Classic Movie History Project: 1917 in Film: Vamps, Tramps and Box Office Champs

This post is my contribution to the Classic Movie History Project Blogathon, jointly hosted by Movies Silently (1915 - 1926), Silver Screenings (1927-1930) and Once Upon a Screen (1939-1950). Please visit each site for a roster of fascinating posts about your favorite movie year.

1917! 

97 years ago America entered the war raging in Europe, Mata Hari was arrested, the Russian Revolution took place, US suffragettes battled on for the right to vote  and Woodrow Wilson began serving his second term as US President. The entire world was in turmoil and the silent cinema offered an oasis of mirth, sentiment, comfort, and hot, steamy sex to American audiences.

Mary as Gwendolyn, the Poor Little Rich Girl

Box office queen and America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford, starred in 2 of the year’s highest grossing films. Little Mary’s popularity in 1917 was unsurpassed. She was the perfect “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” (#2 at the box office for the year) and gave one of her very best performances as the “Poor Little Rich Girl,” which came in at #3 for the year.

Gwendolyn, the neglected little rich girl, gave Mary Pickford one of her most perfect roles. Anyone who thinks that she was a one-trick pony who imitated little girls needs to see Mary here at her best. It is impossible to deny her charm, her naturalness and her awesome star power. She was the greatest star and was loved, not only by American audiences, but by moviegoers all over the world. Such was the power of silent film.

Little Mary takes on the nasty Germans - and wins!

An interesting Pickford film from 1917 was "The Little American," directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Shown to American audiences just as the USA was entering World War I, the film was a tale of our American miss who is loved by both a German and French soldier, survives a torpedoed boat, is nearly raped by the loutish Germans and eventually saves the day. How could it miss? Outright propaganda, for sure, but America was entering the fray amid much protest and films like this greased the wheels.   

With Mary on our side, how could we lose?

While Mary Pickford was outwardly of the Victorian Age, she also embodied the spunk and independence that reflected the inevitable evolution and change in the American woman. Her little girl would definitely be wearing bloomers and picketing with the suffragettes.

 

The Vamp of the Nile - Hubba Hubba

The highest grossing film of 1917 was one that showcased a woman who emancipated herself. “Cleopatra” was the #1 box office champ of 1917 and starred the original vamp herself, Theda Bara, as that wanton woman of the pyramid set.

 

This Nile River humidity just kills my hair!

“Cleopatra” was a mega production. No expense was spared on the lavish sets and costumes (revealing and outrageous and, sadly, uncredited). The casting of Theda as Cleo was brilliant, as Theda’s carefully crafted image as home wrecker and insatiable love machine was a perfect fit for the temptress of the Nile.

Tragically, this and another tiny piece of footage is all that is known to survive of “Cleopatra.” The loss of such an important film highlights how much of the silent cinema has been lost. It is estimated that 75 % of all silent films have been lost to us forever (unless one happily turns up in some attic in the Balkans or somewhere as they have known to do from time to time). 

What I wouldn't give to see Theda in her many costumes!

One artist whose work thankfully survives is Charlie Chaplin.

Charlie ♥s Edna in "The Immigrant"

By 1917 Charlie Chaplin was already loved by the entire world. Both he and Mary Pickford enjoyed a global popularity during that time that remains unmatched. After serving his film apprenticeship with Mack Sennett, Chaplin moved on to Essanay in 1915 and then to Mutual in 1916, where he produced 12 of the most perfect comedies ever made for film. After treating the audience to "The Floorwalker", "The Fireman", "The Vagabond", "One A.M.", "The Count", "The Pawnshop", "Behind the Screen" and "The Rink" in 1916, he gave them "Easy Street", "The Cure", "The Immigrant" and "The Adventurer" in 1917. All co-starred his loveliest leading lady, Edna Purviance, as well as his perfect heavy, Eric Campbell, and Chaplin's loyal go-to character, Henry Bergman. Each and every one offered approximately 20 minutes of comic genius. Chaplin was on a creative and personal high (he and Edna were a romantic item at the time) and he called those years his happiest professionally.

Easy Street

Cop Charlie and Bully Supreme Eric Campbell

Chaplin's tramp takes the offer of a job as a police officer in the very dicey neighborhood of Easy Street after a quick conversion from thief to goodness by a lovely missionary (Edna, of course). Cops drop like flies there because the local toughs, lead by that burly bully, Eric Campbell, terrorize the population, but Charlie saves the day (and saves Edna from molestation with the help of a shot of cocaine in the butt). Love triumphs and, instead of his usual chaos, Charlie restores order for the good people of Easy Street.


The Cure

Chaplin's drunk takes the cure

In "The Cure," Chaplin abandons his Tramp persona in favor of the drunken swell, a part he had honed to perfection during his days on the stage. He arrives at a health spa (run by a physical wreck), in an effort to take "the cure." Instead, hilarity ensues as he drunkenly creates havoc in the gym, on the massage table and with a grouchy victim of gout (all while courting the the charming Edna). At last, he vows to sober up for her, but his stash of booze has found its way to the water fountain and the ladies love the new source of hydration!

The Immigrant

Charlie and Albert Austin share some beans

My favorite and justly famous. Charlie and Edna are steerage passengers on the way to a better life in America. Their passage is rough and they lose one another once they disembark and go their separate ways. A chance meeting in a cafe reunites them and an artist, who offers to paint Edna, changes their financial outlook. 20 minutes of film greatness includes the ironic corralling of the immigrants in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, a gem of a scene in the cafe involving beans and a surly waiter (played by the great Eric Campbell) and the lovely last scene of a rain-soaked Charlie and Edna on their way to obtain a marriage certificate.

The Adventurer

The PJs provided by Charlie's host have an uncomfortably
 familiar look to the escaped convict!

Chaplin's last Mutual is a delight. He is an escaped convict who happens into a rich man's party. Naturally, he woos the pretty hostess and annoys the host and generally causes total chaos. Chaplin has perfected the 2-reel comedy and the gags, the tone and the timing appear effortless.

While Hollywood was in its infancy and may more glory years were to come, the stars established during those early years had an unbelievable staying power. 97 years later the names of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Theda Bara (incredibly, since so few of her films survive) are still known and their fame and art still has the power to awe anyone interested, not just in the history of film, but in the simple pleasure of entering the world of make-believe.

Stars for the ages

What stars of today will be rememberd 97 years from now?

Mary Pickford and "The New York Hat" (1912)

This is my contribution to the Mary Pickford Blogathon, honoring one of the world’s greatest movie stars and hosted by KC at Classic Movies. Click here for all of the entries about America’s Sweetheart.

Before Mary Pickford took the leap to feature films and pursued her stardom in earnest, she made one last film for D.w. Griffith at American Biograph called "The New York Hat," and it was one of her very best. Mary and Griffith had a productive, but contentious, relationship. From the very beginning in 1909, it was clear that Mary, in those early days of anonymous motion picture performers, had star quality. Alternately referred to as "The Girl With The Curls" and "The Biograph Girl" (after the first Biograph Girl, Florence Lawrence, had left Griffith for her own stardom), the public demanded to know her true identity. This did not sit well with Griffith, who liked to keep his actors working anonymously as an ensemble with the director as star. Nevertheless, they made 98 films in their on-again-off-again relationship of four years. After her final departure, it was said that Griffith needed two Gishes (Lillian and Dorothy) to take the place of one Pickford.

However he may have felt about her departure from the Biograph troupe, Griffith gave her a mighty send-off. Written by the budding giant, Anita Loos, “The New York Hat,” in just 16 minutes or so, manages to perfectly showcase the talent and appeal of Mary Pickford and to cover topics close to Griffith’s heart.

The story starts as Mary's mother lies dying. At her side are her husband, Mary and the minister (played by an incredibly young looking 34 year old Lionel Barrymore). While many of the players act in the grand manner of the earliest films (which feature the large gestures and facial expressions of the stage), Mary is always understated and natural. Her sobbing at her mother’s deathbed could have been filmed yesterday, it is that realistic. Unbeknownst to Mary’s father, the dying mother has left some money for her daughter and has entrusted it to the minister to buy for her the occasional frivolity that she knows the stern father will deny her.

Poor little Mary dreams of fancy finery, but is the poorest dressed girl in town. Griffith detested small-town and small-minded gossips and here he has a field day with the ladies of the town who eye her up and down and make fun of her shabby clothes. When a wildly expensive ($10) and fashionably flamboyant New York hat goes on display at the local millinery shop, it is coveted by all of the ladies, Mary included. The minister, who spies Mary's hungry glances at the hat, remembers her mother's dying wish. He decides to buy Mary the hat and make her dreams come true.

After staring longingly at the hat in the shop window, Mary goes home and dreams of the beautiful “village sensation.” Griffith knew her strengths and wisely shot her in medium frame. She uses her hair, her face, her hands and her body to tell the story, but it is with a casual charm rather than a ferocious intensity that would better be served by a close-up. When she wakes up, she is disappointed that it was only a dream, but her disappointment soon turns to excitement when, joy of joys, the hat is delivered to her home, courtesy of the minister.

Mary is such an artist that you can’t wait for her to wear her beautiful hat and show it off to the village peahens. Triumphantly, she wears it to church, but is met with jealousy and gossip. They had all seen the minister buy the hat. The fact that Mary is wearing it must mean that they are having an affair. Scandal ensues!!!!

As the gossip spreads faster than a rabbit on methamphetamine, Mary’s father gets wind of this and not only berates his daughter, but tears up her hat. Mary cries, not just for her reputation, but for the destruction of her beautiful bonnet. Such a girl! Mary skillfully plays this scene, breaking our hearts at her father's unjust accusation and making us smile,too, at her despair over his destruction of her beautiful hat.

While the self-righteous gossip brigade and Mary’s father descend upon the minister to condemn him, he whips out the dying trust of Mary’s mother:

My Beloved Pastor: My husband worked me to death, but I have managed to save a little sum. Take it, and from time to time buy my daughter the bits of finery she has always been denied. But tell no one.

Mollified, but unreformed, the gossips quickly disperse and Mary is left with the minister and her father. Apparently, the man of the cloth has been keeping more than a brotherly eye on the girl and whispers a proposal of marriage. If anyone thinks that Mary Pickford is an antique who just played little girls, this scene should dispel such notions.  At 20 years old, she artfully creates a girl who is becoming a woman with womanly charms. Filmed 100 years ago, Mary Pickford's performance is modern, immediate, fresh and natural.

As an aside, I was privileged to see Mary Pickford in "A Little Princess" on the big screen recently. By then, her persona of the little girl had been firmly fixed. Of course, she was magical, but it made me wonder what path her career would have taken if that little girl was allowed to blossom into a woman.


Mary Pickford's fame is legendary and lasting, but she is much more than a powerful businesswoman and a groundbreaking star. America's Sweetheart is a perfect artist in perfect command of her art.

"The New York Hat" is one of Mary Pickford's and D.W. Griffith's finest short films. Besides seeing these two fine artists do what they do best, enjoy an equally charming Lionel Barrymore (really, is this Mr. Potter?), and see if you can spot Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Jack Pickford, Mae Marsh, Robert Harron and Mack Sennet (all part of Griffith's stock company) in the background.

Mary, Mae, Marlene and Doris: Industrial Strength Blondes

Twelfth in a series about strong women in film. Strong women are independent, beautiful, sexy, feminine and just want everything in life that a man wants and believe that they have every right to have it!

Blondes have a reputation. To have a "blonde moment" these days means something empty-headed and silly. The "dumb blonde" is a long-standing joke - she's sexy, but not very bright. Before the advent of one very sexy blonde by the name of Jean Harlow, blondes were also looked upon as pure and virginal (while the wicked and sinful woman was a brunette). Here are four movie blondes who took those stereotypes and stood them on their heads.

Mary Pickford: Girl Power

Mary Pickford was one of film's first superstars. "America's Sweetheart" stole the hearts of the world. Today, by those not familiar with her work, Mary Pickford is viewed as the virginal blonde, just a woman playing a little girl whose appeal belongs to the ancients. 


Well, that just couldn't be more wrong. Mary Pickford, in the days of Hollywood's infancy, was the embodiment of the all-confident, all-powerful spirit of the adolescent girl. Secure in her strength, no man, woman, child or force of nature can defeat the girl and the high esteem in which she holds herself. The doubts of maturity have not yet invaded her psyche. True to the times, she is morally beyond reproach, but she knows her power. The pre-Raphaelite hair, the sensuous hands, the luminous eyes all held out the promise of womanhood, but before the surrender. Mary was the girl who belonged to no man, only to herself. She was undefeatable. 

In real life, there was no woman in Hollywood more powerful than Mary Pickford. She crafted a career second to none and, along with her Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, founded United Artists. Her artistry, financial acumen and negotiating prowess were legendary.

Mae West: The Strength to be Fabulous

Is there any woman, blonde or otherwise, more powerful than Mae West? Posing as a 19th century woman of questionable virtue, she was really a very modern woman advocating the shocking notion that a woman had the right to enjoy her life. What a concept!


In the dark days of the Depression, Mae's joyful outlook was a tonic. The Queen of the Double Entendre, she battled the censors like a cat playing with a mouse. One could go on all day about this glorious blonde, but nobody can sings her praises better than Mae herself. Here's just a few a Mae's famous words of wisdom:


"A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up."
"A hard man is good to find."
"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises."
"Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly."
"Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you."
"I believe that it's better to be looked over than it is to be overlooked."
"I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond."
"Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried."
"Too much of a good thing can be wonderful."
"Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home, I'm tired."
"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."
"I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure."
"I've been in more laps than a napkin."
"It's not the men in my life that count, it's the life in my men."

Of course, Miss Mae did it with humor, but her confidence in her allure and her brains was a lesson to all those women who just couldn't help being sexy and smart. In real life she was a canny magician who made the illusion last long after the sun had set. To quote Mae once more, "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." 

Marlene Dietrich: 
The Strength to be Devastating

Did Marlene really have a choice? So seductive, mysterious and devastating to both men and women, what choice did this creature have but to be herself? Was it her fault that men worshiped her became her slaves? Was it her fault that women envied and admired her? I think not. Garbo shared the same cross, but Dietrich carried it with humor and flair. Garbo's cross at times seemed a heavy burden; Marlene's was light as a feather.


You see, Marlene was quite brilliant. Instead of fighting the inevitable, she embraced her power to devastate and reveled in it. Like a beautiful jungle cat, she simply is what she is and, if you don't like it, well, you're lying.

In real life, Marlene was a mass of contradictions. However, when it came to the courage of her convictions, she was a tower of strength. The bravery she demonstrated during World War II is legendary and helped add dimension to a femme fatale who seemed to have sprung from a fantasy.

Doris Day: The Strength to be 
Independent and Happy

If ever there was an actress whose reputation has been unjustly maligned, it's Doris Day. Anyone who thinks of her as the "professional virgin" who never said "yes" clearly does not know Doris' work. Aside from a few films, Doris was always a woman whose strength was on display. True to the times, if she said "no" (mainly because she didn't like a fellow or just didn't want to), it was interpreted by the rejected suitor as the response of a frigid woman. It was all done in jest, but the image stuck.

The fact is, at the height of her fame, the image Doris Day projected on film was that of an independent woman, many times a career woman, many times a common-sense housewife who was usually more than a housewife. She was well dressed, smart, crisp and honest. She was always sincere, honest and a straight shooter. There was a sureness about her and a competency in all of her characters that made you feel that, as long as Doris was in charge, all would be well.

In real life, Doris had one of the most successful and diverse careers in Hollywood and beyond. A star of radio, recordings, movies and television, Doris endured some private tragedies, but emerged  - well, just like Doris Day - triumphant. Not only has she devoted the last several decades of her life to her passion,  the Doris Day Animal League and the animals whose rights she protects and defends, but she also became the oldest recording artist to top the charts in the UK with an album of new material. At age 87 Doris has a hit album, My Heart, and it couldn't happen to a nicer person.

AIN'T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING, BABY

Only the public can make a star. It's the studios who make a system out of it.                  Marilyn Monroe                                        

                                                                                             
Some stars are made by the public and some are the creations of, as Norma Desmond called them, "the masterminds." The Hollywood moguls of old liked to think that they had the power to create a star. Like Professor Henry Higgins, they imagined they could take the most improbable subject and transform him or her into someone the public would embrace.

By George, I really did it!

Once they hit upon a winning formula, their instinct was to mass-produce like a factory. It usually didn't work. Copycat stars rarely step out of the shadows of the originals, but once in a while, one is individual enough to stake a claim of their very own.

Here a just a few of the originals and their imitators:

The Original: Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin's enormous popularity spawned quite a few imitators, including:

The Copies: Billy West

West's greatest fame lied in his uncanny impersonations of Charlie.  Other than that, the rest of his career is merely a footnote.

Harold Lloyd

Yes, even the great Harold Lloyd started out as a copycat as "Lonesome Luke", a clear Chaplin rip-off. This always made Lloyd uncomfortable, and it wasn't until he hit upon his "glasses" character that his own genius was allowed to flourish (thank goodness!).

The Original: Rudolph Valentino

Valentino's popularity spawned a slew of exotic lovers, but none could touch the original.

The Copies: Ricardo Cortez

Ricardo (born Jacob Krantz) was totally manufactured star who managed to survive the Valentino craze and go on to have a respectable career in films before ditching them for a lucrative career on Wall Street.

Antonio Moreno

Best remembered as having "it" alongside Clara Bow, Moreno had a long, if unspectacular career. 

Ramon Novarro

A copy with real staying power and star quality, Novarro inherited the mantel of "Latin Lover" after the death of Valentino. He had a long career and a legion of fans.

The Original: Mary Pickford

Mary Pickford was the most popular woman in the world during the peak of her stardom. While many tried to copy her, no one could come close.

The Copy: Mary Miles Minter

Mary Miles Minter gave Pickford a run for her money for a short while, but a lack of fire, real talent and her role in the William Desmond Taylor murder mystery put an end to her career.

The Original: Pola Negri

Pola was the original foreign exotic.

The Copy: Greta Garbo

Although Garbo was originally placed in Pola-like roles, she proved to be too much of an original. Before long, stars and studios were emulating Garbo, but by then she had established herself as beyond duplication.

The Original: Marlene Dietrich

They should have known better - you don't copy this!

The Copy: Anna Sten

Known as "Goldwyn's Folly," the beautiful Miss Sten was brought by Goldwyn to Hollywood as his studio version of the foreign exotic. Unfortunately for both, Miss Sten did not click with the public.

The Original: Ronald Colman

The perfect, cultured and romantic Englishman. This was such a popular "type" that many were needed to fill the role!

The Copy: Brian Aherne

Brian Aherne was a very respectable "second choice" Colman (he was awarded the starring role in "A Tale of Two Cities," but it was taken away from him when his friend Colman became available). 

The Original: Errol Flynn

Looks alone did not define his appeal. Although others tried, Flynn's looks, talent, charisma and charm were a hard package to duplicate.

The Copy: Patric Knowles

Signed because of his resemblance to Errol, Patric never made it into the leading man category. Really, a passing resemblance, at best.

The Original: Freddie Bartholomew

This precocious little British boy was a huge star for a time.

The Copy: Roddy McDowell

Another case where the copy had more staying power than the original. While Freddie was usually an upper-crust kind of  kid, Roddy was blue collar. And when Freddie grew up and went on to other things, Roddy stayed with us forever.

The Originals: Hope & Crosby

This stellar crooner and comic combination was a hit with the public. 

The Copies: Morgan & Carson

Warner Bothers tried to duplicate the success of the "Road" pictures with the "Two Guys" series featuring crooner Morgan and comic Carson ("Two Guys From Texas," "Two Guys From Milwaukee," - you get the picture), but the chemistry between Bob and Bing could not be manufactured.

The Original: Marilyn Monroe

The one, the only. To this day, she is copied endlessly, but never duplicated.

The Copies: Jayne Mansfield

Mamie Van Doren

Sheree North

All three ladies were blonde, beautiful and talented. Some were more successful than others, but none came close to MM.

The Original: Grace Kelly

Cool, blonde, beautiful, talented, but with a warmth that set her apart.

The Copies: Dina Merrill

Talented and beautiful, for sure, but so cool she was chilly.

Tippi Hedren

Cool and lovely, but no Grace (sorry, Hitch).

The Original: Sophia Loren

This Italian sex-goddess inspired many copies, but Sophia had more than sexy going for her.

The Copy: Gina Lollobrigida

Turns out, Gina had more to offer than the Italian sex-bomb roles she was offered and turned to photojournalism for a second and rewarding career.

The Original: Robert Redford

This male blonde beauty look was all the rage in the '60s, but try as they might, Redford had that certain something that could not be duplicated.

The Copy: Nick Nolte

Hard to believe now, isn't it?

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then these originals should be blushing! As for those "masterminds" who think you can mass-produce a star - back to the drawing board. 






For more fun movie facts and fantasy, check out "Flesh and Fantasy" by Penny Stallings and Howard Mandelbaum (I confess to being a bit of a copycat myself!). It's a very fun book!