Marie Dressler Articles

Made at the dawn of the sound era, All Quiet on the Western Front remains the best war film ever made. Despite some brave (and not so brave) attempts by other filmmakers ever since, no other motion picture I've seen has captured the horrors of war with the honesty and the poignancy of Lewis Milestone's rendition of Erich Maria Remarque's pacifist novel. Lew Ayres plays [...]

As it says on the cover, Allan R. Ellenberger's Celebrities in the 1930 Census (McFarland, 2008, US$49.95) is a compilation of household data — as collected by 1930 census takers — of more than 2,000 "U.S. actors, musicians, scientists, athletes, writers, politicians and other public figures." (The woman in the photo is aviatrix Amelia Earhart.) The book, of course, doesn't offer any saucy insights into [...]

Marie Dressler in Dinner at 8 Marie Dressler IV: DINNER AT 8, THE LATE CHRISTOPHER BEAN Marie Dressler and Claire Du Brey. Were they really lovers? Did you go through Du Brey's papers? (I believe actor John Phillip Law is in possession of them.) Ah, the lesbian love question! I talked with Mr. Law, and met with the actress Sierra Pecheur, who knew Du Brey [...]

Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow in Dinner at 8 Marie Dressler III: Wallace Beery, Polly Moran Comedies Some reviewers have complained that Marie Dressler didn't act. They say she overacted. What do you think? Writing about her as an actress was tough, because there is no one remotely like her anymore. If you watch her performances today, you can see that she was a true-blue ham. [...]