THE REEL REALS: Cleo Ridgely

Cleo Ridgely

Cleo Ridgely was yet another interesting leading lady of the silent film era. With a soft but sturdy beauty, she projected an image of equal parts vulnerability and resilience. Though she performed in nearly 70 credited films between 1911 and 1951, her talent has become overshadowed over the years by bigger names and a bigger Hollywood. She made appearances most notably opposite leading men like Wallace Reid, in the Cinderella story of The Golden Chance, and had enough chutzpah to impress Cecil B. DeMille into handing her a supporting role in Joan the Woman.

Cleo came off as a regular girl. Perhaps her normalcy is what stopped her from being as infamous and lasting as her contemporaries. Still, there is a poetry in the simplicity with which she approached her roles. Elegant but not haughty, attractive but not glamorous, she had an immediate amiability that allowed her to transcend stereotype and just be a woman. She also wasn't afraid to get down and dirty, and as an experienced horsewoman, she often performed her own, quite dangerous stunts.

After her second marriage to James W. Horne (of Laurel and Hardy fame), she left the movies behind to be with family and raise her children. She did return intermittently over the years, generally in uncredited bit parts. As you hear no horror stories or scandals attached to her name, it is fair to assess that she lived without regret and simply preferred a life of stability to the crazy world of Hollywood. This is understandable, but as a viewer, you wish you had gotten to know her a little better through her work, of which there remains far too little.

HISTORY LESSON: FUN FACTS ABOUT EARLY HOLLYWOOD III

It's been awhile since I've gone historical, so here are a few new ones for you that I have picked up!

In the early days of Hollywood, before movies had made it out west, the only real celebrities to gawk at were artists, writers, and politicians. As I referred to in a previous post, the first noteworthy personality to settle down in La La Land was the painter Paul de Longpre. The second would be author Frank L. Baum (left), whose  children's stories about Oz had taken the nation by storm! Frank came to H-town in 1911, and he and his wife Maud bought a home on the corner of Cherokee and Yucca that they named "Ozcot." Frank would rise in the morning, work in the garden, and after lunch he'd get to work on his next book. The first one finished at 'Ozcot' was The Tik Tok Man of Oz. Little did Frank know that his novels would become the source of one of the greatest movies to ever come out of Hollywood! But The Wizard of Oz of 1939 was still a loooong way off. In fact, this masterpiece would not be the first time Baum's stories were immortalized. The earliest surviving version was made in 1910: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Because no records were kept at that time to authenticate its cast and crew, it is uncertain who took part in it, but Otis Turner is sometimes implicated as the director. Other Oz silents include: Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz, The Land of Oz, and John Dough and the Cherub of 1910, which are sadly considered lost, and The Patchwork Girl of Oz, The Magic Cloak of Oz, and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz of 1914. The more familiar version came about in 1925 as The Wizard of Oz, directed by and starring the great, and too often forgotten, comedy legend Larry Semon as the Scarecrow, Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodsman, and Dorothy Dwan as Dorothy! Who knew!?

Oliver, Dorothy, and Larry- Oh My!!!

Another noteworthy name around town at this time was that of Doctor Schloesser. Real estate remained the  big business in the area at this time, and Schloesser was eager to try his hand at the booming market. He was hard to miss: pudgy with big, red lips, dressed in a whalebone girdle that made him creak when he walked, and usually adorned in a fancy frock coat and white gloves. He bought and sold different properties, making huge profits, and built the astounding "Glengary Castle" at the corner of Franklin and Argyle. The two marble lions decorating the entrance were especially impressive. The home was a mixed throw-back to medieval times, and its extravagance can be likened to a more diminutive San Simeon, (William Randolph Hearst's notorious abode). When movies began shooting out in California, Schloesser made some extra money by renting out his illustrious home to filmmakers who needed a set that looked deserving of a millionaire. By that time, the Doc had moved out... and across the street to a bigger castle, which he dubbed "Sans Souci." A true character and social anomaly, when he finally sold "Glengary," newspapers would write, "Hollywood has given up trying to understand Dr. Schloesser." Haha!

It was only a matter of time before filmmaking made its way out west, however its first appearance was modest. It wasn't until 1910 that the first movie theater opened in Hollywood, "The Idle Hour." It was located at Hollywood and Hudson, and it was little more than four wooden walls, a screen, and some benches. The second theater would open about three years later between Hollywood and McCadden: "The Hollywood Theater." In response to this competition, "The Idle Hour" revamped its appearance, recognizing that movies were indeed big business, and reopened anew as "The Iris." It got its floral name from the fact that it stood where De Longpre's lush garden was once located, as well as its obvious filmic reference. This theater was also notable for possessing the first "ornamental electric lighting." Lemon groves and pepper trees were quickly being cut down as new buildings and real-estate developments continued to crop up. Slowly but surely, movies were coming to Hollywood.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! The first official film made in Hollywood! No, no, it wasn't The Squaw Man, whose production I refer to here. That was the first "feature film," made in 1912. Ironically, many of Squaw's scenes were shot on the land that would later become home to the Forest Lawn Cemetery of the Hollywood hills. This land would help to give birth to film and in due time serve as a deathbed to some of its greatest stars, including Bette Davis, Charles Laughton, and Buster Keaton. However, the first movie was made two years earlier in 1910. It was a short, shot in one day, at-- once again-- De Longpre's garden. This little gem, Love Among the Roses, would prove to be prophetic, for it would be directed by and star two of the biggest names in Hollywood history: D.W. Griffith and Mary Pickford. The first major film celebs in the first Hollywood film??? At the time, they weren't quite so prestigious. DW was a struggling filmmaker in a society that didn't consider movies a grand profession, and little Mary was but 15-years-old. But times were changing, and these two were unwittingly paving the way to the future. 

Mary, after she became Queen of the Movies

(Update: new research has revealed that D.W. Griffith's In Old California actually dates further back than Love Among the Roses, making it the first Hollywood film).

STAR OF THE MONTH: THELMA TODD

The lexicon of movie stars gets longer and longer every day (though some may argue that, these days, the title is applied too liberally). As our collective history gets more and more jam-packed, we dispense with the ever-increasing data to make room in our brains for future information. So, while we may maintain Lillian Gish, we lose Mae Marsh; we hold tightly to Garbo, but kick Pola Negri to the curb. But these ladies of cinema trivia are not trivial, and should be remembered. Which is why, just as we revere glamour girl Jean Harlow, so too should we pay homage to her platinum predecessor: Ice Cream Blonde Thelma Todd.

Today, Thelma Todd is remembered for two reasons: she was a supporting lady in the Marx Brothers' comedies, and she died a mysterious death. But Thelma was much more than some "bit player" and was a comedic phenomenon in her own right. Discovered after winning the Miss Massachusetts Beauty Contest-- which she did NOT want to enter-- she found herself in Hollywood starring opposite legends like Laurel and Hardy and Charley Chase. Her natural talent and immediate likability made her an instant star. Too beautiful and funny to be stuck in the background, she effortlessly drew the audience's attention. Before long, she was partnered up with Zasu Pitts and later Patsy Kelly in female buddy films. This was really saying something in a genre where men were always given the lead and women were an afterthought, generally only there to move the plot along.

Sadly, her luminosity is clouded by her macabre death. On Dec. 16, 1935, Thelma was found dead in the garage above her Pacific Palisades restaurant: Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe. Hastily ruled a suicide, the police at first didn't even pretend to investigate-- she had died of carbon monoxide poisoning, case closed. However, the bruises on her face raised questions, and her disbelieving mother and friends got the media in a tizzy, so DA Buron Fitts was forced to order an investigation. It was commonly known that Thelma was linked to the downright evil Lucky Luciano, and there was a lot of evidence implicating his involvement, yet the finger of blame was never placed upon him. Witnesses were bullied into keeping their mouths shut, and while Roland West, Thelma's ex-paramour and business partner, was temporarily used as a scapegoat, no real evidence could be found against him. Her death was finally ruled "accidental." In one fell swoop, Thelma and her place in the public consciousness was killed.

The thing that makes Thelma's overshadowed career the most tragic is that she was just plain fun! Watching her movies, you wish you had known her personally and could kick back and laugh it up with her. To her friends, she was the kindest and warmest pal they could ask for. Humble, utterly lacking in vanity, witty as they come, and girlishly vulnerable, hers is an endearing soul that continues to draw viewers in long after her untimely demise. Goofy and not afraid to make an ass of herself, Thelma still maintained her beauty and sex appeal. She was the whole package and a true gift to all of us. Since laughter is the best medicine, I think we could all do with a dose of Hot Toddy! Cheers!!!

 With Grouch Marx in Monkey Business

RIP, Lady Love...