Robert Harron (Help with thread)
Ellyzahm
though, and I keep loosing the notes as soon as I read them. I HAVE figured
out that I need to click "mrk unread" every time I finish reading a note or
thread, but I don't know how to retrieve notes I lost before I discovered the
magic button?
I'll get "The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me" as soon as I can get to a library.
I'll also order the Robert Harron article from the Dec. 1963 "Films in Review"
through interlibrary loan.
...Have to go. I'll write more later
Ellyzahm
The Internet Movie Database mentioned that Betty Egan, widow of John Harron,
has a surviving daughter. Is she the daughter of John Harron or of Betty
Egan's second marriage?
I also found a review on the Web of the film "True Heart Susie." The reviewer
said that Robert Harron is the weakest part pf the entire film.... he just
can't carry the story.
Having only seen "Intolerance", I'm not entitled to form an opinion. But
that's one of the reasons I joined this newsgroup. What are your opinions of
Harron's acting abilities? Was he good at supporting roles but not as the
lead? Is he considered a fine silent film actor in general? (I do think he had
a lot of presence in "Intolerance.")
What do you think was his best film? And is his last film ("Coincedence"
--1921) still in existance and available?
BTW, I need to know if my notes are too long by 'Netiquitte standards?
Sincerely,
Mary
Lyndon Blaylock
opinion.
Are you kidding ? Having no information and less circumspection doen't stop
the rest of us from forming opinions !!!! And "Intolerance" is definately
the key word for our group this month ! :)
But returning to Robert Harron, he does have a certain low - voltage quality
that might not appeal to everyone, but I have certainly never found him weak.
Well, maybe in " Judith of Bethulia", but seldom elsewhere.
L. Blaylock
cschieb
>that might not appeal to everyone, but I have certainly never found him weak.
Actually, I think it was just that (low voltage) quality which made him
appealing. Refreshingly ordinary, wouldn't you say?
Christina
Ellyzahm
that and the mustache.) And (based on "no information and less
circumspection"<g>) he and Mae Marsh made a good on-screen couple. They played
well off each other.
Sincerely,
Mary
Bruce Long
Harron reprinted in issue 53 of Taylorology, available at http://
www.angelfire.com/az/Taylorology
Bruce Long
br...@asu.edu
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Lyndon Blaylock
You'll really want to see Harron & Gish in Hearts of the World. Harron 's part
has less range than in Intolerance, but it's still especially fine acting.
And as for the mustache, you can see him without it in some of the early
Biograph 1 & 2 reelers, and he's still pretty appealing ! :)
L. Blaylock
Lyndon Blaylock
made him
>appealing. Refreshingly ordinary, wouldn't you say?
I would say.
Interesting how Griffith seemed to like this quality in his leading men.
Actually, I think that audiences of the 30s & 40s may have found Griffith's
idea of a perfect leading man to be rather dated & old fashioned. But now,
they seem much more appealing again.
L. Blaylock
Frederica
lynd...@cs.com (Lyndon Blaylock) wrote:
> And as for the mustache, you can see him without it in some of the early
> Biograph 1 & 2 reelers, and he's still pretty appealing ! :)
>
> L. Blaylock
Intolerance is my first exposure to Harron, too; I was surprised by how
old he looks, which is probably due to the moustache. He wasn't very old
when he died, was he? It was also my first exposure to Mae Marsh--I
found her wonderfully expressive teetering on the edge of being really
annoying. I think the annoying part may be Griffith. His leading ladies
seem to flutter a lot. But I haven't seen that much Griffith, so perhaps
I wrong him.
--
Frederica
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Lyndon Blaylock
>found her wonderfully expressive teetering on the edge of being really
>annoying. I think the annoying part may be Griffith. His leading ladies
>seem to flutter a lot. But I haven't seen that much Griffith, so perhaps
>I wrong him.
Griffith's insistence on "fluttering " in his leading ladies is lengendary;
ther's a lot written about it in pratically every biography concerning the
period.
The thing about this case is that Griffith isnt afraid to let Marsh be just a
little irritating - exactly like a teen age girl usually is, even today.
Griffith had very complicated feelings about women, and it certainly shows up
in the films.
L. Blaylock
Robert Birchard
> (Part 2): Is Robert Harron's sister still alive?
I believe Bobby Harron's surviving sister passed away several years ago. She
worked as a live-in domestic in a Los Angeles nunnery. I met her briefly years ago
when she attended a screening of "Hearts of the World" at the Vagabond Theatre.
--
Bob Birchard
bbir...@earthlink.net
http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/Guest/birchard.htm
Ellyzahm
>
>Ellyzahm wrote:
>
>> (Part 2): Is Robert Harron's sister still alive?
>
> I believe Bobby Harron's surviving sister passed away several years ago.
>She
>worked as a live-in domestic in a Los Angeles nunnery. I met her briefly
>years ago
>when she attended a screening of "Hearts of the World" at the Vagabond
>Theatre
You met her? (I'm slightly in awe.) She sounds like a very sweet lady. I'm
sorry to hear of her passing.
Thank you for letting me know.
Sincerely,
Mary
Ellyzahm
>Biograph 1 & 2 reelers, and he's still pretty appealing ! :)
>
Oh, I didn't say that I don't like him without a mustache... what I should have
said is that I like a mustache when it's on him! :)
Sincerely,
Mary ( Robert "Low Voltage" Harron Fan)
Ellyzahm
I was surprised to learn that Harron was only 23 when "Intolerance" came
out... I don't think it's just the mustache that makes him look at least 30.
There's a heaviness in the face itself.
I like Mae Marsh (she was also haunting in a cameo in John Ford's "The
Searchers"; I didn't know it was her at the time, because all I had seen was a
photo from "The Wharf Rat" taken 40 years before), but that nail-biting in the
courtroom sequence of "Intolerance" made me want to reach for turpintine and
douse her hands. I kept expecting Harron to mouth at her from the defendant's
chair, "Quit doing that! You're ruining the scene and driving me nuts!"
Sincerely,
Mary
gbrum...@gmail.com
First, Robert and John Harron were born and raised in NYC and a family of nine. The family eventually moved to LA when Bobby became a big star and D.W. Griffith moved to Los Angeles. Their other siblings were Charles (the oldest, died in a car accident 1915), Mary, Agnes (became a nun), Tess (died 1918 of Spanish Influenza), Madeleine, Edna and Frances (died as a child). All are now deceased. Remarkably, John is the only sibling who married of the nine children. The other sisters who survived became spinsters. John had one child, Collene (born in 1930), by wife Betty Egan, whom he married in 1930 after the couple met on a 1929 movie they were appearing in together. John died suddenly in 1939 and Betty remarried to a famous makeup artist a couple of years later.
I studied many of Bobby's films for this article that are not "lost". I was completely taken by him in a number of them -- "Intolerance," "Hearts of the World," and "True Heart Susie" being my favorites. It is his low-keyed quality that keeps my eyes riveted on him. He wasn't caught up in the wild histrionics of many of the actors of those days perhaps that often overshadowed him. Not me. The mustache was used often in films to make his baby face appear older. Bobby was painfully introverted and absolutley hated giving interviews. He usually permitted the leading lady overshadow him. But I love his screen pairings with Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish (they had a "crush" on each other off camera) and especially Mae Marsh. Bobby hated the press and did not publicize himself easily. He should have been an even bigger star at the time of his death. But he WAS the golden good boy of the silents. The one who was usually decent but modest and would give the leading lady an unsure peck on the cheek. As he got older, the screen kisses were more assured.
John began appearing in silents in an interesting fashion. Mary Pickford and his brother Bobby Harron worked together often at Biograph pictures in the early 1910s. When Bobby died young of a self-inflicted gunshot wound (probably suicide), in 1920, Hollywood mourned this bright star. In response, it was Mary who graciously offered John the leading man part in her next picture, Through the Back Door (1921), and a film star was born. He appeared in numerous pictures throughout the rest of the "jazz age" and seemed to move comfortably, if rather blandly, into talking pics, notably RKO's first musical "Street Girl" and the cult horror pic "White Zombie" with Bela Lugosi. John's leading man career waned quickly though and the last several years of his career (and life) were spent in bit, uncredited roles.
Unfortunately, both brothers (Bobby and Johnny) died young. Robert at 27 and John (of spinal meningitis) at 36. Who knows how much more we could have gotten from them. The film article has renewed my appreciation for silent pics. You have to observe them differently to really enjoy their contribution and value.
If you love old movies, I would check out the two vintage film magazines above. I wait for them every month or quarter and am NEVER disappointed. Just received Films of the Golden Age and read wonderful stories on Alan Ladd, George Macready, Cecil Kellaway, James Darren and director Mervyn LeRoy!
Please feel free to contact me with questions. Glad to help. I love the old movies!
Sincerely,
Gary Brumburgh
gr-...@pacbell.net