Welcome to Eve Golden, Biographer of John Gilbert

Past chats with our guests.
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Gagman 66
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by Gagman 66 »

Ms. Golden,

:) Thank you for the informative response. It's disappointing that WB scoffed at the idea of a Gilbert Box set. Hopefully, part of that is not having scores recorded not to mention Hi-Def transfers for such films as HIS HOUR, MAN WOMAN & SIN, 12 MILES OUT, and THE COSSACKS. It's also mind boggling that A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS remains completely unavailable, since it is the only surviving Garbo Silent which hasn't had an official release. Plus there are two versions one with a Vintage Axt-Mendoza Movie-tone track, and the other with music by Carl Davis. In my way of thinking, Warner Archive could have easily released the Movie-tone track version if Davis was to cost prohibitive. In this case, I prefer the vintage score anyway.

There have to be some extra's on THE BIG PARADE Blu-ray, but no one is talking at this point that I'm aware of. Have to say I have a special fondness for THE COSSACKS. This is a film that people either seem to love or hate, I happened to love it. Anything with Renee Adoree, who I think was Jack's best Co-Star, not Garbo. To me they had every bit as much chemistry together. MAN, WOMAN & SIN started out with such promise, but Jeanne Eagles being fired mid-way through production at the bequest of Director Monta Bell resulted in a rather rushed, and patch work ending. Spoiling what might have been a great film. Nevertheless, Kevin Brownlow still thinks very highly of this picture.
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

Gagman, silents--sadly--do not sell. It is so expensive to remaster and score them, and package and promote them, and there is such a small audience. When I was writing about the Castles, I tried to get their delightful 1914 "musical," The Whirl of Life, released on DVD--no luck.

The Cossacks is an enjoyable film--but coming from a family who was chased out of Russia by Cossacks, I was a little creeped-out by it. I have a hard time sympathizing with and romanticizing Cossacks! But Jack was adorable in it, and Renee Adoree is always good.

Man, Woman and Sin does have its problems, despite the three leads being so good. The ending falls flat, and the plot meanders oddly. Still, well worth seeing, and Jeanne is interesting! I saw that YouTube clip of her in The Letter, and can't decide if she is really good or really bad in it.
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Sue Sue Applegate
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by Sue Sue Applegate »

Eve, I completely agree with your comment about daughters who don't choose acting as a profession, but write balanced portrayals in their biographies! :lol:
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moira finnie
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by moira finnie »

Oh, Eve. Jeanne Eagels fascinates me in The Letter, though I have to admit that Man, Woman and Sin seemed to lack something without hearing that husky voice and indeterminate accent she had in The Letter. Hearing her fulminating and telling Reginald Owen what for made me realize that when she was on stage and quasi-sober she must have seemed so powerful, even though she was a tiny thing. I enjoyed your profile of her in your collection, Golden Images, but have you ever thought about writing a full length biography of Jeanne Eagels?
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jansullivanstravels
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by jansullivanstravels »

Eve,

I loved the book; read it in one sitting! I love the conversational, natural tone and how, though you obviously have great affection for Jack, you don't let him get away with anything either.

I am a great lover of Hollywood lost causes, and I'm wondering this: It's the mid-1920s. You are Jack's best friend. He listens to you and will take your advice. What would you tell him?
"Have you never wanted to look beyond the clouds and the stars..."
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

Moira, Jeanne Eagels is one of those people another author has dibs on. I don't know if his book will ever be written or if it will be any good, but one doesn't step on another writer's toes. Isn't that Letter clip bizarre? "Rubber--rubber--rubber--rubber!"

Well, I am off for tonight--PBS is showing Witness for the Prosecution. See you all tomorrow!
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charliechaplinfan
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Eve, I apologise I was here last night and left a question but I have no idea where it has gone. It's lovely to see you back at the Oasis again and I look forward to reading your biography of John Gilbert. I think my question has been partially answered. In a nutshell I wanted to know if Garbo was the love of his life, or was she just the biggest name and the one who got away? I read a fictionalised bio ages ago that made Jack out to be a man who's troubles started from the moment Garbo walked out of his life, which we know not to be true. I get the feeling he fell in love easily, hence the quick switch of affections from Garbo to Ina. I wanted to ask about Marlene too? was Jack just caught up in her will to care for him or do you think there was more there. We know about her grief at his funeral, I tend to think that the considered Dietrich would not have put on a show of tears had she not felt them.

Love has been mentioned too, Jack Gilbert is the only actor in my opinion who has capured Vronsky, it's my favourite book and I've seen so many adaptations but his is the only one who got him. He was a great actor, fun to watch, he dominated the silent screen but in talkies I find him mellowed but none the less watchable. Darn those baddies who won't release a box set.

Despite his enormous chemistry with Garbo, it's his scenes with Renee Adoree in The Big Parade which are my favourite love scenes.

his least colourful role was in A Woman of Affairs, made in loyalty to Garbo, it didn't do him any favours but it did showcase how he could play any part, even the stuffier ones.

Lillian Gish was a little unkind about working with him, I think in her biography she said that he was a ham, she rated her own talents well above his and watching La Boheme he is a bit overblown in it but this is surely Vidor's doing, the story/opera wasn't used to being underplayed. Actually I loved it, the only thing I got from reading Lillian's book, which was really interesting was that she wasn't he sweet old lady of some of her later parts.
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by Rita Hayworth »

Eve,

I was doing some research on John Gilbert and discovered that Louis B. Mayer was so frustrated that he signed a six pictures deal worth $250,000 each for the six (late 20's) films that he was scheduled to make - that's $1.5 Million (ironclad figures) of a major movie star of his own rights ... that's huge back in those days - and yet he is so unhappy about it.

What is your take on this? ... this is practically unheard of back in those days!

What is your views on the Mayer hiring directors that makes Gilbert cringed and scripts bad enough to make any actor boils over? (I am rambling a bit here)

What is your thoughts on The Hollywood Revue of 1929 of where he co-starred with Norma Shearer?
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

Good morning, all!

Jansullivanstravels, If I met John Gilbert in 1925, I would hope he would whisk me off to his hilltop home for a weekend of . . . sorry, wait, where were we?

No, I would shake him and tell him, "stop pissing people off! Stop taking everything so damn seriously! Every film can't be a masterpiece--be a team player, take the crap assignments, do your best and they will eventually hand you good films!" But all his friends told him that--if he didn't listen to them, he wouldn't listen to some strange woman from the future.
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

charliechaplinfan, I agree with just about everything you say!

I think Renee Adoree was one of his most effective costars--maybe because he wasn't in love with her (I wonder why not?) and they were obviously pals who worked together so well and easily.

You are right--Garbo was "the love of his life," but only in 1926-28, though she slipped out of his grasp by the end of 1926. And she was the one who got away--I am not even convinced they ever slept together. His affair with Marlene I find more interesting: they were both grown-ups, both had been through the mill, she was a bigger star than he was, and she really tried to help him. I don't know that their romance would have lasted, but Marlene did stay friends with her exes and so did Jack, so I think they would have remained close if he had lived.

I also love Love, despite the ending. Such great acting, and the direction was not half bad either. making it modern-dress was smart, too, I feel. By far the best of the Garbo/Gilbert films to my eyes. The 1935 remake . . . I find Fredric March a bit chilly, and Garbo went all ladylike and less human in that one.

Lillian Gish--who was a friend of mine, so I would never bad-mouth her!--didn't specifically say Jack was a ham, but she had no patience for the whole MGM big-studio style. She groused and complained even more than Jack did, which is some pretty stiff competition. I thought there was a lot of overacting on everyone's part in La Boheme, with King Vidor probably to blame.

By the way, read the book, by Henri Murger, it is a delight!
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

Rita Hayworth, that 1928 contract of Jack's was a disaster of timing: in late 1928, Jack was the second-biggest star at MGM (after Lon Chaney). No one at MGM thought talkies were a threat yet (MGM came late to that party), and UA was luring Jack away as his contract came up for renewal. UA's Joe Schenck and MGM's Nicholas Schenck both wanted Jack, and Mayer had to back down and agree to re-sign him to that six-year deal, two pictures a year, at $250,000 a picture. Within a year, Mayer realized he'd been had.

Jack refused to back down one dollar when talkies hit (then, so did most stars, resulting in cancelled contracts). Some of Jack's early talkies were bad--but so were some of the early MGM talkies given to Shearer, Crawford, Haines, Garbo, Novarro, Davies. Jack's were no worse that anyone else's, and some were quite enjoyable. He was miscast in Way for a Sailor and Fast Workers--those required a Cagney or Tracy type.

I think if Jack had better health and fewer enemies, he would have easily coasted into a career as a character actor. By 1928, though, he and Mayer hated each other so much that neither would give in--and neither wanted to let go of a dollar either, making it even more uncomfortable a situation.

As for The Hollywood Revue of 1929, I love all those studio Revues--such a great mix of wonderful and cringe-making! The Shakespeare sketch does not work at all--middle-aged writers trying to ape How the Kids Talk, so the slang was already out of date. But I adore the little bit of chit-chat between Jack, Norma and Lionel between scenes! It is funny and casual and you can really see his charm and their friendship.
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CineMaven
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by CineMaven »

Good morning Ms. Golden. I don't know Gilbert as well as some of the other members here ( maybe I've seen three of his films ) but I just wanted to say it's been such a deeeelight reading Y0UR comments. What an easy breezy way you have with words and a sense of humor to boot. It's been a pleasure.
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egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

Thank you so much, CineMaven! And jansullivanstravels, too, for your kind words on my writing. I just try to write as though I am chatting to a friend. I have to sometimes stop myself from writing down, "Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you, the funniest thing . . ." I do have to go back and carefully edit out anything that comes off as too wise-ass.
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jansullivanstravels
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by jansullivanstravels »

Eve, I was asking you to imagine yourself as one of his friends, not some strange woman from the future... but yes, as you say, his friends did tell him all those things.

They probably also told him, in vain, not to drink so much, though no one can tell anyone else that. I think, as you say, he may have been bipolar and self-medicating. Even if he wasn't, drinking can exacerbate depression and induce rages, so aside from destroying him physically, it brought out the worst in him.

Someone recently told me that "The Big Parade" may be coming out on Blu-Ray; have you heard anything about that? I recently saw it at the TCM Film Fest, in a packed theater. I know Mrs. Fountain is not well, but I sent her a letter telling her how much we all loved and sobbed over the film. I love how she has been the keeper of the flame for her father.
"Have you never wanted to look beyond the clouds and the stars..."
egolden
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Re: Welcome to Eve Golden, Our Guest Author in May

Post by egolden »

jansullivanstravels, I don't know if Big Parade is being re-released . . . I am disappointed I could not interest Warner Bros. in a box set. Even a four-film Garbo/Gilbert set would be nice, though I would rather see some of his lesser films out there again.

Jack had, happily, lots of friends. They all gave him good advice, he'd laugh and clap them on the back and say, "you're absolutely right!" and then go on his merry way and do what he was doing before. Oh, well, he died wealthy and loved and pretty painlessly, there are worse ways to go.
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