1. "The films of Nance O'Neil"
Posted by kimberly on Sep-8th-02 at 6:53 PM

I havent seen a list of Nance's films posted, this one is from Blockbuster.com, Cimarron is the only one available on VHS. Some probably show up on cable.
Out of all of them, Transgression is the only one I've seen. I never knew she worked with stars like Laurence Olivier & Barbara Stanwyck,
now it will be a 'Lizzie Moment' whenever I see anything with them.
What is it called? Six degrees of separation? Let's see, Marilyn Monroe was in The Prince & the Showgirl with Olivier, he was in
Westward Passage with Nance O'Neil, she was 'friends' with Lizzie,
so that August 4th was connected wasnt it?

Cimarron (1930)  
False Faces (1932)
Okay, America! (1932)
Westward Passage (1932) [with Laurence Olivier]     
A Woman of Experience (1931)
Resurrection (1931)
Secret Service (1931)
The Good Bad Girl (1931)
The Royal Bed (1931)
Transgression (1931) [with Kay Francis]   
Call of the Flesh (1930)
Ladies of Leisure (1930) [with Barbara Stanwyck]     
The Eyes of the World (1930)
The Florodora Girl (1930)     
The Lady of Scandal (1930)
The Rogue Song (1930)
His Glorious Night (1929) [with Garbo's John Gilbert]     
Kreutzer Sonata (1915)
The Count of Monte Cristo (1912)

(Message last edited Sep-9th-02  10:07 PM.)

Here's another list, and address:
(You're lucky you remember seeing her--I don't... )

http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Nance+O'Neil

Actress - filmography
(1930s) (1920s) (1910s)

1. False Faces (1932) .... Mrs. Finn
... aka What Price Beauty? (1932) (UK)
2. Okay, America! (1932) .... Mrs. Drake
... aka Penalty of Fame, The (1932) (UK)
3. Westward Passage (1932) (uncredited) .... Mrs. von Stael
4. Secret Service (1931/I) .... Mrs. Varney
5. Their Mad Moment (1931) .... Grand Mere
6. Woman of Experience, A (1931) .... Countess Runyi
... aka Registered Woman (1931)
7. Transgression (1931) .... Honora 'Nora' Maury
8. Good Bad Girl, The (1931) .... Mrs. Henderson
9. Cimarron (1931) .... Felice Venable
10. Resurrection (1931) .... Princess Marya
11. Royal Bed, The (1931) .... The Queen
... aka Queen's Husband, The (1931) (UK)
12. Eyes of the World, The (1930) .... Myra
13. Call of the Flesh (1930) .... Mother Superior
14. Florodora Girl, The (1930) .... Mrs. Vibrat
... aka Gay Nineties, The (1930) (UK)
15. Lady of Scandal, The (1930) .... Lady 'Ducky' Trench
... aka High Road, The (1930) (UK)
16. Rogue Song, The (1930) .... Princess Alexandra
17. Ladies of Leisure (1930) .... Mrs. Strong
18. His Glorious Night (1929) .... Eugenie
... aka Breath of Scandal (1929)
19. Fall of the Romanoffs, The (1917) .... The czarina
20. Final Payment, The (1917) .... Nina
21. Hedda Gabler (1917) .... Hedda Gabler
22. Mrs. Balfame (1917) .... Mrs. Balfame
23. Seventh Sin, The (1917) .... Alma
24. Greed (1917) .... Alma
25. Iron Woman, The (1916) .... Sarah Maitland
26. Toilers, The (1916) .... Jane Brett
... aka Those Who Toil (1916) (USA)
27. Flames of Johannis, The (1916) .... Zirah/Marika
... aka Fires of Johannis, The (1916)
... aka Fires of St. John, The (1916)
28. Witch, The (1916) .... Zora Fernandez
29. Souls in Bondage (1916) .... Rosa Brenner
30. Kreutzer Sonata, The (1915) .... Miriam Friedlander
... aka Sonata (1915) (UK)
31. Princess Romanoff (1915) .... Princess Fedora Romanoff
32. Woman's Past, A (1915) .... Jane Hawley

ALSO:

http://silent-movies.com/Ladies/OSLONeilN.html

I recall reading that rumor was that Nance was a "two-bit actress on her way out" when she met Lizzie and she took her for all she could get.  But, Nance seems to have been quite a prolific actress in her day, thats an impressive list! 

Nance O'Neil has a brief four minute performance in Cimarron.
I have two films with Nance (False Faces and The Royal Bed). She appears throughout both features. These videos were obtained a few years ago from Foothill Video, 42257 6th Street, West, Building #306, Lancaster, California, 93534.  Also try "Silent Film Sources" on Google.

There is quite a nice article on Nance in the Summer 1994 LBQ, by Judy P. Curry.

I remember reading in several places she was considered the greatest "emotional" actress of her day. Actually she was quite successful on stage. 

She made a very late entry into movies. She was born in 1874 so you get some idea of her age in the movies that were listed.

Most of these are so old (silent?) and in B&W so you'll never see them on TV or even in a video store. Another lost performance?

Transcription of Another LBQ article on Nance:
Kat
1850 posts Mar-20th-02  3:30 AM
   

6. "Re: Description of Nance O'Neil"
In response to message #5

     
LBQ, April '98, pg.6, "A Glimpse Of Nance O'Neil", an excerpt from Author EVE GOLDEN's biography of early film star Theda Bara, "VAMP, THE RISE AND FALL OF THEDA BARA", Emprise Publishing Co., Vestal, N.Y., 1996, Chapter 4= "Her Double Life":

"...(Theda Bara) got a new director (1915), thirty-five year old (Dublin born) Herbert Brenon....(who) landed at Fox in time to guide Theda through THE KREUTZER SONATA and three other films....
...Theda's second film (as above) was a trying experience for the new star;  for one thing, she was in awe of and resented her co-star.  O'Neil--rather intimidating at nearly six feet tall-- had been on Broadway since 1896 and had played Lady Macbeth, Hedda Gabler, and Camille.  She was a much bigger star than Theda and of course got top billing and kid-glove treatment...
..Theda's second film was released in March, only two months after FOOL.

When release prints, posters and press materials for THE KREUTZER SONATA arrived at theaters nationwide, managers began displaying Theda's name on the marquees to bring in customers.  Fox executives complained that O'Neil's contract called for top billing, but theater owners said it was Theda bringing in the crowds...
...At least her KREUTZER SONATA reviews provided some good news:  it was a big hit, mostly due to curiosity about Theda.  'Startling and remarkable,'  according to one reviewer; another said of Theda and O'Neil,' their acting is splendidly realistic and emotionally powerful.'  Being favorably compared to a stage diva like Nance (Editor's note: Pronounced NANCY) O'Neil must have given Theda strength to continue filming." 
(Photo of Nance accompanies article.)

I still don't remember seeing her, and that bugs me.  It would be wonderful to see her!  Maybe Stef can get me a film (as in borrow) through her Humanities classes or her Film class...




(Message last edited Sep-9th-02  4:38 PM.)

This is some snippets from the Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Ca dated Aug. 17, 1918. It appears our Nance was a star among stars. 3 attachments. This is not the full article:

I saw Transgression on American Movie Classics in the early
1990`s & William has copies of False Faces and The Royal Bed.
I'm thinking that they are being shown sometimes & after seeing
the titles everyone can keep an eye out for them. On the TCM
website they take requests for movies, I wonder how they would
feel if the entire Lizzie Borden Society logged on & started requesting that Nance O'Neil movies be shown? Y'all think it would work?

Nance O'Neil appeared in fourteen silent films (1915-1917) and eighteen "talkies" (1929-1932).

I've decided to request the film with Sir Larry, the
site is http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com. There is a
thing at the top that says request a movie. I've requested
movies before but they haven't shown them yet.

"CIMARRON - 
with Richard Dix, Estelle Taylor,
Nance O'Neil and William Collier Jr.
1931.
BUY MOVIE ON VHS
This epic Western won the 1931 Academy Award for Best Picture. Heartthrob Richard Dix plays Yancey Cravat (yes, really, that's his name) a frontiersman, newspaper editor, and former gunslinger who's studly enough to fill in as preacher or lawyer should the situation demand. Yancey brings his young bride Sabra (Dunne in her first Oscar-nominated role) to the wild Oklahoma territory to taste the adventure, crusade for social justice, and leave his family for years at a time. Modern viewers will have trouble making it past one or two horrifying racist caricatures at the start, made doubly odd because of the film's intended message of tolerance. Once it gets underway, though, Cimarron can be quite a bit of fun. Most of its pleasures are of the guilty variety - Dix's performance in particular is endearingly huge - but there are a few genuine highlights. The Oklahoma Land Rush sequence is still exciting and wet blanket Sabra turns out to have far more gumption than anyone imagined. "

http://www.shopping-entertainment-online.com/vintage-stars/irene-dunne.htm
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Kat-I just ordered it!

Nance is pretty wonderful, if stagey, in her scene in the first section of the film - great voice, and you'd know that hawk-like nose anywhere.  Finally seeing footage of someone who knew Lizzie was thrilling, just like recently getting to check out that photo of Alice Russell.

Let's see...how does that old song go?  "I danced with a man who danced with a girl who danced with the Prince of Wales..."

OH!  And we SO LOVE it, too!

Now I really cant wait to see it. Wonder what Nance would think of today's Broadway offerings. If I could bring her out of the past, put headphones on her and choose a soundtrack for her to listen to I would pick 'Man Of LaMancha" with Richard Kiley. (And then I would take her to the Red Rock Bistro for dinner by the ocean, and pour wine into her)

A little OT - David, are you a fan of the work of Richard Barrios?

Current films use a negative (or positive) that records all 3 colors.
Tecnicolr used 3 B&W films with a filter to capture only the one color (using split semi-silvered mirrors). This created color films that wouldn't fade, BUT highly expensive. You could look this up in a photo encyclopedia.

OT means Off Topic but we don't seem to watch that too much around here.

I surely didn't know so many members knew so much about film.

I think Tracie is the one who consults with us on still photography?

Thanks for all the interesting info, David. 

Richard Barrios, who happens to be the friend of a friend of mine (though I've yet to meet him, dammit!), is a film historian who wrote a smashing book on early sound musicals called A SONG IN THE DARK.  I've read it twice and I recommend it.