Happy Birthday Pola Negri

Happy Birthday Pola Negri, the Polish-born actress who achieved worldwide fame during the silent and early sound eras. By most accounts, Pola (born Apolonia Chalupec) came into the world on this day in 1897. She began her career in Europe, making early films in Germany before moving to the United States and signing with Paramount. She was a near contemporary of Louise Brooks, and worked with some of the same actors and directors. Pola was also considered a great beauty, and reportedly had affairs with both Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino. Her last screen credit was in Walt Disney's The Moon-Spinners (1964). Read her Wikipedia page HERE.

At times, Pola Negri resembled Louise Brooks just a bit. At other times, she look like a dark haired Garbo. Most of the time, however, she looked like Pola!

Want to learn more? Here are some worthwhile books. I recommend each.

 

Recommended Reading on Early Film

Here is a small selection of new and recommended books on early film (the silent and early sound era). Perhaps it's just me, but it seems there are fewer appealing books on this increasingly distant time in film history. I haven't read all of these book, only a couple of them, but know of the many of the  author's previous work and am confident it their quality. And, I am eager to check them out myself. Some of these titles, like those on Greta Garbo, should also intrigue those interested in Louise Brooks. Each of these recommended works was released sometime in 2021.

Garbo
by Robert Gottlieb 

Award-winning master critic Robert Gottlieb takes a singular and multifaceted look at the life of silver screen legend Greta Garbo, and the culture that worshiped her.

“Wherever you look in the period between 1925 and 1941,” Robert Gottlieb writes in Garbo, “Greta Garbo is in people’s minds, hearts, and dreams.” Strikingly glamorous and famously inscrutable, she managed, in sixteen short years, to infiltrate the world’s subconscious; the end of her film career, when she was thirty-six, only made her more irresistible. Garbo appeared in just twenty-four Hollywood movies, yet her impact on the world―and that indescribable, transcendent presence she possessed―was rivaled only by Marilyn Monroe’s. She was looked on as a unique phenomenon, a sphinx, a myth, the most beautiful woman in the world, but in reality she was a Swedish peasant girl, uneducated, naïve, and always on her guard. When she arrived in Hollywood, aged nineteen, she spoke barely a word of English and was completely unprepared for the ferocious publicity that quickly adhered to her as, almost overnight, she became the world’s most famous actress.

In Garbo, the acclaimed critic and editor Robert Gottlieb offers a vivid and thorough retelling of her life, beginning in the slums of Stockholm and proceeding through her years of struggling to elude the attention of the world―her desperate, futile striving to be “left alone.” He takes us through the films themselves, from M-G-M’s early presentation of her as a “vamp”―her overwhelming beauty drawing men to their doom, a formula she loathed―to the artistic heights of Camille and Ninotchka (“Garbo Laughs!”), by way of Anna Christie (“Garbo Talks!”), Mata Hari, and Grand Hotel. He examines her passive withdrawal from the movies, and the endless attempts to draw her back. And he sketches the life she led as a very wealthy woman in New York―“a hermit about town”―and the life she led in Europe among the Rothschilds and men like Onassis and Churchill. Her relationships with her famous co-star John Gilbert, with Cecil Beaton, with Leopold Stokowski, with Erich Maria Remarque, with George Schlee―were they consummated? Was she bisexual? Was she sexual at all? The whole world wanted to know―and still wants to know.

In addition to offering his rich account of her life, Gottlieb, in what he calls “A Garbo Reader,” brings together a remarkable assembly of glimpses of Garbo from other people’s memoirs and interviews, ranging from Ingmar Bergman and Tallulah Bankhead to Roland Barthes; from literature (she turns up everywhere―in Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, in Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and the letters of Marianne Moore and Alice B. Toklas); from countless songs and cartoons and articles of merchandise. Most extraordinary of all are the pictures―250 or so ravishing movie stills, formal portraits, and revealing snapshots―all reproduced here in superb duotone. She had no personal vanity, no interest in clothes and make-up, yet the story of Garbo is essentially the story of a face and the camera. Forty years after her career ended, she was still being tormented by unrelenting paparazzi wherever she went.  Includes Black-and-White Photographs

The Savvy Sphinx: How Garbo Conquered Hollywood
by Robert Dance

From the late 1920s through the thirties, Greta Garbo (1905–1990) was the biggest star in Hollywood. She stopped making films in 1941, at only thirty-six, and thereafter sought a discreet private life. Still, her fame only increased as the public and press clamored for news of the former actress. At the time of her death, forty-nine years later, photographers continued to stalk her, and her death was reported on the front pages of newspapers worldwide.

In The Savvy Sphinx: How Garbo Conquered Hollywood, Robert Dance traces the strategy a working-class Swedish teenager employed to enter motion pictures, find her way to America, and ultimately become Hollywood’s most glorious product. Brilliant tactics allowed her to reach Hollywood’s upper-most echelon and made her one of the last century’s most famous people. Garbo was discovered by director Mauritz Stiller, who saw promise in her nascent talent and insisted that she accompany him when he was lured to America by an MGM contract. By twenty she was a movie star and the epitome of glamour. Soon Garbo was among the highest-paid performers, and in many years she occupied the number one position. Unique among studio players, she quickly insisted on and was granted final authority over her scripts, costars, and directors. But Garbo never played the Hollywood game, and by the late twenties her unwillingness to grant interviews, attend premieres, or meet visiting dignitaries won her the sobriquet the Swedish Sphinx.

The Savvy Sphinx, which includes over a hundred beautiful images, charts her rise and her long self-imposed exile as the queen who abdicated her Hollywood throne. Garbo was the paramount star produced by the Hollywood studio system, and by the time of her death her legendary status was assured.

The Rise & Fall of Max Linder: The First Cinema Celebrity
by Lisa Stein Haven

Max Linder, born Gabriel Leuvielle in St. Loubes, France in 1883, started in films with the Pathe Brothers in Vincennes, just outside of Paris in 1905, making him one of the first film comedians that became world-renowned. In fact, there is evidence that Linder was the first screen celebrity to see his name in print. His comedy timing and gags (Linder started writing his own scenarios early on) have been copied and imitated by many of his followers, including Charlie Chaplin. 

Linder's story is both a comedy and a tragedy. His meteoric rise to fame by 1907/8 hit a roadblock in 1914 with the onset of World War I, and was dealt a death blow by his attempts to revive his career in America and Austria. His marriage to a young wife was ill-fated and ill-timed, leading Linder to take the life of his wife and himself on the night of October 31, 1925, leaving a 16-month-old daughter behind, Maud, who would devote her life to restoring his film legacy.  

Lisa Stein Haven is an Professor of English at Ohio University Zanesville, specializing in British and American modernist literature, the Beat poets and silent film comedy, especially the work of Charlie and Syd Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Max Linder.  

I wrote about this excellent book on an earlier blog. Check it out HERE.

Movie Mavens: US Newspaper Women Take On the Movies, 1914-1923
edited by Richard Abel

During the early era of cinema, moviegoers turned to women editors and writers for the latest on everyone's favorite stars, films, and filmmakers. Richard Abel returns these women to film history with an anthology of reviews, articles, and other works. Drawn from newspapers of the time, the selections show how columnists like Kitty Kelly, Mae Tinee, Louella Parsons, and Genevieve Harris wrote directly to female readers. They also profiled women working in jobs like scenario writer and film editor and noted the industry's willingness to hire women. Sharp wit and frank opinions entertained and informed a wide readership hungry for news about the movies but also about women on both sides of the camera. Abel supplements the texts with hard-to-find biographical information and provides context on the newspapers and silent-era movie industry as well as on the professionals and films highlighted by these writers. 

An invaluable collection of rare archival sources, Movie Mavens reveals women's essential contribution to the creation of American film culture.

Richard Abel is a professor emeritus of international cinema and media studies at the University of Michigan. His recent books include Menus for Movie Land: Newspapers and the Emergence of American Film Culture, 1913-1916, and Motor City Movie Culture, 1916-1925. He is also the coeditor of Barbara C. Hodgdon’s writings, Ghostly Fragmentsand the 2017 winner of the Jean Mitry Award.

20th Century-Fox: Darryl F. Zanuck and the Creation of the Modern Film Studio
by Scott Eyman 

From New York Times bestselling author Scott Eyman, this is the story one of the most influential studios in film history, from its glory days under the leadership of legendary movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck up to its 2019 buyout by Disney.
 

March 20, 2019 marked the end of an era -- Disney took ownership of the movie empire that was Fox. For almost a century before that historic date, Twentieth Century-Fox was one of the preeminent producers of films, stars, and filmmakers. Its unique identity in the industry and place in movie history is unparalleled -- and one of the greatest stories to come out of Hollywood. One man, a legendary producer named Darryl F. Zanuck, is the heart of the story. This narrative tells the complete tale of Zanuck and the films, stars, intrigue, and innovations of the iconic studio that was.

 

Scott Eyman is an award-winning author of 15 books about the movies, three of which have been New York Times bestsellers. He's a frequent book reviewer for The Wall Street Journal, Film Comment, and the New York Observer. His books include Hank & Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart; John Wayne: Louis B. Mayer: Lion of Hollywood; and Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford.

Silent Vignettes: Stars, Studios and Stories from the Silent
by Tim Lussier

Pickford, Lloyd, Keaton, Garbo. You're familiar with these icons of silent film, of course - and they are here within these pages. But are you familiar with Francelia Billington? No? How about Harold Lockwood, Edna Flugrath, Marion Byron, Virginia Brown Faire? Still, no? 

Well, fear not. Film historian and author Tim Lussier ("Bare Knees" Flapper: The Life and Films of Virginia LeeCorbin) shines a belated spotlight on these unjustly forgotten men and women, each of whom brought untold joy to millions of fans in the years before movies learned to talk. When you read their stories in Silent Vignettes, you'll understand why.

"Silent film fans know there is a vast world of long-forgotten studios and stars just waiting to be rediscovered. . . Tim Lussier helps bring a complex era to life with these tales of 'film folks,' both familiar and obscure." - Lea Stans

 

Vitagraph: America's First Great Motion Picture Studio
by Andrew A. Erish 

In Vitagraph, Andrew A. Erish provides a comprehensive examination and reassessment of the company most responsible for defining and popularizing the American movie. This history challenges long-accepted Hollywood mythology that simply isn't true: that Paramount and Fox invented the feature film, that Universal created the star system, and that these companies, along with MGM and Warner Bros., developed motion pictures into a multi-million-dollar business. In fact, the truth about Vitagraph is far more interesting than the myths that later moguls propagated about themselves.

Established in 1897 by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith, Vitagraph was the leading producer of motion pictures for much of the silent era. Vitagraph established America's studio system, a division of labor utilizing specialized craftspeople and artists, including a surprising number of women and minorities, whose aesthetic innovations have long been incorporated into virtually all commercial cinema. They developed fundamental aspects of the form and content of American movies, encompassing everything from framing, lighting, and performance style to emphasizing character-driven comedy and drama in stories that respected and sometimes poked fun at every demographic of Vitagraph's vast audience. The company overcame resistance to multi-reel motion pictures by establishing a national distribution network for its feature films. Vitagraph's international distribution was even more successful, cultivating a worldwide preference for American movies that endures to the present. For most of its existence America's most influential studio was headquartered in Brooklyn, New York before relocating to Hollywood.

An historically rigorous and thorough account of the most influential producer of American motion pictures during the silent era, Erish draws on valuable primary material long overlooked by other historians to introduce readers to the fascinating, forgotten pioneers of Vitagraph. 

 ++++++

I have added some of these titles to my Louise Brooks Society wish list. If you are looking to help support the efforts of the Louise Brooks Society and gift the LBS with something from this list, your contribution will be greatly appreciated! Long live Lulu.

Remembering Reading the Stars: The Silent Era, part 2

In my previous post, I presented general information about an exhibit I curated called "Reading the Stars: The Silent Era." The exhibit, which was on display at the San Francisco Public Library in 2011, was comprised of vintage books about film dating from the silent era. Most of the books in the exhibit came from my personal collection - except for a case worth of Rudolph Valentino related material loaned by my friend, Donna Hill, an author and Valentino collector. 

The books on display included biographies and memoirs, pictorials, and how-to titles, as well as novels, poetry and self-help works written by some of the biggest names in film. "Reading the Stars" was divided into five parts. They were 1) general books about the movies - including criticism and commentary, guide books for the aspiring hopeful, and fiction showing both the glamorous and seamy side of Hollywood, 2) vintage books about individual movie stars, 3) books written by various film stars, 4) photoplay editions, the movie tie-in books of the time, and 5) books by and about Rudolph Valentino, an actor who was both the author and subject of a number of books. 

What follows is a more detailed look at the exhibit. The text is drawn from the information panels and descriptive tags placed inside the five display cases. All together, there were a few dozen books on display, regretfully too many books to picture here; I have, nevertheless, tried to depict as many highlights and favorites as practical.

(Section 1) About the Movies:

In the early years of the 20th century, the movies and the movie industry were just getting started. The movies were an art form in search of itself, while the movie industry was growing by leaps and bounds into a business concern whose reach would know few limits. This sections collects some of the many books in which society and the movie industry itself looked at where things stood with this, the "7th art."

The Best Moving Pictures of 1922-23, Also Who's Who in the Movies and the Yearbook of the American Screen, by Robert E. Sherwood. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1923.
An early consideration of the movies as an art form all its own. Sherwood was one of the original members of the Algonquin Round Table as well as the "motion picture editor" of both the New York Herald and Life magazine. He would later make his name as a playwright and screenwriter, and would win four Pulitzer Prizes.

What's Wrong with the Movies?, by Tamar Lane.  Los Angeles: The Waverly Co., 1923.
Lane was a forward thinking critic based in Hollywood who went on to found Film Mercury, a notable though short lived independent journal of film criticism. This scarce book brings together articles by the pseudonymous critic written for Motion Picture Magazine and The Screen.

Pictorial Beauty on the Screen, by Victor O. Freeburg. Macmillan Co.: New York, 1923.
An early attempt at formulating an aesthetic of motion pictures - or what some might call the language of film. The book is dedicated to James Cruze and features a prefatory note by Rex Ingram. Each were important early directors.

Hollywood Undressed: Observations of Sylvia As Noted by Her Secretary, by Sylvia Ullback. New York: Brentano's, 1931.
A gossipy look at Hollywood goings-on, by an "internationally famed masseuse" who "ruthlessly exposes the follies and foibles of our best loved film stars."

Film Flashes: The Wit and Humor of a Nation in Pictures. New York: Leslie Judge Co., 1916.
This collection of illustrated articles both by and about the stars was drawn from popular magazines of the time. A series of articles by Mrs. D.W. Griffith (about her husband) is included, along with humorous verse, profiles of Mabel Normand, Bessie Love and others, as well as bits about the Niles Essanay Motion Picture Company (headquartered on the West Coast in nearby Fremont).

How to Write Photoplays, by John Emerson and Anita Loos. New York: James A. McCann Co., 1921.
Emerson and Loos are one of the most accomplished husband-and-wife screenwriting teams in film history. (Loos also wrote the local favorite, San Francisco.) This advice book includes writing tips as well as a complete scenario.

Palmer Plan Handbook: Photoplay Writing, by Frederick Palmer. Los Angeles, Ca: Palmer Photoplay Corp., 1921.
This how-to book describes itself as a "practical treatise on scenario writing as practiced at the leading motion picture studios." Also included are the rules of the National Board of Censors.

Screen Acting: Its Requirements and Rewards, by Inez and Helen Klumph. New York: Falk, 1922.
Many dreamed of making it in the movies. This book, which features a preface by Lillian Gish, states that it is a supplementary text used in the New York Institute of Photography.

Photoplay Writing, by William L. Wright. New York: Falk Pub. Co., 1922.
A how-to guide book.

How to Make Your Own Motion Picture Plays, by John E. Bechdolt. New York: Greenberg, 1926.
Another how-to guide book.

Little Stories from the Screen, by William A. Lathrop. New York: Britton Pub. Co., 1917.
An illustrated collection of short story fictionalizations of various films, including one about a cave man.

Buck Parvin and the Movies, by C. E. Van Loan and Arthur W. Brown. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1917.
A early novel set in the filmworld.

Merry Go Round, by Georges Lewys. Los Angeles: Privately printed for subscribers only, 1923.
A novelization of the famous film by Erich von Stroheim, dedicated to and written with the cooperation of the director. This unexpunged limited edition once belonged to director George Cukor, and bears his bookplate.

The Star of Hollywood, by Edward Stilgebauer and E. E. Wilson. Cleveland: International Fiction Library, 1929.
A small press novel about life in the movie capital. It is one of a handful of literary works set in the film world and published in the silent era.

Queer People, by Carroll and Garrett Graham. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1930.
Another example of a Hollywood novel - "If any resemblances to well-known figures in Hollywood life occur in certain passages, it is only because America's fifth greatest industry has become so completely standardized that everybody resembles everybody else."

(Section 2) About the Stars:

Whether in magazine or book form, fans and movie goers of the silent era liked reading about their favorite stars. This sections collects a small number of the many books and booklets published about various stars.  

My Strange Life: The Intimate Life Story of a Moving Picture Actress. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1915.
There is a bit of a mystery around the author of this early book, just as there was around the true nature of certain well known actresses... what were they really like? Included are accounts of Mary Pickford, Blanche Sweet, Pearl White, Marguerite Clark and others. (see previous post for illustration)

The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen, by Carolyn Lowrey. New York: Moffat, Yard and Co., 1920.
This rare book represents one publisher's attempt to establish a who's who of notable stars. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle is included, Charlie Chaplin is not. Thomas Ince and Rex Ingram are included, D.W. Griffith is not.

Famous Film Folk: A Gallery of Life Portraits and Biographies, by Charles D. Fox. New York: George H. Doran, 1925.
Portraits and short biographies of just about every star in the heavens are included in this well read book, which once belonged to a high school library in Indiana.

Stars of the Photoplay. Chicago: Photoplay magazine, 1924.
Photoplay was one of the leading fan magazines, not unlike People magazine today. This pictorial features a constellation of stars, including John Barrymore and Maurice Costello (grandfather and great grandfather of Drew Barrymore, respectively), Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon on TV's Batman), child star Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester on TV's The Addams Family) and others both remembered and forgotten.

Stars of the Movies and Featured Players. Hollywood, Calif: Hollywood Publicity Co., 1927.
This rare soft cover book features 250 full-page portraits of movie stars from around the world. Included are Europeans Lars Hanson, Conrad Veidt, Lya Di Putti, Pola Negri and Emil Jannings, Canadian-born Norma Shearer, Mexican-born Ramon Navarro, as well as San Jose's Edmund Lowe and San Francisco's Lawrence Grey and Janet Gaynor. The book originally sold for $1.00. Copies in an embossed leatherette binding sold for $1.50.

Wallace Reid: His Life Story, by Bertha W. Reid. New York, N.Y: Sorg Pub. Co., 1923.
Wallace Reid was a handsome leading man described as "the screen's most perfect lover." His Mother wrote this book after his early death brought on by morphine addiction.

The Talmadge Sisters: Norma, Constance, Natalie; an Intimate Story of the World's Most Famous Screen Family, by Margaret L. Talmadge. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1924.
The Mother of the famous Talmadge sisters wrote this book about her three daughters. Norma and Constance were major stars. Natalie was married for a short time to Buster Keaton.

The Private Life of Greta Garbo, by R P. Palmborg. London: Hutchinson & Co, c.193?.
Garbo was among the most private and reclusive of stars. This is the UK paperback edition of a biography first published in the United States in 1931

Behind the Screen, by Samuel Goldwyn. New York: George H. Doran Co., 1923.
The Polish-born Schmuel Gelbfisz changed his name to Samuel Goldwyn and helped found a handful of motion picture studios, including Metro-Goldywn-Mayer. This collection of articles looks at some of the major figures in Hollywood.

The House That Shadows Built: The Story of Adolph Zukor and His Circle, by Will Irwin.  Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc, 1928.
The story of Adolph Zukor, and early film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.

The Life and Adventures of Carl Laemmle, by John Drinkwater. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1931.
A look at the life of Carl Laemmle, a pioneer in American film making and a founder of one of the original major Hollywood movie studios - Universal.

(Section 3) Written by the Stars:

Like many of today's movie and entertainment celebrities, the film stars of the silent era published all manner of books including memoirs, autobiographies, cookbooks, novels, poetry, and more. But who really wrote them? A few were written by the stars themselves, or with the help of a "actual writer." Most were likely ghost written. 

Pinto Ben and other stories, by William S. Hart & Mary Hart. New York: Britton Publishing Co., 1919.
A Lighter of Flames, by William S. Hart. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1923.
Hart was one of the first great stars; he was especially well known for his Western films, including Tumbleweeds. Life in the American west was also the subject of his fiction.

The Life Story of an Ugly Duckling: An Autobiographical Fragment in Seven Parts, by Marie Dressler. New York: R. M. McBride & Co., 1924.
Dressler was a stage star before entering films in 1910, when she was 42. A robust, full-bodied woman, Dressler's popularity rose and fell during the silent era. With the coming of sound, her popularity rose once more. Dressler won an Academy Award in 1931.

The Bandit Prince, by Sessue Hayakawa. New York: Macaulay, 1926.
Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find major stardom in the United States. Prolifically talented, he created his own production company, and produced, directed, designed, wrote, edited, and acted in films. He also wrote several plays (once appearing on stage in San Francisco), painted watercolors, performed martial arts, and in 1961 wrote an autobiography, Zen Showed Me the Way.

An American Comedy, by Harold Lloyd and Wesley W. Stout. New York: Longman, Green and Co., 1928.
Along with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd was one of the three great comedic actors of the silent film era. This book tells of his life in film while presenting the actor as a regular fellow.

Men, Marriage and Me, by Peggy Hopkins Joyce. New York: Macauley Co., 1930.
Joyce enjoyed fleeting fame on stage and screen, and was just as well known for her several marriages to wealthy men, her colorful divorces, scandalous affairs, and lavish lifestyle. A recent biography was titled Gold Digger: The Outrageous Life and Times of Peggy Hopkins Joyce.

Laugh and Live, by Douglas Fairbanks. New York: Britton Publishing Co., 1917.
Making Life Worth While, by Douglas Fairbanks. New York: Britton Pub. Co., 1918.
Wedlock in Time, by Douglas Fairbanks. New York: Britton Publishing Co., 1918.
Three of the handful of "self-help" books written by the swashbuckling film superstar.

The Three Musketeers, by Douglas Fairbanks and Edward Knoblock. Douglas Fairbanks Picture Corp., 1921.
Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was multitalented. He was an actor, screenwriter, director and producer, one of the founders of United Artists, and a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy. The Three Musketeers is Fairbanks' short fictionalization of the classic Alexander Dumas novel.

The Demi-Widow, by Mary Pickford. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1935.
Known as "America's Sweetheart," Pickford was both a film superstar and multi-talented business women. Along with husband Douglas Fairbanks Sr., she helped found United Artists. The Demi-Widow was one of a small number of books Pickford wrote during the early 1930's.

The Truth About the Movies: By the Stars, by Laurence A. Hughes. Hollywood: Hollywood Pub., Inc, 1924.
This collection of articles includes Mary Pickford's "Advice to Young Screen Aspirants" and Norma Talmadge's "What Percentage of Girls Who Come to Hollywood Actually Achieve Success." Other contributors are Pola Negri, Marion Davies, Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery, Zasu Pitts, King Vidor, Mae Murray, Erich von Stroheim, and Buster Keaton. Each of the articles are signed by the actor, actress, or director - as if to prove their authenticity.

How I Broke into the Movies: Signed Autobiographies, by Hal C. Herman. Hollywood: H.C. Herman, 1929.
Sixty actors and actress supposedly wrote these short accounts of how they got their start in film. Among the contributors are Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Colleen Moore, Will Rogers, Gloria Swanson, Lupe Velez and others. Director D.W. Griffith wrote the forward. (see previous post for illustration)

(Section 4) Photoplay Editions:

Today, when a book is issued in conjunction with the release of a film, the publisher will often include the image of the movie's star on the book's cover. The practice is meant to identify the book with the film. It is also meant to attract the attention of movie goers, and hopefully boost sales. Such books are called "movie tie-ins." The earliest movie tie-ins date to the silent era. During the Teens and Twenties, motion pictures were called "photoplays" - and thus the movie tie-in books of the silent and early sound era came to be known as "photoplay editions."

Typically, photoplay editions were reprints of novels (both literary classics and popular bestsellers) illustrated with images from a film production. Less typically, photoplay editions were novelizations of films, with the script or film story fictionalized into narrative form. Today, photoplay editions are sought after by bibliophiles, film buffs, or collectors interested in a particular author, actor, film or movie genre.

The first photoplay editions were published around 1912, and as a publishing genre, they reached their peak in the 1920's and early 1930's. Thousands of different titles were issued in the United States. Most photoplays were published in hardback by companies like Grosset & Dunlap or A.L. Burt, and some in soft cover by a company like Jacobsen Hodgkinson. Similar movie related books were published in Canada, England, France, Germany, Australia and elsewhere around the world.

Most American photoplay editions feature stills and/or a dust jacket with artwork from the film. Deluxe editions might also contain a decorative binding, illustrated end papers, the cast and credits, or rarely - an introduction by the star or director. Sometimes, the spine, cover or title page of the book will note the edition is a "photoplay edition" or is illustrated with scenes from a "photo-drama."

The first book published on the subject was written by Emil Petaja, a San Francisco science fiction & fantasy author. Petaja was also a film buff and collector, and his 1975 work, Photoplay Edition, was based on his collection of more than 800 books! In his introduction, Petaja told of a time when photoplay editions could easily be found in thrift shops and second hand book stores. Now, they are collector's items. (The most sought after vintage photoplays are tie-in editions of classic films such as Dracula, Frankenstein and King Kong, or lost silent films such as London After Midnight.) In some instances, the printed story and handful of scene stills is all that remains of the silent era's many lost films.

The Belovéd Adventurer, by Emmett C. Hall. Philadelphia: Lubin Manufacturing Co, 1914.
This scarce photoplay was based on a now lost 15 part serial. The book features 15 interior illustrations, and was, unusually so, published by the film's production company.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1916.
A landmark work of cinema, this movie tie-in edition features a wrap-around pictorial dust jacket, dramatic illustrated binding, and 4 interior illustrations from the film.

The Rose-Bush of a Thousand Years, by Mabel Wagnalls. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1918.
Author Mabel Wagnalls was the child of the co-founders of Funk & Wagnalls. She authored a number of books, including this one, which was made into the film Revelation, starring the stage and film actress Alla Nazimova. The book features 8 interior illustrations from the "motion-picture drama."

Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore. Springfield, Mass: Milton Bradley Co., 1921.
Published by the famous game company and aimed toward the young reader, this authorized "Madge Bellamy" edition of the popular classic features illustrated endpapers, a special dedication from the actress, her printed signature on the cover, a foreword by movie producer Thomas Ince, 8 duo-tone prints of scenes from the film, and color illustrations. Over the years, this classic novel has inspired at least ten movies and broadcast miniseries.

Evangeline, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Carolyn S. Bailey. Springfield, Mass: Milton Bradley Co.,1922.
Here, the great American poet shares a byline with one Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, who wrote an introduction and prose version of the familiar poem (which is also included). This movie tie-in edition includes 11 interior duo-tone illustrations from the film.

Ben-Hur, by Lew Wallace. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, circa 1922.
An immensely popular film based on an immensely popular book. This movie tie-in edition features a wrap-around pictorial dust jacket and 8 interior illustrations from the film. The title page states that it is part of an edition of one million copies published by arrangement with Harper and Brothers.

A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1923.
Cather was a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist. This movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 8 interior illustrations from the film.

Captain January, by Laura E. H. Richards. Boston: L.C. Page, 1924.
Child actress Baby Peggy was one of the silent film era's biggest little stars, and this "Baby Peggy edition" features an illustrated binding and many illustrations from the film. (see previous post for illustration)

Editha's Burglar, by Frances H. Burnett. Boston: L.C. Page, 1925.
This authorized "Baby Peggy edition" features an illustrated binding, a printed letter from the actress (appropriately written in a child's hand) and numerous illustrations from the film. The back of the book advertises the "Mary Pickford edition" of Pollyanna: The Glad Book, and the "Mary Miles Minter edition" of Anne of Green Gables. (see previous post for illustration)

 

Little Robinson Crusoe: A New "Crusoe" Story Featuring Jackie Coogan, by Charles D. Fox.  New York: Charles Renard Corp., 1925.
This retelling of the Robinson Crusoe story was aimed at young readers. This movie tie-in edition features illustrated endpapers, a printed letter from the child actor who stars in the film, and "21 full page action photo-drawings." A special supplement in the rear of the book contains "Jackie Coogan's Own Daily Dozen" - a series of exercises illustrated with 12 photographs of the child star.

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1926..
A classic American novel turned into a classic silent film starring one of the greatest actresses of all time. This movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 12 interior illustrations from the film.

The General, by Joseph Warren. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927.
A rarity, this novel made its first appearance in print as a photoplay edition; it is also the only American movie tie-in to feature Buster Keaton. This edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 12 interior illustrations from the film.

Wings, by John M. Saunders. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927.
Wings was the first film to win an Academy Award for "Best Picture." This movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket, tinted illustrated endpapers, and 18 interior illustrations from the film.

Beggars of Life, by Jim Tully. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1928.
Based on the 1924 bestseller by the celebrated "hobo author," this movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 4 interior illustrations from the film. Tully also authored one of the first novels critical of Hollywood, Jarnegan (1926).

Camille, by Alexandre Dumas. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927.
To emphasize the importance of this film, this "edition de luxe" features a pictorial dust jacket (with a Norma Talmadge printed autograph) and 14 sepia-toned interior illustrations from the film.

 (Section 5) Rudolph Valentino:

Rudolph Valentino (1895 – 1926) was one of the biggest stars of the silent film era. His sudden death at age 31 made news around the world. More than 100,000 people lined the streets of New York City to pay their respects at his funeral. A few heartbroken fans even took their own lives.

Born in Italy, Valentino made his way as a young man to the United States, where he worked as a dancer and stage actor before gaining small parts in various films in the late Teens. His big break came with The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), in which he famously danced the Tango (a dance then considered somewhat risqué). With the release later that year of The Sheik (1921), Valentino skyrocketed to fame. His dark good looks and smoldering sensuality typed him as a "Latin Lover," though he was in fact a gifted actor capable of playing many different roles. The actor's other films include Camille (1921), Moran of the Lady Letty (1922 - filmed in San Francisco), Beyond the Rocks  (1922 - with Gloria Swanson), and his final film, The Son of the Sheik (1926).

Valentino's was one of the defining personalities of the Jazz Age. His fame was so great - and interest in the actor so extensive - that everything he did was closely watched. When Valentino grew a beard, so did other men. When he wore a bracelet, it became a fashion. Even the way he kissed a woman's hand sparked a public craze.
 
This display includes examples of the kinds of books found in the other four cases - books by the actor, books about the actor, and photoplay editions of the books which were the basis of his films. Even in death, Valentino was legend. After his passing, a number of tributes were published, as were biographies and memoirs by those who knew him. In the 1950's and 1960's, three books were issued by those who claimed to have been in psychic communication with the then long deceased actor.

The books in this case come from the collection of Valentino scholar, collector and author Donna Hill, a San Francisco resident. Her 2010 pictorial, Rudolph Valentino - The Silent Idol His Life in Photographs, is the most recent title in the ever expanding Valentino bibliography. It is available through the San Francisco Public Library.

Daydreams, by Rudolph Valentino. New York: MacFadden Publications, Inc., 1923.
A book of poems authored by the popular actor.

Daydreams, by Rudolph Valentino. London: Hurst and Blackett, Ltd., 1924.
The UK edition of Valentino's poetry, published to coincide with the UK release of Valentino’s 1924 film Monsieur Beaucaire.

My Private Diary, by Rudolph Valentino. Chicago: Occult Pub. Co., 1929.
Valentino's travel diaries recount his first trip back to Europe after becoming a star. This book was available in hardback as well as paperback, and was originally serialized in Movie Weekly Magazine in 1924.

The Shriek: A Satirical Burlesque by Charles Somerville.  New York: W. J. Watt & Co, 1922.
A “palpitant Passionut” burlesque of the hottest novel of the decade.

Valentino As I Knew Him, by George S. Ullman.  New York: Macy-Masius, 1926.
Rushed to print a scant two months after Valentino’s death, this book promised an intimate glimpse into the life of the late star. It was also published in the UK, France, Finland and elsewhere.

Rudy: an Intimate Portrait of Rudolph Valentino, by Natacha Rambova.  London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd., 1926.
Valentino and Rambova were married for a short while in the early 1920s. This volume only had one printing, as stipulated by the author. It is very difficult to locate in its original dust jacket.

Rudolph Valentino. Recollections, by Natacha Rambova. New York: Jacobsen-Hodgkinson Corp., 1927.
An abridged version of Rambova's book, here published as an inexpensive soft cover.

Rudolph Valentino: His Romantic Life and Death, by Ben-Allah. Hollywood, Calif: Ben-Allah Co., 1926.
A self-published tribute issued after Valentino's death in August, 1926.

Valentino, the Unforgotten, by Roger C. Peterson. Los Angeles, Calif: Wetzel Pub. Co., 1937.
Issued a decade after Valentino's death, these recollections chronicle the fans who made the pilgrimage to the actor's gravesite. It's author was a cemetery worker in Hollywood.

Remember Valentino: Reminiscences of the World's Greatest Lover, by Beulah Livingstone. New York: Strand Press, 1938.
Personal recollections of Valentino by a journalist and friend that includes synopses of his last two films, The Eagle and The Son of the Sheik. This book was published to coincide with the well-received 1938 reissue of the two films.

Beyond the Rocks, by Glyn, Elinor. New York: The Macaulay Company, 1922.
This movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 4 interior illustrations from the film.

Blood and Sand, by Vincente Ibáñez Blasco. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1922.
Blasco was a world famous Spanish novelist who also authored The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the basis for another Valentino film. This movie tie-in features a pictorial dust jacket and 16 interior illustrations from the film. This particular edition can be difficult to locate in any form, and is nearly impossible to find in dust jacket.

Cobra, by Martin Brown and Russell Holman. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1925.
This movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket and 16 interior illustrations from the film.

Cobra, by Martin Brown and Russell Holman. London: Readers Library Pub. Co, 1925.
This UK movie tie-in edition features only a pictorial dust jacket. The UK movie tie-in were seldom as elaborate as their American counterparts.

The Eagle: The Story of the Film, by Hayter Preston and Henry Savage. London: Readers Library Pub. Co, 1926.
This UK movie tie-in edition features a pictorial dust jacket, and is without any interior illustrations.

Monsieur Beaucaire, by Booth Tarkington. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1924.
Tarkington was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. This movie tie-in features a pictorial dust jacket and 6 interior illustrations from the film.

The Sheik, by E. M. Hull. London: Readers Library Pub. Co, 1922.
This UK movie tie-in features a pictorial dust jacket and 1 interior illustration from the film.

# # # # #

Though not included in the exhibit, this rare softcover photoplay
edition speaks volumes about the silent era.

Remembering Reading the Stars: The Silent Era, part 1

In my previous post marking National Silent Movie Day, I posted a video of my 10 year old interview with the one-time silent film star Diana Serra Cary, who during the silent era was known as "Baby Peggy." She was a contemporary of Louise Brooks, and though the two never worked together, Baby Peggy did co-star in a hit film, Helen's Babies (1924), with one of the silent era's other great icons, Clara Bow.  I interviewed Diana a few times, and spoke with her a few other times over the years when I either wrote articles about her or put on events with her - including one at The Booksmith, where I once worked. When I knew her, Diana was in her nineties, yet she was still at that age a remarkable witness to her time in Hollywood all those years ago. 

Edward Everett Horton, Baby Peggy and Clara Bow

In my previous post, I also mentioned that the occasion for my 2011 interview with Baby Peggy was "Shhhhh! Silents in the Library," a two-month, multi-display exhibition and event series at the San Francisco Public Library. I curated the main exhibit, which was titled, "Reading the Stars: The Silent Era", which was on display in the Steve Silver Beach Blanket Babylon room. It was comprised of vintage books about film dating from the silent era, including a few books related to Baby Peggy. Most of the books in the exhibit were loaned from my personal collection - except for a case worth of Rudolph Valentino related books which were loaned by my friend, Donna Hill. It was a thrill for Donna and me and my wife, Christy Pascoe (who helped with just about everything), when Diana came to see the exhibit. Here are a few snapshots.

Christy Pascoe, Dian Serra Cary (aka Baby Peggy), Thomas Gladysz

 

(Left) Donna Hill and Diana look over the Valentino material, (Right) Diana asks about a book

A close-up of two Baby Peggy movie tie-ins, including Captain January

While preparing my previous post, I also came across a bunch of material about the exhibit including installation shots, scans of various books, text I had written for the information panels, and even an article I had written about the exhibit for SFGate, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle. It was interesting and enjoyable to see all this stuff after all this time. I thought others might enjoy seeing it as well. To start, here is the exterior and interior of the rather swell herald for the exhibit and Baby Peggy event which was designed by Christy Pascoe. It is followed by some of the introductory panel text.

 

 

 

 

Introduction to "Reading the Stars" (adapted from the info panel):

Like today, the movie going public of the Teens and Twenties had an insatiable appetite for reading material about their favorite actors, actresses and films. "Reading the Stars" takes a looks at some of the many books about the movies published during the silent film era. 

The books on display include biographies and memoirs, pictorials, and how-to titles, as well as novels, poetry and self-help works written by some of the biggest names in filmdom. "Reading the Stars" is in five parts. 1) General books about the movies - including criticism and commentary, guide books for the aspiring hopeful, and fiction showing both the glamorous and seamy side of Hollywood. 2) Vintage books about individual movie stars. 3) Books written by various film stars. 4) Photoplay editions, the popular movie tie-in books of the time. 5) Books by and about Rudolph Valentino, a film superstar who inspired more than a shelf worth of books. 

Since there is so much to include, my next post will be a detailed look at the exhibit, including close-ups of the various display cases as well as individual books. In the meantime, here are some general shots.

Part of the in-library promotion

The introductory panel, with a picture of Louise Brooks

Christy and I next to the display of photoplay editions

Christy and SFPL librarian Gretchen Good confer at the exhibit

 

Donna Hill and her display of Rudolph Valentino books

A display of books written by movie stars

 

A display piece made from scans of books from my collection

And finally, here is my SFGate article from June 27, 2011. It is titled "Reading the stars: books from old Hollywood." (Over the course of a year or two, I wrote a few dozen articles for SFGate. I am posting this 2011 piece on the exhibit because somewhat recently the parent company of the San Francisco Chronicle removed all of the content contributors like myself posted on the news site.) I have included some of the the original illustrations and links which appeared on SFGate.

"Reading the stars: books from old Hollywood"

by Thomas Gladysz

Earlier this month, the New York Times ran an article about celebrity authored books. "In Their Own Words? Maybe" surveyed the spate of recent novels by the likes of the Kardashian sisters, reality TV starlet Lauren Conrad, and Nicole Polizzi, aka Snooki on the MTV show Jersey Shore. The article also mentioned recent works by Nicole Richie and Hilary Duff, and points out that most of these recent novels may not have been written, or written entirely, by the celebs credited as author.

The New York Times cites a publisher who traces the current popularity of celebrity novels to Pamela Anderson’s Star, a bestseller released in 2004. Like the works mentioned above, Ms. Anderson, the former Baywatch star, used a ghostwriter.

Books authored by film and TV stars are nothing new. And in fact, the phenomenon goes all the way back to the beginnings of Hollywood. Imagine yourself a newly minted motion picture celebrity in the Teens or Twenties. Why shouldn't you tell your story? Or write a novel? Or even pen a book of poems?

I love the movies, especially old movies. I also love books. My two interests came together in an exhibit which has just opened at the San Francisco Public Library. I curated "Reading the Stars," which looks at some of the many books about the movies and by movie stars published during the silent film era; on display are vintage biographies, pictorials, and how-to titles as well as novels, poetry and self-help works written by some of the biggest names in early Hollywood.

In the early years of the 20th century, both the movies and the movie industry were just getting started. The movies were an art form in search of itself, while the movie industry was growing by leaps and bounds into a business concern whose reach knew few limits. Books were one way in which individuals (actors, directors, producers, and moguls), as well as the studios that employed them, tried to sell themselves to the public. The New York Times article refers to the practice as "a way to extend the footprint of the celebrity."

"Reading the Stars" is divided into five parts. One display case is devoted to general books about the movies - including criticism and commentary, guide books for the aspiring actor or screenwriter, as well as fiction showing both the glamorous and seamy sides of Hollywood. My favorites are the Anita Loos' manual How to Write Photoplays, and Tamar Lane's provocative What's Wrong with the Movies? 

 Carroll and Garrett Graham's early Hollywood novel, Queer People, says this about itself: "If resemblances to well-known figures in Hollywood life occur in certain passages, it is only because America's fifth greatest industry has become so completely standardized that everybody resembles everybody else." Yikes! That's from 1930.

Like today, the movie going public of the Teens and Twenties had an insatiable appetite for reading material both about and by their favorite actors.  Another case in the exhibit is devoted to books about individual movie stars, while another features books written by or at least attributed to various actors and actresses. On display is Sessue Hayakawa's novel, The Bandit Prince, Harold Lloyd's memoir, An American Comedy, Mary Pickford's novel, The Demi-Widow, and Douglas Fairbanks' various self-help ("pop psychology") titles.

Have you ever purchased a novel with the picture of a movie star on the cover? The practice is meant to identify the book with the film, as well as attract the attention of movie goers while boosting sales. Such books are called "movie tie-ins." An entire case in "Reading the Stars" is devoted to photoplay editions, the movie tie-in books of the silent era. On display are Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, with Lillian Gish on the cover, and Willa Cather's A Lost Lady, with Irene Rich on its cover. And be sure not to miss Little Robinson Crusoe, with child star Jackie Coogan on its cover. 

Rudolph Valentino was one of the biggest celebrities of the time. His sudden death at age 31 in 1926 made news around the world. It also spurred an already burgeoning cottage industry in books about the beloved star - including a few who claimed to channel his spirit. One case in "Reading the Stars" turns the spotlight on this iconic star and presents rare examples of books both by and about the actor, as well as photoplay editions of his films, such as The Sheik. For the record, Valentino's book of poems, Daydreams, ain't half-bad.

"Reading the Stars" is on display in the Steve Silver room (4th floor) of the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library through August 28th. It is part of a SFPL celebration of the silent era called "Shhhhh! Silents in the Library." Other exhibits are devoted to "Downtown Movie Palaces of the 1920s" and "The Silent Screen in the City." The latter looks at some of the many movie stars who visited San Francisco or made films here in the Bay Area. 

"Shhhhh! Silents in the Library" coincides with the 16th annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival, which takes place July 14-17 at the Castro Theater. A display of past posters from the Festival are also on display at the SFPL.

Notice the camera man in the lower right-hand corner who's filming
this fairy tale-like scene. Could it be your arrival in Hollywood?