Book Review: Hairpins and Dead Ends

Sub-titled “The Perilous Journey of 25 Actresses through Early Hollywood,” this new book from Bear Manor by Michael Ankerich is a great companion to his 2011 study “Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels. Once again he examines the lives and careers of several women from early cinema whose shot at stardom was fleeting.

Among the 25 actresses profiled, the author includes such brief notables as Belle Bennett, Alice Lake, Virginia Lee Corbin, Lottie Pickford, Marion McDonald, Jean Sothern, and Marjorie Daw. For every chapter, the author includes interesting information on the performer’s life and work. The stories are not terribly happy ones, but they give a strong glimpse of early Hollywood’s seamy underbelly.

Virginia Lee Corbin was a child actress in silent movies, was bullied into a career by a stage mother (an all-too-common situation during those years). She lived only 30 tumultuous years, the details provided in Ankerich’s chapter. Alice Lake was a natural comedienne, scoring mightily in early silents with Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. She later emerged as a leading lady in her own right, but her success was fleeting and her career later plummeted to bit roles. Although accepting this fate, Lake’s later years were beset with public drunkenness. Katherine MacDonald and Mary MacLaren were sisters who hated each other. Their parallel careers and tumultuous relationship are revealed in these pages.

This book is filled with interesting stories, showing the darker side of stardom. The author explains how so many young hopefuls made a trek to Hollywood in an attempt to achieve stardom, but ended up doing menial jobs and dreaming of that big break. Conversely, this book offers stories about 25 ladies who did get a break, have made films, and sadly flickered out rather than making a true impact.

Some of the women contained in this text have lived on over time, at least in the corners of movie geekdom. Due to the company she kept, the aforementioned Alice Lake is notable due to Buster Keaton’s and Fatty Arbuckle’s lasting legacy. Lottie Pickford is known for being Mary Pickford’s sister. However, during her career, that was also how she was known.

There are some actresses with whom this reviewer was unfamiliar. I had no idea an actress who was billed as Mona Lisa – she made only a handful of films, but Ankerich has created a complete biography in this book.

For those interested in exploring beyond the artistic parameters of silent movies, “Hairpins and Dead Ends” is highly recommended. It provides information that is both enlightening and entertaining. And it introduces us to stars that twinkled and faded during an era so long ago.

The book is available here.