#Betty Blythe

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Propaganda

Betty Blythe (The Queen of Sheba)—no propaganda submitted

Asta Nielsen (Hamlet)—She played a version of Hamlet in which Hamlet was in love with Horatio because he was a woman raised to pretend to be a man, and nothing else about the story is changed. Her depiction has inspired countless people and did SHRIMP things to my gender and sexuality. A vote for Asta is a vote for queer goths everywhere 🖤

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Betty Blythe:

Asta Nielsen:

"One of the best Hamlets I've ever seen, she's so expressive I can feel her pain. Also, goth girl/boy realness."

"I just think she is neat. She was the first real movie icon in Europe, known for her big dark eyes, 1,70m/5'7 height, and "boyish figure" which gave her an androgynous allure. She opposed the Nazi regime. Also, her role in Hamlet is not Ophelia. She plays Hamlet."

"I suspect the non-american silent movie stars are gonna be in the minority, so I'm gonna be at least throwing her name in the ring. Great danish dame, one of the very first female silent movie stars (wiki says "one of the first international movie stars")! Best Hamlet to ever To Be Or Not To Be and absolutely gender envy. Her career unfortunately did not survive the transition to talkies (she however lived pretty long)."

"I think she's not as iconic in America as she is in Europe, because her films got censored over there, but she really is the original sex symbol of film. I need everyone to take a look at her as Hamlet and to have watched this clip of her dance in The Abyss before you vote. It was hot then and it's still hot now!!!"

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Lady of The Day 🌹 Betty Blythe ❤️

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Betty Blythe. British postcard by Cinema Chat. Photo: Vitagraph. | src Flickr

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betty blythe and catherine dale owens, 1924

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Betty Blythe in The Queen of Sheba, 1921

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Betty Blythe

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Betty Blythe 1923, (Sep. 1, 1893 - April 7, 1972) American actress in 63 silent films and 56 talkies.

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Betty Blythe

Photography by Alfred Cheney Johnston

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Betty Blythe

[hotvintagepoll]

by my count eleven actresses who appeared in the women are competing in this tournament: norma shearer, joan crawford, rosalind russell, paulette goddard, joan fontaine, marjorie main, ruth hussey, theresa harris, lilian bond, betty blythe, and of course, terry

Yes!

If you'd like to watch The Women for yourself, you can currently stream it on Tubi for free. I recommend this movie in a general sense, as it's a fun time if you like watching very rich, bad white women be rich and bad—think a Kardashians or Real Housewives situation but with a bunch of 1930s dames who want to chew the scenery. But I need to add the warning that this film has a very problematic relationship with the WOC in it, including hot lady contestant Theresa Harris (who plays a maid). The only Black women depicted are servants, most of them are not in speaking roles, and the few that have lines are depicted as racist caricatures (also, one is talked about in a racist manner by a few white characters in one scene). These scenes and interactions don't take up a lot of the running time, but they're still there, and I won't fault anyone for not wanting to watch it because of that.

[silentdivasblog]

Betty Blythe ❤️

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ACTRESSES BORN IN 1893

Mae West

Olga Baclanova

Helena Makowska

Dorothy Dalton

Betty Blythe

Ruth Royce

Lillian Gish

Leatrice Joy

Jean Acker

Peggy Hopkins Joyce

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Betty Blythe

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Poster for the film She featuring Betty Blythe, 1925

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BUSINESS BEFORE PLEASURE

1917

Business Before Pleasure is a play by Montague Glass and Jules Eckert Goodman. It was originally produced by A.H. Woods starring Barney Barnard and Alexander Carr as Potash and Perlmutter. 

This was the third play featuring Potash and Perlmutter, based on characters created by Glass for a series of short stories published serially in the New York Evening Post. 

These were then published in a collection Potash and Perlmutter: Their Co-partnership Ventures and Adventures, in 1909. In the first story, Potash and Perlmutter meet and become partners in the ‘cloak and suit' [garment] business.

They first appeared on Broadway in the 1913 in the eponymous Potash and Perlmutter, sometimes known as Potash and Perlmutter in Society, followed by Abe and Mawruss (1915), the title referring to the characters’ first names. After Business Before Pleasure, there was His Honor: Abe Potash (1919), Partners Again (1922), and Potash and Perlmutter, Detectives (1926), all written by Glass with various co-authors. All except the last were produced by Woods.

There was also a feature film titled Potash and Perlmutter (1913) which spawned two sequels: In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter (1924) and Partners Again (1926).

Potash and Perlmutter were both Jewish, like Glass himself. The characters' Jewishness is highlighted by Glass' use of dialect in writing their dialogue.

Abe Potash was originally played by Barney Bernard (left) and Alexander Carr originated the role of Mawruss Perlmutter. Although they are most associated with the roles, other actors also played the characters on stage and screen. 

SYNOPSIS: “Business Before Pleasure” finds Perlmutter and Potash working in the ‘fillum’ [film] business. They seek financial backing and hire actors, including an ‘umpire’ [vampire] named Rita Sismondi who gives the pair considerable angst. 

Business Before Pleasure premiered in Atlantic City at Nixon’s Apollo Theatre on August 6, 1917.  

The play opened on Broadway at Eltinge’s 42nd Street Theatre on August 15, 1917.  The play ran a remarkable 357 performances, more than twice that of the previous P&P installment, but just short of the original, which ran 441 performances. 

“The success of ‘Business Before Pleasure' was made certain by the engagement of Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr for the principal roles. They have been acting the parts so long that they fit them like Annette Kellermann’s tights after her first dive — the old kid glove comparison does not seem to express It — and they carried off the honors easily.” ~ BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE

Annette Kellermann was an Australian swimmer and vaudeville star who was one of the first women to wear a one-piece bathing costume, instead of pantaloons.

"It's a wonderful play," said the first man to leave the Eltinge Theatre last night after the final curtain, and "It's a wonderful play," echoed his companion, with strong emphasis on the word ‘wonderful’. It is safe to say that half the audience expressed the same sentiment, and the other half were so full of delightful memories of the show that they didn't want to break the spell by talking. ~ BROOKLYN CITIZEN

A clever Labor Day advertisement for the play ostensibly a typed note from the stars to their producer about their popularity. 

In February 1918, while the Broadway production continued into its sixth month, the first of four road companies was launched in Pennsylvania. 

In May 1918, Bernard and Carr left the show and were replaced by Robert Leonard and Gus York, who had originated the roles in the London production of the first play. 

"’Business Before Pleasure’ with Barney Bernard and Alexander Carr missing, failed to find the favor which It had enjoyed with those two players present, and accordingly abandoned its intention to make a summer run of lt.” ~ NEW YORK TIMES, June 23, 1918

In 1924, a film version of the play was released under the title of In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter. It was the second film to feature the characters. The role of Potash was taken by George Sidney replacing Barney Bernard, who had died six months before the film’s release.  In the UK the film was titled So This Is Hollywood. Genuine screen ‘vampire’ Betty Blythe played Rita Sismondi. Jersey City-born silent film star Norma Talmadge and her sister Constance made appearances as themselves. 

The film premiered in Atlantic City at the Virginia Theatre on the Boardwalk on November 22, 1924. 

From cloaks and suits to filming ‘beauts’!

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Betty Blythe (American actress, 1893-1972). British postcard by Cinema Chat. Photo; Vitagraph