Minx, The Magazine - Volume Two, IssueTwo

Biographies

William Desmond Taylor
1877 - 1922

Born in Carlow, Ireland. Came to USA c. 1890. Worked as stage actor, engineer, antique dealer, gold miner. Entered silent film industry as actor in 1912; most noted film as actor was "Captain Alvarez" (Vitagraph, 1914). Directed first film for Balboa Films in 1914. Subsequently directed for American Film, Favorite Players, Pallas, Morosco, Fox, Famous Players-Lasky, Select, Realart, Paramount. Served in the British Army 1918-1919. Resumed Hollywood career. Served as president of the Motion Picture Directors' Association for three terms. Stars he directed included Mary Pickford Dustin Farnum Wallace Reid Mary Miles Minter. Directed "Davy Crockett", "Tom Sawyer, " "Anne of Green Gables", "Huckleberry Finn", others. His unsolved murder in 1922 was one of Hollywood's greatest scandals.

Director filmography

Top of New York, The (1922)
Green Temptation, The (1922)
Beyond (1921)
Wealth (1921)
Sacred and Profane Love (1921)
Witching Hour, The (1921)
Morals (1921)
Soul of Youth, The (1920)
Jenny Be Good (1920)
Nurse Marjorie (1920)
Judy of Rogue's Harbor (1920)
Huckleberry Finn (1920)
Furnace, The (1920)
Anne of Green Gables (1919)
Captain Kidd, Jr. (1919)
Johanna Enlists (1918)
How Could You, Jean? (1918)
Mile-a-Minute Kendall (1918)
His Majesty, Bunker Bean (1918)
Huck and Tom (1918)
Spirit of '17 (1918)
Up the Road with Sallie (1918)
Tom Sawyer (1917)
Jack and Jill (1917)
North of Fifty Three (1917)
Varmint, The (1917)
Big Timber (1917)
World Apart, The (1917)
Out of the Wreck (1917)
Happiness of Three Women (1917)
Redeeming Love (1916)
Her Father's Son (1916)
House of Lies, The (1916)
Parson of Panamint, The (1916)
Davy Crockett (1916)
American Beauty, The (1916)
Pasquale (1916)
Ben Blair (1916)
He Fell in Love with His Wife (1916)
Diamond from the Sky, The (1915)
Eye for an Eye, An (1915) (unconfirmed)
High Hand, The (1915)
Last Chapter, The (1915)
Peggy Lynn, Burgler (1915)
Soul of the Vase (1915)
Tricks of Fate (1915)
Woman Scorned, A (1915)
Criminal Code, The (1914)
Judge's Wife, The (1914)

Mabel Normand
1894 - 1930

Born probably in either Rhode Island or Massachusetts, Mabel Normand grew up after 1900 on Staten Island, New York. Much of her early life is obscure, including whatever scant schooling she may have received. About the age of fifteen she became an artist's model for, among others, James Montgomery Flagg. In 1909, despite her entire lack of dramatic experience, she succeeded in getting a job at the fledgling Biograph motion picture studio in New York City. There she formed a liaison with director Mack Sennett that lasted several years. In 1912 she left Biograph with Sennett and joined his new Keystone Film Company in California.

Normand was the female star of the Keystone company, and when Charlie Chaplin joined it late in 1913 he learned much basic filmcraft from her. She was his leading lady in 11 films, mostly one- and two-reelers, and it was in Mabel's Strange Predicament, 1914, that Chaplin first appeared in his "little tramp" persona. After Chaplin left Keystone for Essanay, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle became her partner in a successful series of comedies. In 1916 Sennett organized the Mabel Normand Feature Film Company for her. The firm produced Mickey, which after long delays, was released in 1918 and was enormously successful. In 1917 Mabel Normand left Keystone to join the new Goldwyn Film Company. In 1920 Goldwyn released her from her contract -- she had become increasingly difficult to work with as she explored the prerogatives of stardom -- and she rejoined Sennett to make Molly O', 1921.

The murder in February 1922 of William Desmond Taylor was the beginning of the end of her career. The publicity, together with rumors of drug addiction and blackmail, roused a public outcry for censorship of her films. But it was a second scandal that ended her career. Her chauffeur shot a wealthy young suitor in her apartment in January 1924, reportedly in a jealous argument over her. She made one unsuccessful attempt at legitimate theater in 1925, and in 1926 she appeared in a few Hal Roach comedy shorts, but the public would no longer accept her. She died of tuberculosis on February 23, 1930, in Monrovia, California.

Actress filmography

One Hour Married (1927)
Should Men Walk Home? (1927)
Anything Once! (1927)
Nickel Hopper, The (1926)
Raggedy Rose (1926)
Extra Girl, The (1923)
Suzanna (1923)
Oh, Mabel Behave (1922)
Head Over Heels (1922)
What Happened to Rosa? (1921)
Molly O' (1921)
Pinto (1920)
Slim Princess, The (1920)
Jinx (1919)
Upstairs (1919)
When Doctors Disagree (1919)
Pest, The (1919)
Sis (1919)
Perfect 36, A (1918)
Peck's Bad Girl (1918)
Back to the Woods (1918/II)
Venus Model, The (1918)
Joan of Plattsburg (1918)
Floor Below, The (1918)
Dodging a Million (1918)
Mickey (1918)
Bright Lights (1916)
Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916)
He Did and Didn't (1916)
My Valet (1915)
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition (1915)
Fatty and Mabel's Married Life (1915)
Fatty's Tintype Tangle (1915)
His Luckless Love (1915)
Mabel and Fatty Viewing the World's Fair at San Francisco (1915)
Mabel and Fatty's Simple Life (1915)
Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day (1915)
Mabel Lost and Won (1915)
Mabel's Wilful Way (1915)
Mabel, Fatty and the Law (1915)
Rum and Wall Paper (1915)
Stolen Magic (1915)
That Little Band of Gold (1915)
Their Social Splash (1915)
Wished on Mabel (1915)
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914)
Sea Nymphs, The (1914)
Fatty's Wine Party (1914)
Fatty's Jonah Day (1914)
Incompetent Hero, An (1914)
Lovers' Post Office (1914)
Those Country Kids (1914)
Alarm, The (1914)
Where Hazel Met the Villain (1914)
Film Johnnie, A (1914)
In the Clutches of the Gang (1914)
Misplaced Foot, A (1914)
Back at It Again (1914)
Between Showers (1914)
Caught in a Cabaret (1914)
Fatal Mallet, The (1914)
Gambling Rube, A (1914)
Gentlemen of Nerve (1914)
Getting Acquainted (1914)
Glimpse of Los Angeles, A (1914)
Hello, Mabel (1914)
Her Friend the Bandit (1914)
His Trysting Place (1914)
How Heroes Are Made (1914)
Little Teacher, The (1914)
Love, Luck and Gasoline (1914)
Mabel at the Wheel (1914)
Mabel's Bare Escape (1914)
Mabel's Blunder (1914)
Mabel's Busy Day (1914)
Mabel's Latest Prank (1914)
Mabel's Married Life (1914)
Mabel's New Job (1914)
Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914)
Missing Bride, A (1914)
Won in a Closet (1914)
Champion, The (1913)
Zazu, the Band Leader (1913)
Fatty's Flirtation (1913)
Gusher, The (1913)
Cohen Saves the Flag (1913)
Muddy Romance, A (1913)
Love Sickness at Sea (1913)
Speed Kings, The (1913)
Bowling Match, The (1913)
When Dreams Come True (1913)
Faithful Taxicab, The (1913)
Gypsy Queen, The (1913)
Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913)
Mabel's New Hero (1913)
Baby Day (1913)
Riot, The (1913)
Professor Bean's Removal (1913)
Love and Courage (1913)
Noise From the Deep, A (1913)
Telltale Light, The (1913)
For the Love of Mabel (1913)
Waiters' Picnic, The (1913)
Hansom Driver, The (1913)
Speed Queen, The (1913)
Passions, He Had Three (1913)
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913)
Foreman of the Jury, The (1913)
Hubby's Job (1913)
Little Hero, A (1913)
Ragtime Band, The (1913)
Father's Choice (1913)
Those Good Old Days (1913)
Hide and Seek (1913)
Her New Beau (1913)
At Twelve O'Clock (1913)
Near to Earth (1913)
Rube and the Baron, The (1913)
Foiling Fickle Father (1913)
Strong Revenge, A (1913)
Rural Third Degree, The (1913)
Sleuths at the Floral Parade, The (1913)
Doctored Affair, A (1913)
Red Hot Romance, A (1913)
Professor's Daughter, The (1913)
Tangled Affair, A (1913)
Mabel's Heroes (1913)
Heinze's Resurrection (1913)
Battle of Who Run, The (1913)
Brothers (1913/I)
Just Brown's Luck (1913)
Deacon Outwitted, The (1913)
Mistaken Masher, The (1913)
Cure That Failed, The (1913)
Saving Mabel's Dad (1913)
For Lizzie's Sake (1913)
Love and Pain (1913)
Mabel's Awful Mistakes (1913)
Mabel's Stormy Love Affair (1913)
Teddy Telzlaff and Earl Cooper (1913)
Duel, The (1912)
Mabel's Stratagem (1912)
Drummer's Vacation, The (1912)
Mabel's Adventures (1912)
Family Mixup, A (1912)
Midnight Elopement, A (1912)
Brown's Seance (1912)
Pat's Day Off (1912)
Desperate Lover, A (1912)
Mr. Fix-It (1912)
Rivals, The (1912)
Deacon's Troubles, The (1912)
Temperamental Husband, A (1912)
At It Again (1912)
Mabel's Lovers (1912)
At Coney Island (1912)
Grocery Clerk's Romance, The (1912)
Ambitious Butler (1912)
Flirting Husband, The (1912)
Pedro's Dilemma (1912)
Stolen Glory (1912)
New Neighbor, The (1912)
Cohen Collects a Debt (1912)
He Must Have a Wife (1912)
Mr. Grouch at the Seashore (1912)
Interrupted Elopement, The (1912)
Tragedy of the Dress Suit (1912)
Tourists, The (1912)
What the Doctor Ordered (1912)
Dash Through the Clouds, A (1912)
Katchem Kate (1912)
Neighbors (1912)
Tomboy Bessie (1912)
Helen's Marriage (1912)
When Kings Were the Law (1912)
Furs, The (1912)
Fickle Spaniard (1912)
Brave Hunter, The (1912)
Help! Help! (1912)
Oh, Those Eyes (1912)
Hot Stuff (1912)
Engagement Ring, The (1912)
Spanish Dilemma, A (1912)
Fatal Chocolate, The (1912)
Mender of Nets, The (1912)
Eternal Mother, The (1912)
Race for a Life (1912)
Water Nymph, The (1912)
Saved From Himself (1911)
Why He Gave Up (1911)
Victim of Circumstances, A (1911)
Through His Wife's Picture (1911)
Unveiling, The (1911)
Italian Blood (1911)
Making of a Man, The (1911)
Her Awakening (1911)
Revenue Man and the Girl, The (1911)
Squaw's Love, The (1911)
Baron, The (1911)
How Betty Won the School (1911)
Diving Girl, The (1911)
Subduing of Mrs. Nag, The (1911)
Changing of Silas Warner, The (1911)
Over the Garden Wall (1911)
Dead Man's Honor, A (1911)
His Mother (1911)
When a Man's Married His Trouble Begins (1911)
Picciola (1911)
Troublesome Secretaries (1911)
Indiscretions of Betty (1911)
Betty Becomes a Maid (1911)
Tale of Two Cities, A (1911)
Saved From Herself (1911)

Mary Miles Minter
1902 - 1984

Mary Miles Minter was a one-time child stage actress who started her career billed as Juliet Shelby. She became a major film star and appeared in fifty films in a span of a dozen years. Because she was only ten when she began her screen career (her film debut was The Nurse, 1912), Minter was often cast as a young girl experiencing the pangs and adventures of growing up. Such is the case with Anne of Green Gables, a 1919 Realart Films production, which was released by Paramount.

Anne of Green Gables was the first of four films starring Minter to be directed by William Desmond Taylor. Ironically, the collaboration between filmmaker and actress resulted in some of her most affecting performances; but later, it was to affect Minter's career tragically. Minter made only four more films following Taylor's death and ended her career at the ripe old age of twenty-one.

Still, it must be noted, Minter's work was not always considered exceptional. In fact, it is generally recognized that the quality of her work often depended on the care of her directors. Edward Sloman, who directed her in five-reelers prior to The Ghost of Rosie Taylor, once said to historian Kevin Brownlow, "Without doubt, she was the best-looking youngster I ever saw, and the lousiest actress." Yet, Sloman's own film, which contains a still-compelling performance by Minter, is contradictory to this.

The rest of her life was filled with scandal. In addition to the Taylor case, she was involved in other much-publicized cases, one of which was against her own mother. Even into the 1970's, the Taylor case plagued Minter, notably when "Rod Serling's Wonderful World of Crime," a television show, examined the murder. As a result, Minter filed an invasion of privacy suit, alleging that the program intimated the murder had been done by one of three women, and she was presumed to be among the three. Minter lost the suit, but claimed, at the time, she had "never gotten over" the late director, although in 1958 Minter did marry.

The life of Mary Miles Minter continues to be marked by tragedy into the 1980's. In 1981, she was beaten, bound, gagged, and robbed at her Santa Monica home. Investigators on the case, who described Minter as a "tiny, frail old lady," seemed surprised to learn that she was a former star of the silent screen. Said one investigator, "She's been a victim of theft and robberies for as long as I can remember."

Actress filmography

Drums of Fate (1923)
Trail of the Lonesome Pine, The (1923)
Cowboy and the Lady, The (1922)
South of Suva (1922)
Heart Specialist, The (1922)
Tillie (1922)
All Souls' Eve (1921)
Don't Call Me Little Girl (1921)
Her Winning Way (1921)
Little Clown, The (1921)
Moonlight and Honeysuckle (1921)
Eyes of the Heart (1920)
Cumberland Romance, A (1920)
Jenny Be Good (1920)
Nurse Marjorie (1920)
Judy of Rogue's Harbor (1920)
Sweet Lavender (1920)
Anne of Green Gables (1919)
Yvonne From Paris (1919)
Bachelor's Wife, A (1919)
Intrusion of Isabel, The (1919)
Amazing Imposter, The (1919)
Rosemary Climbs the Heights (1919)
Wives and Other Wives (1918)
Ghost of Rosy Taylor, The (1918)
Social Briars (1918)
Powers That Prey (1918)
Beauty and the Rogue (1918)
Bit of Jade, A (1918)
Eyes of Julia Deep, The (1918)
Peggy Leads the Way (1917)
Charity Castle (1917)
Her Country's Call (1917)
Annie-for-Spite (1917)
Gentle Intruder, The (1917)
Environment (1917)
Mate of the Sally Ann, The (1917)
Melissa of the Hills (1917)
Periwinkle (1917)
Somewhere in America (1917)
Faith (1916)
Sally in Our Alley (1916)
Lovely Mary (1916)
Dimples (1916)
Rose of the Alley (1916)
Dream or Two Ago, A (1916)
Dulcie's Adventure (1916)
Innocence of Lizette (1916)
Youth's Endearing Charm (1916)
Barbara Frietchie (1915)
Emmy of Stork's Nest (1915)
Always in the Way (1915)
Fairy and the Waif, The (1915)
Nurse, The (1912)

King Vidor
1894 - 1982

Director filmography

Solomon and Sheba (1959)
War and Peace (1956)
Man Without a Star (1955)
Japanese War Bride (1952)
Ruby Gentry (1952)
Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)
Beyond the Forest (1949)
Fountainhead, The (1949)
On Our Merry Way (1948)
Duel in the Sun (1946)
American Romance, An (1944)
H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
Northwest Passage (1940)
Comrade X (1940)
Wizard of Oz, The (1939)
Citadel, The (1938)
Stella Dallas (1937)
Texas Rangers, The (1936)
So Red the Rose (1935)
Wedding Night, The (1935)
Our Daily Bread (1934)
Stranger's Return, The (1933)
Bird of Paradise (1932)
Cynara (1932)
Street Scene (1931)
Champ, The (1931/I)
Not So Dumb (1930)
Billy the Kid (1930)
Hallelujah (1929)
Show People (1928)
Patsy, The (1928)
Crowd, The (1928)
Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)
Boheme, La (1926)
Proud Flesh (1925)
Big Parade, The (1925)
Wife of the Centaur, The (1924)
His Hour (1924)
Happiness (1924)
Wild Oranges (1924)
Wine of Youth (1924)
Three Wise Fools (1923)
Woman of Bronze, The (1923)
Peg o' My Heart (1922)
Conquering the Woman (1922)
Dusk to Dawn (1922)
Real Adventure (1922)
Love Never Dies (1921)
Sky Pilot, The (1921)
Jack-Knife Man, The (1920)
Family Honor, The (1920)
Turn in the Road, The (1919)
Better Times (1919)
Other Half, The (1919)
Poor Relations (1919)
Grand Military Parade, The (1913)