Constance Talmadge Movies
Unlike her older sister Norma Talmadge, whose specialty was heavy drama, American silent film actress Constance Talmadge was most comfortable with bubbly light comedy. Beginning her career as a $5-a-day extra, Constance scored her first success as the tomboyish Mountain Girl in the Babylonian segment of director D.W. Griffith's gargantuan multi-episode production Intolerance (1916). So popular was her portrayal that, as a balm to audiences, Griffith refilmed the Moutain Girl's death scene for the Babylonian sequence when it was reissued separately in 1919 as The Fall of Babylon, allowing Talmadge a happy ending. The actress' brother-in-law, producer Joseph M. Schenck, set up the Constance Talmadge Film Company in 1917, giving her full control regarding script and costar approval. Though few of her films survive, Constance Talmadge is still remembered by her aging fans for such sprightly feature comedies as A Virtuous Vamp (1919), Polly of the Follies (1922) and Her Sister from Paris (1925), the last-mentioned film providing an early costarring opportunity for Ronald Colman. Not wishing to bother with the advent of talking pictures, Talmadge retired after shooting her last silent film, Venus (1929), in France. Too wealthy to worry about her fame passing, Constance Talmadge devoted her last years to her fourth husband and her charity work, never once entreating or even considering a movie comeback. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1918
The fifth of Constance Talmadge's thirteen starring vehicles for producer Lewis Selznick was A Pair of Silk Stockings. Based on a stage farce by Cyril Harcourt, the film casts Talmadge as Molly, the wife of wealthy Britisher Sam Thornhill (the "original" Harrison Ford). Though devoutly loyal to her husband, the capricious Molly can't seem to avoid getting herself into compromising situations. The limit comes when a pair of Molly's stockings find their way into the boudoir of another man. Despite her protestations of innocence, it takes our heroine several hilarious reels to win back her husband's affections. One of the funnier plot developments involves a haughty "high-born" lady (Wanda Hawley) who turns out to be a former barmaid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1919
For light romantic comedy, silent film had few teams to equal star Constance Talmadge), writer Anita Loos, and her husband, director John Emerson. This picture was one of their several collaborations, and even though it isn't their best, it's still quite amusing. Billie Billings (Talmadge) is a willful young woman who dumps her fiancé because she catches him "comforting" his stenographer. She quickly finds a new beau, Senator Newton (Wyndham Standing), and gets him to marry her in spite of the fact that he is inordinately shy. But then she finds out he has a stenographer, too, and this causes a huge argument. Finally Billie tells Newton to choose between keeping his stenographer or his wife, and he chooses the stenographer. So she flounces off and finds yet another man, the Count Tosoff de Zoolac (Armand Kaliz). Billie and the Count run off to the Hicksville Inn, but Newton and his stenographer are hot on her trail. Things are resolved before Billie does anything rash -- it turns out that the stenographer has a husband and two kids, and there is nothing whatsoever going on between her and the boss. So Billie and Newton reunite for a second honeymoon. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1919
Anita Loos penned this screenplay about a young girl who is an incurable flirt. Gwen (Constance Talmadge), the lady in question, comes from a society family that has fallen on hard times. She goes to work to support her mother and younger brother, but she has a hard time hanging onto the job she's landed because every boss at the company falls madly in love with her. She gets bumped around from department to department until she winds up as assistant to the head of the firm, James Crowninshield (Conway Tearle). The preoccupied Crowninshield is the only man who is oblivious to Gwen's many charms, and naturally Gwen falls hopelessly in love with him. She manages to nab him, but not without a lot of heartache, humor, and plot complications. While this amusing film showed that writer Loos and actress Talmadge were an unbeatable team, Constance's mother disagreed. She complained about the scenario to producer Joe Schenck, saying that it disparaged her daughter's sex appeal. Mrs. Talmadge changed her tune, however, when the film was a huge success. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1924
This video contains two abridged version films: America, in which a Boston patriot and the daughter of a Tory fall in love during the Revolutionary War; and the silent film, The Fall of Babylon, which is one of the stories told in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1917
It's hard to imagine the vivaciously stylish Constance Talmadge as a boarding-house drudge, but that's the part she plays here. An old couple resides at the house with a mysterious box, which they watch over constantly. Harry Brent, an equally mysterious young man (Kenneth Harlan), moves in and convinces Betsy that there are items in the box that belong to him, and she obligingly steals it. Oscar, a grocery clerk and aspiring detective (Clyde Hopkins), believes that Harry is a crook. There are real crooks afoot, but they have nothing to do with Harry. They kidnap Betsy and the box (which she emptied into her trunk before their arrival), kill the old husband (Joseph Singleton) and knock Oscar --who is in the couple's room -- unconscious. Harry gives chase while Oscar comes to and calls on some real detectives. The police capture the crooks, and Betsy reveals the contents of the box -- the Brent family jewels and a will in Harry's favor. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1927
Breakfast at Sunrise was the penultimate movie vehicle for Constance Talmadge, who retired when talkies came in two years later. Dressed up like a million dollars, Talmadge is cast as wealthy and spoiled Parisian lass Madeline, who decides to make her equally wealthy lover, the Marquis (Bryant Washburn), jealous. Thus, she marries the poverty-stricken Lussan (Don Alvarado), who agrees to the union to spite his sweetheart Georgianna (Paulette Duval). Unfortunately, neither Madeline nor Lussan counted on falling in love with each other -- but that's just what happens. Director Mal St. Clair, perhaps the best of the Lubitsch imitators, manages to extract much from little, with no small assistance from supporting actress Marie Dressler, cast as a worldly-wise queen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Talmadge, Alice White, (more)
- 1920
Constance Talmadge teams up once again with the writer/director team of Anita Loos and John Emerson for this light comedy. The spoiled, capricious Nancy Flavel (Talmadge) is always chasing after some inappropriate male and completely ignores the timidly offered love of Clarence Brooks (Kenneth Harlan), who is secretary to her father (George Fawcett). When World War I breaks out, Clarence enlists. Nancy's mother (Matilda Brundage) has a rich mate (Jack Raymond) picked out for her daughter, and when his draft number is called, she insists on an immediate wedding. To get out of it, Nancy suddenly declares that she and Clarence were secretly married before he went to France. But Clarence comes home a much stronger man and he refuses to play the game Nancy's way. First he insists that she spend the night in an adjoining bedroom, which compromises her, and then refuses to marry her for real because she's too frivolous. So Nancy is forced to get serious and win him back, which eventually she does. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1923
Deft light comedienne Constance Talmadge seems woefully out of place in this historical drama of 17th century England. It was based on the Elizabeth Ellis novel, Barbara Winslow -- Rebel. Barbara Winslow (Talmadge) helps her rebel brother, Rupert (Ray Hallor), escape from the king's forces by disguising herself as him. Captain Prothero (Conway Tearle) captures her, but he has fallen for Barbara's charms so he lets her go. As a result they are both arrested and imprisoned. A secret door is found in the prison and all those who are locked up escape. Barbara manages to get pardons for herself and Prothero by giving up some papers exposing a plot that threatens the king. Prothero must leave the country, and Barbara gladly gives up her titled fiancé, Sir Peter Dare (Charles Gerrard), to go with him. Happily, Talmadge was cast in very few dramas -- those were generally left to her sister, "emotional actress" Norma Talmadge. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Talmadge, Conway Tearle, (more)
- 1926
Constance Talmadge's sole 1926 effort was the forgettable comedy The Duchess of Buffalo. Set in a country that seems to be Russia, the story gets under way when Lieutenant Vladimir Orloff (Tulio Carminati) falls in love with American chorus girl Marian Duncan (Constance Talmadge). Likewise fascinated by Marian is Grand Duke Gregory Alexandrovich (Edward Martindel). When Marian receives a diamond stickpin from an anonymous admirer, the Grand Duke is given what-for by his wife, while Orloff is sentenced to be shot at sunrise. Teaming up with Marian to rescue the Grand Duke from a court scandal, Orloff is spared from execution and permitted a happily-ever-after with the heroine. Based on the Hungarian play Sybil, The Duchess of Buffalo didn't do quite as well at the box office as Talmadge's previous vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Talmadge, Tullio Carminatti, (more)
- 1923
Dulcy--better known as Dulcinea--was the cliché-spouting young bride created by newspaper humorist Franklin Pierce Adams. Given to such homilies as "Don't take any wooden nickels" and "There's never a policeman around when you need one"--the delightfully dunderheaded Dulcy inspired a popular three-act play, written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. The original Broadway production starred Lynn Fontanne; the first film version of Dulcy top-billed Constance Talmadge. While Dulcy's interminable cliches went by unheard, the Kaufman-Connelly plotline, wherein Our Heroine saves her husband's business during an otherwise catastrophic dinner party, remained intact. Anita Loos, John Emerson and C. Gardner Sullivan, comedy experts all, collaborated on the screenplay. Dulcy was remade in 1930 as Not So Dumb with Marion Davies, and again in 1940 under its original title with Ann Sothern. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Mulhall, May Wilson, (more)
- 1922
Although it sounds ludicrous to slap a black wig on vivacious blonde Constance Talmadge and try to pass her off as a Chinese maiden, somehow it worked in this picture, which was based on the famed play by Samuel Shipman and John B. Hymes. Talmadge didn't look particularly Asian -- and it really shows when she's hugging some real Chinese children -- but her personality managed to carry the humorous parts of the film well enough so that this could be overlooked. Helping out was Warner Oland, who practically stole the show -- although he is of Swedish birth, he made a career of playing Asians (and actually looked the part). In the early 1930s his name was synonymous with fictional detective Charlie Chan, who he played in a series of films. Ming Toy (Talmadge) is about to be sold into slavery when she's saved by Billy Benson, a handsome young American (Edward Burns). She lands in San Francisco, where Charlie Yong, the king of Chinatown (Oland) decides he wants her for himself. His attempts to kidnap her are foiled by Benson, who takes her home. His parents (Winter Hall and Lillian Lawrence) are horrified at the thought that their son is in love with an Asian woman. But it turns out that Ming Toy is really a white girl, stolen from a missionary couple (which explains why she looked so strange next to all the other Chinese folks), so the parents give the young couple their blessing. This picture was remade as a talkie in 1930, this time starring fiery Latina Lupe Velez as the Chinese girl. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Talmadge
- 1919
This film, based on the stage play Saturday to Monday by William J. Hurlburt, made a nice vehicle for the charms of Constance Talmadge. Constance plays Suzanne Ercoll, a young widow who believes in women's suffrage (the feminist cause of the day). When the handsome Foxcroft Grey (Connie's frequent co-star, Harrison Ford) proposes marriage, Suzanne isn't sure she wants to give up her freedom, so she strikes a deal: From Saturday to Monday they will be husband and wife, but the rest of the week, she is single. Grey isn't thrilled with this idea, but being a bit smarter than his bride, he doesn't show his displeasure. When Monday morning arrives, he accepts her single status without emotion, which of course, makes Suzanne suspicious. Then he helps neighbor Dot Harrington (Vera Sisson) out of a fix, and Suzanne wonders if the two are having an affair. But she can't say anything since Grey was with the woman during the "single" part of the week. Her next ploy is to make Grey jealous by visiting with a male friend, Arthur Bernard (Raymond Hatton). But Grey sees right through her, and doesn't bat an eyelash. Finally, the frustrated Suzanne falls into her husband's arms and admits that an old-fashioned marriage is much more to her liking. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
This lesser Constance Talmadge vehicle puts her in a Western forest setting. A corrupt corporation sends claim jumpers to steal land from the homesteaders and Jess (Talmadge) urges the people of the township to fight them. A government inspector (A.D. Sears), disguised as a claim jumper, settles on Jess's land and she shoots him. Then she winds up nursing him back to health -- the rest is easily guessed. They fall in love and he brings justice to the bad guys. When this film was made, it hadn't been that long since Talmadge had made her mark in Intolerance, and she doesn't live up to the potential she showed then. It took a couple more years, and quite a few more films, for her to hit her stride. This film is also known as Girl of the Timberclaims. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
Good Night, Paul stars bubbly comedienne Constance Talmadge. This time around, Talmadge's character is happily married (her husband played by Norman Kerry), but still agrees to pose as the wife of a businessman (Harrison Ford -- no, not that Harrison Ford) to hoodwink the businessman's rich uncle (John Steppling). Unfortunately, uncle plans to extend his visit, forcing the two schemers to keep up the pretense. Comic jealousy motivates most of the action in the film's final reels, much to the delight of Talmadge's legion of fans. ZaSu Pitts makes a brief appearance in an uncredited role. Like virtually all of Constance Talmadge's starring vehicles, Good Night, Paul apparently no longer exists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
