Florence Turner
Encyclopedia
Florence Turner was an American actress, who became known as the "Vitagraph Girl" in early silent film
s.
Born in New York City
, she was pushed into appearing on the stage at age three by her ambitious mother. Turner became a regular performer in a variety of productions.
In 1906, she joined the fledgling motion picture
business, signing with the pioneering Vitagraph
Studios
. Turner made her debut in Cast Up by the Sea (1907).
At the time, there were no stars
, unless an already famous stage star made a movie. Performers were not even mentioned by name. Long, drawn out screen credits were not thought of. There was nothing but the name of the company and the picture. As the content of movies evolved from simple incidents, or situations, into definite stories, some of the heroes and heroines were conceded a vague identity, such as the "Edison Girl", etc.
Though she was known only as the "Vitagraph Girl" in the early motion picture shorts, Turner became the most popular American actress to appear on screen (at that time still dominated by French pictures, especially from the Pathe and Gaumont companies). Her worth to the studio, as its biggest box-office draw, was recognised in 1907 when her pay was upped to $22 a week, as proto-star plus part-time seamstress. It was somewhat less than the male leading players, especially those with stage experience, particularly the super-popular Maurice Costello
. In March 1910, she and Florence Lawrence
became the first screen actors not already famous in another medium to be publicized by name by their studios to the general public.
Later that year, Florence was paired several times opposite heartthrob Wallace Reid
, on his way to stardom. But with the rise of more stars such as Gene Gauntier
and Marin Sais
at Kalem Studios, Marion Leonard
and Mary Pickford
at Biograph Studios
, and Florence Lawrence
(Biograph, moving to IMP
in 1910), Florence Turner was no longer quite as special. By 1913, she was looking for new pastures and left the United States
accompanied by longtime friend Laurence Trimble
, who directed her in a number of movies. They moved to England
, where she and Larry began performing together in London
music hall
s.
She sometimes wrote screenplay
s and directed her own movies, including a number of comedies. She also organized her own production company, Turner Films, for which she made more than thirty shorts.
Turner entertained Allied troops during World War I
. She returned to the U.S. after the Armistice
, but was not as successful as before. In 1920, she again went to England, where she remained until moving to Hollywood, virtually forgotten, in 1924.
By then, she was thirty-nine years of age and her starring days were long behind her. She continued to act in supporting roles into the 1930s.
In 1928, she acted in a minor role on Broadway
in Sign of the Leopard, which ran for thirty-nine performances. Turner was placed on the payroll at MGM
by Louis B. Mayer
in the 1930s, but was limited in the assignments offered. She mostly played bit or small parts and worked as an extra.
She later moved to the Motion Picture Country House
, a retirement community for the industry in Woodland Hills, California.
After appearing in more than 160 motion pictures, Florence Turner died at 61 in Woodland Hills. She was cremated at a mortuary in Hollywood and, at her request, there was no funeral service. She was buried at Chapel of the Pines Crematory
.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, she was pushed into appearing on the stage at age three by her ambitious mother. Turner became a regular performer in a variety of productions.
In 1906, she joined the fledgling motion picture
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
business, signing with the pioneering Vitagraph
Vitagraph Studios
American Vitagraph was a United States movie studio, founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. By 1907 it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros...
Studios
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
. Turner made her debut in Cast Up by the Sea (1907).
At the time, there were no stars
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
, unless an already famous stage star made a movie. Performers were not even mentioned by name. Long, drawn out screen credits were not thought of. There was nothing but the name of the company and the picture. As the content of movies evolved from simple incidents, or situations, into definite stories, some of the heroes and heroines were conceded a vague identity, such as the "Edison Girl", etc.
Though she was known only as the "Vitagraph Girl" in the early motion picture shorts, Turner became the most popular American actress to appear on screen (at that time still dominated by French pictures, especially from the Pathe and Gaumont companies). Her worth to the studio, as its biggest box-office draw, was recognised in 1907 when her pay was upped to $22 a week, as proto-star plus part-time seamstress. It was somewhat less than the male leading players, especially those with stage experience, particularly the super-popular Maurice Costello
Maurice Costello
Maurice Costello was a prominent vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s, who later played a principal role in early American films, as both a leading man, supporting player and a director....
. In March 1910, she and Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
became the first screen actors not already famous in another medium to be publicized by name by their studios to the general public.
Later that year, Florence was paired several times opposite heartthrob Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid
Wallace Reid was an actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover".-Early life:Born William Wallace Reid in St...
, on his way to stardom. But with the rise of more stars such as Gene Gauntier
Gene Gauntier
Gene Gauntier was an American screenwriter and actress who was one of the pioneers of the motion picture industry. A writer, director and actress in films from early 1906 to 1920, she wrote screenplays for 31 films...
and Marin Sais
Marin Sais
Marin Sais was an American motion picture actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s...
at Kalem Studios, Marion Leonard
Marion Leonard
Marion Leonard was an American stage actress who became one of first motion picture celebrities in the early years of the silent film era. -Early career:...
and Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios
Biograph Studios was a studio facility and film laboratory complex built in 1912 by the Biograph Company, formerly American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, at 807 E. 175th Street, in the Bronx, New York....
, and Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
(Biograph, moving to IMP
Independent Moving Pictures
The Independent Moving Pictures Company was a movie studio/production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle, and was located at Eleventh Avenue and 53rd Street New York City, and in Fort Lee, New Jersey....
in 1910), Florence Turner was no longer quite as special. By 1913, she was looking for new pastures and left the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
accompanied by longtime friend Laurence Trimble
Laurence Trimble
Laurence Trimble was an American silent film actor, writer and director. Trimble began his career as an actor in the 1910 silent Saved by the Flag. He made 100 silent films between 1908 and 1926...
, who directed her in a number of movies. They moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where she and Larry began performing together in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s.
She sometimes wrote screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s and directed her own movies, including a number of comedies. She also organized her own production company, Turner Films, for which she made more than thirty shorts.
Turner entertained Allied troops during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She returned to the U.S. after the Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, but was not as successful as before. In 1920, she again went to England, where she remained until moving to Hollywood, virtually forgotten, in 1924.
By then, she was thirty-nine years of age and her starring days were long behind her. She continued to act in supporting roles into the 1930s.
In 1928, she acted in a minor role on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in Sign of the Leopard, which ran for thirty-nine performances. Turner was placed on the payroll at MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
by Louis B. Mayer
Louis B. Mayer
Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
in the 1930s, but was limited in the assignments offered. She mostly played bit or small parts and worked as an extra.
She later moved to the Motion Picture Country House
Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital
The Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital is a retirement community, with individual cottages, and a fully licensed, acute-care hospital, located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, California...
, a retirement community for the industry in Woodland Hills, California.
After appearing in more than 160 motion pictures, Florence Turner died at 61 in Woodland Hills. She was cremated at a mortuary in Hollywood and, at her request, there was no funeral service. She was buried at Chapel of the Pines Crematory
Chapel of the Pines Crematory
Chapel of the Pines Crematory is a crematory and columbarium located at 1605 South Catalina Street Los Angeles, California, in the historic West Adams District a short distance southwest of Downtown...
.
Filmography
- Athletic American Girls (1907)
- Bargain Fiend; or, Shopping à la Mode (1907)
- Cast Up by the Sea (1907)
- How to Cure a Cold (1907)
- The Gypsy's Warning (1907)
- An Unexpected Santa Claus (1908)
- Ex-Convict No. 900 (1908)
- Francesca di Rimini; or, The Two Brothers (1908)
- MacbethMacbeth (1908 film)Macbeth is a silent 1908 film directed by James Stuart Blackton based on the William Shakespeare play of the same name. It is the earliest known film version of that play...
(1908) - Richard III (1908)
- Romance of a War Nurse (1908)
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (1908 film)The first ever American film version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was a silent film short made in 1908 made by Vitagraph Studios. Directed by J. Stuart Blackton, it was filmed in Central Park in Manhattan, New York....
(1908) - Saved by Love (1908)
- The Merchant of Venice (1908)
- A Daughter of the Sun (1909)
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream (1909 film)A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1909 film directed by Charles Kent and starring Walter Ackerman and Charles Chapman. This is the first film version of the classic play by William Shakespeare.-Plot synopsis:...
(1909) - Fuss and Feathers (1909)
- Kenilworth (1909)
- King Lear (1909)
- Launcelot and Elaine (1909)
- The Heart of a Clown (1909)
- A Dixie Mother (1910)
- A Pair of Schemers; or, My Wife and My Uncle (1910)
- A Tin-Type Romance (1910)
- Auld Robin Gray (1910)
- Back to Nature; or, The Best Man Wins (1910)
- Brother Man (1910)
- Davy Jones and Captain Bragg (1910)
- For Her Sister's Sake (1910)
- Francesca da Rimini (1910)
- Her Mother's Wedding Gown (1910)
- In the Mountains of Kentucky (1910)
- Jean Goes Fishing (1910)
- Jean, the Matchmaker (1910)
- Love, Luck and Gasoline (1910)
- Over the Garden Wall (1910)
- Peg Woffington (1910)
- Ranson's Folly (1910)
- Renunciation (1910)
- Rose Leaves (1910)
- Sisters (1910)
- St. Elmo (1910)
- The Winning of Miss Langdon (1910)
- Twelfth Night (1910)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910)
- Wilson's Wife's Countenance (1910)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1911)
- Auld Lang SyneAuld Lang Syne (film)Auld Lang Syne is a 1929 British musical film directed by George Pearson and starring Harry Lauder, Dorothy Boyd and Patrick Aherne. It was originally made as a silent film, but in September 1929 sound was added.-Cast:* Harry Lauder - Sandy McTavish...
(1911) - Birds of a Feather (1911)
- Captain Barnacle's Courtship (1911)
- Cherry Blossoms (1911)
- For His Sake; or, The Winning of the Stepchildren (1911)
- Forgotten; or, An Answered Prayer (1911)
- Hypnotizing the Hypnotist (1911)
- Intrepid Davy (1911)
- Jealousy (1911)
- Jean Rescues (1911)
- One Touch of Nature (1911)
- Prejudice of Pierre Marie (1911)
- Proving His Love; or, The Ruse of a Beautiful Woman (1911)
- The Answer of the Roses (1911)
- The New Stenographer (1911)
- The Sacrifice (1911)
- The Show Girl (1911)
- The Spirit of the Light; or, Love Watches on Through the Years (1911)
- The Stumbling Block (1911)
- The Thumb Print (1911)
- The Wrong Patient (1911)
- Wig WagWig wagThe wig-wag is the common name for the unusual solenoid mechanism used in belt-drive washing machines made by Whirlpool, Kenmore and many others, from approximately 1950 to 1987 in the United States...
(1911) - A Red Cross Martyr; or, On the Firing Lines of Tripoli (1912)
- A Vitagraph Romance (1912)
- Aunty's Romance (1912)
- Flirt or Heroine (1912)
- Her Diary (1912)
- Indian Romeo and Juliet (1912)
- Jean Intervenes (1912)
- Mrs. Carter's Necklace (1912)
- She CriedShe Cried"She Cried" is a song written by Ted Daryll and Greg Richards and was recorded by Jay and the Americans for their 1962 album, She Cried. The song reached #5 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. The song was the group's first major hit....
(1912) - Susie to Susanne (1912)
- The Face or the Voice (1912)
- The Irony of Fate (1912)
- The Loyalty of Sylvia (1912)
- The Path of True Love (1912)
- The Servant Problem; or, How Mr. Bullington Ran the House (1912)
- The Signal of Distress (1912)
- Two Cinders (1912)
- Una of the Sierras (1912)
- Wanted... a Grandmother (1912)
- When Persistency and Obstinacy Meet (1912)
- While She Powdered Her Nose (1912)
- A Window on Washington Park (1913)
- Checkmated (1913)
- Counsellor Bobby (1913)
- Cutey and the Twins (1913)
- Everybody's Doing It (1913)
- Let 'Em Quarrel (1913)
- Pumps (1913)
- Sisters All (1913)
- Stenographer's Troubles (1913)
- The Deerslayer (1913)
- The Harper Mystery (1913)
- The House in Suburbia (1913)
- The One Good Turn (1913)
- The Skull (1913)
- The Wings of a Moth (1913)
- Under the Make-Up (1913)
- Up and Down the Ladder (1913)
- What a Change of Clothes Did (1913)
- Creatures of Habit (1914)
- Daisy Doodad's Dial (1914)
- Flotilla the Flirt (1914)
- For Her People (1914)
- Jean's Evidence (1914)
- Rose of Surrey (1914)
- Shopgirls: or, The Great Question (1914)
- The Murdock Trial (1914)
- The Shepherd Lassie of Argyle (1914)
- The Younger Sister (1914)
- Through the Valley of Shadows (1914)
- A Welsh SingerA Welsh SingerA Welsh Singer is a 1916 British silent drama film directed by Henry Edwards and starring Edwards, Campbell Gullan and Florence Turner. It was based on a novel by Allen Raine. A Welsh shepherd falls in love with a local girl Myfanwy...
(1915) - Alone in London (1915)
- As Ye Repent (1915)
- Far from the Madding CrowdFar from the Madding Crowd (1915 film)Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1915 British silent drama film directed by Laurence Trimble and starring Florence Turner, Henry Edwards and Malcolm Cherry. It is an adaptation of the novel Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.-Cast:...
(1915) - Lost and Won (1915)
- My Old Dutch (1915)
- Doorsteps (1916)
- East Is EastEast Is East (1916 film)East Is East is a 1916 British silent film drama directed by Henry Edwards, who also starred in the film with Florence Turner. The film is an early example of the plot premise which would prove very popular in the British silent film canon: that of a character from the working-class East End of...
(1916) - Grim Justice (1916)
- Fool's GoldFool's Gold (1919 film)Fool's Gold is a 1919 silent American drama film directed by Laurence Trimble. A copy of the film survives in the National Film and Television Archive.- Cast :* Mitchell Lewis as Marshall Strong* Wellington A...
(1919) - Oh, It's E.Z. (1919)
- Blackmail (1920)
- The Brand of Lopez (1920)
- The Ugly Duckling (1920)
- Three Men in a BoatThree Men in a Boat (1920 film)Three Men in a Boat is a 1920 British silent comedy film directed by Challis Sanderson and starring Lionelle Howard Manning Haynes and Johnny Butt. It is an adaptation of the novel Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome...
(1920) - All Dolled Up (1921)
- Passion Fruit (1921)
- The Old Wives' TaleThe Old Wives' Tale (film)The Old Wives' Tale is a 1921 British drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Fay Compton, Florence Turner and Henry Victor. It is based on the 1908 novel The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett.-Cast:* Fay Compton - Sophie Barnes...
(1921) - The Lights o' London (1922)
- The Little Mother (1922)
- The Street Tumblers (1922)
- Was She Justified? (1922)
- Hornet's Nest (1923)
- Janice Meredith (1924)
- Sally BishopSally Bishop (1924 film)Sally Bishop is a 1924 British silent romance film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Marie Doro, Henry Ainley and Florence Turner. It is an adaptation of the novel Sally Bishop, a Romance by E. Temple Thurston.-Cast:* Marie Doro - Sally Bishop...
(1924) - The Boatswain's Mate (1924)
- Women and DiamondsWomen and DiamondsWomen and Diamonds is a 1924 British silent crime film directed by F. Martin Thornton and starring Victor McLaglen, Madge Stuart and Florence Turner.-Cast:* Victor McLaglen - Brian Owen* Madge Stuart - Olive Seaton* Florence Turner - Mrs. Seaton...
(1924) - Never the Twain Shall Meet (1925)
- The Dark AngelThe Dark Angel (1925 film)The Dark Angel is a drama, based on the play The Dark Angel, a Play of Yesterday and To-day by H. B. Trevelyan, released by First National in 1925, and starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Wyndham Standing...
(1925) - The Mad Marriage (1925)
- The Price of Success (1925)
- Flame of the Argentine (1926)
- Padlocked (1926)
- The Gilded Highway (1926)
- The Last Alarm (1926)
- CollegeCollege (1927 film)College is a 1927 comedy-drama silent film directed by James W. Horne and Buster Keaton, and starring Buster Keaton, Anne Cornwall, and Harold Goodwin.-Plot:...
(1927) - Sally in Our Alley (1927)
- Stranded (1927)
- The Broken Gate (1927)
- The Cancelled Debt (1927)
- The Chinese ParrotThe Chinese Parrot (film)The Chinese Parrot is a silent film, the second in the Charlie Chan series and was directed by Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of the 1926 Earl Derr Biggers novel of the same name. It is a lost film....
(1927) - The Overland Stage (1927)
- Jazzland (1928)
- Marry the Girl (1928)
- The Law and the Man (1928)
- The Pace That Kills (1928)
- The Road to RuinThe Road to Ruin (1928 film)The Road to Ruin is a 1928 silent black-and-white exploitation film directed by Norton S. Parker. The film is about a teenage girl, Sally Canfield, whose life is ruined by sex and drugs. The film was the top grossing movie of 1928 and was remade as a talkie in 1934.-Cast:*Helen Foster as Sally...
(1928) - Walking BackWalking BackWalking Back is a drama film directed by Rupert Julian and an uncredited Cecil B. DeMille.-Cast:* Sue Carol - Patsy Schuyler* Richard Walling - Smoke Thatcher* Ivan Lebedeff - Beaut Thibaut* Robert Edeson - Mr. Thatcher Sr....
(1928) - Kid's Clever (1929)
- The Iron Mask (1929)
- The Rampant Age (1930)
- The Ridin' Fool (1931)
- The Animal KingdomThe Animal Kingdom (1932 film)The Animal Kingdom is a 1932 American comedy-drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith based upon a comedy of manners of the same name by Philip Barry....
(1932) - The Sign of the CrossThe Sign of the Cross (film)The Sign of the Cross is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and Sidney Buchman, and based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett....
(1932) - The Trial of Vivienne Ware (1932)
- He Couldn't Take It (1933)
- One Rainy AfternoonOne Rainy AfternoonOne Rainy Afternoon is a 1936 romantic comedy film directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Francis Lederer and Ida Lupino and featuring Hugh Herbert, Roland Young and Erik Rhodes...
(1936) - Whistling in BrooklynWhistling in BrooklynWhistling in Brooklyn is the third and last film starring comedian Red Skelton as radio personality and amateur detective Wally "The Fox" Benton. Wally prepares to marry his girlfriend, but gets sidetracked when he is mistaken for a serial murderer...
(1943) - Thousands CheerThousands CheerThousands Cheer is a 1943 American comedy musical film released by MGM. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families.-Plot:The film is essentially a two-part program...
(1943)