Book Review: Barbara La Marr – The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood
Silent movie history is filled with creative artistry and sociocultural triumph, as we see the early development of what became a timeless art form. It is also filled with tragedy, as many of its greatest stars fell on hard times for various reasons, including the inability to transfer to talking pictures, as well as indulgent lifestyle choices.
Actress Barbara La Marr seemed to have everything. She had great beauty, creativity, talent and skill. When she entered movies, she excelled as both a writer and an actress. Despite her own misgivings about her talents, La Marr was popular with moviegoers and filmmakers. She could have emerged as one of the true lasting artists of the medium. But instead she died at the age of 29, after only six years in films.
It would seem that little could be written about someone like La Marr's short life and career. But Sherri Snyder has defied that presumption with her new book. Rich with details, and never becoming discursive, “Barbara La Marr – The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood” (University Press of Kentucky) is a fascinating study of a life and career that will cause the reader to have greater respect and admiration for its subject.
La Marr was born Reatha Watson in 1896, and was performing on stage as early as 1904. In 1913 she was kidnapped by her half sister and a male companion. She married a man that same year, the day after she met him, but he died only weeks later. She remarried in 1914, but the man already had a wife and family, so he was arrested and put in jail, where he was said to have killed himself by repeatedly slamming his head into his cell wall (Sherri Snyder's book explains what actually did happen). La Marr would marry three more times; to another man who went to prison (for forgery), a man who was much older and had substance abuse issues, and, finally to a fifth man who remained with her until her early death.
La Marr had what can be considered an extreme lifestyle, including alcohol and drug abuse. She would brag that she never slept more than a couple hours per night, and would further impair her health with bizarre weight loss ideas that have been alleged to include everything from liquid diets, to cocaine, to tapeworms.
However, through all of this, La Marr was a talented writer and actress. In 1920 she started submitting stories and screenplays for films, and movies she penned like “Flame of Youth” and “The Mother of His Children” showed a real flair for cinematic drama. Emerging as an actress after Mary Pickford told her she was too beautiful to not be on screen, La Marr made a hit supporting Douglas Fairbanks in “The Three Musketeers,” after having done a small part in his earlier feature “The Nut.” Gaining notice from critics and moviegoers, La Marr scored again in “The Prisoner of Zenda.” She continued to write as well as act, and contributed to the screenplay of her starring “The White Moth.”
La Marr appeared in many films during 1923 and 1924, but by 1925 her career slowed down as her edgy lifestyle took its toll. Suffering from kidney problems and other ailments, Barbara died in her parents home in January of 1926. Her friend, director Paul Bern, was with her when she died. She had a son, who was adopted by her friend, actress ZaSu Pitts, and ZaSu’s husband Tom Gallery upon her death. He was named Don Gallery and lived until 2014.
This basic information is fleshed out with complete information in Snyder’s book La Marr’s early work as a child performer, the kidnapping, her eventually involving into screenwriting and then acting, her lifestyle of abuse, and her early death are all covered. The author not only explains these areas of La Marr's life and career, it also dispels that which was mere rumor or publicity and could not be verified by her extensive research. The truth is found in this biography. Snyder’s research skills are remarkable in her ability to uncover so many fascinating details, including several rare photos. We get a clearer understanding not only of La Marr’s talent, but of her choices in life, her anxieties, her insecurity, and the carefree nature that ultimately led to her failing health at such a young age.
The silent era is filled with stories about early death, many of them layered with tragic circumstances. Few books have offered as much complete information as Sherri Snyder has with “The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood.” Each chapter is a fascinating new revelation, while Snyder’s formidable writing skills help La Marr’s story become increasingly compelling to the reader.
As is per usual with biographies about early film performers, there is a lot of information as to how the movies were evolving during the time that La Marr was active. The 1920s was a decade where silent cinema emerged from popular entertainment to something of an art form, and although La Marr only lived long enough to work during the first half of that decade, the historical backdrop adds yet another layer to this already fascinating study.
For libraries, research centers, fans of strong biographies, and students of film history, Sherri Snyder’s book is most highly recommended. It is one of the best film books of 2017. The book is available here.