The brain has no sex. A woman’s intellect and inventiveness, as well as her ingenuity, are equal to a man’s... A man often depends on physical strength to get what he wants, while a woman has to be more subtle; so she uses her brain. And she is constantly getting more practice. That’s why I say that it’s becoming a woman’s world, year by year, almost day by day.
— Mary Pickford, 1935.
Bela Lugosi cackles in The Raven (1935).
Marlene Dietrich, born Marie Magdalene Dietrich
(December 27, 1901 – May 6, 1992)
In the German language: [Dietrich is] the name for a key that opens all locks. Not a magic key. A very real object, necessitating great skills in the making.
(Her own explanation of her surname from A.B.C.)
Rudolph Valentino returned to America from a European trip in 1924 sporting a beard he grew for a film project that never materialized, The Hooded Falcon. The crowd of fangirls who met his boat at the pier initially thought he was wearing a disguise to dodge them. The admirers called out in protest, asking him to take it off. He replied, "I can't, it's grown on."
Gene Tierney at the premiere of Leave Her to Heaven (1946)
When I die, just skin me out and put me up on old Trigger and I'll be happy.
—Roy Rogers (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998)
Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff play a chess game, reminiscent of their match in The Black Cat, in an episode of the Hollywood newsreel series "Screen Snapshots" (1934).
Weimar cabaret goddess Anita Berber led a life that would be considered shocking even today. Berber embodied decadence: she was an unapologetic spendthrift drug addict and alcoholic sometime prostitute whose many high-profile bisexual and S&M affairs remain the stuff of legend. An electrifying avant-garde dancer, she often performed nude or wearing androgynous costumes.
She also acted in several movies, including Different from the Others (1919), the first film to portray homosexual relationships sympathetically. This human volcano of scandal and creativity expired in 1928 at the age of 29.
Charlie Chaplin blows you a kiss goodbye. You might want to avert your eyes for a moment, to prevent swoon-related accidents. From "How to Make Movies" (1918).
Rudolph Valentino breaks the fourth wall—and my heart. From a humorous short subject, "The Sheik's Physique."
