Everywoman … Yes or No (1920), with José María Serralde Ruiz, Giornate del Cinema Muto, Streaming Day Two

 

Which is worse? A woman who has love and no marriage or a woman who has marriage and no love?

This year’s festival has a welcome strand on the great but otherwise slightly neglected, Norma Talmadge. Norma’s star does not burnish quite as bright in comparison with some of her peers, Mary, Lillian, Gloria and Mabel and they were all born between 1892 and 1894. Talmadge started at about the same time, with her first film in 1909, aged 15, and made hundreds of shorts before establishing her own production company with husband, producer Joseph M. Schenck in 1917 and going on to greater heights. A poll of picture exhibitors named Norma the number-one box office star in 1923 and the following year she starred in Frank Borzage’s Secrets, perhaps her best film alongside The Lady (1925) with the same director - and screening later this week! – Sidney Franklin’s Smiling Through (1922) and the comedy Kiki (1926) directed by Clarence Brown.

Perhaps she is too associated with Schenck in some minds and, for one reason or another, her career declined after their split in 1926, after she’d fallen for Gilbert Roland, even though Joe kept on supporting her commercially even as the ticket sales slowed and talkies loomed. New York Nights (1929) showed she could have cut it, there’s little of her Brooklyn accent, but when you’ve spent two thirds of your life acting, and you don’t ever need to work again, you can imagine why she would walk away.

Norma as the wealthy socialite

On her day I would contend that she was technically as good as anyone in terms of controlled screen emoting, beautiful and believable and just very, very competent without the intensity of Gish, the universality of Pickford or the quirks and comedy of Swanson or Normand. She was a kind of everywoman who excelled in melodramas, a big hit performer but one more of her time (oh, how I hate that phrase) in terms of style and fashion. As a screen phenomenon she’s up there though and worthy of study and respect; historically important, a wizard and a true star!

So, what we have is what we have and it’s great to see the two films streamed today, one a punchy short from early in her career, Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins (1912) and the other a typical hit from her imperial period, Yes or No (1920). Based on an interesting stage experiment written by Arthur Goodrich, which featured a split stage showing a rich and poor wife as they reach a crisis in their marriage, it allows Talmadge to play two characters, in the manner of say Mary Pickford in Stella Maris (1918) and, indeed, herself in The Forbidden City (1918) and Smilin’ Through, whilst she doesn’t match Pickford’s physicality, she does convince in both roles.

“Miss Talmadge wears a wig and some fine clothes in the one character, and her own tresses and calico in the other role, with equal grace.” J.S. Dickerson in Motion Picture News (17.07.1920)

Natalie Talmadge giving screen brother some stick.

Directed by R. William Neill, this Yes or No, splits the action between the two worlds with the emphasis more on the less predictable and more dramatically rewarding “poor story”. It’s a century old morality play and you really have to take that for what it’s worth.

We start in the spacious boudoir of the rich Margaret Vane who is fretting over a party she wants to have knowing that her businessman husband, Donald (Frederick Burton) is unlikely to be free to attend. Donald has health issues but he works his failing heart out for his wife to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed to. It’s a miscommunication of almost Antonionian proportions and the harder he tries for her the more she feels ignored.

Margaret’s maid is Emma Martin played by Natalie, Talmadge Sister No. 3, as a feisty character who gives far better than she gets with the mostly useless men, whist also providing steadfast service for Margaret Vane. It’s good to see this most neglected of Talmadges in a dramatic role, she’s not got Constance’s pep nor Norma’s beautiful range but she’s no slouch as I’m pretty certain Mr Keaton discovered… Peg Talmadge didn’t raise any pushovers.

Gladden James up to no good...

Emma, appropriately enough, is sister to Minnie Berry (Norma again) who is the hardest-working mother in the bowery, feeding her two kids, husband, Jack (the always upstanding Rockcliffe Fellowes), and their lodger, Ted Leach (Gladden James who, lets be honest, is always trouble). Jack works all the hours God sends and studies in the evenings, desperate to make a better future for his family but this leaves Minnie at home and just a little bored. This Ted notices and he has plans to split the marriage just as, uptown, the sleazy Paul Derreck (Lowell Sherman), aims to woo Margaret away from her all work and no play hubbie.

Remembering the film’s called Yes or No, the women may have different answers to these propositions and to find out… you’ll have to seek this film out. Certainly, this is an impressive example of Peak Norma and you can fully understand how her millions of female fans would have responded to this fundamental answer to eternal questioning. Maybe because we’ve moved on so much as a society, we can be too complacent about the moral implications but not always and not all the time. No means no, means no.

Norma's character is very unsure of Paul...

Almost a decade before, a teenage Norma was playing her part in Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins (1912) a light comedy about a feuding family with father Noah (Van Dyke Brooke) who prefers the rough charms of bullying pugilist (Bill Brown) to his daughter Liza’s favourite ‘Enry (Maurice Costello). It’s knockabout fun and Norma stands out for having more about her than anyone else amongst the chaos. This was how to make your way in pictures; keep on top of the brief and get noticed.

José María Serralde Ruiz played along with suitable gusto and in that way the best players do, minded the viewer of 1920 emotionally as well as musically.

Talking of which, we also had maestro Stephen Horne streaming on Day Two… more on that later.

Larks in Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins