Today I offer two views of this week’s subject Gloria Swanson in the late 1920s/early 1930s. Above is a little reel that jams together a few obscure but interesting snippets of film–it’s a bit of a hodgepodge but I thought worth including in our loose and free-wheeling survey of La Swanson’s long life and career. It contains material from 1929 and begins with newsreel footage that covers the premiere of Frank Capra’s ‘Dirigible’. Gloria appears briefly with–I think–Joe Kennedy? Her married boyfriend? Really? If that’s him and if they’re out in public so blatantly as a couple then all I can say is scandale. Next we get two songs from Gloria who turns out to have a lovely voice. These are from a 1929 film called ‘The Trespasser’–shot as a silent but quickly re-shot as a talkie when it became apparent that theaters were simply not interested in booking silents anymore. Unfortunately that’s it for Gloria in this reel. Instead we’re treated some interesting photographs of ‘picture palaces’ of the era–the Roxy amongst them. These behemoth faux-palaces are really quite extraordinary. Alas, few survive. We also get a look at one of the most elaborate and impressive theater organs I’ve ever seen. All in all, a nice way to kill ten or so minutes and get a rare view of Gloria at a turning point in her life.
The talkies she made after ‘The Trespasser’ were all unsuccessful and her affair with Kennedy came to an end–though not before he managed to bankrupt her. Before that unfortunate event, though, Kennedy produced an early Leo McCarey film ‘Indiscreet’ (1931) which starred Gloria. I’ve posted the entire film below. It’s an art deco gem and filled with many of McCarey’s trademark touches–in some ways it feels like a rough draft of ‘The Awful Truth’, made seven years later. If the idea of committing to watching an entire early talkie is too daunting, just skip to 8:10 and watch Gloria take a shower. This is followed by a delicious Gloria vocal performance of a song called ‘If You Haven’t Got Love’. Not to be missed…