Dark Star: The Untold Story of the Meteoric Rise and Fall of Legendary Silent Screen Star John Gilbert
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John Gilbert is often remembered for his scorching love scenes with Greta Garbo in silent films, as well as a costly failure in "talkies" who died young because of alcohol and a broken heart. The truth is different, as his daughter Leatrice Gilbert Fountain revels for the first time. She interviewed hundreds of people who worked with and respected her father—directors, writers, cameramen, actors, and actresses—and they remember a much different John Gilbert: not just a romantic idol, but one of the most innovative and admired stars of his day. As the fledgling MGM's biggest star, he had hit after hit: He Who Gets Slapped, The Merry Widow, The Big Parade—huge critical as well as commercial successes. Box office records were set and then broken when Gilbert co-starred with Greta Garbo (his offscreen lover as well) in Flesh and the Devil, Love, and A Woman of Affairs.
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Gilbert's career declined not because of his unsuitability for talking pictures (he spoke in a light baritone) but because of the implacable hatred of Louis B. Mayer, the tyrannical head of MGM. Gilbert and Mayer clashed over artistic and personal differences. As a result, Mayer swore to destroy the studio's biggest star: he cast Gilbert in third-rate movies and spread false stories about his drinking and unreliability. He may even have tampered with the sound track of Gilbert's first talkie to make his voice sound laughably high-pitched.
John Gilbert, both a creator and victim of the movie industry, in may ways symbolizes the potent magic of Hollywood. Dark Starrestores his reputation as one of the most gifted actors of the silent era and ensures his work will live on.
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