Top 10 Silent Screen Beauties

[Gagman 66]

Alison,

Who was the other girl in THE GOLD RUSH? No, not the hefty one but her friend? She was stunning! Does anyone know who she was? Better looking than Georgia Hale! I think the same two actresses were also in the Norman Shearer feature LADY OF THE NIGHT? I'm almost certain of it? Any help would be appreciated!

Michigan3,

Huh, Alla Nazimova!!!??? Are you kidding me??? Although she did look allot better in SALOME' than in CAMILLE! I'll give you that.

[charliechaplinfan]

Brenda, I nearly chose Jean Arthur, so nearly but her gift to me apart from her comedic timing is her voice. I haven't seen her in a silent, I wonder if she would have come across.

Another addition Norma Shearer, not everyone's cup of tea I'm sure but I see something extrordinary an I like it.

Gagman, I've no idea who the girls are with Georgia Hale, sorry. I always wonder what happened to the footage of Lita Grey. He must of shot quite a bit, she wasn't meant to be as good as his other leading ladies. I'd still like to see it.

Of all Chaplin's leading ladies to me the least appealing, although she does have appeal is Virginia Cherill. That's so strange because City Lights is my most watched Chaplin movie. Give me Paulette or Edna any day.

[Gagman 66]

Alison,

I have a couple Silents where Jean Arthur appears, but they are not great quality. She does turn up though brirfly in WINE OF YOUTH (1924), , and that recording is pretty good. Jean is a feature player in THE BLOCK SIGNAL (1925), but the film is in horrible shape!

As for Carol Lombard, I have a couple of Shorts from 1927 and '28. THE CAMPUS VAMP, and RUN GIRL RUN! She is very pretty in these.

[MichiganJ]

Gagman--Nazimova was 42 or 43 when she made Salomé, and pulled off looking (and acting) like she was 14! That, and the many photos I’ve seen of her from that period is why I chose her. Nobody, including Valentino, looked good in Camille. (Too much competition with Rambova’s wacky sets.)

I might challenge your selection of Mary Philbin. Not on her best day does she approach Garbo. She looks okay in Merry-Go-Round, but most people know her from Phantom, and she just doesn’t cut it there, particularly when she’s “duded up” for her operatic performances. Garbo, on the other hand, looks pretty smokin’ “duded-up” or not.

silentscreen--While I agree in principle with Carole Lombard and Jean Arthur, I haven’t seen any of their Silents to have them qualify for my list. They’d both be very high on a “Sound Screen Beauties” list. Paulette Goddard is in a class of her own. She was never more ravishing than in Modern Times, particularly Chaplin’s introductory close-up. That huge, mischievous smile, and the few, well-placed smudges...ooo la la!!

CCF--Garbo will always top my list, I think. I have a truly stunning poster of her, from the American Museum of the Moving Image, which my wife even allowed me to hang up. Even without make-up, and even as she aged, Garbo remained beautiful. She could act, too...

Louise Brooks is another stunner to me, but I must admit that part of it is her “helmet” hair style. I love the bangs on her, I guess. Interestingly, while she had the same hair style, Colleen Moore was always “cute” but never (to me) “beautiful”. I think a lot of it has to do with the attitude I get from Brooks. One thing Louise Brooks had in spades was attitude, and it comes through in her photos and performances.

Gloria Swanson? I never found her that attractive. She has gorgeous eyes, and can act, but she just never did it for me, particularly in those ridiculous outfits DeMille had her wear, (although she does look pretty good in Queen Kelly).

Joan Crawford? Now here’s where I’ll be getting pummeled, but, for me, she is the most over-rated Hollywood actress. I don’t think she was ever very pretty (she reached her peak in Our Dancing Daughters, but looks pretty good in The Unknown, too, but later? No thanks.) And acting? She’s one of the few Hollywood elite that I can always “see” acting. She tries way too hard. I think her acting in the Silents surpasses anything in the sound period (including Mildred Pierce), and would again point to Our Dancing Daughter/Our Modern Maidens as her high-water mark.

Okay, go easy on me, it’s only an uniformed opinion....

[Gagman 66]

Michiganj.

Oh boy, I may never get my washing done today! Well, I have a few other friends that are completely goofy over Greta Garbo too. Benji is simply Wild about her! But I just don't see it? To me, Garbo looked her best in THE SINGLE STANDARD (1929), she was really gorgeous in that movie. Most of her other Silent's though, except for FLESH AND DEVIL at times, I just don't see this? And speaking of FLESH AND THE DEVIL I like little Barbara Kent in this film better than I do Greta! What a Cutie!

In A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS which is a great movie, Garbo looks rather frumpy half the time. Watching LOVE again last Monday morning, I didn't think she looked all that ravishing in that movie either. So I don't know what to say about Garbo. THE SINGLE STANDARD I think is her best Silent film. And it's probably the least know of any of them?

To me Mary Philbin looked gorgeous in everything I have seen her in. That amounts to about only 5 films thus far. So I disagree about her too. She was a great beauty in my eyes. Though I'll still take Corinne Griffith!

Joan Crawford looked her very best in WEST POINT of any film I have seen her in. I personally do not like Crawford all that much either. Not just her look, I just don't find her all that appealing. She's OK, but nothing great as far as I'm concerned. I have seen about 8 or 9 or her Silent's, anyway quite a few of them. I really like OUR DANCING DAUGHTERS/OUR MODERN MAIDENS, but I'm gleaming Anita Page not Joan! The story's are very good though, and these are both fine films.

[MichiganJ]

gagman

You’re right about Crawford in West Point, I think mostly because she doesn’t have Anita Page as her competition (I’ll take Anita in Daughters over Maidens, though. Guess I like her “bad”.)

We’ll have to agree to disagree about Philbin. For me she’s very “Victorian” in her appearance, and I prefer the “modern look” (I’m still a sucker for the Twenties fashions, clothes/hair styles, etc.)

No argument about Corinne Griffith. Although I believe I’ve only seen her in The Garden of Eden, that’s good enough for me.

Garbo looks stunning in A Woman of Affairs (which is a great movie), but she also takes my breath away (and John Gilbert’s, too) in Flesh and the Devil. She’s also way hot in The Mysterious Lady (one of my personal favs, although most people seem to dismiss this film for some reason.) I agree with you about Love, I suppose, but for me this is one of her weakest Silents (I’ve only seen the midwest “Happy Ending” version, and I can’t keep from howling at how contrived and misguided the ending is.) As for The Single Standard, I think Garbo looks great, and the film is one of her best. I don’t know why Warner Brothers/Turner or whoever didn’t put these out with the other Garbo silents on DVD. I have it on LaserDisc, paired with The Kiss (Garbo looks great in that, too!)

[silentscreen]

Brenda, I nearly chose Jean Arthur, so nearly but her gift to me apart from her comedic timing is her voice. I haven't seen her in a silent, I wonder if she would have come across.

Alison,

You have hit upon the two top reasons that she became a star. It was partly because of her unusual voice that she became successful in talking pictures. She wasn't successful in silents. But as far as looks go, although she certainly wasn't the prettiest, she was very attractive and classy. In "The More the Merrier", she was 43 years old, but would you have ever guessed it?

Maybe Carole and Jean don't qualify for the list since they weren't well known in the silent era, but hit their stide in the 30's. I'll have to think some more about who to replace them with though.

[Gagman 66]

Michiganj,

In addition to THE GARDEN OF EDEN, I also have Corinne Griffith in BLACK OXEN, THE DIVINE LADY, and BACK PAY. But I would sure like to see a few more of her films. And a few more sadly is all that remains. Corinne is drop dead beautiful in THE DIVINE LADY!

Yes, I agree that the other MGM Garbo Silents should have been released on DVD for her Centennial in 2005. Including WILD ORCHIDS. A WOMAN OF AFFAIRS was a gross oversight by Warner's with it's All Star cast, and a Carl Davis score! Although, I also have the a version of this film with the Original William Axt,-David Mendoza Western Electric Track. I'm not sure which I prefer? In most cases I perfer vintage scores if possible. But Carl Davis is not most cases.

Is there any word on the TCM Archives Lon Chaney Volume 2 Box set that Warner's promised for 2008? The year is better than half over? As far as I know THE BLACKBIRD (1926) was not scheduled to be included! Despite a brillant restoration in 2005, with a Robert Israel score! It makes zero sense to leave this film out, especially with a new Tod Browning documentary included among the extra's! Easily, Browning and Chaney's most underrated film! I personally like this movie much better than I do Seastrom's HE WHO GETS SLAPPED! And it has Renee Adoree who frustratingly has nothing yet on official DVD. Have you seen this picture? If not, Read my review elsewhere on this forum!

While I agree that TELL IT TO THE MARINES needs to be a part of the set, they just have to include THE BLACKBIRD too!

[bdp]

Garbo, for me, transcends any labels and categories - I suppose she's not on my list simply because it seems a trivial place for her.

Joan Crawford never did it for me either, at all.

[silentscreen]

I have to agree with the fellas who said that Crawford didn't do that much for them. I think she's a fairly good actress, and got the full glamour treatment in her youth at MGM, but beautiful, no... But to each their own.

I think Corrinne Griffith is attractive, but I've only seen her in two films, and somehow she never comes to mind when I think of great beauties. She was very effective in The Garden of Eden.

[charliechaplinfan]

My two set in stone most beautiful women from the silent era are Louise Brooks and Greta Garbo, like bdp says about Garbo, to me they transcend beauty.

Gloria Swanson's beauty is not always apparent. DeMille dressed her for the times, the clothes I like, she was the best dressed woman on the screen at that time, sometimes her clothes are as entertaining as the Demille films themselves.

Onscreen the one time she showed her true beauty to me was when her lovely long hair was left loose to play the convent girl in Queen Kelly. Then she rivalled the most beautiful women of her era. She's infinitely more attractive when acting in comedy. In the Demille films she can have a disdainful look. I think of her as a woman's actress, that with the Demille films she was speaking mostly to a female audience.

Gagman, Corinne Griffiths is a lovely looking women but I haven't seen that something extra, like Clara Bow's spark, Edna Purviance's playfullness in the early Chaplin comedies, Garbo's mystery, Louise Brooks glamour and unique look and personality.

Marceline Day spoke more to me in The Camerman, she had warmth, true I only judge her on one film. I'm going to replace her with Anita Page who I've seen in more films and always liked.

I realised that Joan Crawford would be somewhat controversial, I don't think she is a man's woman, she's too brittle or hard(is that the word?). I think in silents she was at her best.

Here are some other's I think are worth a mention Billie Dove, Bessie Love, Blanche Sweet, Mary Brian and Dolores Costello.

the one I haven't mentioned that many of you have is Lillian Gish, her look to me is ethereal, other worldly, not in my mind as beautiful as the others mentioned. For those who have picked her, I do understand where you're coming from

[MichiganJ]

I agree that Lillian Gish has an ethereal quality about her, but the woman never smiles. She’s so serious in all of her pictures and in the roles she played. A very “cold” beauty, if you will. That’s why I like Dorothy’s “beauty” more; she has one of the most genuine smiles in the business, and a very playful quality, which is evident even in her more serious performances. Her playfulness is quite attractive.

[myrnaloyisdope]

Marion Davies - For the quality of her silent films, she's probably my favorite silent star
Louise Brooks - Everyone loves Lulu
Myrna Loy - Most of her silents aren't very good, but she's fun to watch anyway
Joan Crawford - I'm not a huge fan, but she was pretty stunning in her early years
Gloria Swanson - Along with Marion Davies and Louise Brooks probably my favorite silent film actress
Renée Adorée - She's fantastic in The Big Parade, and it's a shame she died so young.
Marion Byron - I think she's about 3 feet tall, but I remember thinking she was cute in Steamboat Bill Jr.
Anna May Wong - I haven't actually seen any of her silent work, but she's a babe nonetheless
Janet Gaynor - a wonderful silent actress, I haven't seen any of her talkies
Rose Hobart - technically not a silent star, but if you've seen Joseph Cornell's brilliant 1936 avant-garde film Rose Hobart, you'd understand my inclusion of her

Here's part 1 on youtube:

[youtube][/youtube]

[Gagman 66]

Alison,

I'm somewhat confused, in addition to THE CAMERAMAN Haven't you seen Marceline Day in THE BELOVED ROGUE with Barrymore, and CAPTAIN SALVATION with Lars Hanson? In THE BELOVED ROGUE in particular Day is astoundingly beautiful.

The thing is I do see that spark, and personality in Corinne Griffith of which you speak? The sad thing is so many of her films are lost she just can not be properly evaluated.

Have to admit, Swanson often seems a little to harsh for my taste. Although she looked very cute in the early Keystone comedies in which she appeared.

Myrna,

I am crazy about Renee Adoree. If you haven't seen her in anything other than THE BIG PARADE, I have quite a few more of her other films and she is wonderful in all of them. As you mentioned, Her story is just so tragic. She had a unique quality about her that you can't quite define, but no one else had this in quite the way that she did. What a brillant actress. I personally feel that John Gilbert had more on-screen chemistry with Renee than He did with Garbo. While I like Garbo I would take Renee myself.

[MichiganJ]

Gagman wrote:

Is there any word on the TCM Archives Lon Chaney Volume 2 Box set that Warner's promised for 2008? The year is better than half over? As far as I know THE BLACKBIRD (1926) was not scheduled to be included! Despite a brillant restoration in 2005, with a Robert Israel score! It makes zero sense to leave this film out, especially with a new Tod Browning documentary included among the extra's! Easily, Browning and Chaney's most underrated film!

As far as I can tell, Volume 2 has not been slated for release, yet. We need to keep our fingers crossed that they are looking for a Christmas release.
As for The Blackbird, I read your rave review as well as the right-up in one of the Chaney bios I have, and it does sound great. I assume Robert Israel was commissioned for a score, was it to accompany the film in some kind of retrospective? I have no idea how this works. My assumption was that a film was restored and a score commissioned for a home video/TV broadcast release. Why anyone would restore a film, and have a commissioned score (particularly by the likes of Robert Israel) and not release it to the public is beyond me. Count yourself lucky for being able to see the film. Let’s hope that eventually it will become available soon.

In regards to this thread, I forgot to add the “dark lady of the Silents”, Miriam Cooper!