Dear Reader #161

Dear Reader,

Some exciting news about Tula. The eBook version is now available to pre-order for the special price of £/$ 0.99. We’ll be doing a major promotional blitz on publication, and after that the price will go up. So, don’t delay, pre-order today 🙂

Chapters 16 – 19 of Tula. To enter an acting competition, Tula needs photographs of herself, but she can’t afford a professional photographer. Her father arranges a card game, and a con, to raise funds for the photographs.

📸 “I’ve Got Him Hooked!”, Colleen Moore, fishing, 1921. Taken by Frank B. Howe (no relation).

From the Lima News, Ohio, October 1928, Clara Bow in The Fleet’s In, a silent comedy. Clara played Trixie Deane, a ‘taxi dancer’. The movie was shot in San Pedro and San Francisco, June 18 – July 16, 1928, and released on September 15, 1928. Most 1920s movies were shot in a month.

The Syracuse Herald, 18 January 1931. A sensational trial that seriously damaged Clara Bow’s health and career. Clara’s secretary was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from her. Clara’s fans didn’t like any of it, and their ‘betrayal’ badly damaged her fragile self-esteem.

November 1924, Clara Bow, 19, second on the bill to Thunder the Marvel Dog in Black Lightning. Clara played Martha Larned, Thunder played himself. Later in her career, Clara wrestled with a huge dog in Call Her Savage. The dog was obviously well trained, but that scene took some courage.

“She was beautiful, but especially she was without mercy.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and the Damned, 1932.

In 1923, aged 18, Clara Bow appeared in Grit, a movie based on a story by Fitzgerald. Clara played Orchid McGonigle. As with all her movies, Clara stole the show.

Grit was Clara Bow’s fifth film. Based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Grit was filmed during June and July 1923 and released on January 7, 1924. A silent crime drama with a romantic subplot, Grit offered Clara a tomboy role, a role that, at that stage of her career, she excelled at. 

With no copies available from any archive, Grit is considered a lost film. In 1925 the British Board of Censors banned the movie for an undisclosed reason.

📸 Clara Bow in a still from Grit

Continuing my research into Eva Marie Saint’s ancestry using public records. I’m looking to answer two questions: was Eva’s talent the result of nurture, or nature? And why am I drawn to her as an actress? Can I find the answers to these questions in her roots?

Eva’s great grandfather was Jonathan Saint. This US Find a Grave Index links three generations of the family. I have no idea where this trail will lead, but so far it’s not going cold.

Jonathan E. Saint
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	3 Jan 1822
Birth Place:	Wayne County, Indiana, United States of America
Death Date:	18 Sep 1855
Death Place:	Henry County, Indiana, United States of America
Cemetery:	Greensboro Friends Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place:	Greensboro, Henry County, Indiana, United States of America
Has Bio?:	N
Father:	William Saint
Mother:	Ashah Saint
Spouse:	Emily Grace Johnson
Children:	Exelina Cain, Martha A Saint, John Quincy Saint, Mary Ella Baker

I discovered this Quaker marriage record for Jonathan Saint and Emily Grace Johnson, but no other details about the family’s Quaker connections. My next task is to see if I can learn more about the Saint’s association with the Quakers through Jonathan’s father, William.

Counter Gambit, Series 1, Episode 16 of The Rockford Files is a cool caper involving stolen pearls. This episode was written by Howard Berk and Juanita Bartlett. As the series progressed Roy Huggins’ (aka John Thomas James) influence as writer and producer faded. To fill the void the writing duties were shared by a network of writers.

In this episode, Eddie Fontaine made his third appearance as a villain, playing a different character each time. He would reappear as yet another villain in a later series.

The highlight of this episode is Stuart Margolin’s portrayal of Angel, his first appearance since the pilot episode. In total, Margolin portrayed Angel on 32 occasions, winning two Emmy Awards in the process. Rockford observes of Angel, “You make a great informer.” Angel’s response, “It’s a gift.”

Joe Santos also features as Sergeant Becker. The series is now taking shape and developing a pattern for future episodes. Interesting to note that another great TV series of this era, M*A*S*H, also took about sixteen episodes before the producers realised how best to portray their characters and the storylines that flowed from them.

Highest grossing film of 1921: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

A silent epic war film, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is widely regarded as the first true anti-war movie. The film catapulted Rudolph Valentino to superstardom. It also inspired a tango craze and a fashion for gaucho pants.

Based on a 1916 novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, the film-script was written by June Mathis. The movie’s success ensured that she became one of the most powerful women in 1920s Hollywood.

🖼 Lobby card for The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Clara Bow Quotes: “Sitting there alone in the darkened theatre, I studied the movements of my favourites. I did not know good acting from bad, but instinctively something within me revolted at portrayals which, to my mind, were off-key. Alone in my bedroom at night, I would re-act the portrayal, according to my own interpretation, in front of my mirror.”

When you get intertitles like this in silent movies, who needs talkies?

As ever, thank you for your interest and support.

Hannah xxx

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