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Welcome to Red Poulaine's Musings. Here we hope to entertain and delight you with stories about the people and times from bygone eras and the vintage images that act as our windows into their times. Red Poulaine is a husband and wife joint enterprise on Etsy. We take pride in offering fine, interesting vintage items to our customers, while providing the best customer service possible. Please come visit us at http://www.etsy.com/shop/redpoulaine today.
Showing posts with label silent film star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silent film star. Show all posts
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Monday, November 3, 2014
Mary Miles Minter, Hollywood Silent Movie Star, circa 1920
16.00 USD, by redpoulaine via Etsy http://ift.tt/1mPFqPk
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Lilian Saves the Earth from Falling Into a Black Hole! circa 1920s, by Ross Verlag
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Lilian Got a Star from the Teacher! circa 1920s, by Ross Verlag
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Lilian Harvey Dancing, Oh So Cute, in Short Fringed Skirt, circa 1920s by Ross Verlag
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Lilian Harvey Curtsies to the Queen of the Night, circa 1920s by Ross Verlag
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Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Mary Miles Minter, Hollywood Silent Movie Star, circa 1920
The story of Mary Miles Minter is full of drama, one might even say melodrama, as seems appropriate for an early silent film star. It's almost as if she were living in a movie, herself.
Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 25, 1902 (her birth date is often misremembered as April Fools Day), she was the second daughter of Joseph Homer Reilly and Lily Pearl Miles. Her parents divorced while she was still very young, and her mother moved with her children to New York City, where she became the popular Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby. But, Charlotte's aspirations were not only for herself, but for her daughters, as well. From the time they were very small she had engaged Margaret and Juliet, only two years apart, in play acting "little parts" that would prepare them for a life on the stage.
In an interview published in Movie Weekly on May 7, 1921, Mary told the story of how she was to get her first part on Broadway, in 1907, when she was just 5-years-old.
In 1919, when she was 17, she made her first film for director William Desmond Taylor. Taylor lauded the young star's work, publicly promoting her. Minter developed romantic feelings for Taylor, despite the fact that he was 30 years her senior. The two worked together on several films and Mary sent him love letters, but friends and colleagues reported that he never returned her feelings with anything more than friendship.
Despite the apparently chaste relationship the two maintained, Taylor was to prove the young star's undoing, albeit in death, rather than in life. On February 2, 1922, at 7:30 a.m., Taylor was found dead in his home. He'd been shot in the back. The police case, involving a large number of high-profile stars, generated a media frenzy which grew even more virulent with the discovery of Mary's three-year-old love letters. Although the police don't seem to have considered Mary a likely suspect, the news media found her a wonderfully satisfying suspect. And, if not her, her mother.
Mary managed to complete four films that year, three the next, and then made her final film, "A Sainted Devil," as a supporting actress, with Rudolf Valentino and Nita Naldi as the leads, before ending her career with the claim that she was content without it.
Taylor's murder was never solved, but the constant strain of the aftermath wore on Mary's family. Mary fell out with her mother, suing her in 1925 for an accounting of the funds she'd managed during Mary's minority. The two settled out of court and reconciled, eventually living together again. Some years after Mary's suit, in 1937, her sister Margaret brought a similar suit against her mother, then making public accusations that her mother had killed Taylor. But, by this time Margaret's alcoholism was surely affecting her judgement, for she died of related causes in 1939.
In its January 1928 issue, Photoplay published an article based on an interview with Mary and her mother, who were at the time living in Paris. The author, Jane Dixon, claimed that she saw "no evidence of any hard feelings during [her] visit," but went on to paint a picture of two bitter women at odds with each other, with Mary complaining of a toothache and her mother ostentatiously over-solicitous.
In 1957, Charlotte died in Mary's Santa Monica home, and a year later Mary wed Brandon Hildebrandt, a real estate investor. The couple shared interests in astrology and numerology, and, in accordance with numerological recommendations, changed their surname to O'Hildebrandt. After her husband died in 1965, Mary was left with no close family. She suffered from a number of medical complaints, including diabetes, but lived until 1984, when she was 82-years-old.
And so it was that bright little Juliet Reilly had suffered more twists and turns than the heroine of "The Perils of Pauline" over the course of her life, but she had proved stronger than any of them and lived until a ripe old age.
IMDB
Wikipedia
Born Juliet Reilly in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 25, 1902 (her birth date is often misremembered as April Fools Day), she was the second daughter of Joseph Homer Reilly and Lily Pearl Miles. Her parents divorced while she was still very young, and her mother moved with her children to New York City, where she became the popular Broadway actress Charlotte Shelby. But, Charlotte's aspirations were not only for herself, but for her daughters, as well. From the time they were very small she had engaged Margaret and Juliet, only two years apart, in play acting "little parts" that would prepare them for a life on the stage.
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| Mary Miles Minter, Hollywood Silent Movie Star, circa 1920 16.00 USD, by redpoulaine via Etsy http://ift.tt/1mPFqPk |
Before I forget it--let me tell how it was that [as a small child] I got my part in "Cameo Kirby." It's really funny and mother and I have laughed over the incident many times. We had come up from Dallas to New York, and one day a friend told mother that a little girl was to be engaged for "Cameo Kirby," so down to the theatre we went.From that moment on, Mary, who at that time was still called Juliet, was the star of the family and making the biggest earnings. While her mother and sister continued to act, it was Juliet who was most in demand. Under that name, she appeared in her first film, a short drama called The Nurse, released in 1912, but when she got a part in a play in Chicago that same year, child labor laws would have interfered with her appearance, and so her mother used the birth certificate of Juliet's cousin Mary, who was no longer living. The ruse worked, and so began the career of Mary Miles Minter. Over the course of the next 11 years, she would appear in 54 silent films.
Margaret, my sister, had been successful in other child roles, and it was she who was to be the applicant for the part. I was just taken along as there was no one to leave me with.
Margaret, however, did not prove to be just the type and Mr. Arnold Daly went slowly down the row of sixty-five children--while I stood over in one corner.
They told me to be quiet--but all of a sudden I cried out, "Oh, mamma, see what a funny face that man has!"
Mr. Daly whirled--and instead of annihilating me with a glance walked right over to my corner and said, "This is the little girl I want." Then mother told him I had never acted. But I was given the part.
In 1919, when she was 17, she made her first film for director William Desmond Taylor. Taylor lauded the young star's work, publicly promoting her. Minter developed romantic feelings for Taylor, despite the fact that he was 30 years her senior. The two worked together on several films and Mary sent him love letters, but friends and colleagues reported that he never returned her feelings with anything more than friendship.
Despite the apparently chaste relationship the two maintained, Taylor was to prove the young star's undoing, albeit in death, rather than in life. On February 2, 1922, at 7:30 a.m., Taylor was found dead in his home. He'd been shot in the back. The police case, involving a large number of high-profile stars, generated a media frenzy which grew even more virulent with the discovery of Mary's three-year-old love letters. Although the police don't seem to have considered Mary a likely suspect, the news media found her a wonderfully satisfying suspect. And, if not her, her mother.
Mary managed to complete four films that year, three the next, and then made her final film, "A Sainted Devil," as a supporting actress, with Rudolf Valentino and Nita Naldi as the leads, before ending her career with the claim that she was content without it.
Taylor's murder was never solved, but the constant strain of the aftermath wore on Mary's family. Mary fell out with her mother, suing her in 1925 for an accounting of the funds she'd managed during Mary's minority. The two settled out of court and reconciled, eventually living together again. Some years after Mary's suit, in 1937, her sister Margaret brought a similar suit against her mother, then making public accusations that her mother had killed Taylor. But, by this time Margaret's alcoholism was surely affecting her judgement, for she died of related causes in 1939.
In its January 1928 issue, Photoplay published an article based on an interview with Mary and her mother, who were at the time living in Paris. The author, Jane Dixon, claimed that she saw "no evidence of any hard feelings during [her] visit," but went on to paint a picture of two bitter women at odds with each other, with Mary complaining of a toothache and her mother ostentatiously over-solicitous.
In 1957, Charlotte died in Mary's Santa Monica home, and a year later Mary wed Brandon Hildebrandt, a real estate investor. The couple shared interests in astrology and numerology, and, in accordance with numerological recommendations, changed their surname to O'Hildebrandt. After her husband died in 1965, Mary was left with no close family. She suffered from a number of medical complaints, including diabetes, but lived until 1984, when she was 82-years-old.
And so it was that bright little Juliet Reilly had suffered more twists and turns than the heroine of "The Perils of Pauline" over the course of her life, but she had proved stronger than any of them and lived until a ripe old age.
Sources
Google Books- "It Happened in Hollywood: Remarkable Events That Shaped History," by Gerald Schiller at: http://books.google.com/books?id=AzzY-vccRmAC&lpg=PA36&ots=gjd8bflX-C&dq=Charlotte%20Shelby%20Broadway%20actress&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
IMDB
- Mary Miles Minter filmography at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591704/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
- Mary Miles Minter bio at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0591704/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
- Anne of Green Gables at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009879/
- January 1929 issue at: http://www.archive.org/stream/photoplay3334movi#page/n159/mode/2up
- April 1923 issue at: http://www.archive.org/stream/Picture-playMagazineApril1923/PicturePlay0423#page/n0/mode/1up
- January 1923 issue at: http://www.archive.org/stream/Picture-playMagazineJan.1923/PicturePlay0123#page/n59/mode/1up
- "Mary Miles Minter" at: http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/10007/mary-miles-minter
Wikipedia
- Taylorology at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylorology
- Mary Miles Minter at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Miles_Minter
- William Desmond Taylor at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Desmond_Taylor
- Margaret Shelby at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Shelby
- Charlotte Shelby at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Shelby
Individual Websites
- Mary-Miles -Minter.com at: http://www.mary-miles-minter.com/
- "The Silent Collection, Featuring: Mary Miles Minter," by Tammy Stone at: http://www.things-and-other-stuff.com/movies/profiles/mary-miles-minter.html
- Taylorology at: http://www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology/
- "Who was Juliet Reilly?" by Marilyn Slater, at: http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/julietreilly.htm
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Reserved for Beth. Please do not purchase unless you are Beth. Thanks.
17.00 USD, by redpoulaine via Etsy http://ift.tt/OrIqnl
Friday, June 21, 2013
Italian Silent Film Diva, Pina Menichelli, in Velvet Jumpsuit
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Italian Silent Film Diva, Pina Menichelli, in Velvet Jumpsuit |
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| Reverse of postcard |
One of the most beautifully expressive faces of the Italian cinema, Pina Menichelli, radiates dramatic presence even in this casual attire. We are particularly fond of one series of images (of which this is one), which used what appears, at first, to be a very casual crosshatching design as a frame, but the sweep of these markings, up and out from the center, creates an instantaneous feeling of depth, and also draws us into the center, where Signorina Menichelli, in highly contrasting dark and light tones, becomes our only focus with no exterior distraction (our eyes having dismissed the crosshatching).
Do we over-think this stuff? Probably :) But we really do find the artistic construction of these simple portraits exciting and moving. In short, we love what these photographers, working with these amazing models, were able to achieve!
We also love being able to show you cards in this almost pristine condition, as if you had just stepped off a train in Milan, in 1921, and while waiting for your aunt, who was to meet you at the station but is late in arriving, you stop at a kiosk which sells newspapers, magazines and postcards. This particular image catches your eye, because only last month you so enjoyed Pina in one of her films, wearing this oh-so-modern outfit. As you remember sitting in the dark cinema with your sweetheart, the sights and sounds of the busy railway station disappear...
Now, for a real treat, follow the link below to this YouTube video, so that you can better remember that wonderful experience! We recommend a bowl of fresh popcorn and a SanPellegrino Limonata sweetened with two tablespoons of sugar. Ah, Perfetto!
Traveling
through time and space is what we we are all about here at Red
Poulaine. Please think of us as your own personal Tardis. :)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Featured Items: Dazzling Beauties
The currently featured items in Red Poulaine are postcards with portrait images of young women, all dazzling beauties.
This wonderful portrait in profile of young artiste Florence Cresby was taken at the truly fine, Scloss Studio of New York, (we don't believe we've ever seen an image of theirs which wasn't really grand), which is why we're guessing Flo was an American girl, but the card was published by SIP, or Societe Industrielle de Photographie, a wonderful French Publishing house which handled a lot of Reutlinger's work, among others. Which is why we're guessing she was performing in Paris :) What a beautiful young woman! What a marvelously concieved photograph! Card is in almost perfect, unposted condition with a tiny crease in bottom left corner. We so love it when we get lucky like this. Schloss studio date of 1899 in lower left quadrant. Graceful age discoloration, but otherwise, wow!
Our next image is a beautiful portrait of the artiste D'Albray, her upturned eyes lending her a soulful expression. Her gown is decorated with a floral motif that reminds one of a medieval tapestry, and the large basketwork buttons at the corners of the squared neckline contribute to the effect. Perhaps she is portraying a princess awaiting her fairy godmother?
From Alfred Noyer's collectible and truly fine series, "Les Plus Belles Femmes de France," comes Le Rouge. Lovely profile portrait of a French woman of the 1910s, or 20s, beautifully coiffed and wearing thin gauze across her shoulders, and a necklace of tiny pearls.
Probably published circa 1905, this French card, posted 1910, presents a lovely portrait of a young girl with flowers, a spirit of Spring. We don't know the girl's name, but we do know she is, you guessed it, a dazzling beauty.
This wonderful portrait in profile of young artiste Florence Cresby was taken at the truly fine, Scloss Studio of New York, (we don't believe we've ever seen an image of theirs which wasn't really grand), which is why we're guessing Flo was an American girl, but the card was published by SIP, or Societe Industrielle de Photographie, a wonderful French Publishing house which handled a lot of Reutlinger's work, among others. Which is why we're guessing she was performing in Paris :) What a beautiful young woman! What a marvelously concieved photograph! Card is in almost perfect, unposted condition with a tiny crease in bottom left corner. We so love it when we get lucky like this. Schloss studio date of 1899 in lower left quadrant. Graceful age discoloration, but otherwise, wow!
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Florence Cresby, American Girl in Paris, 1899 |
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Mlle D'Albray Belle Epoque Artiste by Reutlinger, circa 1905 |
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Le Rouge, or, The Redhead, from Noyer's Les Plus Belles Series circa 1910s/20s |
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Sweet Child of Spring posted 1910 |
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Miss Ivy Lillian Close circa 1910s
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| AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE Miss Ivy Lilian Close |
Gorgeous soulful image of Miss Ivy Lillian Close. She was first Miss Britain of 1908, then a stage actress, then a silent film star in those very early days.
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