#theda bara

[uspiria]

Theda Bara, 1915.

[thebrideofreanimator]

FRAGMENTS OF THEDA BARA’S CLEOPATRA HAVE BEEN FOUND GUYS.

[thedapinna]

I like history, memes and American girl dolls. Here's the union of all these.

[weirdlookindog]

Theda Bara in the lost film Cleopatra (1917)

[littlehorrorshop]

newly-discovered fragment of Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Mabel Normand (Mabel at the Wheel, Mabel's Blunder)—One of the best slapstick comedians of the silent era (who you've probably never heard of)! She wrote! She directed, in fact, she was Charlie Chaplin's first director! And of course she acted!

Theda Bara (Cleopatra)—One of cinema's first female sex symbols. Nicknamed "The Vamp" due to her looks. The OG Goth Girl. She would be HUGE on Tumblr if she were around today!

This is round 1 of the bracket. 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.]

Mabel Normand:

can never let mabel normand go by without mentioning mack & mabel, a deeply flawed musical with a beautiful score about her and mack sennett. (find a good cover of 'i won't send roses' and cry a little.) also, according to wikipedia mabel was the first film star to receive a pie thrown in the face!

Theda Bara:

She was simply nicknamed "The Vamp". Her sex appeal and typecasting was so intense that people actually thought that she lounged around half-nacked and seduced men left and right in her free time.

She is one of the most famous and enduring faces in silent film and yet only 6 of her 43 films survived the 1937 Fox Vault Fire! 6! Think about what we could have had!

She's the original Vamp and first film sex symbol! She said: “The vampire that I play is the vengeance of my sex upon its exploiters. You see, I have the face of a vampire, but the heart of a feministe.” Many of her films were banned or severely cut by state and city censorship boards due to her revealing costumes and suggestive acting. She even sued the Chicago Funkhouser censorship board to let her film Cleopatra be shown in theaters. Riots broke out in theaters during showings of her film Kathleen Mavourneen. In contrast to her film persona, her private life was pretty quiet. She grew up in Cincinnati as Theodosia "Theda" Goodman, the Jewish daughter of immigrants, and had one happy marriage that lasted 30+ years until she died at age 69.

*Theeee* celluloid blueprint for both goth chicks and sexually-manipulative women--her persona was that of a "vampire", in the sense that would eventually be shortened into "vamp", although in truth she blended both definitions beautifully. Alas, the prints of most of her back-catalogue were lost to a studio fire in 1937, but enough survives to clearly demonstrate the fantasy of enticing danger that she was so kind as to serve us.

my favorite goth icon i want her gender

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Fortune Tellers

[fibula-rasa]

from the newly-recovered footage of Cleopatra (1917)  

[letterboxd | imdb | youtube]

Director: J. Gordon Edwards

Cinematographer: John W. Boyle, Rial Schellinger, & George Schneiderman

[pazzesco]

Marilyn Monroe as Lillian Russell. Russell was one of the most famous actresses & singers at the turn of the century, known for her beauty & style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.

Marilyn Monroe as Theda Bara, silent film star from 1914 – 1926.

In 1958 Monroe posed for a series of photographs taken by Richard Avedon for Life Magazine. The photographs were to accompany an article titled “Fabulous Enchantresses” where Monroe recreated five famous actresses, Lillian Russell, Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Jean Harlow, & Marlene Dietrich. Though Avedon was not completely happy with the photographs, the pictures appeared in the Christmas issue of Life. This issue also included her husband, playwright Arthur Miller's article “My Wife” which introduced Monroe’s “Fabulous Enchantresses”.

Monroe as Clara Bow.

Monroe as Jean Harlow.

Monroe as Marlene Dietrich.

Here's 3 year old Norma Jean on the beach with her mother Gladys in 1929

[valentinovamp]

Theda Bara as "Madame Du Barry" (1917)

[uspiria]

Theda Bara, 1915.

[diioonysus]

eyes of the past

[weirdlookindog]

Salome (1918) - Lost film

[littlehorrorshop]

newly-discovered fragment of Theda Bara in Cleopatra (1917)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Suraiya or Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (Vidya)— Suraiya has it all as a blistering hot leading lady - moving from child actress to being acclaimed as a master of her craft as both an actress and a singer. Her eyes are soulful, sultry, with a depth of wisdom to her face that is unmatched. She entranced the leading men of Bollywood as well as Hollywood and deserves a space among the hottest vintage ladies.

Theda Bara (Cleopatra)—One of cinema's first female sex symbols. Nicknamed "The Vamp" due to her looks. The OG Goth Girl. She would be HUGE on Tumblr if she were around today!

This is round 3 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.]

Suraiya:

Theda Bara:

She was simply nicknamed "The Vamp". Her sex appeal and typecasting was so intense that people actually thought that she lounged around half-naked and seduced men left and right in her free time.

She is one of the most famous and enduring faces in silent film and yet only 6 of her 43 films survived the 1937 Fox Vault Fire! 6! Think about what we could have had!

*Theeee* celluloid blueprint for both goth chicks and sexually-manipulative women--her persona was that of a "vampire", in the sense that would eventually be shortened into "vamp", although in truth she blended both definitions beautifully. Alas, the prints of most of her back-catalogue were lost to a studio fire in 1937, but enough survives to clearly demonstrate the fantasy of enticing danger that she was so kind as to serve us.

my favorite goth icon i want her gender

She's the original Vamp and first film sex symbol! She said: “The vampire that I play is the vengeance of my sex upon its exploiters. You see, I have the face of a vampire, but the heart of a feministe.” Many of her films were banned or severely cut by state and city censorship boards due to her revealing costumes and suggestive acting. She even sued the Chicago Funkhouser censorship board to let her film Cleopatra be shown in theaters. Riots broke out in theaters during showings of her film Kathleen Mavourneen. In contrast to her film persona, her private life was pretty quiet. She grew up in Cincinnati as Theodosia "Theda" Goodman, the Jewish daughter of immigrants, and had one happy marriage that lasted 30+ years until she died at age 69.

[ilovedamsels1962]

Theda Bara, 1910's