Book Review: Bebe Daniels, Hollywood’s Good Little Bad Girl
Author Charles Epting’s new biography from McFarland publishers is a thoroughgoing and fascinating look at one of the silent screen’s most appealing actresses.
Bebe Daniels began as a child actress on stage and in some very early films, including the role of Dorothy in one of the first screen versions of “The Wizard of Oz” in 1910. Epting documents this early period nicely, with rich details that not only give the reader information about Daniels, but about the early history of the moving picture.
When Daniels was hired at the Rolin company while still a teenager, she began working extensively with Harold Lloyd. At the time, Lloyd was grinding out one reel comedies as the character of Lonesome Luke. While there was always a certain slapstick charm to these rather ruggedly made comedies, they had no real distinction.
Eventually Bebe was able to provide the pretty counterpart to Harold Lloyd’s dashing go-getter personal once Lloyd eschewed makeup-laden characters and realized his handsome face and a pair of glasses was all he needed. Know as “the glasses character” or “the boy,” Bebe became “the girl” in such amusing Lloyd short comedies as “All Aboard,” “Don’t Shove,” “Captain Kidd’s Kids,” “Ring Up The Curtain,” and “Just Neighbors,” which also featured Snub Pollard.
The author tastefully details the friendship between Bebe and Harold that eventually evolved into a romance. Marriage was considered, but never happened. By the end of 1919, Bebe had left the company.
Working in films for Cecil B. DeMille, Bebe appeared in such prestigious feature films as “Male and Female” (1919) and “The Affairs of Anatol” (1921). The author explains how DeMille had wanted to hire Daniels as early as 1917, but she turned him down, due to being happy where she was.
Epting continues to discuss Bebe’s life and work throughout the 1920s and her triumphs during the silent era. Personal details such as her serving a ten day jail sentence for accumulated speeding tickets add an interesting detail to her growing career.
When sound eclipsed the cinema of silence, Bebe Daniels’ stage training and good singing voice allowed her to transition easily to the new technology. Appearances in notable early talkies such as Alias French Gertie, Rio Rita, and Forty-Second Street remain noteworthy. By the mid 1930s she slowed down her activities. She married actor Ben Lyon in 1930 and they remained together until her passing in 1971.
Bebe Daniels is a name that is no longer remembered by the mainstream moviegoer, but she has an important place in cinema’s history, and her story is fascinating. Charles Epting should be commended for the interesting details he has uncovered about this appealing actress. Having a foreword by Harold Lloyd expert Annette D'Agostino Lloyd adds even greater authenticity. This book is recommended for libraries, fans of silent movies, and readers of biographies.
This book is available here.