Dear Moira,
Christopher Bean is worth a look for any Dressler fan, but it is very, very rare. The only copy I'm aware of is at the George Eastman House in Rochester. (It may be at UCLA or Library of Congress.) I made a special trip to Eastman to see it, and was glad I did. It's no masterpiece, mind you, but the participation of Lionel Barrymore and Beulah Bondi add interest. It has some of the comedy-drama qualities of Emma.
There are copyright issues that keep it out of circulation. I don't know the details, but I was told these things usually involve the estate of the original author, in this case Sidney Howard. Perhaps a write-in campaign to Turner would help free it from archival bondage.
Marie eventually bristled at being paired with Moran and Beery. In the case of Moran, she liked her as a person, but the movies were quickies that were rewarding only financially. She most definitely did not like Beery, who was by all accounts very unpleasant on the set. (Check out what Jackie Cooper has to say about Berry. Today we'd call it child abuse.) His curmudgeon act was no act!
Mayer's heavy handedness irked Marie more than once. She reveled in her great success in the early 1930s, and felt a debt to Mayer, but the almost parental control he had over her and other contractees brought harsh words in private.
I never had the impression that Marie guided her own destiny at Metro. She had several people lovingly watching out for her, including Thalberg, Frances Marion, and publicist Howard Strickling. She loved playing Marthy in Anna Christie, Min, Emma, Tugboat Annie, and Carlotta Vance in Dinner at Eight. She seems to have been satisfied enough with what came her way to leave the casting decisions to others.
Matthew
moirafinnie wrote:Hi Matthew,
Here's a few questions for you...
Re: Marie Dressler: A Biography
Unfortunately, my ordered copy of your book is still not in (Barnes & Noble, how could you?). Still, I'm curious about the great lady's last movie, Christopher Bean (1933), especially after seeing & enjoying Thelma Ritter's '50s tv version recently. I realize that Marie Dressler was ill when this was made, but is it worth seeking out? Why do you suppose this hasn't been shown on TCM nor, as far as I know, on broadcast tv? Are there copyright issues?
What did Marie Dressler think of MGM's pairing her with other actors, such as Wallace Beery & Polly Moran, who were, IMO, not as accomplished, or to put it another way, as nuanced, as she as a film actor? Did she get along with both of them off-camera or was the rumored dislike of Beery manufactured gossip?
Did it irk Dressler to have L.B. Mayer allegedly ask her not to appear at a rally for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the '32 presidential election?
During her years at Metro, did Marie sort of "go with the flow" of studio dictated life and follow the career path that good fortune brought her? Did she bring properties to the attention of the studio for her to appear in?
Thank you.