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John Gilbert (actor)
Encyclopedia
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film
era.
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.
, 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
(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."
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
. 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 famously parodied in the 1952 MGM musical Singin' in the Rain
, 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, 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
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
, 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 in 1934; The Captain Hates the Sea
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.
), 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.
had severely damaged Gilbert's health; he died of a heart attack
without ever regaining his former reputation. Toward the end of his life, Gilbert became involved with Marlene Dietrich
, and at the time of his death he was slated 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
.
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...
era.
Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
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.
Life and career
Born John Cecil Pringle in Logan, UtahLogan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
, 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
Thomas H. Ince
Thomas Harper Ince was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer of more than 100 films and pioneering studio mogul. Known as the "Father of the Western", he invented many mechanisms of professional movie production, introducing early Hollywood to the "assembly line"...
Studios, and soon became a favorite of Maurice Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur
Maurice Tourneur was an important international film director and screenwriter.-Life:Born Maurice Thomas in the Belleville district of Paris, France, his father was a jeweler. As a young man, Maurice Thomas first trained as a graphic designer and a magazine illustrator but was soon drawn to the...
, 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
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...
. In 1921, Gilbert signed a three year contract with Fox Film Corporation, where he was cast as a romantic leading man
Leading man
Leading man or leading gentleman is an informal term for the actor who plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play. A leading man is usually an all rounder; capable of singing, dancing, and acting at a professional level, but never outshining his female co-star...
. Some of his films for Fox include Monte Cristo, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
; St. Elmo, an adaptation of a popular book of the period; The Wolf Man
The Wolf Man (1924 film)
The Wolf Man is a 1924 silent film starring John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, and Eugene Pallette. The movie was written by Fanny Hatton, Frederic Hatton, and Reed Heustis, and directed by Edmund Mortimer....
, 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
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...
, where he became a full-fledged star with such high-profile films as His Hour
His Hour
His Hour is a 1924 silent drama film directed by King Vidor.This film was the follow-up to Samuel Goldwyn's Three Weeks, written by Elinor Glyn, and starring Aileen Pringle, one of the biggest moneymakers at the time of the amalgamation...
directed by King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
and written by Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn
Elinor Glyn , born Elinor Sutherland, was a British novelist and scriptwriter who pioneered mass-market women's erotic fiction. She popularized the concept It...
; He Who Gets Slapped
He Who Gets Slapped
He Who Gets Slapped is a 1924 film starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert. It was directed by Victor Sjöström. The film is based on the Russian play Тот, кто получает пощёчины by playwright Leonid Andreyev, which was published in 1914 and in English, as He Who Gets Slapped, in 1922...
(1924), co-starring Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
and Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
, and directed by Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström
Victor Sjöström was a Swedish actor, screenwriter, and film director.- Biography:Born in Silbodal, in the Värmland region of Sweden, he was only a year old when his father, Olof Adolf Sjöström, moved the family to Brooklyn, New York. His mother died when he was seven years old in 1886...
; and The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow (1925 film)
The Merry Widow is a 1925 American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable had uncredited roles in the film....
(1925) directed by Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
and co-starring Mae Murray
Mae Murray
Mae Murray was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "The Gardenia of the Screen"....
. In 1925, Gilbert was once again directed by Vidor in the war epic The Big Parade
The Big Parade
The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was...
, 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
Renée Adorée
Renée Adorée was a French actress who had appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s.-Early life:...
and Karl Dane
Karl Dane
Karl Dane was a Danish comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He worked alongside Rudolph Valentino, John Gilbert, and King Vidor. In 1926, he teamed up with George K. Arthur to form the successful comedy duo Dane & Arthur...
, for the film La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
which also starred Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
.
Gilbert married the successful film actress Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the early silent film era.-Early life and career:...
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
Flesh and the Devil
Flesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann....
, his first film with Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
. 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
Love (1927 film)
Love is a film directed by Edmund Goulding and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM made the film in order to capitalize on its winning romantic team of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert who had starred in the 1926 blockbuster, Flesh and the Devil....
(1927), a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
, and A Woman of Affairs
A Woman of Affairs
A Woman of Affairs is a 1928 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Lewis Stone...
(1928). The former film was slyly advertised by MGM as "Garbo and Gilbert in Love."
Career decline
Throughout his time at MGM, Gilbert frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. MayerLouis 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...
over creative, social and financial matters. It was said that at the apparent double wedding of Garbo and Gilbert and director King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
and actress Eleanor Boardman
Eleanor Boardman
Eleanor Boardman was an American film actress, popular during the era of silent movies.-Early life and career:...
, 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
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is a 1929 part Technicolor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American musical-comedy film. It was the studio's second feature-length musical, and one of the earliest ventures into the talkie format. Produced by Harry Rapf and directed by Chuck Riesner, the film brought together some...
, appearing in a Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
sequence with Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
. They played the "balcony scene" from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, 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
His Glorious Night
His Glorious Night is a 1929 American romance film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring John Gilbert in his first released talkie. It has gained notoriety as the film that reputedly ended the career of John Gilbert by revealing that he had a voice unsuitable for sound...
. 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
Catherine Dale Owen
Catherine Dale Owen was an American stage and film actress.-Stage career:Born to a prominent family in Louisville, Kentucky, Owen graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City...
) while saying "I love you" over and over again. (This scene was famously parodied in the 1952 MGM musical Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
, where a preview of the fictional The Dueling Cavalier flops disastrously). Director King Vidor
King Vidor
King Wallis Vidor was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose career spanned nearly seven decades...
stated that Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, 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
Irving Thalberg
Irving Grant Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make very profitable films.-Life and...
. Thalberg gave Gilbert two projects that were character studies, giving Gilbert an excellent showcase for his versatility. The Phantom of Paris, originally intended for Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
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
Downstairs (film)
Downstairs is a 1932 dramatic film. It stars John Gilbert as a charming but self-serving chauffeur who wreaks havoc on his new employer's household, romancing and fleecing the women on the staff, and blackmailing the employer's wife. Gilbert had written the story in 1928 for a proposed silent film...
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
Virginia Bruce
Virginia Bruce was an American actress and singer.-Career:Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she went with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll in the University of California when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work. She got it as an extra in Why Bring That...
; 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
Queen Christina (film)
Queen Christina is a Pre-Code Hollywood feature film loosely based on the life of 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, produced in 1933, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone. It was billed as Garbo's return to cinema...
, directed by Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Mamoulian was an Armenian-American film and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Tbilisi, Georgia to an Armenian family, Rouben relocated to England and started directing plays in London in 1922...
. Garbo was top-billed, with Gilbert's name beneath the title. The picture also failed to revive his career. Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
gave him a chance for a comeback in 1934; The Captain Hates the Sea
The Captain Hates the Sea
The Captain Hates the Sea is a 1934 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and released by Columbia Pictures. The film, which involves a Grand Hotel-style series of intertwining stories involving the passengers on a cruise ship, is notable as the last film starring one-time silent film icon John...
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.
Personal life
Gilbert was married four times (including once to film and stage actress Ina ClaireIna Claire
Ina Claire was an American stage and film actress.-Career:Born Ina Fagan in 1893 in Washington, D.C., Claire began her career appearing in vaudeville...
), and had two daughters. His daughter Leatrice Gilbert Fountain (from his marriage to silent-film actress Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy was an American actress most prolific during the early silent film era.-Early life and career:...
), 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.
Death
By 1934, alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
had severely damaged Gilbert's health; he died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
without ever regaining his former reputation. Toward the end of his life, Gilbert became involved with Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, and at the time of his death he was slated to star opposite her in the film Desire
Desire (1936 film)
Desire is an American romantic drama film released in 1936 and directed by Frank Borzage. It was produced by Borzage and Ernst Lubitsch. The picture is a remake of the 1933 German film Die Schönen Tage von Aranjuez. The screenplay was written by Samuel Hoffenstein, Edwin Justus Mayer and Waldemar...
. Gilbert's ashes were interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
Gilbert has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1755 Vine Street and in 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld
Al Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | The Coward The Coward (1915 film) The Coward is a 1915 film produced by Thomas H. Ince. Set during the Civil War, the film stars Frank Keenan as a Virginia colonel and Charles Ray as his weak-willed son. The son is forced, at gunpoint, by his father to enlist in the Confederate army. He is terrified by the war and deserts during... |
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 Hell's Hinges Hell's Hinges is a 1916 American Western silent film starring William S. Hart and Clara Williams. Directed by Charles Swickard, William S. Hart and Clifford Smith, and produced by Thomas H. Ince, the screenplay was written by C. Gardner Sullivan.-Plot:... |
Rowdy townsman' | Uncredited |
| 1916 | The Aryan The Aryan The Aryan is an American silent era western motion picture starring William S. Hart, Gertrude Claire, Charles K. French, Louise Glaum, and Bessie Love.... |
Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | Civilization Civilization (film) Civilization is a 1916 American pacifist allegorical film about a submarine commander who refuses to fire at a civilian ocean liner supposedly carrying ammunition for his country's enemies. The film was a big-budget spectacle that was compared to both Birth of a Nation and the paintings of... |
Extra | Uncredited |
| 1916 | The Apostle of Vengeance | Willie Hudson | |
| 1916 | The Phantom | Bertie Bereton | |
| 1916 | Eye of the Night | Uncredited | |
| 1916 | Shell 43 Shell 43 Shell 43 is a 1916 war movie written by C. Gardner Sullivan and starring H.B. Warner and Enid Markey. An English spy works behind German lines during World War I. He saves the life of a German officer and is killed in a German trench by an Allied shell.- External links :*... |
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 Happiness (1917 film) Happiness is a 1917 comedy-drama feature film written by C. Gardner Sullivan and starring Enid Bennett and Charles Gunn. A rich orphan played by Enid Bennett goes to a co-ed college where she is snubbed by students who view her as a snob. A romance develops with a poor student who is taking in... |
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 Golden Rule Kate Golden Rule Kate is a 1917 silent era western drama motion picture starring Louise Glaum, William Conklin, Jack Richardson, Mildred Harris, and John Gilbert.Directed by Reginald Barker from a story written by Monte M... |
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 Heart o' the Hills Heart o' the Hills is a 1919 silent film directed by Joseph De Grasse and Sidney Franklin, written by Bernard McConville and based on a John Fox Jr.'s novel.-Plot:... |
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 Arabian Love Arabian Love is a 1922 silent drama film directed by Jerome Storm.-Plot:Shortly after marrying a man, Nadine Fortier travels through the desert to a distant city to visit her dying mother. On her way, she is kidnapped by a group of bandits, who use her when gambling. Nadine eventually becomes the... |
Norman Stone | |
| 1922 | The Yellow Stain | Donald Keith | |
| 1922 | Honor First | Jacques Dubois/Honoré Duboois | |
| 1922 | Monte Cristo Monte Cristo (1922 film) Monte Cristo is a 1922 silent film produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation and directed by Emmett J. Flynn. It is based on the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, which was adapted by 19th century thespian Charles Fechter and written for this screen version by Bernard... |
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 While Paris Sleeps While Paris Sleeps is a film based on the novel The Glory of Love by Leslie Beresford . Lon Chaney plays a Parisian sculptor who falls in love with his model . She, however, cares nothing for him. The film is lost.... |
Dennis O'Keefe | |
| 1923 | Truxton King | Truxton King | |
| 1923 | Madness of Youth | Jaca Javalie | |
| 1923 | St. Elmo St. Elmo (film) St. Elmo is a 1923 silent drama film directed by Jerome Storm. Distributed by Fox Film Corporation, the film is based on the 1867 novel of the same name written by Augusta Jane Evans. Today St. Elmo is a lost film.-Plot:When St... |
St. Elmo Thornton | |
| 1923 | The Exiles | Henry Holcombe | |
| 1923 | Cameo Kirby Cameo Kirby Cameo Kirby is a 1923 silent drama film directed by John Ford and featured Jean Arthur in her onscreen debut. It was Ford's first film credited as John Ford instead of Jack Ford. It was based on a play by Booth Tarkington and Harry Leon Wilson. The story had been filmed as a silent before in 1915... |
Cameo Kirby | |
| 1924 | Just Off Broadway | Stephen Moore | |
| 1924 | The Wolf Man The Wolf Man (1924 film) The Wolf Man is a 1924 silent film starring John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, and Eugene Pallette. The movie was written by Fanny Hatton, Frederic Hatton, and Reed Heustis, and directed by Edmund Mortimer.... |
Gerald Stanley | |
| 1924 | A Man's Mate | Paul | |
| 1924 | The Lone Chance The Lone Chance The Lone Chance is a 1924 silent American drama film directed by Howard M. Mitchell and starring Evelyn Brent. The film is considered to be lost.- Cast :* John Gilbert as Jack Saunders* Evelyn Brent as Margaret West* John Miljan as Lew Brody... |
Jack Saunders | |
| 1924 | Romance Ranch | Carlos Brent | |
| 1924 | His Hour His Hour His Hour is a 1924 silent drama film directed by King Vidor.This film was the follow-up to Samuel Goldwyn's Three Weeks, written by Elinor Glyn, and starring Aileen Pringle, one of the biggest moneymakers at the time of the amalgamation... |
Gritzko | |
| 1924 | Married Flirts Married Flirts Married Flirts is a 1924 film starring Pauline Frederick, Mae Busch, and Conrad Nagel, directed by Robert Vignola. Screenplay by Julia Ivers based on a Louis Joseph Vance best seller. The 'sophisticated' drama was considered quite daring at the time, of husbands being lured away from wives... |
Guest at party | Cameo appearance |
| 1924 | He Who Gets Slapped He Who Gets Slapped He Who Gets Slapped is a 1924 film starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert. It was directed by Victor Sjöström. The film is based on the Russian play Тот, кто получает пощёчины by playwright Leonid Andreyev, which was published in 1914 and in English, as He Who Gets Slapped, in 1922... |
Bezano | |
| 1924 | The Snob The Snob (1924 film) The Snob is a 1924 silent drama film directed by Monta Bell. The film stars Norma Shearer and John Gilbert prior to their superstardom, together with Phyllis Haver, Conrad Nagel and Hedda Hopper. It is written by Monta Bell based on a novel The Snob: The Story of a Marriage by Helen Reimensnyder... |
Eugene Curry | |
| 1924 | The Wife of the Centaur The Wife of the Centaur The Wife of the Centaur is a 1924 silent drama film directed by King Vidor, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shortly after it formed from a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Mayer Pictures in April 1924.... |
Jeffrey Dwyer | |
| 1925 | The Merry Widow The Merry Widow (1925 film) The Merry Widow is a 1925 American silent MGM romantic drama film and black comedy directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. The film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert and Roy D'Arcy. Joan Crawford and Clark Gable had uncredited roles in the film.... |
Prince Danilo Petrovich | |
| 1925 | The Big Parade The Big Parade The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was... |
James Apperson | |
| 1925 | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Ben-Hur (1925 film) Ben-Hur is a 1925 silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This was the second film based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace... |
Crowd extra in chariot race | Cameo appearance Uncredited |
| 1926 | La Bohème La Bohème (1926 film) La Bohème is a 1926 silent drama film directed by King Vidor, based on the opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini.-Plot:The film takes place in Paris in 1830. Several bohemians try to survive on the streets, living under poor conditions and desiring to one day become famous. One of them is Marcel , a... |
Rodolphe | |
| 1926 | Bardelys the Magnificent Bardelys the Magnificent Bardelys the Magnificent is a 1926 silent romantic drama film. It was directed by King Vidor starring John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman, based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini. It was the second film of the 19 year old John Wayne, who had a minor role... |
Bardelys | |
| 1926 | Flesh and the Devil Flesh and the Devil Flesh and the Devil is an MGM romantic drama silent film. It stars Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lars Hanson, and Barbara Kent, directed by Clarence Brown, and based on the play The Undying Past by Hermann Sudermann.... |
Leo von Harden | |
| 1927 | The Show The Show (1927 film) The Show is a 1927 silent American drama film directed by Tod Browning, based upon C.T. Jackson's 1910 novel, The Day of Souls.-Plot:A Hungarian carnival troupe follows a young girl who reforms a tearaway after her old suitor tried to kill him with a poisonous lizard.-Cast:* John Gilbert - Cock... |
Cock Robin | |
| 1927 | Twelve Miles Out Twelve Miles Out Twelve Miles Out is a 1927 silent drama film starring John Gilbert and Joan Crawford.-Plot summary:Jerry Fay , is a bootlegger who expropriates the home of society girl, June , for his illicit activities... |
Jerry Fay | |
| 1927 | Man, Woman and Sin Man, Woman and Sin Man, Woman and Sin is a 1927 silent film produced and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. It was directed by Monta Bell and uncredited John Gilbert. The picture stars Gilbert and stage actress Jeanne Eagels in one of her rare film appearances. The film is obscure but survives complete... |
Albert Whitcomb | |
| 1927 | Love Love (1927 film) Love is a film directed by Edmund Goulding and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM made the film in order to capitalize on its winning romantic team of Greta Garbo and John Gilbert who had starred in the 1926 blockbuster, Flesh and the Devil.... |
Captain Count Alexei Vronsky | |
| 1928 | The Cossacks The Cossacks (1928 film) The Cossacks is a 1928 silent film produced and distributed by MGM and directed by George Hill and Clarence Brown, with much reshot footage by Brown. The picture starred John Gilbert and Renee Adoree. It is an extant film... |
Lukashka | |
| 1928 | Four Walls Four Walls (film) Four Walls is a 1928 film starring John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, and Carmel Myers. This is a lost film. -Plot summary:Benny Horowitz , a reformed gangster, proposes marriage to Bertha , a neighbor who had been a frequent visitor while he served his sentence... |
Benny Horowitz | |
| 1928 | Show People Show People Show People is a 1928 comedy silent film directed by King Vidor. The movie was a starring vehicle for actress Marion Davies and actor William Haines and included notable cameo appearances by many of the film personalities of the day, including stars Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S.... |
Himself | Cameo appearance Uncredited |
| 1928 | The Masks of the Devil | Baron Reiner | |
| 1928 | A Woman of Affairs A Woman of Affairs A Woman of Affairs is a 1928 drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Lewis Stone... |
Neville 'Nevs' Holderness | |
| 1929 | Desert Nights Desert Nights Desert Nights, also known as Thirst, is a 1929 drama film. It was the last silent film for star John Gilbert. Two thieves victimize a diamond mine and kidnap its manager, but he gains the upper hand when they flee into the hostile desert.The film is available for download or DVD purchase from... |
Hugh Rand | Last silent film |
| 1929 | His Glorious Night His Glorious Night His Glorious Night is a 1929 American romance film directed by Lionel Barrymore and starring John Gilbert in his first released talkie. It has gained notoriety as the film that reputedly ended the career of John Gilbert by revealing that he had a voice unsuitable for sound... |
Captain Kovacs | Sound film debut |
| 1930 | Redemption Redemption (1930 film) Redemption is a 1930 talking film directed by Fred Niblo, produced and distributed by MGM, and starring John Gilbert. Reportedly Lionel Barrymore filmed retakes in this picture. This film was actually Gilbert's first talking film but was released after the now infamous His Glorious Night, which... |
Fedya | |
| 1930 | Way for a Sailor Way for a Sailor Way for a Sailor is a film starring John Gilbert. The supporting cast includes Wallace Beery, Jim Tully, Leila Hyams, and Polly Moran. The film was directed by Sam Wood, who insisted on no screen credit... |
Jack | |
| 1931 | Gentleman's Fate | Giacomo Tomasulo/Jack Thomas | |
| 1931 | The Phantom of Paris | Chéri-Bibi | |
| 1931 | West of Broadway | Jerry Seevers | |
| 1932 | Downstairs Downstairs (film) Downstairs is a 1932 dramatic film. It stars John Gilbert as a charming but self-serving chauffeur who wreaks havoc on his new employer's household, romancing and fleecing the women on the staff, and blackmailing the employer's wife. Gilbert had written the story in 1928 for a proposed silent film... |
Karl Schneider | |
| 1933 | Fast Workers Fast Workers Fast Workers, also known as Rivets, is a 1933 drama film starring John Gilbert and Robert Armstrong as construction workers and romantic rivals for the character played by Mae Clarke. The film was based on the unproduced play Rivets by John W... |
Gunner Smith | |
| 1933 | Queen Christina Queen Christina (film) Queen Christina is a Pre-Code Hollywood feature film loosely based on the life of 17th century Queen Christina of Sweden, produced in 1933, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Swedish-born actress Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith and Lewis Stone. It was billed as Garbo's return to cinema... |
Antonio | |
| 1934 | The Captain Hates the Sea The Captain Hates the Sea The Captain Hates the Sea is a 1934 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and released by Columbia Pictures. The film, which involves a Grand Hotel-style series of intertwining stories involving the passengers on a cruise ship, is notable as the last film starring one-time silent film icon John... |
Steve Bramley |
External links
- 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 MachineWayback MachineThe Wayback Machine is a digital time capsule created by the Internet Archive non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California. It is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the Archive calls a "three...
: http://waybackmachine.org/web/20070927220035/http://www.sidereality.com/volume3issue2/reviewsv3n2/garbobrushesherteeth.htm) - Interview with Marlene Dietrich's daughter mentioning Gilbert
- Photographs of John Gilbert