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Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara
Theda Bara became an overnight superstar with her film debut in the scandalous 1915 hit, A Fool There Was, and for the rest of that decade stayed at the top of the heap, along with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Despite her fame and notoriety as the movies' first "sex symbol," no biography of the original Vamp has ever been written, even though Bara threatened to pen her own "because nobody ever wrote a true word about me." Finally, someone has. Bara had one of the most bizarre and colorful careers of the silent era, starring in Cleopatra, Salome, and scores of other hit films before vanishing mysteriously from the screen. Now, read for the first time how a nice Jewish girl from the Midwest became "Satan's Handmaiden," scandalized a nation, and abruptly fell from the heights.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
Eve Golden
16 books57 followersEve Golden is a biographer whose work focuses on American silent film, theater and early twentieth century actresses.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 26, 2010
Posterity has been both cruel and kind to Theda Bara.
In a sense, she's luckier than most of the forgotten stars of the early silent movies, because, even though most people no longer know her name, there is at least one iconic image of her that has seeped into the collective consciousness: her intense brooding gaze, directed at us from eyes surrounded by dark makeup rings and a head bedecked in faux-Egyptian headdress; her plumpish body sprawled and barely covered, her breast contours exposed and nipples barely hidden by wispy asp ornaments.
The famous photo still is from Cleopatra, the biggest movie hit of 1917 and --like virtually every one of the 40-plus movies she made -- it is entirely lost to us.
Theda Bara -- the first sex symbol of the movies -- ground out an astonishingly ample number of movies from the start of her film career in 1915, becoming one of the biggest stars of the World War I era. Less than five years after her debut in A Fool There Was, the movie that solidified the idea of the merciless vamp, or maneater, in the public mind, Bara was washed up and quickly forgotten. All but four of her films were pretty much lost to fires and disintegration by the 1930s.
Because we have so little of her, and because the studio publicity printed about her in her heyday was all lies, there is almost a cold trail about who this star really was.
Eve Golden does an admirable job of reconstructing the life and career of this icon, who, as it turns out, was the complete opposite of her film persona: genteel, well-bred, cultured, conservative, studious, cautious, hardworking and non-scandalous in her private life.
As a film buff, I'd always dismissed Bara as a footnote; which is something Golden says has been done by virtually all film scholars. The problem with Bara is that with so few of her films available it is hard to grasp and gauge the quality and impact of her allure and talent; particularly the range of her onscreen personality. Although it doesn't impress many viewers today, her first film, A Fool There Was actually does give some indication of Bara's seductive power. It was such a huge hit that it made fledgling Fox Film viable, leading to the movie company 20th-Century Fox that we've known for decades. Bara films such as Cleopatra continued to solidify the studio's place in Hollywood. But, like many stars of the past and present, Bara struggled against typecasting, unsuccessfully. Producer William Fox always returned her to vamp roles whenever she'd try acting in more serious fare. The public loved the vamp, but the critics were merciless, and Bara was not inclined to disagree with them.
Although Bara did have the air of the diva, it was all part of the image and partly something earned by hard work. She never came to the set unprepared, heavily researching her roles before filming them.
Although the subtitle of this book is The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara, there's nothing especially dramatic about Bara's decline in show business. As younger flappers emerged in the 1920s and she began to push middle age, her role as the vamp became ludicrous to the public, and she was no longer a novelty. Luckily, she saved her money, married well and enjoyed a life of luxury for the rest of her days.
It is that lack of a flame-out sensational life that probably also accounts for the lack of interest in Bara today. She didn't commit suicide or have affairs or so on. Nothing about Bara could have made it into Hollywood Babylon. The initial image of her pushed by the studio's PR liars -- that she was an exotic import born in the shadows of the Sphinx who was raised in a tent in the desert sands -- was eaten up by the press and the public of the day, even though they didn't really believe it. Bara, though she did put on airs, was simply Theodosia Goodman of Cincinnati, Ohio, a plump and fairly homely looking girl, who somehow transformed herself into the first sex symbol of the movies.
Golden does a good job of digging into the sparse record (including, miraculously, Bara's own surviving scrapbooks in which she kept both her good and bad press reviews) and does the best she can with the material.
The book is efficient, straightforward and well enough done, not exactly scintillating. Many buffs will want this simply for the liberal inclusion of many, and often rare, photos of Bara on and off the set. Even though I'm rating it relatively low, that should not be taken as a lack of a recommendation. This is the first and so far only biography of Bara, and I think it's a good start. Perhaps a better book on her can't be done, due to the dearth of surviving information, but even after reading it I never quite felt that I really got to know her. The book does an excellent job of surveying Bara's films, and one begins to feel pained wondering how she must have moved in those regal stages of undress in Cleopatra and Salome, how funny and versatile she must have been as the tomboyish action hero in Under Two Flags and how wicked she must have seemed as the vamp who takes down a whole town in Destruction.
I'm giving this kudos as a piece of informative movie archeology and less of a pass as great read, though again, it reads swiftly.
In a sense, she's luckier than most of the forgotten stars of the early silent movies, because, even though most people no longer know her name, there is at least one iconic image of her that has seeped into the collective consciousness: her intense brooding gaze, directed at us from eyes surrounded by dark makeup rings and a head bedecked in faux-Egyptian headdress; her plumpish body sprawled and barely covered, her breast contours exposed and nipples barely hidden by wispy asp ornaments.
The famous photo still is from Cleopatra, the biggest movie hit of 1917 and --like virtually every one of the 40-plus movies she made -- it is entirely lost to us.
Theda Bara -- the first sex symbol of the movies -- ground out an astonishingly ample number of movies from the start of her film career in 1915, becoming one of the biggest stars of the World War I era. Less than five years after her debut in A Fool There Was, the movie that solidified the idea of the merciless vamp, or maneater, in the public mind, Bara was washed up and quickly forgotten. All but four of her films were pretty much lost to fires and disintegration by the 1930s.
Because we have so little of her, and because the studio publicity printed about her in her heyday was all lies, there is almost a cold trail about who this star really was.
Eve Golden does an admirable job of reconstructing the life and career of this icon, who, as it turns out, was the complete opposite of her film persona: genteel, well-bred, cultured, conservative, studious, cautious, hardworking and non-scandalous in her private life.
As a film buff, I'd always dismissed Bara as a footnote; which is something Golden says has been done by virtually all film scholars. The problem with Bara is that with so few of her films available it is hard to grasp and gauge the quality and impact of her allure and talent; particularly the range of her onscreen personality. Although it doesn't impress many viewers today, her first film, A Fool There Was actually does give some indication of Bara's seductive power. It was such a huge hit that it made fledgling Fox Film viable, leading to the movie company 20th-Century Fox that we've known for decades. Bara films such as Cleopatra continued to solidify the studio's place in Hollywood. But, like many stars of the past and present, Bara struggled against typecasting, unsuccessfully. Producer William Fox always returned her to vamp roles whenever she'd try acting in more serious fare. The public loved the vamp, but the critics were merciless, and Bara was not inclined to disagree with them.
Although Bara did have the air of the diva, it was all part of the image and partly something earned by hard work. She never came to the set unprepared, heavily researching her roles before filming them.
Although the subtitle of this book is The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara, there's nothing especially dramatic about Bara's decline in show business. As younger flappers emerged in the 1920s and she began to push middle age, her role as the vamp became ludicrous to the public, and she was no longer a novelty. Luckily, she saved her money, married well and enjoyed a life of luxury for the rest of her days.
It is that lack of a flame-out sensational life that probably also accounts for the lack of interest in Bara today. She didn't commit suicide or have affairs or so on. Nothing about Bara could have made it into Hollywood Babylon. The initial image of her pushed by the studio's PR liars -- that she was an exotic import born in the shadows of the Sphinx who was raised in a tent in the desert sands -- was eaten up by the press and the public of the day, even though they didn't really believe it. Bara, though she did put on airs, was simply Theodosia Goodman of Cincinnati, Ohio, a plump and fairly homely looking girl, who somehow transformed herself into the first sex symbol of the movies.
Golden does a good job of digging into the sparse record (including, miraculously, Bara's own surviving scrapbooks in which she kept both her good and bad press reviews) and does the best she can with the material.
The book is efficient, straightforward and well enough done, not exactly scintillating. Many buffs will want this simply for the liberal inclusion of many, and often rare, photos of Bara on and off the set. Even though I'm rating it relatively low, that should not be taken as a lack of a recommendation. This is the first and so far only biography of Bara, and I think it's a good start. Perhaps a better book on her can't be done, due to the dearth of surviving information, but even after reading it I never quite felt that I really got to know her. The book does an excellent job of surveying Bara's films, and one begins to feel pained wondering how she must have moved in those regal stages of undress in Cleopatra and Salome, how funny and versatile she must have been as the tomboyish action hero in Under Two Flags and how wicked she must have seemed as the vamp who takes down a whole town in Destruction.
I'm giving this kudos as a piece of informative movie archeology and less of a pass as great read, though again, it reads swiftly.
August 14, 2013
More of an enigma than an actress, Theda Bara continues to captivate far long after her reign as the "Vamp." That in part has to do with the fact that only a couple films of hers survived after Fox Studio's film reels caught fire. There remains just a very small footage of her most intriguing film, Cleopatra, that only succeeds in heightening mystery that surrounds her. The still shots however remain and draw you to her captivating presence. This biography gives good insight into who she really was, and not the mysterious fictitious character that the studio made up when they set out to create their first star; the exotic, Theda Bara.
October 28, 2022
3 1/2 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This was about the original movie vampire and sex symbol of the early 1900’s: Theda Bara. Including a lot of history about the very beginning of the movie industry along with Theda’s life the author includes tons of information, and pictures showing her extensive career that is pretty much forgotten. After a fire in 1937 only 2 of her 42 films are known to still exist. The author explained “Today, she is the least accessible of silent stars, most of her films missing, and the few that exist showing her off poorly.“
This book shows a really interesting time in history and the strange, but still common ways they’d get publicity for their films and actors by creating entire fake personas for the actors off screen. This era is my favorite to read about because it was such a strange time with so much going on. I really enjoyed this book and the author did a really good job of sorting out truth and lies the studio created. We’ll never know most things about Theda, and most of her body of work has literally gone up in smoke, but this book did a really good job of showing how she’s a forgotten icon of her day and why she should be included next to the big names of silent film.
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This was about the original movie vampire and sex symbol of the early 1900’s: Theda Bara. Including a lot of history about the very beginning of the movie industry along with Theda’s life the author includes tons of information, and pictures showing her extensive career that is pretty much forgotten. After a fire in 1937 only 2 of her 42 films are known to still exist. The author explained “Today, she is the least accessible of silent stars, most of her films missing, and the few that exist showing her off poorly.“
This book shows a really interesting time in history and the strange, but still common ways they’d get publicity for their films and actors by creating entire fake personas for the actors off screen. This era is my favorite to read about because it was such a strange time with so much going on. I really enjoyed this book and the author did a really good job of sorting out truth and lies the studio created. We’ll never know most things about Theda, and most of her body of work has literally gone up in smoke, but this book did a really good job of showing how she’s a forgotten icon of her day and why she should be included next to the big names of silent film.
February 18, 2011
This is a necessarily brief biography of an important cultural figure. Almost all her films have disappeared and the published information about her early life is almost entirely studio-created nonsense (she was "born in the shadow of the pyramids"--actually Cincinatti). Her active career as an onscreen sex bomb, the woman for whom the word "vamp" was invented, was also very brief--only from 1914 to 1919. What's left of that career are a few films (considered even at the time as some of her weakest) and some tantalisingly wonderful and strange photographs and stills. Like the author, I'd love to see the extravagant production of Cleopatra she starred in in 1917, but no surviving copies are known. Her public image was as the most dangerous, depraved woman in America, a woman with whom no decent man was safe; offscreen, all the evidence suggests she was an intelligent, well-read, kind, stable, and likeable woman.
August 15, 2015
A brief, but highly enjoyable read one can complete in a day. Eve Golden related the brief, brilliant, troubled film career of Theda Bara, one of the first 'femme-fatales' of the silent era. Great for lovers of tall tales, as well as any film history buff.
February 11, 2016
Theda Bara......the name conjures up mystery and evil deeds. Not a bad start for a Jewish girl from Cincinnati named Theodosa Goodman, plain and rather pudgy with a big chin and thin lips. William Fox of Fox Studios (later to morph into 20h Century Fox) took her and turned her into the biggest silent star of all times. Yet she is practically unknown today except to the silent film fan.....most of her films have been lost so the viewer doesn't see all her work but her first huge hit "A Fool There Was" is still extant. Her character was the "vampire" (taken from the poem of the same name by Kipling), soon shortened to "vamp", a woman who led men to destruction, alcoholism and usually suicide. And the public loved it. To say that her acting, the character,her make-up. flowing hair and the stories were ludicrous is putting it mildly. Why she became so popular is rather puzzling.
This short, easy to read biography is full in information but is somewhat dull. Ms. Bara never had a breath of scandal associated with her life and married British director Charles Brabin.....and stayed married. The times soon passed by the public's enjoyment of her films and she retired before the talkies began, after trying a disastrous Broadway outing. She lives a privileged and social life until her death in 1955. Her passing was barely noticed by film fans who hadn't a clue who she was. A bittersweet ending for a pioneer of the film industry, albeit it a rather strange one.
This short, easy to read biography is full in information but is somewhat dull. Ms. Bara never had a breath of scandal associated with her life and married British director Charles Brabin.....and stayed married. The times soon passed by the public's enjoyment of her films and she retired before the talkies began, after trying a disastrous Broadway outing. She lives a privileged and social life until her death in 1955. Her passing was barely noticed by film fans who hadn't a clue who she was. A bittersweet ending for a pioneer of the film industry, albeit it a rather strange one.
June 28, 2014
More informative than it was "entertaining", but I think that's because I've been conditioned to equate scandal with excitement, and this lady had no scandals to speak of. Pure class! Learned a lot about the silent age and the failure we've had in preserving our past. I recommend this.
June 16, 2015
Unlike Gish, Pickford, and Bow, Theda Bara is a face associated with the silent era that we really know little about. Her name and likeness are tossed around and she's often spoke of as one of the quintessential stars of the silent screen. However, so little of her filmography exists that it's close to impossible to discuss her as anything more than a name and likeness. Aside from "A Fool There Was", her existing films are trite melodramas and a hopeless comedy short. Even her epic "Cleopatra" exists only as a half-minute clip. Also taking into consideration that Theda was a very private person and that most of the "facts" of her life were lies from the studio, a legitimate biography about her seems almost impossible.
However, Eve Golden succeeds in writing perhaps the most credible biography that one could about Theda Bara. She seems to have researched not only Theda herself, but also her films, poring over reviews and public reception of them in order to get a glimpse of what they might have been like. One can gather that while Theda was only an occasional critical success, audiences couldn't get enough of her. In fact, it's somewhat sad that she tried several times to break into more diverse roles and was rejected each time. In fact, even though this is more common knowledge now than even a decade ago, Theda was a very down-to-earth, upstanding person who had a solid marriage and a generous spirit, and this book emphasizes those qualities. In that way, this biography does what every biography should: dispel myths and confirm the truth.
My only complaint is that the book itself has a feeling of unprofessionalism. It's well-researched and educated, but the layout definitely feels...I suppose quaint, if one can describe a book as such. One or two portions have clunky writing, and Golden offers some opinions that I personally differed with, so for these reasons, I couldn't give it 5 stars. However, if one is looking for a genuine and informative book about Theda which is full of photographs as well, look no further than this lovely biography.
However, Eve Golden succeeds in writing perhaps the most credible biography that one could about Theda Bara. She seems to have researched not only Theda herself, but also her films, poring over reviews and public reception of them in order to get a glimpse of what they might have been like. One can gather that while Theda was only an occasional critical success, audiences couldn't get enough of her. In fact, it's somewhat sad that she tried several times to break into more diverse roles and was rejected each time. In fact, even though this is more common knowledge now than even a decade ago, Theda was a very down-to-earth, upstanding person who had a solid marriage and a generous spirit, and this book emphasizes those qualities. In that way, this biography does what every biography should: dispel myths and confirm the truth.
My only complaint is that the book itself has a feeling of unprofessionalism. It's well-researched and educated, but the layout definitely feels...I suppose quaint, if one can describe a book as such. One or two portions have clunky writing, and Golden offers some opinions that I personally differed with, so for these reasons, I couldn't give it 5 stars. However, if one is looking for a genuine and informative book about Theda which is full of photographs as well, look no further than this lovely biography.
June 18, 2015
Theda Bara was the first really famous vamp of silent screen fame, although I think it was mostly her eyes and perhaps her onscreen movements that capture her fandom. Most of her work is lost, however, although there seems to be plenty of still photography, much of it displayed in this book. I didn't love the book, but clearly research was under taken and it is not terribly written, although I could nitpick.
September 5, 2008
Entertaining and witty account of Theda’s life and career. Very well researched , and manages to talk about the films and their plots without making them tedious.
March 19, 2014
Golden has a real way with words and telling the story with elan and great wit. An excellent and level-headed Bio of the first silent vamp.
March 9, 2020
Another great book by Eve Arnold. Nice to finally know more about Miss Bara.
March 1, 2017
Theda Bara was a silent film star of the 1910s who was very famous in her time for her femme fatale roles, but is largely forgotten today. That's mainly because most of her films have been lost. Only about five of her 42 movies exist today. Most were lost in a studio fire.
I liked this book mostly because I'm interested in its subject matter - movie history, and especially the early history. It didn't delve very deeply into the subject's personal life. At times it almost reads like a filmography. Most of the book is devoted to the four years or so when she made the bulk of her films.
Then again, there apparently isn't a lot of existing information about Theda Bara. Most of what was written about her at the time were fabricated stories fed to the press by her movie studio's PR department. For instance, the studio (Fox) claimed she was the daughter of a French actress and an Italian sculptor and grew up in Egypt and France. Added to that, by the time anyone did a biography of her, she and most of her contemporaries were dead, so it was hard to set the record straight. (In fact, she was born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati and hadn't even been to Egypt or France at the time she started her film career.) And it would be hard to write about her career without it seeming like you were just describing the making of one film after another, since she made more than 40 movies in only about four years and didn't really have any downtime between movies.
The author did a good job of research, dispelling myths about Theda Bara (for instance, the myth that her public bought her publicity hook, line, and sinker). She also explains why early silent film stars seemed to have such a rigid, unrealistic acting style. (They were trained in the Delsarte method, a set of specific gestures that were supposed to represent particular emotions.)
I liked this book mostly because I'm interested in its subject matter - movie history, and especially the early history. It didn't delve very deeply into the subject's personal life. At times it almost reads like a filmography. Most of the book is devoted to the four years or so when she made the bulk of her films.
Then again, there apparently isn't a lot of existing information about Theda Bara. Most of what was written about her at the time were fabricated stories fed to the press by her movie studio's PR department. For instance, the studio (Fox) claimed she was the daughter of a French actress and an Italian sculptor and grew up in Egypt and France. Added to that, by the time anyone did a biography of her, she and most of her contemporaries were dead, so it was hard to set the record straight. (In fact, she was born Theodosia Goodman in Cincinnati and hadn't even been to Egypt or France at the time she started her film career.) And it would be hard to write about her career without it seeming like you were just describing the making of one film after another, since she made more than 40 movies in only about four years and didn't really have any downtime between movies.
The author did a good job of research, dispelling myths about Theda Bara (for instance, the myth that her public bought her publicity hook, line, and sinker). She also explains why early silent film stars seemed to have such a rigid, unrealistic acting style. (They were trained in the Delsarte method, a set of specific gestures that were supposed to represent particular emotions.)
December 13, 2014
This biography is about Theda Bara a silent movie star/sex symbol. I didn't know much about Theda so this was an interesting book. I soon found out not only is this book about Theda but it’s about the silent movie era. It’s interesting to read about how the movie culture was, what kind of make-up they had to wear, the costumes, and different styles of directing. I’m impressed at how many women were so active in the film industry. I knew about this but it was a great reminder that females were strong as directors too.
Theda is a very intelligent lady, and her style helped pave the way to her success. It’s a shame that most of her films are lost. I’ve noticed that some of her films were just plain sexy, the Cleopatra costumes are beautiful and very risqué. If anything Theda’s costumes shown more skin than most films now-a-days, but in a more burlesque form and leaving the mind to wonder. No wonder she was one of the very first sex symbols in movie history. I would love a coffee table book of Theda’s costumes. I wonder if this is where Princess Leia’s Metal Bikini costume came from.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2016
"Theda Bara July 29, 1885 – April 13, 1955), born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols.
Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" (short for vampire). Bara, Valeska Suratt, and Musidora popularized the vamp persona in the early years of silent film.
Theda Bara was was the initial Goth Girl.
While she was less than the very first female “vampire” on screen, she was the first one to be a huge star. And, as stars were largely accountable for their very own costumes making-up in those days, she invented her very own look the appearance that people connect today using the female vampire. She made it happen first.
Among other accomplishments, Theda has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
Theda Bara's image has been the symbol of the Chicago International Film Festival. A stark, black and white close up of her eyes set as repeated frames in a strip of film serves as the logo for the nonprofit festival."
September 26, 2011
this book was a hard one to find. while its the only book about theda bara, it was ok. she was not really that exciting of a person and absolutely NOTHING like her vamp persona. i am glad i finally got to read it however and recommend it for anyone who enjoys the old silent films or movie history. it was sad to learn that out of 40+ movies only 3 of hers remain and they are not even the films that she was at her best in. It would have been a shear delight to see her versions of camille, cleopatra, kathleen of the malvorneen(sp?) but alas that is not to be. but then again they say that 75% of silent movies have been lost forever and even the ones that exist are typically not in very good shape either. good book, quick read.
January 8, 2017
Too brief for me to call it a proper 'biography' but that is more due to the paucity of information about the screen's first siren than a failing on the part of the author.
There is so little available about Theda that anything we can find is all the more precious. In that sense, Ms. Golden has done an admirable job piecing together a glimpse (not a full look) at this beautiful and nebulous actress.
There is so little available about Theda that anything we can find is all the more precious. In that sense, Ms. Golden has done an admirable job piecing together a glimpse (not a full look) at this beautiful and nebulous actress.
September 18, 2014
Theda Bara fell through the cracks of history this book brings her back into the light. She was film's first superstar and sex symbol but unfortunately most of her work has disappeared. Her image still resonates though stills to this day mostly as camp photos. She is important because she stared it all. And it is to our regret that we no longer can see her best work.
February 9, 2014
Vamp was an interesting read. I'm fascinated by early movie history. Theda Bara was a huge star in the very early days of the 20th century. She, like many stars of silent film, never made the jump to "talkies". Unfortunately, only a few of her movies are still in existence.
July 2, 2013
This was a really good in depth story of Theda Bara's life of lies lol. Love the pictures. This is also a must read for people who are interested in how the film industry worked back then in the silent era.
November 7, 2016
This book is well-researched. You'd enjoy it if you were interested in the subject of old Hollywood.
I really enjoyed the healthy dose of skepticism that Ms. Golden applies throughout the book towards some of the more ridiculous claims.
I really enjoyed the healthy dose of skepticism that Ms. Golden applies throughout the book towards some of the more ridiculous claims.
July 11, 2013
Fascinating look at one of the forgotten "famous" silent film stars. If you're interested in silent films, then you need to read this.
February 27, 2016
Fast paced, full of pictures and interesting information - it's exactly what you want a biography to be.
Read
February 21, 2021Out of Theda Bara's 40 film output at Fox from just 1915-1920, only 2 are available to watch anywhere: A Fool There Was and East Lynne. Neither were favorites of Bara herself, neither seems emblematic of her career. In addition to those two, there is also The Stain, where she plays an extra and is credited under her birth name Theodosia Goodman, The Unchastened Woman, Bara's last full film, and a 21-minute reel of Madame Mystery, her last appearance on screen. There are also a few seconds of Cleopatra that can be found on Youtube. Aside from that, her filmography is lost to us, having been destroyed in a storage fire in 1937. The likelihood of any other copies appearing in private collections dwindles further each year, as the nitrate film they were captured on is prone to quick decomposition.
For that reason, it's impossible to fully assess Theda Bara as an actress today. She's also faded away from memory like many silent film stars, an odd relic of the "before times" in Hollywood. What's left however is a pretty fun look at how celebrity worked in the 1910s and the still young, less formal film industry.
The first films on the 1900s were about 10-13 minutes long -- really a "quick bite" more than a film? ;) -- and were produced by film companies all over the country, airing for just a day or two. By the 1910s, however, films often reached lengths of an hour, more attention was paid to plot , and production studios in New York were becoming bigger operations. And, these companies were cluing into the cash potential of Stardom.
Theda Bara entered the scene as one of the industry's most peculiar celebrities: the daughter of French and Italian artists born in a tent in the shadow of the Sphinx itself. An exotic, sexual, dark and dangerous woman whose name unscrambled meant "Arab Death". Of course, none of that was true of 30 year old Theodosia Goodman of suburban Cincinatti. Her sensual man-eating vampire persona couldn't have been further from the homebody bookworm (borderline intellectual snob) that she was.
While Theda certainly had fun playing up the exciting aspects of her persona, claiming at times to feel the Nile flowing through her or to have known the experiences of Carmen's riding through the hills of Spain before even first hearing the story, she grew to resent the typecasting she was subject to as America's first goth and first film sex symbol. Regardless of whether Theda's role was a literal blood sucking fiend, she was pushed into numerous films where she led men to ruin with wicked sexuality. In around 1919 she stated to reporters: "Of course, there is no such thing as vampire. No women are like that. That is why you can't get good stories for vampire pictures. They aren't real."
She battled for different, 'better', movies fiercely to little success. One of the last movies she did with Fox, Kathleen Mavourneen, seemed like her possible ticket out. It wasn't. The story of a poor, struggling Irish couple did well with reviewers pre-release, but objections to the portrayals of poverty in Ireland tanked it. Groups also took offense at a Jewish women playing an Irish heroine, protesting, rioting, smashing films, sending death threats. Many theaters refused to even show the film, fearing it wasn't worth potential retribution.
Bara's contract with Fox ended on a bad note shortly thereafter, and she struggled to find her footing. Her appearance in a Broadway play was a critical disaster but a money-making success - many of the patrons apparently attending to gawk at the terrible play and performances.
With the exceptions of The Unchastened Woman and Madame Mystery, Theda's acting days were essentially over. But even with the less than glamorous end to her career, and the later destruction of her life's work, this is a pretty happy story. Theda Bara had a relatively idyllic childhood, good relationships with her family, never feel prey to overuse of alcohol or drugs, and didn't seem to suffer the mental traumas associated with being overly famous and a sex symbol like so many starlets. She simply married rich, with her own finances in good shape as well, and lived out a quiet rest of her life. How many Hollywood stars can claim all that?
For that reason, it's impossible to fully assess Theda Bara as an actress today. She's also faded away from memory like many silent film stars, an odd relic of the "before times" in Hollywood. What's left however is a pretty fun look at how celebrity worked in the 1910s and the still young, less formal film industry.
The first films on the 1900s were about 10-13 minutes long -- really a "quick bite" more than a film? ;) -- and were produced by film companies all over the country, airing for just a day or two. By the 1910s, however, films often reached lengths of an hour, more attention was paid to plot , and production studios in New York were becoming bigger operations. And, these companies were cluing into the cash potential of Stardom.
Theda Bara entered the scene as one of the industry's most peculiar celebrities: the daughter of French and Italian artists born in a tent in the shadow of the Sphinx itself. An exotic, sexual, dark and dangerous woman whose name unscrambled meant "Arab Death". Of course, none of that was true of 30 year old Theodosia Goodman of suburban Cincinatti. Her sensual man-eating vampire persona couldn't have been further from the homebody bookworm (borderline intellectual snob) that she was.
While Theda certainly had fun playing up the exciting aspects of her persona, claiming at times to feel the Nile flowing through her or to have known the experiences of Carmen's riding through the hills of Spain before even first hearing the story, she grew to resent the typecasting she was subject to as America's first goth and first film sex symbol. Regardless of whether Theda's role was a literal blood sucking fiend, she was pushed into numerous films where she led men to ruin with wicked sexuality. In around 1919 she stated to reporters: "Of course, there is no such thing as vampire. No women are like that. That is why you can't get good stories for vampire pictures. They aren't real."
She battled for different, 'better', movies fiercely to little success. One of the last movies she did with Fox, Kathleen Mavourneen, seemed like her possible ticket out. It wasn't. The story of a poor, struggling Irish couple did well with reviewers pre-release, but objections to the portrayals of poverty in Ireland tanked it. Groups also took offense at a Jewish women playing an Irish heroine, protesting, rioting, smashing films, sending death threats. Many theaters refused to even show the film, fearing it wasn't worth potential retribution.
Bara's contract with Fox ended on a bad note shortly thereafter, and she struggled to find her footing. Her appearance in a Broadway play was a critical disaster but a money-making success - many of the patrons apparently attending to gawk at the terrible play and performances.
With the exceptions of The Unchastened Woman and Madame Mystery, Theda's acting days were essentially over. But even with the less than glamorous end to her career, and the later destruction of her life's work, this is a pretty happy story. Theda Bara had a relatively idyllic childhood, good relationships with her family, never feel prey to overuse of alcohol or drugs, and didn't seem to suffer the mental traumas associated with being overly famous and a sex symbol like so many starlets. She simply married rich, with her own finances in good shape as well, and lived out a quiet rest of her life. How many Hollywood stars can claim all that?
July 16, 2022
* The audio version of this will appear in either the September or October 2022 of the book review Podcast series ‘Reading in Bed’ – available from all of the usual networks including readinginbed.bandcamp.com
Blurb:
Theda Bara became an overnight superstar with her film debut in the scandalous 1915 hit, A Fool There Was, and for the rest of that decade stayed at the top of the heap, along with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Despite her fame and notoriety as the movies' first "sex symbol," no biography of the original Vamp has ever been written, even though Bara threatened to pen her own "because nobody ever wrote a true word about me." Finally, someone has. Bara had one of the most bizarre and colorful careers of the silent era, starring in Cleopatra, Salome, and scores of other hit films before vanishing mysteriously from the screen. Now, read for the first time how a nice Jewish girl from the Midwest became "Satan's Handmaiden," scandalized a nation, and abruptly fell from the height.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
First of all, the term Vamp hasn’t always being referred to Vampires like Dracula and whatever but for the spell during the 1910s at the birth of cinema in Hollywood where a Vamp was very fashionable for a time is and is a character deemed on Wikepida as “of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural”
Theda Bara Bwas one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols primarily active between 1914 and 1919 where she filmed over 40 films, sadly only a few surviving to this day.
This book must have being a tricky book to research about Ms Bara about there is so little surviving of her work and all of the studio publicity for example billing her as the Egyptian-born daughter of a French actress and an Italian sculptor. They claimed she had spent her early years in the Sahara Desert under the shadow of the Sphinx, then moved to France to become a stage actress. Her life of course was nothing like that and almost boring.
This must have been a difficult book to research as we have so little of her suriving and to make this book I suspect would have took the Author months of research from often limited information to make this book.
Is it a success as a book? Well, yes and no if I am honest as the Author does a good rather than great recreation showing the Ms Bara was a somewhat opposite of her film persona certainly showing a somewhat quieter lifestyle than what the studios said and more normal if that is the right word.
The one problem I have with this book is the summarising of films which are lost which she seems to have a dislike off despite the fact they are lost. It would have being cool to have all of these films available but to draw conclusions from without being able to see the film is a tricky one and something I am not 100% at ease with and while I did enjoy the book, I do think Episode 17 of Karina Longworth’s essential Podcast series ‘You must remember this’ is better than this book.
7/10
Blurb:
Theda Bara became an overnight superstar with her film debut in the scandalous 1915 hit, A Fool There Was, and for the rest of that decade stayed at the top of the heap, along with Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Despite her fame and notoriety as the movies' first "sex symbol," no biography of the original Vamp has ever been written, even though Bara threatened to pen her own "because nobody ever wrote a true word about me." Finally, someone has. Bara had one of the most bizarre and colorful careers of the silent era, starring in Cleopatra, Salome, and scores of other hit films before vanishing mysteriously from the screen. Now, read for the first time how a nice Jewish girl from the Midwest became "Satan's Handmaiden," scandalized a nation, and abruptly fell from the height.
Strengths and Weaknesses:
First of all, the term Vamp hasn’t always being referred to Vampires like Dracula and whatever but for the spell during the 1910s at the birth of cinema in Hollywood where a Vamp was very fashionable for a time is and is a character deemed on Wikepida as “of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to enchant, entice and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as verging on supernatural”
Theda Bara Bwas one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols primarily active between 1914 and 1919 where she filmed over 40 films, sadly only a few surviving to this day.
This book must have being a tricky book to research about Ms Bara about there is so little surviving of her work and all of the studio publicity for example billing her as the Egyptian-born daughter of a French actress and an Italian sculptor. They claimed she had spent her early years in the Sahara Desert under the shadow of the Sphinx, then moved to France to become a stage actress. Her life of course was nothing like that and almost boring.
This must have been a difficult book to research as we have so little of her suriving and to make this book I suspect would have took the Author months of research from often limited information to make this book.
Is it a success as a book? Well, yes and no if I am honest as the Author does a good rather than great recreation showing the Ms Bara was a somewhat opposite of her film persona certainly showing a somewhat quieter lifestyle than what the studios said and more normal if that is the right word.
The one problem I have with this book is the summarising of films which are lost which she seems to have a dislike off despite the fact they are lost. It would have being cool to have all of these films available but to draw conclusions from without being able to see the film is a tricky one and something I am not 100% at ease with and while I did enjoy the book, I do think Episode 17 of Karina Longworth’s essential Podcast series ‘You must remember this’ is better than this book.
7/10
June 4, 2017
This is a fascinating book about the legend who played such an integral role in making the movie industry the behemoth we know today. I was fascinated to learn how scholarly she was... the quotes attributed to her show a depth of character and intelligence that belied the "vamp" persona that made her so famous. Eve Golden does a phenomenal job of separating what was true about Theda's down-to-earth life from what was manufactured by studio publicity to create an exotic illusion. The only scandal of her career is that the few surviving examples of her work are not representative of her triumphs, and we are left with mostly parodies. And, while Gloria Swanson was glorious in "Sunset Boulevard," I can't help but wonder what Theda would have brought to the role of Norma Desmond. This is a must-read for movie history fans.
September 14, 2022
A biography on actress Theda Bara. Bara's story is engaging on its own, and the anecdotes throughout are both wild and hilarious. The dichotomy of Bara's public and private life is well described within the wider early twentieth-century, both within the film industry and without. The photographs throughout the text are delightful.
Unfortunately, there are a number of comments made about Theda Bara's weight. Golden's "plump"-shaming is inappropriate and should have been edited out.
Else, a very good account of one of the most popular silent-era stars.
Unfortunately, there are a number of comments made about Theda Bara's weight. Golden's "plump"-shaming is inappropriate and should have been edited out.
Else, a very good account of one of the most popular silent-era stars.
March 22, 2020
A good biography of a fascinating woman. Not much is known because so many facts of her life were revised on the fly and the author speculated a bit. She drew some reasonable conclusions but someone writing history has to be careful with making assumptions. To be fair, the author is very clear that she's making those assumptions and doesn't present them as cold hard fact. The writing is clear but isn't spectacular.
March 24, 2022
For as well known as the image of Theda Bara still is, we don’t really know much about her. She’s become a vamp image, not a real movie star or real person.
This book changes that a lot. Well researched and written, it presents a full picture of the life of Bara. All of the movie information is here, which is all we have to go by with her films being lost. And we also learn about Theda Bara the person, a real insight into what she was like in real life. This is certainly the book she deserves.
This book changes that a lot. Well researched and written, it presents a full picture of the life of Bara. All of the movie information is here, which is all we have to go by with her films being lost. And we also learn about Theda Bara the person, a real insight into what she was like in real life. This is certainly the book she deserves.
January 29, 2023
An aggressively fine book that suffered from a reality that just wasn't that interesting - Theda was typecast, but she wanted to play different roles, but then it didn't work out and she was typecast again, repeat this about fifteen times and you can skip a solid 40% of this book - but there was enough context in here about the rise of the film industry to make it a worthwhile read if you're interested in the era.
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