Abstract

Before the introduction of sound in 1926/27, the biggest and most prestigious stars at Warner Bros. were John Barrymore, Clive Brook, Irene Rich, Louise Fazenda, Marie Prevost, May McAvoy, Pauline Frederick, Monte Blue,Willard Louis and Lilyan Tashman. While Barrymore remains famous to this day, the others (with the possible exception of Clive Brook) have been largely forgotten or, at the very least, consigned to the margins of film history. This paper will set out the reasons behind the success and prestige of these stars between 1923 and 1927, noting how the advent of the ‘Talkies’ transformed their status as Warners’ most successful and prestigious stars, making most of them seem old-fashioned and redundant. While some survived as character actors in the late 1920s and 1930s, others withdrew from the film industry all together and were quickly reclaimed by obscurity. After providing a brief outline of the films and reputations of all the stars named above, the paper will focus in more detail on Marie Provost, the star of Ernst Lubitsch’s The Marriage Circle (1924).