An American actor, screenwriter, and director, John Gilbert was one of the most popular leading men in the silent film era. Apparently, in the studios he worked for, Gilbert's dark, brooding good looks were more in demand than his talents for directing or writing. Like many silent film stars of the time, his fame began to dwindle with the onset of talkies, films that incorporated synchronized sound. However, this was not as much due to lack of talent as it was due to artistic and personal differences with MGM producer and co-founder Louis B. Mayer.
Gilbert tended to fall in love (and have affairs with) his costars. He primarily starred alongside Greta Garbo, with whom he was rumored to be in love for an extended period of time, having even asked her to marry him. The two stars were going to get married, but apparently Garbo never showed up. Supposedly, it was on this day that Mayer interacted with Gilbert, who was in tears, and Mayer told him to "sleep with her, don't marry her." Gilbert punched him in the face and then allegedly said, "I will destroy you." And so the rivalry began. Gilbert was married four times and ultimately his long-lasting alcoholism did him in. |
Examples of Work:
Heart o' the Hills (1919) His Hour (1924) He Who Gets Slapped (1924) The Merry Widow (1925) Flesh and the Devil (1926) His Glorious Night (1929) The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) |
Douglas Fairbanks was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his silent film roles, particularly as a swashbuckling character. These roles included Zorro in The Mark of Zorro (1920) and Comte d'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers (1921), but they weren't just great performances that showed off his athletic abilities. With these films Fairbanks pioneered the genre of adventure-costume pictures. Fairbanks undoubtedly set the swashbuckling standard.
Solidifying his mark on the industry, Fairbanks became a founding member of the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation, United Artists, Motion Picture & Television Fund, and the Motion Picture Academy (AKA the hosts of the Oscars). In fact, Fairbanks himself hosted the first Oscars ceremony. Nonetheless, Fairbanks could not stop the decline of his career at the onset of the talkies. He made a few sound films, but none were well-received by their Depression-era audiences. |
Examples of Work:
Her Lord and Master (1902) The Lamb (1915?) The Mark of Zorro (1920) The Three Musketeers (1921) Robin Hood (1922) The Thief of Bagdad (1924) |
A popular American film and later television actor of the 1920s silent era into the early 1930s, Charles Farrell was one of few actors of the time who survived the switch to talkies and remained successful. Farrell began working for Paramount Pictures where he signed on to play smaller roles, but once he was signed by Fox Studios and got paired up with actress Janet Gaynor for a romantic drama called 7th Heaven, his popularity increased rapidly. Farrell went on to star opposite Gaynor in over a dozen films and later in life starred in his own television program, "The Charlie Farrell Show."
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Examples of Work:
7th Heaven (1927) Street Angel (1928) Lucky Star (1929) City Girl (1930) |