career on the screen and stage mistake me for a Jewess. This belief perhaps was strengthened when I married Ricardo Cortez, my third husband, the only one I ever really loved, and whom I am now trying to divorce.

Although I didn’t find it out until almost a year after our marriage, Ric, instead of being a gallant Spanish caballero which I believed him, was the son of a kosher butcher, with a shop on First Avenue, New York City. His real name is Jacob Kranz. — Alma Rubens (more…)

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Tags: Alma Rubens, Drug Addiction, hollywood, Jewish Hollywood, Ricardo Cortez
Posted Feb 12th 2009 at 6:25 am in Entertainment | 4727818 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/02/12/true-hollywood-confession-i-am-a-dope-fiend-but-not-a-jewess/True+Hollywood+Confession%3A+I+am+a+Dope+Fiend+But+Not+a+Jewess%212009-02-12+14%3A25%3A55Robert+J.+Avrech

The Madge Bellamy Acting Workshop

A few years ago, I was up in Toronto, on location for Within These Walls, a film the Academy Award winning actress Ellen Burstyn, acting as producer and star, asked me to write. Ellen, one of the great Hollywood actresses—past and present—discovered the true story and immediately realized its potential as a powerful and entertaining film. The challenge of playing a hardened murderess—redeemed by training dogs for the disabled—greatly appealed to Ms. Burstyn.

Silent Star Madge Bellamy

During the first week of production, one of the featured actresses—not Ellen—knocked on my hotel door and asked if she could discuss her role with me.

Of course I sat down with the actress—a recognized and respected talent—and we discussed her role, the character’s history, motivation, and dramatic arc. The actress relentlessly probed every single line of dialog. She challenged me to defend all the hard decisions I’d made in writing the character.

(more…)

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Tags: hollywood, Madge Bellamy, Silent Films
Posted Jan 12th 2009 at 4:16 pm in Entertainment, Media Criticism | 1644517 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ravrech/2009/01/12/the-madge-bellamy-acting-workshop/The+Madge+Bellamy+Acting+Workshop2009-01-13+00%3A16%3A30Robert+J.+Avrech