John Gilbert (actor)
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011) |
| John Gilbert | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | John Cecil Pringle July 10, 1897 Logan, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | January 9, 1936 (aged 38) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Jack Gilbert |
| Occupation | Actor, director, writer |
| Years active | 1915 to 1934 |
| Spouse | Olivia Burwell (1918–1923) Leatrice Joy (1922–1925) Ina Claire (1929–1931) Virginia Bruce (1932–1934) |
John Gilbert (July 10, 1897 – January 9, 1936) was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.[1]
Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw. Though he was often cited as one of the high profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, there was speculation that his decline as a star had to do with studio politics and money and not the sound of his screen voice.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Life and career
Born John Cecil Pringle in Logan, Utah, to stock company actor parents, he struggled through a childhood of abuse and neglect before moving to Hollywood as a teenager. He first found work as an extra with the Thomas Ince Studios, and soon became a favorite of Maurice Tourneur, who also hired him to write and direct several pictures. He quickly rose through the ranks, building his reputation as an actor in such films as Heart o' the Hills with Mary Pickford. In 1921, Gilbert signed a three year contract with Fox Film Corporation, where he was cast as a romantic leading man. Some of his films for Fox include Monte Cristo, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo; St. Elmo, an adaptation of a popular book of the period; The Wolf Man, not a horror film, the story of a man who believes he murdered his fiancee's brother while drunk and many others. At the time, Gilbert did not sport his famous mustache, and this made his features more uneven and a little less handsome, and Fox plainly did not realize what huge potential he had.
In 1924, he moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he became a full-fledged star with such high-profile films as His Hour directed by King Vidor and written by Elinor Glyn; He Who Gets Slapped (both 1924), co-starring Lon Chaney, Sr. and Norma Shearer, and directed by Victor Sjöström; and The Merry Widow (1925) directed by Erich von Stroheim and co-starring Mae Murray. In 1925, Gilbert was once again directed by Vidor in the war epic The Big Parade, which became the second highest grossing silent film. His performance in this film made him a major star. The following year, Vidor reunited Gilbert with two of his co-stars from that picture, Renée Adorée and Karl Dane, for the film La Bohème which also starred Lillian Gish.
Gilbert married the successful film actress Leatrice Joy in 1922. The union produced a daughter, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, but the tempestuous marriage only lasted two years. The couple divorced in 1924, with Joy charging that Gilbert was a compulsive philanderer.
In 1926, Gilbert made Flesh and the Devil, his first film with Greta Garbo. They soon began a very public relationship, much to the delight of their fans. Gilbert wanted to marry her, but Garbo continually balked. Legend has it that a wedding was finally planned but Garbo failed to appear at the ceremony. Recent Garbo biographers, however, have questioned the veracity of this story. Despite their rocky off-screen relationship, they continued to generate box-office revenue for the studio, and MGM paired them in two more silents Love (1927), a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina, and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The former film was slyly advertised by MGM as "Garbo and Gilbert in Love."
[edit] Career decline
Throughout his time at MGM, Gilbert frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. Mayer over creative, social and financial matters. It was said that at the apparent double wedding of Garbo and Gilbert and director King Vidor and actress Eleanor Boardman, Mayer made a crude remark about Garbo to the distraught Gilbert, causing him to physically attack the mogul. This story has been disputed by some historians. Although one eye-witness—the bride, Eleanor Boardman—claimed to have seen the assault, others deny that it occurred.
In any case, Mayer apparently detested Gilbert and was disgruntled that the actor had just signed an ironclad contract for six pictures at $250,000 each. It was suggested that Mayer deliberately gave Gilbert bad scripts and ineffective directors in an effort to void the contract.
With the coming of sound, Gilbert's vocal talents made a good first impression in the all-star musical comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929, appearing in a Technicolor sequence with Norma Shearer. They played the "balcony scene" from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, first as written, and then repeating the scene in current slang. Reviewers for the film did not note any problems with Gilbert's voice at this time and, in fact, some praised it.
Audiences awaited Gilbert's first romantic role on the talking screen. The vehicle was the Ruritanian romance His Glorious Night (also 1929). According to film reviews of the day, audiences laughed nervously at Gilbert's performance. The fault was not Gilbert's voice but the awkwardly scripted, overly ardent scenes of lovemaking; in one scene, Gilbert keeps kissing his leading lady (Catherine Dale Owen) while saying "I love you" over and over again. (This scene was parodied in the MGM musical Singin' in the Rain (1952), where a preview of the fictional The Dueling Cavalier flops disastrously). Director King Vidor stated that Rudolph Valentino, Gilbert's main rival in the 1920s for romantic leads, probably would have suffered the same fate in the talkie era, had he lived.
Gilbert became increasingly depressed by progressively inferior films and idle stretches between productions, but he resolved to thwart Louis B. Mayer's master plan and see the six-picture contract through. Gilbert's fortunes were temporarily restored by MGM's production chief Irving Thalberg. Thalberg gave Gilbert two projects that were character studies, giving Gilbert an excellent showcase for his versatility. The Phantom of Paris (1931), originally intended for Lon Chaney who died from cancer in 1930, cast Gilbert as a debonair magician and showman who is falsely accused of murder, and uses his mastery of disguise to unmask the real killer. Downstairs (1932) was based on Gilbert's original story, with the actor playing against type as a scheming, blackmailing chauffeur. The films were well received by critics and fans, but did not return him to the heights of stardom. Shortly after making Downstairs, he married co-star Virginia Bruce; the couple divorced in 1934. Gilbert played out the contract with one last, unimportant "B" picture, and left the studio in 1933.
Greta Garbo insisted that John Gilbert must return to MGM, to play her leading man in Queen Christina (1933) directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Garbo was top-billed, with Gilbert's name beneath the title. The picture also failed to revive his career. Columbia Pictures gave him a chance for a comeback; The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) featured a capable performance by Gilbert as a frustrated playwright, but offscreen the ensemble cast of heavy drinkers did nothing for Gilbert's discipline, and the film turned out to be his last.
[edit] Personal life
Gilbert was married four times (including once to film and stage actress Ina Claire), and had two daughters. His daughter Leatrice Gilbert Fountain (from his marriage to silent-film actress Leatrice Joy), wrote an acclaimed biography of her father's life published in 1985, and continues as a source of information on his life and career. His granddaughter, Lorin Hart, is a musician/folk singer in California.[3]
[edit] Death
By 1934, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health; he died of a heart attack. Toward the end of his life, Gilbert became involved with Marlene Dietrich, and at the time of his death he was slated[4] to star opposite her in the film Desire. Gilbert's ashes were interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1755 Vine Street and in 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | The Coward | Minor role | Uncredited |
| 1915 | Matrimony | Extra | Short film Uncredited |
| 1915 | Aloha Oe | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | The Corner | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | Bullets and Brown Eyes | ||
| 1916 | The Last Act | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | Hell's Hinges | Rowdy townsman' | Uncredited |
| 1916 | The Aryan | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | Civilization | Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | The Apostle of Vengeance | Willie Hudson | |
| 1916 | The Phantom | Bertie Bereton | |
| 1916 | Eye of the Night | Uncredited | |
| 1916 | Shell 43 | English Spy | |
| 1916 | The Sin Ye Do | Jimmy | |
| 1917 | The Weaker Sex | ||
| 1917 | The Bride of Hate | Dr. Duprez's Son | |
| 1917 | Princess of the Dark | 'Crip' Halloran | |
| 1917 | The Dark Road | Cedric Constable | |
| 1917 | Happiness | Richard Forrester | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1917 | The Millionaire Vagrant | James Cricket | |
| 1917 | The Hater of Men | Billy Williams | |
| 1917 | The Mother Instinct | Jean Coutierre | |
| 1917 | Golden Rule Kate | The Heller | |
| 1917 | The Devil Dodger | Roger Ingraham | |
| 1917 | Up or Down? | Allan Corey | |
| 1918 | Nancy Comes Home | Phil Ballou | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | Shackled | James Ashley | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | More Trouble | Harvey Deering | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | One Dollar Bid | Credited as Jack Gilbert | |
| 1918 | Wedlock | Granger Hollister | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | Doing Their Bit | Credited as Jack Gilbert | |
| 1918 | The Mask | Billy Taylor | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | Three X Gordon | Archie | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1918 | The Dawn of Understanding | Ira Beasly | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | The White Heat | Beach | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | The Busher | Jim Blair | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | The Man Beneath | James Bassett | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | A Little Brother of the Rich | Carl Wilmerding | |
| 1919 | The Red Viper | Dick Grant | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | For a Woman's Honor | Dick Rutherford | |
| 1919 | Widow by Proxy | Jack Pennington | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | Heart o' the Hills | Gray Pendleton | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1919 | Should a Woman Tell? | The Villain | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1920 | The White Circle | Frank Cassilis | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1920 | The Great Redeemer | Undetermined role | Uncredited |
| 1920 | Deep Waters | Bill Lacey | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1921 | The Servant in the House | Percival | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1921 | Shame | William Fielding/David Field | |
| 1921 | Ladies Must Live | The Gardener | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1922 | Gleam O'Dawn | Gleam O'Dawn | |
| 1922 | Arabian Love | Norman Stone | |
| 1922 | The Yellow Stain | Donald Keith | |
| 1922 | Honor First | Jacques Dubois/Honoré Duboois | |
| 1922 | Monte Cristo | Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo | |
| 1922 | Calvert's Valley | Page Emlyn | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
| 1922 | The Love Gambler | Dick Manners | |
| 1922 | A California Romance | Don Patricio Fernando | |
| 1923 | While Paris Sleeps | Dennis O'Keefe | |
| 1923 | Truxton King | Truxton King | |
| 1923 | Madness of Youth | Jaca Javalie | |
| 1923 | St. Elmo | St. Elmo Thornton | |
| 1923 | The Exiles | Henry Holcombe | |
| 1923 | Cameo Kirby | Cameo Kirby | |
| 1924 | Just Off Broadway | Stephen Moore | |
| 1924 | The Wolf Man | Gerald Stanley | |
| 1924 | A Man's Mate | Paul | |
| 1924 | The Lone Chance | Jack Saunders | |
| 1924 | Romance Ranch | Carlos Brent | |
| 1924 | His Hour | Gritzko | |
| 1924 | Married Flirts | Guest at party | Cameo appearance |
| 1924 | He Who Gets Slapped | Bezano | |
| 1924 | The Snob | Eugene Curry | |
| 1924 | The Wife of the Centaur | Jeffrey Dwyer | |
| 1925 | The Merry Widow | Prince Danilo Petrovich | |
| 1925 | The Big Parade | James Apperson | |
| 1925 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | Crowd extra in chariot race | Cameo appearance Uncredited |
| 1926 | La Bohème | Rodolphe | |
| 1926 | Bardelys the Magnificent | Bardelys | |
| 1926 | Flesh and the Devil | Leo von Harden | |
| 1927 | The Show | Cock Robin | |
| 1927 | Twelve Miles Out | Jerry Fay | |
| 1927 | Man, Woman and Sin | Albert Whitcomb | |
| 1927 | Love | Captain Count Alexei Vronsky | |
| 1928 | The Cossacks | Lukashka | |
| 1928 | Four Walls | Benny Horowitz | |
| 1928 | Show People | Himself | Cameo appearance Uncredited |
| 1928 | The Masks of the Devil | Baron Reiner | |
| 1928 | A Woman of Affairs | Neville 'Nevs' Holderness | |
| 1929 | Desert Nights | Hugh Rand | Last silent film |
| 1929 | His Glorious Night | Captain Kovacs | Sound film debut |
| 1930 | Redemption | Fedya | |
| 1930 | Way for a Sailor | Jack | |
| 1931 | Gentleman's Fate | Giacomo Tomasulo/Jack Thomas | |
| 1931 | The Phantom of Paris | Chéri-Bibi | |
| 1931 | West of Broadway | Jerry Seevers | |
| 1932 | Downstairs | Karl Schneider | |
| 1933 | Fast Workers | Gunner Smith | |
| 1933 | Queen Christina | Antonio | |
| 1934 | The Captain Hates the Sea | Steve Bramley |
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Bangley, Jimmy (1999). “Interview with Leatrice Gilbert Fountain.”. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- DeBartolo, John (2001). “Man, Woman and Sin.” Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- Fountain, Leatrice Gilbert (1985). Dark Star: the untold story of the meteoric rise and fall of legendary silent screen star John Gilbert. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 0-312-18275-9.
- Golden Silents (2004). “John Gilbert, Silent and Sound Film Star, Actor, Director, Writer.” Retrieved May 5, 2005.
- LaSalle, Mick (2005). "Interview with Leatrice Gilbert Fountain".
- Lussier, Tim (2002). “Merry Widow” commentary. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- Marowitz, Charles (May 2001). “Silent Writes.” Written By.
- Silents Are Golden (2005). Cossacks, Flesh and the Devil, He Who Gets Slapped, His Hour, La Bohème, Love, Merry Widow, Show, Twelve Miles Out, Woman of Affairs. In “Vintage Reviews.” Retrieved May 6, 2005.
- Thompson, Dean (2004). “Woman of Affairs” Commentary. Retrieved May 6, 2005.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Gilbert (actor) |
- John Gilbert at AllRovi
- Sidereality review of “Gilbert and Garbo in Love” Book review/essay with considerable biographical material concerning John Gilbert. (As of April 16, 2010, only accessible through the Wayback Machine: [1])
- John Gilbert at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Marlene Dietrich's daughter mentioning Gilbert
- Photographs of John Gilbert
