The Flickr Erichvonstroheim Image Generatr

Cover art by Robert Stanley. I've had this, the only novel by Erich von Stroheim, in a French edition for years and never knew it had been translated into English.

Italian postcard by G.B. Falci, Milano, no. 529. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn Films, Roma. Mae Murray and John Gilbert in The Merry Widow (Erich von Stroheim, 1925). The Italian title was La Vedova Allegra.

American actress and dancer Mae Murray (1885-1965) had her breakthrough on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Follies. Her film debut was in To Have and to Hold (1916). Murray became one of the biggest stars of Universal, often directed by her then-husband, Robert Z. Leonard. At the height of her career, she decided to found her own company with director John Stahl. While the films were successful, critics didn’t like them, because of her exaggerated emotions and her costumes. In the early 1920s, Murray started acting at Metro (later MGM). Murray’s most famous role was that in Erich Von Stroheim’s The Merry Widow (1925), co-starring John Gilbert.

American actor, screenwriter, and director John Gilbert(1899-1936) rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as 'The Great Lover'. In 1917, he was already a lead player in films by Thomas H. Ince. In those days he was an assistant director, actor, or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924) and the very successful The Big Parade (1925). At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926). Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with him in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive. Garbo tried to restore some of his images when she insisted that he play opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Big programme card by Cineteca Bologna for Il Cinema Ritrovato, XXXVI edizione, 27 June 2022, Flip side. Set Foolish Wives (Erich von Stroheim, 1922).

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Big programme card by Cineteca Bologna for Il Cinema Ritrovato, XXXVI edizione, 27 June 2022, Front side. Erich von Stroheim in Foolish Wives (Erich von Stroheim, 1922).

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Vintage Dutch brochure for the American film As You Desire Me (George Fitzmaurice, 1932), starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Erich Von Stroheim, and in a supporting part, Dutch actor Roland Varno. The brochure refers to and makes publicity for the simultaneous screening of the film at the Rotterdam based cinemas City and Capitol, where it was shown from 29 September 1933 onward. Because of scenes of drunkenness, the film was forbidden for people under 18 in the Netherlands.

Swedish Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was one of the greatest and most glamorous film stars ever produced by the Hollywood studio system. She was part of the Golden Age of the silent cinema of the 1920s and was one of the few actors who made a glorious transition to the talkies. She started her career in the European cinema and would always stay more popular in Europe than in the USA.

Vintage Dutch brochure for the American film As You Desire Me (George Fitzmaurice, 1932), starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas and Erich Von Stroheim, and in a supporting part, Dutch actor Roland Varno. The brochure refers to and makes publicity for the simultaneous screening of the film at the Rotterdam based cinemas City and Capitol, where it was shown from 29 September 1933 onward. Because of scenes of drunkenness, the film was forbidden for people under 18 in the Netherlands.

Swedish Greta Garbo (1905-1990) was one of the greatest and most glamorous film stars ever produced by the Hollywood studio system. She was part of the Golden Age of the silent cinema of the 1920s and was one of the few actors who made a glorious transition to the talkies. She started her career in the European cinema and would always stay more popular in Europe than in the USA.

German postcard by Ross Verlag. Photo: Universal / Super Jewel. Miss DuPont in Foolish Wives (Erich von Stroheim, 1922).

Was Austrian-born Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957) a Hollywood movie star or a European film star? (Who cares!) As the sadistic, monocled Prussian officer in both American and French films, he became ‘The Man You Love to Hate’. But maybe he is best known as one of the greatest and most influential directors of the silent era, known for his extravaganza and the uncompromising accuracy of detail in his monumental films.

Erich von Stroheim's most recent biographers, such as Richard Koszarski, say that he was born in Austria-Hungary (now Austria) in 1885 as Erich Oswald Stroheim. He was the son of Benno Stroheim, a middle-class hat-maker, and Johanna Bondy, both of whom were practising Jews. Stroheim emigrated to America at the end of 1909. On arrival at Ellis Island, he claimed to be Count Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim und Nordenwall, the son of Austrian nobility like the characters he later played in his films. However, both Billy Wilder and Stroheim's agent Paul Kohner claimed that he spoke with a decidedly lower-class Austrian accent. In 1912 while working at a tavern he met his first wife, Margaret Knox, and moved in with her. Knox acted as a sort of mentor to von Stroheim, teaching him language and literature and encouraging him to write. Under Knox's tutelage, he wrote a novella entitled In the Morning, with themes that anticipated his films: corrupt aristocracy and innocence debased. The couple married in 1913, but money woes drove von Stroheim to deep depression and terrible temper tantrums, and in 1914 Knox filed for divorce. By then he was working in Hollywood. He began his cinema career in bit-parts and as a consultant on German culture and fashion. His first film was The Country Boy (Frederick A. Thomson, 1915) in which he was an uncredited diner in a restaurant. His first credited role came in Old Heidelberg (John Emerson, 1915) starring Wallace Reed and Dorothy Gish. He began working with D. W. Griffith, taking uncredited roles in Intolerance (1916). Additionally, Von Stroheim acted as one of the many assistant directors on Intolerance, a film remembered in part for its huge cast of extras. Later, he played the sneering German with the short Prussian military hairstyle in such films as Sylvia of the Secret Service (George Fitzmaurice, 1917) and The Hun Within (Chester Whitey, 1918) with Dorothy Gish. In the war drama The Heart of Humanity (Allen Holuba, 1918), he tore the buttons from a nurse's uniform with his teeth, and when disturbed by a crying baby, threw it out of a window. Following the end of World War I, Von Stroheim turned to writing.

In 1919, Erich von Stroheim directed his own script for Blind Husbands (1919), and also starred in the film. As a director, Stroheim was known to be dictatorial and demanding, often antagonizing his actors. He is considered one of the greatest directors of the silent era, with both cynical and romantic views of human nature. His next directorial efforts were the lost film The Devil's Pass Key (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), in which he also starred. Studio publicity for Foolish Wives claimed that it was the first film to cost one million dollars. ‘Von’ translated sexual subjects in a witty and ostentatious manner, and his first films for Universal are among the most acclaimed sophisticated films of the silent era. In 1923, Stroheim began work on Merry-Go-Round. He cast the American actor Norman Kerry in a part written for himself 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg' and newcomer Mary Philbin in the lead actress role. However, studio executive Irving Thalberg fired Von Stroheim during filming and replaced him with director Rupert Julian. He left Universal for Goldwyn Films to make Greed (1924). This monumental film is now one of Stroheim's best-remembered works as a director. It is a detailed film of Frank Norris’ novel McTeague, about the power of money to corrupt. The original print ran for an astonishing 10 hours. Knowing this version was far too long, Stroheim cut out almost half the footage, reducing it to a six-hour version to be shown over two nights. It was still deemed too long, so Stroheim and director Rex Ingram edited it into a four-hour version that could be shown in two parts. However, in the midst of filming, Goldwyn was bought by Marcus Loew and merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After rejecting Stroheim's attempts to cut it to less than three hours, MGM removed Greed from his control and gave it to head scriptwriter June Mathis, with orders to cut it down to a manageable length. Mathis gave the print to a routine cutter, who reduced it to 2.5 hours. In what is considered one of the greatest losses in cinema history, a janitor destroyed the cut footage. The shortened release version was a box-office failure and was angrily disowned by Von Stroheim. He followed with his most commercially successful film The Merry Widow (1925), the more personal The Wedding March (1928) and the now-lost The Honeymoon. Stroheim's unwillingness or inability to modify his artistic principles for the commercial cinema, his extreme attention to detail, his insistence on near-total artistic freedom, and the resulting costs of his films led to fights with the studios. As time went on he received fewer directing opportunities. In 1929, Stroheim was dismissed as the director of the film Queen Kelly after disagreements with star Gloria Swanson and producer and financier Joseph P. Kennedy over the mounting costs of the film and Stroheim's introduction of indecent subject matter into the film's scenario. It was followed by Walking Down Broadway, another project from which Stroheim was dismissed.

After the introduction of sound film, Erich von Stroheim returned to working principally as an actor, in both American and French films. One of his most famous roles is the prison-camp commandant Von Rauffenstein in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion (1937) with Jean Gabin. It is a classic anti-war film about friendship, comradeship, and human relations. Working in France on the eve of World War II, Stroheim was prepared to direct the film La dame blanche from his own story and screenplay. Jean Renoir wrote the dialogue, Jacques Becker was to be assistant director, and Stroheim himself, Louis Jouvet, and Jean-Louis Barrault were to be the featured actors. The production was prevented by the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939, and Stroheim returned to the United States. There he appeared in Five Graves to Cairo (Billy Wilder, 1943). He is perhaps best known as an actor for his role as Max von Mayerling in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950), co-starring Gloria Swanson. For this role, Von Stroheim was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His character states in the film that he used to be one of the three great directors of the silent era, along with D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and he and Swanson watch excerpts from Queen Kelly in the film. Their characters in Sunset Boulevard thus had an autobiographical basis and reflected the humiliations Von Stroheim suffered through his career. Erich von Stroheim was married three times. His second wife was Mae Jones. Their son Erich Jr. became an assistant director. With his third wife, actress Valerie Germonprez, he had another son, Joseph Erich von Stroheim, who eventually became a sound editor. From 1939 until his death, he lived with actress Denise Vernac. She had worked for him as his secretary since 1938 and starred with him in several films. Von Stroheim spent the last part of his life in France where his silent film work was much admired by artists in the French film industry. In France, he acted in films, wrote several novels that were published in French, and worked on various unrealized film projects. Erich von Stroheim was awarded the French Légion d'honneur shortly before his death in 1957 in Maurepas, France at the age of 71.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Italian card for the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival. Photo: Fay Wray and Erich von Stroheim in The Wedding March (Erich von Stroheim, 1928).

Canadian-born American actress Fay Wray (1907-2004) attained international recognition as the first 'scream queen' in a series of horror films during the early 1930s. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray is best known as Ann Darrow, the girl held in the hand of King Kong (1933). Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building, the location of King Kong's climax scene, were dimmed for 15 minutes in memory of the "beauty who charmed the beast".

Was Austrian-born Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957) a Hollywood movie star or a European film star? (Who cares!) As the sadistic, monocled Prussian officer in both American and French films, he became ‘The Man You Love to Hate’. But maybe he is best known as one of the greatest and influential directors of the silent era, known for his extravaganza and the uncompromising accuracy of detail in his monumental films.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Spanish minicard in the Escenas selectas de cinematografía series, series A, no. 2, for Chocolate Guillèn. Erich von Stroheim in Foolish Wives (Von Stroheim, 1922). The lady depicted is not Mae Busch but Miss Dupont.

bit.ly/3gJr4l2 moviesteve.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/foolish1-scaled... When Foolish Wives debuted in 1922, its writer/director/star Erich von Stroheim was at the peak of his popularity, having exploited anti-German sentiment during the First World War by playing a despicable Hun doing despicable things in a series of films. “The man you love to hate,” was his moniker, one gained in 1918 in the … Read more

Italian postcard by Casa Editrice Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze, no. 657. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Film, Roma. Mae Murray in The Merry Widow (Erich von Stroheim, 1925). the man is not John Gilbert, but Murray's dance partner in a stage show within the film's plot.

American actress and dancer Mae Murray (1885-1965) had her breakthrough on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Follies. Her film debut was in To Have and to Hold (1916). Murray became one of the biggest stars of Universal, often directed by her then-husband, Robert Z. Leonard. At the height of her career, she decided to found her own company with director John Stahl. While the films were successful, critics didn’t like them, because of her exaggerated emotions and her costumes. In the early 1920s, Murray started acting at Metro (later MGM). Murray’s most famous role was that in Erich Von Stroheim’s The Merry Widow (1925), co-starring John Gilbert.

American actor, screenwriter, and director John Gilbert(1899-1936) rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as 'The Great Lover'. In 1917, he was already a lead player in films by Thomas H. Ince. In those days he was an assistant director, actor, or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924) and the very successful The Big Parade (1925). At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926). Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with him in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive. Garbo tried to restore some of his images when she insisted that he play opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Directed by George Sherman

Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 78.

Was Austrian-born Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957) a Hollywood movie star or a European film star? (Who cares!) As the sadistic, monocled Prussian officer in both American and French films, he became ‘The Man You Love to Hate’. But maybe he is best known as one of the greatest and influential directors of the silent era, known for his extravaganza and the uncompromising accuracy of detail in his monumental films.

Erich von Stroheim's most recent biographers, such as Richard Koszarski, say that he was born in Austria-Hungary (now Austria) in 1885 as Erich Oswald Stroheim. He was the son of Benno Stroheim, a middle-class hat-maker, and Johanna Bondy, both of whom were practicing Jews. Stroheim emigrated to America at the end of 1909. On arrival at Ellis Island, he claimed to be Count Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim und Nordenwall, the son of Austrian nobility like the characters he later played in his films. However, both Billy Wilder and Stroheim's agent Paul Kohner claimed that he spoke with a decidedly lower-class Austrian accent. In 1912 while working at a tavern he met his first wife, Margaret Knox, and moved in with her. Knox acted as a sort of mentor to von Stroheim, teaching him language and literature and encouraging him to write. Under Knox's tutelage, he wrote a novella entitled In the Morning, with themes that anticipated his films: corrupt aristocracy and innocence debased. The couple married in 1913, but money woes drove von Stroheim to deep depressions and terrible temper tantrums, and in 1914 Knox filed for divorce. By then he was working in Hollywood. He began his cinema career in bit-parts and as a consultant on German culture and fashion. His first film was The Country Boy (Frederick A. Thomson, 1915) in which he was an uncredited diner in a restaurant. His first credited role came in Old Heidelberg (John Emerson, 1915) starring Wallace Reed and Dorothy Gish. He began working with D. W. Griffith, taking uncredited roles in Intolerance (1916). Additionally, Von Stroheim acted as one of the many assistant directors on Intolerance, a film remembered in part for its huge cast of extras. Later, he played the sneering German with the short Prussian military hairstyle in such films as Sylvia of the Secret Service (George Fitzmaurice, 1917) and The Hun Within (Chester Whitey, 1918) with Dorothy Gish. In the war drama The Heart of Humanity (Allen Holuba, 1918), he tore the buttons from a nurse's uniform with his teeth, and when disturbed by a crying baby, threw it out of a window. Following the end of World War I, Von Stroheim turned to writing.

In 1919, Erich von Stroheim directed his own script for Blind Husbands (1919), and also starred in the film. As a director, Stroheim was known to be dictatorial and demanding, often antagonizing his actors. He is considered one of the greatest directors of the silent era, with both cynical and romantic views of human nature. His next directorial efforts were the lost film The Devil's Pass Key (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), in which he also starred. Studio publicity for Foolish Wives claimed that it was the first film to cost one million dollars. ‘Von’ translated sexual subjects in a witty and ostentatious manner, and his first films for Universal are among the most acclaimed sophisticated films of the silent era. In 1923, Stroheim began work on Merry-Go-Round. He cast the American actor Norman Kerry in a part written for himself 'Count Franz Maximilian Von Hohenegg' and newcomer Mary Philbin in the lead actress role. However, studio executive Irving Thalberg fired Von Stroheim during filming and replaced him with director Rupert Julian. He left Universal for Goldwyn Films to make Greed (1924). This monumental film is now one of Stroheim's best-remembered works as a director. It is a detailed film of Frank Norris’ novel McTeague, about the power of money to corrupt. The original print ran for an astonishing 10 hours. Knowing this version was far too long, Stroheim cut out almost half the footage, reducing it to a six-hour version to be shown over two nights. It was still deemed too long, so Stroheim and director Rex Ingram edited it into a four-hour version that could be shown in two parts. However, in the midst of filming, Goldwyn was bought by Marcus Loew and merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After rejecting Stroheim's attempts to cut it to less than three hours, MGM removed Greed from his control and gave it to head scriptwriter June Mathis, with orders to cut it down to a manageable length. Mathis gave the print to a routine cutter, who reduced it to 2.5 hours. In what is considered one of the greatest losses in cinema history, a janitor destroyed the cut footage. The shortened release version was a box-office failure and was angrily disowned by Von Stroheim. He followed with his most commercially successful film The Merry Widow (1925), the more personal The Wedding March (1928) and the now-lost The Honeymoon. Stroheim's unwillingness or inability to modify his artistic principles for the commercial cinema, his extreme attention to detail, his insistence on near-total artistic freedom, and the resulting costs of his films led to fights with the studios. As time went on he received fewer directing opportunities. In 1929, Stroheim was dismissed as the director of the film Queen Kelly after disagreements with star Gloria Swanson and producer and financier Joseph P. Kennedy over the mounting costs of the film and Stroheim's introduction of indecent subject matter into the film's scenario. It was followed by Walking Down Broadway, another project from which Stroheim was dismissed.

After the introduction of sound film, Erich von Stroheim returned to working principally as an actor, in both American and French films. One of his most famous roles is the prison-camp commandant Von Rauffenstein in Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion/Grand Illusion (1937) with Jean Gabin. It is a classic anti-war film about friendship, comradeship, and human relations. Working in France on the eve of World War II, Stroheim was prepared to direct the film La dame blanche from his own story and screenplay. Jean Renoir wrote the dialogue, Jacques Becker was to be assistant director, and Stroheim himself, Louis Jouvet, and Jean-Louis Barrault were to be the featured actors. The production was prevented by the outbreak of the war on 1 September 1939, and Stroheim returned to the United States. There he appeared in Five Graves to Cairo (Billy Wilder, 1943). He is perhaps best known as an actor for his role as Max von Mayerling in Wilder's Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950), co-starring Gloria Swanson. For this role, Von Stroheim was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. His character states in the film that he used to be one of the three great directors of the silent era, along with D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, and he and Swanson watch excerpts from Queen Kelly in the film. Their characters in Sunset Boulevard thus had an autobiographical basis and reflected the humiliations Von Stroheim suffered through his career. Erich von Stroheim was married three times. His second wife was Mae Jones. Their son Erich Jr. became an assistant director. With his third wife, actress Valerie Germonprez, he had another son, Joseph Erich von Stroheim, who eventually became a sound editor. From 1939 until his death, he lived with actress Denise Vernac. She had worked for him as his secretary since 1938 and starred with him in several films. Von Stroheim spent the last part of his life in France where his silent film work was much admired by artists in the French film industry. In France, he acted in films, wrote several novels that were published in French, and worked on various unrealized film projects. Erich von Stroheim was awarded the French Légion d'honneur shortly before his death in 1957 in Maurepas, France at the age of 71.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, AllMovie, Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Sunset Boulevard ~ Nuit sur les Champs Elysées ~ Paris ~ MjYj

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French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 478. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Film. John Gilbert in The Merry Widow (Erich von Stroheim, 1925).

American actor, screenwriter and director John Gilbert (1899-1936) rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as 'The Great Lover'.

In 1917, John Gilbert was already a lead player in films by Thomas H. Ince. In those days he was assistant director, actor or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924) and the very successful The Big Parade (1925). At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926).

Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with John Gilbert in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926) and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive. Garbo tried to restore some of his image when she insisted that he play opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 478. Photo: MGM. John Gilbert as Prince Danilo in The Merry Widow (Erich von Stroheim, 1925).

American actor, screenwriter, and director John Gilbert(1899-1936) rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as 'The Great Lover'. In 1917, he was already a lead player in films by Thomas H. Ince. In those days he was an assistant director, actor, or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924) and the very successful The Big Parade (1925). At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926). Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with him in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive. Garbo tried to restore some of his image when she insisted that he played opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late.

French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 383. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Film.John Gilbert and Mae Murray in The Merry Widow (Erich von Stroheim, 1925).

American actress and dancer Mae Murray (1885-1965) had her breakthrough on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Follies. Her film debut was in To Have and to Hold (1916). Murray became one of the biggest stars of Universal, often directed by her then-husband, Robert Z. Leonard. At the height of her career, she decided to found her own company with director John Stahl. While the films were successful, critics didn’t like them, because of her exaggerated emotions and her costumes. In the early 1920s, Murray started acting at Metro (later MGM). Murray’s most famous role was that in Erich Von Stroheim’s The Merry Widow (1925), co-starring John Gilbert.

American actor, screenwriter, and director John Gilbert(1899-1936) rose to fame during the silent film era and became a popular leading man known as 'The Great Lover'. In 1917, he was already a lead player in films by Thomas H. Ince. In those days he was an assistant director, actor, or screenwriter. He also tried his hand at directing. In 1921 he signed a three-year contract with Fox Films. His popularity continued to soar and he was turning from villain to leading man. In 1924 he signed with MGM which put him into His Hour (1924) and the very successful The Big Parade (1925). At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino, another silent film era leading man, as a box office draw. Lillian Gish, who had a new contract with MGM, picked Gilbert to co-star with her in La Bohème (1926). Then came Greta Garbo, who starred with him in Love (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and A Woman of Affairs (1928). The screen chemistry between these two was incredible and led to a torrid off-screen affair. The studio publicity department worked overtime to publicize the romance between the two, but when it came time to marry, John was left at the altar. His performances after that were devoid of the sparkle that he once had and he began to drink heavily. Gilbert's popularity began to wane when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive. Garbo tried to restore some of his images when she insisted that he play opposite her in Queen Christina (1933), but by then it was too late.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

“All the wild passions and secret, earthy customs of the Gypsy are faithfully delineated in this colorful masterpiece. But it is more than a savage and fascinating romance! It is also the ironical study of the dark places of a woman’s soul . . . a woman whose flamelike beauty and cruel desires won her a Prince in marriage. This although she started life – and finished it – a ragged Gypsy lass. Before she was fifteen, her tribesmen were fighting over her as dogs fight for a bone!

“Written by cinema’s world-famous Erich von Stroheim, the story is told with frankest realism, yet with extraordinary sympathy and warmth. Certainly it exhibits a depth and grandeur which establish him as a novelist of the very first rank.” [From the description on the back cover]

“All the wild passions and secret, earthy customs of the Gypsy are faithfully delineated in this colorful masterpiece. But it is more than a savage and fascinating romance! It is also the ironical study of the dark places of a woman’s soul . . . a woman whose flamelike beauty and cruel desires won her a Prince in marriage. This although she started life – and finished it – a ragged Gypsy lass. Before she was fifteen, her tribesmen were fighting over her as dogs fight for a bone!

“Written by cinema’s world-famous Erich von Stroheim, the story is told with frankest realism, yet with extraordinary sympathy and warmth. Certainly it exhibits a depth and grandeur which establish him as a novelist of the very first rank.” [From the description on the back cover]