John Gilbert (nacido John Cecil Pringle ; 10 de julio de 1897 [1] - 9 de enero de 1936) fue un actor, guionista y director estadounidense. Saltó a la fama durante la era del cine mudo y se convirtió en un popular protagonista conocido como "El gran amante". Su avance legendario llegó en 1925 con sus papeles protagónicos en The Merry Widow y The Big Parade . En el apogeo de su carrera, Gilbert rivalizó con Rudolph Valentino como un sorteo de taquilla. [2]
John Gilbert | |
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Nació | John Cecil Pringle 10 de julio de 1897 Logan, Utah , Estados Unidos |
Fallecido | 9 de enero de 1936 Bel Air, California , Estados Unidos | (38 años)
Lugar de descanso | Parque Memorial Forest Lawn, Glendale |
Nacionalidad | americano |
Otros nombres | Jack Gilbert |
Educación | Academia Militar de Hitchcock |
Ocupación |
|
Años activos | 1914-1934 |
Esposos) | Olivia Burwell ( m. 1918; div. 1921) |
Niños | 2 |
La carrera de Gilbert declinó precipitadamente cuando las imágenes mudas dieron paso a los sonoros. Aunque Gilbert fue citado a menudo como uno de los ejemplos de alto perfil de un actor que no tuvo éxito en hacer la transición a las películas sonoras, su declive como estrella tuvo mucho más que ver con la política del estudio y el dinero que con el sonido de su voz en la pantalla. , que era rico y distintivo. [3]
Vida temprana y trabajo escénico
Nacido como John Cecil Pringle en Logan, Utah , de padres actores de sociedades anónimas , John George Pringle (1865-1929) e Ida Adair Apperly Gilbert (1877-1913), luchó durante una infancia de abuso y negligencia, y su familia se mudó con frecuencia. y el joven "Jack" tuvo que asistir a diversas escuelas en todo Estados Unidos. Cuando su familia finalmente se estableció en California, asistió a la Academia Militar Hitchcock en San Rafael . [4] Después de dejar la escuela, Gilbert trabajó como vendedor de artículos de caucho en San Francisco, luego actuó con Baker Stock Company en Portland, Oregon, en 1914. [5] Posteriormente encontró trabajo al año siguiente como director de escena en otro sociedad anónima en Spokane, Washington, pero pronto perdió ese trabajo cuando la empresa cerró. [6]
Carrera cinematográfica
Después de perder su trabajo en el teatro en 1915, Gilbert decidió probar la actuación en la pantalla, y rápidamente consiguió trabajo como extra cinematográfico a través de Herschell Mayall. Gilbert apareció por primera vez en The Mother Instinct (1915), un corto dirigido por Wilfred Lucas . Luego encontró trabajo como extra con el Thomas Ince Studios en producciones tales como el cobarde (1915), Aloha Oe (1915), Civilización (1915), El último acto (1916), y William Hart 's bisagras del infierno (1916) . [6]
Compañía Kay-Bee
Durante sus primeros años en el cine, Gilbert también actuó en estrenos de Kay-Bee Company como Matrimony (1915), The Corner (1915), Eye of the Night (1916) y Bullets and Brown Eyes (1916). Su primer papel importante como coprotagonista fue Willie Hudson en El apóstol de la venganza , también con William S. Hart . [6] Visto por los ejecutivos del estudio como un actor prometedor pero aún "juvenil" en esta etapa de su carrera, el salario de Gilbert por contrato era de $ 40 a la semana ($ 940 hoy), un salario bastante amplio para la mayoría de los trabajadores estadounidenses a principios del siglo XX. [7] Gilbert continuó obteniendo papeles más importantes en Kay-Bee, que lo promocionó como "Jack Gilbert" en The Aryan (1916), The Phantom (1916), Shell 43 (1916), The Sin Ye Do (1917), El sexo débil (1917) y La novia del odio (1917). Su primer papel protagonista verdadero fue en Princess of the Dark (1917) con Enid Bennett , pero la película no fue un gran éxito y volvió a papeles secundarios en The Dark Road (1917), Happiness (1917), The Millionaire Vagrant ( 1917) y The Hater of Men (1917). [8]
Triangle Films y otros estudios
Gilbert se pasó a Triangle Films donde estuvo en The Mother Instinct (1917), Golden Rule Kate (1917), The Devil Dodger (1917) (segundo facturado), Up or Down? (1917) y Nancy Comes Home (1918). Para Paralta Plays, Gilbert hizo Shackled (1918), One Dollar Bid (1918) y Wedlock (1918) y More Trouble (1918) para Anderson, pero la empresa quebró. [7] También fue elegido para Doing Their Bit (1918) en Fox y luego regresó a Triangle for The Mask (1918). Gilbert también hizo Three X Gordon (1918) para Jesse Hampton, The Dawn of Understanding (1918), The White Heather (1919) para Maurice Tourneur , The Busher (1919) para Thomas Ince, The Man Beneath para Haworth, A Little Brother of the Rich (1919) para Universal, The Red Viper (1919) para Tyrad, For a Woman's Honor (1919) para Jess Hampton, Widow by Proxy (1919) para Paramount, Heart o 'the Hills (1919) para Mary Pickford , y ¿Debería decirlo una mujer? (1919) para Screen Classics. [9]
Actor, guionista y director de Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur le firmó un contrato para escribir y actuar en películas. Gilbert actuó y coescribió The White Circle (1920), The Great Redeemer (1921) y Deep Waters (1921). Solo como escritor, trabajó en The Bait (1921), protagonizada y producida por Hope Hampton. Para Hampton, Gilbert también escribió y dirigió, pero no apareció en Love's Penalty (1921).
Fox y el estrellato
En 1921, Gilbert firmó un contrato de tres años con Fox Film Corporation , que posteriormente lo eligió para papeles principales románticos y lo promovió ahora como "John Gilbert". El primer papel protagónico del actor en el estudio fue Shame (1921). [10] Lo siguió con papeles protagónicos en Arabian Love (1922), Gleam O'Dawn (1922), The Yellow Stain (1922), Honor First (1922), Monte Cristo (1922), Calvert's Valley (1922), The Love Gambler (1922) y A California Romance (1922). Muchos de los escenarios de estas películas fueron escritos por Jules Furthman .
Gilbert regresó temporalmente a Tourneur para coprotagonizar con Lon Chaney en While Paris Sleeps (1923). De vuelta en Fox, protagonizó Truxton King (1923), Madness of Youth (1923), St. Elmo (1923) y The Exiles (1923). El mismo año protagonizó Cameo Kirby (1923), dirigida por John Ford , coprotagonizada por Jean Arthur . Entró en El hombre lobo (1923) con Norma Shearer , no una película de terror, sino la historia de un hombre que cree haber asesinado al hermano de su prometida mientras estaba borracho. Gilbert también actuó en sus últimas películas para Fox en 1924, incluidas Just Off Broadway , A Man's Mate , The Lone Chance y Romance Ranch . [11]
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Bajo los auspicios del productor de películas Irving Thalberg , Gilbert obtuvo una exención de su contrato con Fox y se mudó a MGM , donde se convirtió en un elenco de estrellas de pleno derecho en grandes producciones. Protagonizada por primera vez en His Hour (1924), dirigida por King Vidor y escrita por Elinor Glyn, su carrera cinematográfica entró en auge. Siguió este éxito con He Who Gets Slapped (1924) coprotagonizada por Chaney y Shearer y dirigida por Victor Sjöström; The Snob (1924) con Shearer; La esposa del centauro (1924) para Vidor. [12]
El próximo año, Gilbert se estrella en dos de las producciones de MGM más aclamados y populares de la película de la era silenciosa: Erich von Stroheim 's The Merry Widow y King Vidor ' s El gran desfile . [13]
La viuda alegre (1925)
Gilbert fue asignado a la estrella en Erich von Stroheim 's The Merry Widow por Irving Thalberg , pese a las objeciones del director austriaco-estadounidense. Von Stroheim expresó su disgusto sin rodeos a su protagonista: "Gilbert, me veo obligado a usarte en mi foto. No te quiero, pero la decisión no estaba en mis manos. Te aseguro que haré todo lo que esté a mi alcance para hacerte sentir cómodo ". Gilbert, mortificado, pronto salió del plató con rabia, arrancándose el disfraz. Von Stroheim lo siguió a su camerino y se disculpó. Los dos acordaron compartir una copa. Luego Gilbert se disculpó y tomaron otra copa. La tempestad amainó y se resolvió amistosamente. Según Gilbert, los contratiempos sirvieron para "cimentar una relación que por mi parte no terminará nunca". [14]
La adulación pública que Gilbert experimentó con su creciente celebridad lo asombró: "En todas partes escucho susurros y jadeos en reconocimiento de mi presencia ... [todo] todo se volvió demasiado fantástico para que yo lo comprendiera. Actuando, lo mismo que había sido pelear y ridiculizarme durante siete años, me había traído éxito, riquezas y renombre. Era un gran artista cinematográfico. ¡Bueno, que me condenen! " [15]
The Big Parade (1925)
Gilbert was next cast by Thalberg to star in the King Vidor's war-romance The Big Parade (1925), which became the second-highest grossing silent film and the most profitable film of the silent era. Gilbert's "inspired performance" as an American doughboy in France during World War I was the high point of his acting career. He fully immersed himself in the role of Jim Apperson, a Southern gentleman who, with two working class comrades, experiences the horrors of trench warfare. Gilbert declared: "No love has ever enthralled me as did the making of this picture...All that has followed is balderdash."[16]
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 (1926) which also starred Lillian Gish. He then did another with Vidor, Bardelys the Magnificent (1926).
Greta Garbo
In 1926, Gilbert made Flesh and the Devil (1926), his first film with Greta Garbo. Gilbert first encountered Garbo on the set during filming of the railway station scene, and the chemistry between the two was evidently instantaneous. Director Clarence Brown remarked approvingly that he "had a love affair going for me that you couldn’t beat, any way you tried." Garbo and Gilbert soon began a highly publicized romance, much to the delight of their fans and to MGM.[17][18]
He made The Show (1927) with Adoree for Tod Browning then did Twelve Miles Out (1927) with Joan Crawford and Man, Woman and Sin (1927) with Jeanne Eagels.[19]
Gilbert was reunited with Garbo in a modern adaptation of Tolstoy's 19th-century novel, Anna Karenina. The title was changed to Love (1927) to capitalize on the real life love affair of the stars and advertised by MGM as "Garbo and Gilbert in Love."[20]
Gilbert made The Cossacks (1928) with Adoree; Four Walls (1928) with Crawford; Show People (1928) with Marion Davies for Vidor, in which Gilbert only had a cameo; and The Masks of the Devil (1928) for Victor Sjöström.
Though officially directed by Edmund Goulding, Gilbert, though uncredited, was responsible for directing the love scenes involving Garbo. He was perhaps the only person in the industry whose "artistic judgment" she fully respected. As such, MGM approved of this arrangement.[21]
Gilbert and Garbo were teamed for a third time in A Woman of Affairs (1928). His last silent film was Desert Nights (1929).
Sound Era
With the coming of sound, Gilbert's vocal talents made a good first impression, though the studio had failed to conduct a voice test. The conventional wisdom of the day dictated that actors in the new talkies should emulate "correct stage diction". Gilbert's strict adherence to this method produced an affected delivery that made audiences giggle, and not due to any particularity in Gilbert's natural speech. Indeed, the "quality of his voice compared well with that of co-star Conrad Nagel, regarded as having one of the best voices for sound."[22]
Gilbert signed an immensely lucrative multi-picture contract with MGM in 1928 that totaled $1,500,000. The terms of the agreement positioned MGM executives Irving Thalberg and Nicholas Schenck, both sympathetic to the star, to supervise his career.[23] Gilbert, however, frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. Mayer over creative, social and financial matters. A confrontation between the two men, one that became physical, occurred at the planned double-wedding of Garbo and Gilbert and director King Vidor and actress Eleanor Boardman. Mayer reportedly made a crude remark to Gilbert about Garbo, and Gilbert reacted by knocking Mayer to the floor with his fist.[24] While this story has been disputed or dismissed as hearsay by some historians, Vidor's bride Eleanor Boardman insisted that she actually witnessed the altercation.[25]
In the all-star musical comedy The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929), Gilbert and Norma Shearer played the balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, first as written, then followed with a slang rendition of the scene. The comic effect served to "dispell the bad impression" produced by Gilbert's original "mincing" delivery.[26]
His Glorious Night
Audiences awaited further romantic roles from Gilbert on the talking screen. The next vehicle was the Ruritanian romance His Glorious Night (1929), directed by Lionel Barrymore. According to reviewers, audiences laughed nervously at Gilbert's performance. The offense was not Gilbert's voice, but the awkward scenario along with the overly ardent love scenes. In one, Gilbert keeps kissing his leading lady, (Catherine Dale Owen), while saying "I love you" over and over again. (The scene was parodied in the MGM musical Singin' in the Rain (1952) in which a preview of the fictional The Dueling Cavalier flops disastrously.)
Director King Vidor speculated that the late Rudolph Valentino, Gilbert's main rival for romantic leads in the silent era, probably would have suffered the same fate in the talkie era had he lived. Gilbert's inept phrasing, his "dreadful enunciation" and the "inane" script as the genuine sources of his poor performance, that drew "titters" from audiences.[27]
The "Squeaky Voice" Myth
The persistent myth that John Gilbert had a "squeaky voice"[28] that doomed his career in sound films first emerged from his performance in 1929 with His Glorious Night. It was even rumored that Louis B. Mayer ordered Gilbert's voice to be gelded by manipulating the sound track to give it a higher, less masculine pitch.[29] Later, after analyzing the film's sound track, British film historian Kevin Brownlow found that the timbre and frequency of Gilbert's speaking scenes in His Glorious Night were no different than in his subsequent talkies. Brownlow also reported from that analysis that Gilbert's voice, overall, was "quite low". With regard to the alleged manipulation of Gilbert's footage by Mayer or by anyone else, television technicians in the 1960s determined that the actor's voice was consistent with those of other performers on the same print, casting doubt that any targeted "sabotaging" of Gilbert's voice occurred.[30]
Film critic John Baxter described Gilbert as having "a light speaking voice", a minor defect that both MGM and the star "magnified into an obsession."[31][32] Despite any conflicting opinions or myths surrounding the actor's voice, Mayer's lingering resentment and hostility toward Gilbert remained apparent, especially after MGM's star signed a new contract for six pictures at $250,000 each. Those ill feelings fueled additional speculation that Mayer deliberately assigned Gilbert bad scripts and ineffective directors in an effort to void the contract.[33]
Decline
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Gilbert in a film adaption of The Living Corpse by Tolstoy re-titled as Redemption (1929). The bleak atmosphere and maudlin dialogue presaged the disaster looming in the stars’ personal life and career. Gilbert's confident screen presence had vanished, while his use of the exaggerated stage diction that elicited laughs from the audience persisted. In one scene Gilbert declares ominously "I’m going to kill myself to let the whole world know what it has lost."[34]
MGM put him in a more rugged film, Way for a Sailor (1930) with Wallace Beery. He followed it with Gentleman's Fate (1931). Gilbert became increasingly depressed by progressively inferior films and idle stretches between productions. Despite efforts by studio executives at MGM to cancel his contract, Gilbert resolved to thwart Louis B. Mayer and see the six-picture ordeal through to the end.[35]
Gilbert's fortunes were temporarily restored when MGM's production chief Irving Thalberg gave him 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 failed to revive his career. In between, he appeared in West of Broadway (1931). Shortly after making Downstairs, he married co-star Virginia Bruce; the couple divorced in 1934.
Gilbert fulfilled his contract with MGM with a perfunctory "B" picture – Fast Workers (1933) directed by Browning. He left the studio in 1933, terminating his $10,000 a week contract.
Exhausted and demoralized by his humiliations at MGM and his declining success at the box office, Gilbert began to drink heavily, contributing to his declining physical and mental health.[36]
Queen Christina (1933)
Gilbert announced his retirement from acting and was working at Fox as an "honorary" director when, in August 1933, Gilbert announced he had signed a seven-year contract with MGM at $75–100,000 a picture.[37] The reason was Greta Garbo insisted that Gilbert 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. Queen Christina, though a critical success, did not revive Gilbert's poor self-image or his career.[38][39] Garbo was reported to have dropped the young Laurence Olivier scheduled to play the part, but director Rouben Mamoulian recalled that Olivier's screen tests had already eliminated him from consideration.[40]
Columbia Pictures gave Gilbert what would be his final chance for a comeback in The Captain Hates the Sea (1934) in which he gave a capable performance as "a dissipated, bitter [and] cynical" playwright. But the off-screen cast of heavy drinkers encouraged his alcoholism. It was his last film.[41]
Biographer Kevin Brownlow's eulogy to John Gilbert considers the destruction of both the man and his career:
"The career of John Gilbert indicates that the star, and the person playing the star, were regarded by producers as separate entities, subject to totally different attitudes. Gilbert, as an ordinary human being, had no legal right to the stardom that was the sole property of the studio. When Gilbert, as an employee, tried to seize control of the future of Gilbert the star, the studios decided to save their investment from falling into the hands of rivals, [so] they had to wreck their property. Other properties – books, films, sets – could be destroyed with impunity. But the destruction of a star carried with it the destruction of a person…it seems somewhat abhorrent that it took such tragedies as that of John Gilbert to bring us our entertainment."[42]
Vida personal
Gilbert was married four times. His first marriage, on August 26, 1918, was to Olivia Burwell, a native of Mississippi whom Gilbert had met after her family moved to California. They separated the following year and Burwell returned to Mississippi for a while. She filed for divorce in Los Angeles in 1921.[43]
In February 1921, Gilbert announced his engagement to actress Leatrice Joy. They married in Tijuana in November 1921.[44] As Gilbert had failed to secure a divorce from his first wife and the legality of Gilbert and Joy's Mexican marriage was questionable, the couple separated and had the marriage annulled to avoid a scandal.[45] They remarried on March 3, 1922. The marriage was tumultuous and, in June 1923, Joy filed for legal separation after she claimed that Gilbert slapped her face after a night of heavy drinking. They reconciled several months later. In August 1924, Joy, who was pregnant with the couple's daughter, filed for divorce.[46] Joy later said she left Gilbert after discovering he was having an affair with actress Laurette Taylor.[47] Joy also claimed that Gilbert had conducted affairs with Barbara La Marr (with whom he had a romance before his marriage to Joy), Lila Lee and Bebe Daniels.[48] Gilbert and Joy had a daughter, Leatrice Gilbert (later Fountain; September 4, 1924 – January 20, 2015).[49][50][51] Joy was granted a divorce in May 1925.[52]
In 1929, Gilbert eloped with actress Ina Claire to Las Vegas.[53] They separated in February 1931 and divorced six months later.[54][55] Gilbert's fourth and final marriage was on August 10, 1932, to actress Virginia Bruce, who had recently costarred with him on the MGM film Downstairs.[56][57] The entertainment trade paper The Film Daily reported that their "quick" wedding was held in Gilbert's dressing room on the MGM lot while Bruce was working on another studio production, Kongo.[58] Among the people attending the small ceremony were the head of MGM production Irving Thalberg, who served as Gilbert's best man; screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart, whose wife Beatrice acted as Bruce's matron of honor; MGM art director and set designer Cedric Gibbons; and his wife, actress Dolores del Río.[58] Bruce retired briefly from acting following the birth of their daughter Susan Ann; however, she resumed her career after her divorce from Gilbert in May 1934.[59][60]
Before his death, Gilbert dated actress Marlene Dietrich from 1935 until his death in 1936 as well as Greta Garbo from 1926 to 1927.[61] When he died, he had recently been slated to play a prominent supporting role in Dietrich's film Desire.[62]
Muerte
By 1934, alcoholism had severely damaged Gilbert's health. He suffered a serious heart attack in December 1935, which left him in poor health.[63] Gilbert suffered a second heart attack at his Bel Air home on January 9, 1936, which was fatal.[64]
A private funeral was held on January 11 at the B.E. Mortuary in Beverly Hills. Among the mourners were Gilbert's two ex-wives, Leatrice Joy and Virginia Bruce, his two daughters, and stars Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Myrna Loy, and Raquel Torres.[65][66]
Gilbert was cremated and his ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale in Glendale, California.[67][68]
Gilbert left the bulk of his estate, valued at $363,494 (equivalent to $6.7 million in 2019), to his last ex-wife Virginia Bruce and their daughter, Susan Ann. He left $10,000 to his eldest daughter Leatrice, and other amounts to friends, relatives and his servants.[69][70]
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1755 Vine Street.[71] In 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Filmografia
Year | Films | 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 Heather | Dick 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 Writer |
1920 | The Great Redeemer | Undetermined role | Uncredited Adaptation |
1920 | Deep Waters | Bill Lacey | Credited as Jack Gilbert Writer |
1921 | The Servant in the House | Percival | Credited as Jack Gilbert |
1921 | The Bait | Lost film Writer | |
1921 | Love's Penalty | Writer, director, editor | |
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 | Lost film |
1923 | The Exiles | Henry Holcombe | |
1923 | Cameo Kirby | Cameo Kirby | |
1924 | Just Off Broadway | Stephen Moore | |
1924 | The Wolf Man | Gerald Stanley | Lost film |
1924 | A Man's Mate | Paul | |
1924 | The Lone Chance | Jack Saunders | Lost film |
1924 | Romance Ranch | Carlos Brent | |
1924 | His Hour | Gritzko | |
1924 | Married Flirts | Guest at party | Cameo appearance Lost film |
1924 | He Who Gets Slapped | Bezano | |
1924 | The Snob | Eugene Curry | Lost film |
1924 | The Wife of the Centaur | Jeffrey Dwyer | Lost film |
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 | 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 | Director (Uncredited) |
1928 | The Cossacks | Lukashka | |
1928 | Four Walls | Benny Horowitz | Lost film |
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 |
1929 | The Hollywood Revue of 1929 | Himself | |
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 | Story |
1933 | Fast Workers | Gunner Smith | |
1933 | Queen Christina | Antonio | |
1934 | The Captain Hates the Sea | Steve Bramley |
En la cultura popular
John Gilbert is the subject of a mini-documentary film called Rediscovering John Gilbert (2010) featuring an on-camera interview with John Gilbert's daughter and biographer, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain. The short film, directed and produced by film historian Jeffrey Vance, has aired on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel and is also available on DVD from home video distributor Flicker Alley.[72]
Fictional portrayals
Gilbert has been portrayed in several films. Barry Bostwick appeared as the actor in the television film The Silent Lovers first shown in 1980. He has also been portrayed by his grandson, John Fountain, in Sunset (1988), Christopher Renstrom in La Divina (1989), and Adnan Taletovich in Return to Babylon (2012).
Notas al pie
- ^ LaSalle, Mick (6 July 2005). "Saved from ignominy: His daughter's stubborn campaign put unfairly maligned actor John Gilbert back in the pantheon of silent film stars -- where he's always belonged". SF Gate. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ Koszarski, 1983: p. 150: "cemented John Gilbert's reputation as a romantic hero."
Brownlow, 1979. p. 192: Gilbert "inherited the title of The Great Lover...after the death of Valentino." And: "The Merry Widow made John Gilbert famous" and he "soared to fame" in The Big Parade, in which "he gave a performance that ranks as one of the finest of the entire silent period." - ^ Brownlow, 1979. p. 192: Gilbert "experienced a humiliating plunge from popularity." and p. 193: Brownlow reports that Gilbert's sound recordings for His Glorious Night was marred by his "dreadful enunciation" of his lines, a matter of that could have been corrected with elocution coaching and a better script, and not his natural voice which "was quite low" and p. 202: "the quality of [Gilbert's]...compared well with that of co-star Conrad Nagel, regarded as having one of the best voices for sound." And see p. 194: Gilbert refused to walk out on his MGM contract despite "harassment" and was "no longer on speaking terms with Louis B. Mayer." Gilbert was "subjected to one poor picture after another" and suffered "attempts at [his] humiliation, aimed at forcing him to quit" so as to breach his lucrative contract.
- ^ "John Gilbert, Film Actor, Dies of Heart Attack". Reading Eagle. January 9, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ "Tickled a Mean Guitar". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. September 10, 1923. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "John Gilbert Is Dead at 38; Forgotten by Four Ex-Wives: Only Firemen, Nurse and Doctor at Deathbed; Screen Idol Declared Love for Garbo Most Real Thing in His Life. John Gilbert Dead at 38". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 10 Jan 1936. p. 1.
- ^ a b "JOHN GILBERT, DASHING LOVER OF FILMS, DIES: Heart Attack Is Fatal to 38 Year Old Actor". Chicago Daily Tribune. 10 Jan 1936. p. 3.
- ^ "NOTED SCREEN ACTOR: John Gilbert's Sudden Death "THE PERFECT LOVER"". The Scotsman. 10 Jan 1936. p. 11.
- ^ Golden, Eve (2013). John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars. University Press of Kentucky. p. 45. ISBN 0-8131-4162-1.
- ^ Schallert, Edwin (1 June 1921). "RADIOS.: ANOTHER STAR GLEAMS. GILBERT SAID TO HAVE WON THAT HONOR WITH FOX". Los Angeles Times. p. III4.
- ^ "JOHN GILBERT: Whom You Can Now See in "A California Romance"". Picture Show. 10 (248). London. Jan 26, 1924. p. 7.
- ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 192: "At once [Gilbert's] fortunes improved" upon working with Thalberg.
- ^ Koszarski, 1983, p. 150: Director Stroheim's Merry Widow his "greatest critical and popular success."
Phillips, 2009: "[The Big Parade] was also the most profitable silent-era feature and remained MGM's most successful film until Gone with the Wind in 1939. In some American cities it screened for more than a year."
Silver, 2010: "...it is arguably Vidor's finest achievement." - ^ Brownlow 1979. p. 192: Brownlow is apparently quoting Gilbert from an interview or memoir of the incident.
- ^ Koszarski, 1983 p. 150: "cemented John Gilbert's reputation as a romantic hero."
Brownlow, 1979, p. 192: Brownlow quoting from an interview or memoir by Gilbert, no date. Also p. 196: The film brought Gilbert "international renown." - ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 192-193: "Gilbert gave a performance that ranks as one of the finest of the entire silent period" And: "Gilbert was playing a part he never played before", Vidor said. "He never had dirty fingernails before, and he’d never done a part without makeup before. Then he found that he liked it."
- ^ "Brownlow, 1979, p 198-199: See photo from set, with Garbo/Gilbert embracing".
- ^ "DEATH CALLS TO GILBERT, SCREEN STAR: Actor Dies After Heart Attack Great Lover of Films, Figure in Real Life Romances, Rose From Extra Ranks". Los Angeles Times. 10 Jan 1936. p. 1.
- ^ "JOHN GILBERT WON SPURS". Los Angeles Times. 10 Mar 1927. p. A11.
- ^ Baxter 1970 p. 25: Love (originally titled Anna Karenina) of 1927 should not be confused with director Clarence Brown's Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo.
- ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 201: Garbo "looked for approval from Gilbert after every scene. If he failed to nod, Garbo refused to continue, so MGM found it simpler to let Gilbert direct...over half the production."
- ^ Brownlow, 1979, p, 193: "no provision for a voice test in his contract" and p. 202: "The obsession in those early days of sound was with 'pear-shaped tones' admired in stage acting."
- ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 193: Gilbert's contract "a staggering fee" and "Schenck had his own private feud with Mayer" and the contract provided Gilbert "protection…from the vindictiveness of Mayer…[the lucrative contract] was a severe blow to Mayer's prestige...an act that he could not forgive."
- ^ Brownlow, 1979. p. 193: Brownlow confirms that Vidor and Gilbert "agreed to make it a double wedding" but Garbo failed to show. Brownlow provides some testimony from Boardman. See p. 200, wedding photo (without Garbo) is reproduced.
- ^ Brownlow, 1979. p. 193: Brownlow confirms that Vidor and Gilbert "agreed to make it a double wedding" but Garbo failed to show. Brownlow provides some testimony from Boardman. See p. 200, wedding photo (without Garbo) is reproduced.) Brownlow reports that Eleanor Boardman was present at the Mayer/Gilbert altercation, quoting Boardman: "Gilbert was getting very nervous...[and] violent" when Garbo failed to appear, she reports that Mayer advised Gilbert to "'sleep with [Garbo], don’t marry her'...Gilbert socked him, and knocked him down and [Mayer] hit his head on the tile. And that was really the beginning of the end of Gilbert's career." Lautrice Gilbert Fountain, Gilbert's daughter, is quoted by Brownlow: "After Jack had knocked [Mayer] down and drawn blood, Mayer said 'I’ll destroy you'."
- ^ Brownlow, 1979 p. 193: Gilbert's vocal delivery elicited "no complaints from the public...fortunately the scene was delivered in slang and the burlesque wiped out the bad impression" One review noted that Gilbert's speech was "too mincing and affected for words."
- ^ Brownlow, 1979. p. 193: Brownlow quotes from a contemporary Variety magazine review of the film, which pans Gilbert's performance. "When audiences saw and heard Gilbert in a serious love scene, they killed his career with laughter".
- ^ Brownlow, 1979, p. 193: "The [erroneous] idea that Gilbert had a squeaky voice has persisted for years."
- ^ Brownlow 1979 p. 193: "One theory suggests that [Gilbert] was sabotaged by a bad recording." Brownlow, however makes no reference to "gelding"'.
- ^ Brownlow, 1979 p. 192-194
- ^ Baxter, 1976 p. 28-29
- ^ "John Gilbert, the silent era's talk of the town". Los Angeles Times. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ Laurier, 2012: Gilbert "famously failed to make the transition to talking films, in large part as the result of studio connivance."
- ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 202: Gilbert's "whole demeanor had changed….[his confidence] evaporated." Gilbert's use of "proper stage diction" reflects the early industry "obsession" with stage elocution. And "with hindsight, one realizes that [Gilbert] was not acting at all" but predicting his own tragic fate.
- ^ Brownlow, 1979. p. 194: Gilbert refused to walk out on his MGM contract despite "harassment" and was "no longer on speaking terms with Louis B, Mayer." Gilbert was "subjected to one poor picture after another" and suffered "attempts at [his] humiliation, aimed at forcing him to quit" so as to breach his lucrative contract.
- ^ Baxter 1976, p. 28-29: "Despite efforts of many close friends...Gilbert destroyed himself with drink and melancholy."
Brownlow, 1979 p. 194: By the end of his contract with MGM "Gilbert was drinking very heavily." Quoting Sam Marx: "I think Gilbert was his own most destructive enemy...He took to drinking very heavily and sort of willed himself to die." And "the attempts at humiliation…" by MGM executives." - ^ "John Gilbert Signs Seven Year Contract as Actor for M-G-M". Chicago Daily Tribune. 11 Aug 1933. p. 21.
- ^ "Baxter 1970, p. 61-62: Gilbert "not especially good as the male lead, but works competently in a difficult part."".
- ^ "John Gilbert Wants Contract Interpreted". The Washington Post. 6 Dec 1933. p. 8.
- ^ Baxter 1970 p. 62: The story that Olivier was dropped "on Garbo's orders" is unlikely. Director Mamoulian, is reported have thought the "inexperienced" actor was "unsuitable" for the role, based on screen tests.
Brownlow 1979, p. 194: "An outstandingly brave decision" on Garbo's part, and "a generosity rare in the film industry." - ^ Brownlow, 1979 p. 194
- ^ Brownlow 1979, p. 194: Brownlow offers a striking metaphor of the studio system, where Louis B. Mayer is a scrap-yard owner, capable of "wrecking cars with the drivers still at the wheel."
- ^ Golden, 2013. pp.38, 43, 60
- ^ Golden, 2013. pp. 54, 56
- ^ Golden, 2013. p. 60
- ^ "Leatrice Joy Asks Divorce". The Telegraph-Herald. August 13, 1924. p. 22. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ Golden, 2013. pp. 85–86
- ^ Golden, 2013. p. 57
- ^ Golden, 2013. p. 86
- ^ "Leatrice Fountain's Obituary on GreenwichTime". GreenwichTime. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "Leatrice Gilbert Fountain (1924–2015): Daughter of Hollywood Legends". 25 January 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ "FILM STAR GIVEN DIVORCE". The Los Angeles Times. May 29, 1925. p. A8.
- ^ Monahan, Kaspar (July 12, 1933). "Hollywood's Shattered Romances". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 19. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "John Gilbert, Ina Claire Agree to Separate". Rochester Evening Journal and the Post Express. February 14, 1931. p. 7. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "Films Actress Given Divorce From Gilbert". St. Petersburg Times. August 5, 1931. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "John Gilbert Is Wed and Filming Resumed". San Jose News. August 11, 1932. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ "Here's Proof John Gilbert Is Screen's Great Lover". Syracuse Herald. New York. August 11, 1932. p. 12. Retrieved August 19, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "GILBERT'S QUICK MARRIAGE", news item, The Film Daily [New York (West Coast Bureau)], August 12, 1932, page 4. Internet Archive, San Francisco. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ "Fourth Divorce for John Gilbert of Films". The Southeast Missourian. May 26, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "COURT GIVES DIVORCE TO MRS. JOHN GILBERT: Virginia Bruce, Former Stage Beauty, Is Fourth Wife to Quit the Actor". The New York Times. 26 May 1934. p. 12.
- ^ "Olivia Burwell". The Palm Beach Post. January 10, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ Mark Deming (2007). "Desire (1936)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "John Gilbert, Screen Lover, Dies Suddenly in Sleep". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 10, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ Gelb, Barbara (21 April 1985). "Loved by Garbo and Deitrich". The New York Times.
- ^ "Pay Final Honor To Actor". San Jose News. January 11, 1936. p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "SERVICE FOR JOHN GILBERT: Two Former Wives Attend Funeral of Actor in Beverly Hills". New York Times. Jan 12, 1936. p. N10.
- ^ "Marlene Is Witness at Gilbert Cremation". The Milwaukee Journal. February 16, 1936. p. 8. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ Boyd, Hal (June 27, 1947). "Forest Lawn Cemetery Is One Of Glendale's Big Industries; Great of Film World Lie Here". San Jose News. p. 7. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "Gilbert's Estate Set at $363,494". The Milwaukee Journal. January 28, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ "ESTATE OF JOHN GILBERT DISCLOSED TO BE $363,494". Los Angeles Times. Jan 28, 1936. p. A1.
- ^ "John Gilbert – Hollywood Walk of Fame". www.walkoffame.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
- ^ Rediscovering John Gilbert at IMDb
Fuentes
- Baxter, John. 1970. Hollywood in the Thirties. International Film Guide Series. Paperback Library, New York. LOC Card Number 68–24003.
- Baxter, John. 1976. King Vidor. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Monarch Film Studies. LOC Card Number 75–23544.
- Brownlow, Kevin and Kobal, John. 1979. Hollywood: The Pioneers. Alfred A. Knopf Inc. A Borzoi Book, New York. ISBN 0-394-50851-3
- Koszarski, Richard. 1983. The Man You Loved to Hate: Erich von Stroheim and Hollywood. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-503239-X
- Laurier, Joanne. 2011. The Artist: An amiable gimmick. The World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 26 May 2020. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/01/arti-j07.html
- Phillips, Richard. 2009. Several movies well worth revisiting: Sydney Film Festival 2009. World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 24 May 2020.https://www.wsws.or g/en/articles/2009/07/sff5-j17.html
- Reinhardt, Bernd. 2020. Rediscovering Hallelujah (1929), director King Vidor's sensitive film with all-black cast: 70th Berlin International Film Festival. World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 24 May 2020. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/04/07/ber2-a07.html
enlaces externos
- John Gilbert at IMDb
- John Gilbert at AllMovie
- Interview with Marlene Dietrich's daughter mentioning Gilbert
- Photographs of John Gilbert
- Sidereality review of "Gilbert and Garbo in Love" Book review/essay with considerable biographical material concerning John Gilbert
- John Gilbert at Find a Grave