Eve Golden on Jean Harlow, Theda Bara, The Castles & More

[mrsl]

Re: Vernon and Irene

Ms. Golden:

Although I am not much of a non-fiction reader, yet do manage to read at minimum one fiction book per week, I was surprised at your comments regarding your previous books. With everything that has been written not only by you but many others about Theda, Jean, Anna, and Kay, I, for one, am interested in finding a copy of your story of Vernon and Irene Castle. Knowing how off the wall Hollywood can be on biographies, I wouldn't count on the movie with Fred and Ginger being any too factual. I'm quite sure a book about them would be very engrossing. I believe I will look for it next time I go to the library.

What is the exact name, please?

Anne

[moira finnie]

Welcome Eve! Thank you for accepting our invitation to visit with us.

As you can see, from MrsL's query and your earlier exchange with charliechaplinfan, your writing has piqued the interest of many of us.

I noticed that you sometimes take as long as ten years to research a topic that you write about. Could you please describe how you became interested in such diverse topics, ranging from American theatrical history such as Ann Held and the Castles to Theda Bara to Kay Kendall? How do you choose your topics and what artistic and commercial factors do you consider when making a commitment to a writing project?

Thank you for your answers.

[egolden]

What is the exact name, please?

Anne

"Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution." Thanks, I hope you like it!

[egolden]

I noticed that you sometimes take as long as ten years to research a topic that you write about. Could you please describe how you became interested in such diverse topics, ranging from American theatrical history such as Ann Held and the Castles to Theda Bara to Kay Kendall? How do you choose your topics and what artistic and commercial factors do you consider when making a commitment to a writing project?

Oh, I don't think ten years--I'd say it's 2-3 years, door to door. Right now, I am "at liberty" between books. I have no idea why I enjoy theatrical and film history rather than, say, the Civil War or sci-fi or quilting. Something clicked in my tiny brain when I was a child, I guess.

When settling on a subject, I certainly don't consider commercial factors--otherwise, I would run like the wind from Anna Held and the Castles! But I think I am doing a kind of service by bringing back to life people who have been forgotten or neglected. I'm lucky to have a good university press that will publish more esoteric titles, though I'm sure even they would be grateful if I would just write about Marilyn Monroe or Heath Ledger.

A subject has to grab me enough for me to want to spend three years with them; it's like having a really instrusive roommate. They have to be "untouched"--either no previous book on them, or really crappy books. So there's no use my doing Garbo, Mae West, Mabel Normand, Valentino, Ramon Novarro--they already have good books, I have nothing to add.

I also like writing about "the time and the place" as well as "the girl," so researching and bringing back to life the day-to-day world of 1950s London, early 20th-century New York, Hollywood in the '30s, is half the fun for me. After spending a day with period scrapbooks, newspapers, magazines, I am startled to walk out of Lincoln Center and into the 21st century!

[mongoII]

Hi Eve, and welcome to the SSO domain. It is nice having you visit with us.

As the ultimate 'vamp' did Theda Bara actually become a victim of her own screen image?
To be honest with you the woman always scared me (perhaps it was the make-up).

Thanks,

Joe

[charliechaplinfan]

Who are your favorite movie stars and film genre? I realise from your replies that maybe your favorites already have books about them.

I envy you the escapes to the past by doing the research. As someone with no wriring experience I think it would be idyllic but is there a pressure when you are doing research or are you allowed to get as engrossed as you like.

Once a book is published, does it feel like a good friend has gone away because they are no longer there in your life or is it a relief to see the back of them for a while.

Last question (I told you I could think of loads) Do you read your reviews in the paper, or do you ignore them?

Eve, thankyou so much

[egolden]

As the ultimate 'vamp' did Theda Bara actually become a victim of her own screen image?

Thanks,

Joe

I think she did, but maybe no more than Mary Pickford, Mae West, and lots of others did, too. She actually made a lot of non-vamp films, but it was the vamping that brought in the customers and made the money. Fox gave her some really awful scripts, and by 1919, they were putting more money into Tom Mix and less into Theda. The main reason she retired, though, was her happy marriage. She was an old-fashioned gal; her husband did not want her to work, and she settled down and retired--resigned, if not thrilled about it. She had a very long, happy life after the films. I think it's a shame she never did any character work later on, like Constance Collier.

A lot of silent stars had long, happy retirements, but you never hear about that!

[egolden]

Who are your favorite movie stars and film genre? . . . I envy you the escapes to the past by doing the research. As someone with no wriring experience I think it would be idyllic but is there a pressure when you are doing research or are you allowed to get as engrossed as you like . . . Once a book is published, does it feel like a good friend has gone away because they are no longer there in your life or is it a relief to see the back of them for a while . . . Last question (I told you I could think of loads) Do you read your reviews in the paper, or do you ignore them?

Eve, thankyou so much

Obviously, I love silents--but I am also a huge fan of the pre-Code movies (I adore the hardboiled "say" girls, like Una Merkel, Iris Adrian, Pert Kelton, Joan Blondell). You know, the ones who start every line with, "saaaay . . ."

I hope one thing my books do is provide some of the escape into another time that I get from writing them! If I can give my readers a few hours in 1910 or 1935, I feel at least I am accomplishing something.

I do feel a bit of "don't let the door hit you" when a book is done--after two or three years of unrelenting attention to one subject . . . It was years before I could watch another Jean Harlow or Kay Kendall movie! But I do feel very protective: no one can badmouth one of "my people" within earshot of me!

Golly, of course I read my reviews (in papers, on amazon, wherever) and I can still quote you all my bad ones! Like Joan Crawford, I answer all of my fan mail, even the few "I hated your book" ones--as Joan knew, it's your fans who make or break you, not the reviews.

[Jezebel38]

Hello Eve - is there any any existing film at all of Vernon & Irene Castle that you might have come across during your research? Or are there only film stills of their routines? I gather that they were hugely popular at that time as a result of extensive touring around the country? Did other media , such as magazines contribute to their popularity? What about competition from other dance couples on the vaudville circuit, or were they the first to make an impact with exhibition dancing? Who do you feel contributed more to their partnership?

[moira finnie]

In your profile of Pola Negri, which readers can see here, you mentioned that one of the first film directors the actress worked with in post-WWI Germany and later in America was Ernst Lubitsch in such movies as Der Augen die Mumie Ma (aka The Eyes of the Mummy), Madame DuBarry (aka Passion, 1919), Sumurun (aka One Arabian Night), Arme Violetta (aka The Red Peacock), and Die Flamme (aka Montmartre). I've only seen The Eyes of the Mummy and that was a melodramatic doozie, to put it mildly.

In your opinion, are the available films that she did with Lubitsch worth seeking out? Which would you rate as the best?

Btw, thanks to the witty asides that you sprinkle throughout your prose, such as your comment that one of Miss Negri's films at Paramount, "Good and Naughty (which, sadly, was neither)", I often find myself smiling and occasionally laughing while reading your work. Because you made her sound so much more interesting than I can recall from the glimpses I've had of her work, you made me add as many Pola Negri films as I could find to my Netflix queue—even The Eyes of the Mummy, again!

Have you thought of writing a biography of Pola Negri that might be a nifty companion piece to the actress' own highly imaginative autobiography?

Could you please share whether or not you've seen the recent documentaries about the actress that are making the rounds of film festivals, one called Pola Negri and Ernst Lubitsch (2002), and another entitled Life Is a Dream in Cinema: Pola Negri (2006)? If so, would you recommend them?
Thanks so much.

[charliechaplinfan]

I hope one thing my books do is provide some of the escape into another time that I get from writing them! If I can give my readers a few hours in 1910 or 1935, I feel at least I am accomplishing something.

Well, you acomplished it for me writing about Theda Bara. I was taken back to her time, it was a wonderful journey.

Would you ever consider writing a biography of a living person or helping them ghost write a biography?

What are your earliest memories of the movies?

I can understand you being protective of your subjects, a little like children I suppose, you can tell them off or criticize but beware anyone else who does it within your earshot .

Do you ever find people relate Hollywood myths to you like they are fact and is if they are really telling you something you don't know? (I'm thinking more the salaciuos details that turn up in Hollywood Babylon or in the tabloid press)

Thank again Eve.

[egolden]

Hello Eve - is there any any existing film at all of Vernon & Irene Castle that you might have come across during your research? Or are there only film stills of their routines? I gather that they were hugely popular at that time as a result of extensive touring around the country? Did other media , such as magazines contribute to their popularity? What about competition from other dance couples on the vaudville circuit, or were they the first to make an impact with exhibition dancing? Who do you feel contributed more to their partnership?

Thank goodness, there is a surprising amount of film on them: their short Mrs. and Mrs Castle Before the Camera still exists, as does their wonderful feature The Whirl of Life (Lincoln Center has a copy). I started to make noises about getting The Whirl of Life scored and released as a DVD, but no one saw any money in it. It's a spoof of adventure serials, with dance numbers throughout--it has aged very well, and you can really see what terrific, light, airy dancers they were.

They were not the first famous dance team: Maurice Mouvet and Florence Walton predated the Castles, and there was a huge rivalry. Media and publicity did play a large part in the Castles' success: their manager, Elisabeth Marbury, was a genius at getting their name, and photos, out there.

As far as who contributed, I think it was a 50/50 deal: Vernon was a brilliant dancer, choreographer and teacher; Irene was ambitious and had the energy of six Lucille Balls on crack. Her being a fashion plate and great beauty helped, too.

[Moraldo Rubini]

Ms Golden,

Thank you for joining us at the Oasis.

Do you see any glimmer of hope that one day someone will find footage of Theda Bara's Cleopatra?

Are there existing recordings of Ms. Bara's radio appearances from the late 1930's? Have you heard them?

[egolden]

In your profile of Pola Negri . . . In your opinion, are the available films that she did with Lubitsch worth seeking out? Which would you rate as the best?

Btw, thanks to the witty asides that you sprinkle throughout your prose, such as your comment that one of Miss Negri's films at Paramount, "Good and Naughty (which, sadly, was neither)", I often find myself smiling and occasionally laughing while reading your work . . .

Have you thought of writing a biography of Pola Negri that might be a nifty companion piece to the actress' own highly imaginative autobiography?

Could you please share whether or not you've seen the recent documentaries about the actress that are making the rounds of film festivals, one called Pola Negri and Ernst Lubitsch (2002), and another entitled Life Is a Dream in Cinema: Pola Negri (2006)? If so, would you recommend them?
Thanks so much.

I have only seen one of Pola's films with Lubitsch, and I thought it (Eyes of the Mummy) indeed a doozy. Can't recommend any of the others, except to pounce if any are being shown--an uneven Negri/Lubitsch film is better than none at all! I couldn't possibly follow up on Pola's own wonderfully egomaniacal, hallucinogenic memoirs. They are like a real-life Little Me.

I have not seen either of those Pola documentaries, but would love to. Are either of them out on DVD? Off to check amazon . . .

I'm glad you like the wisecracks in my books . . . You should see the first drafts, before I have gone "come on," and winnowed most of them out. I miss writing for Movieline, in its great old Ed Margulies days, when we were encouraged to be as funny and vicious as possible. He let us get away with murder.

[egolden]

Well, you acomplished it for me writing about Theda Bara. I was taken back to her time, it was a wonderful journey.

Would you ever consider writing a biography of a living person or helping them ghost write a biography?

What are your earliest memories of the movies?

Do you ever find people relate Hollywood myths to you like they are fact and is if they are really telling you something you don't know? (I'm thinking more the salaciuos details that turn up in Hollywood Babylon or in the tabloid press)

Thank again Eve.

Thank you [blushes prettily]

Writing a bio of a living person is a lot harder, as you have a coauthor--I am much too bossy and crabby to have a coauthor. I was on the shortlist to ghost Ginger Rogers' memoirs--she was sending writers running from her ranch, tearing their hair out. Thank goodness someone finished the job before my name came up!

My earliest movie memories (besides seeing the new releases--now "old movies!"--with my parents) is sneaking down to the living room at 3:00 a.m. because an old movie was on. Turning the sound way down so as not to wake anyone . . . Thank goodness for video and DVDs! The kids don't know how lucky they are. (Anyone else out there used to audiotape old movies to listen to later?)

I work in a photo archive, where people are very knowledgeable about old movies, and I still have to tell people that no, Roscoe Arbuckle did not kill a starlet with a Coke bottle; no, Mae West was not a man; no, John Gilbert did not "kill himself" because he had a squeaky voice . . . Do not get me started on Kenneth Anger! I make it a point never to badmouth other writers, but I do not consider him a writer. As Truman Capote said about Jack Kerouac, "that's not writing, it's typing."