They Had Faces

A few weeks ago I decided I would start posting a photo a week on here for inspiration. Since that initial classic of Andy & Edie, I haven't followed up. The reason is twofold. One, work has me so booked up that the time I have for blogging is brief and research takes up too much of it. Two, I've had other things to write about! Over the weekend I received the following photo (and its caption!) in my inbox from one of the most debonair, cultured, fashion-conscious people in my life. That's right, once again my photo of the week has been inspired by none other than my little bro. Behold, the glorious Gloria Swanson.

America's First Real Star

Nowadays, as Andy Warhol once predicted, everyone is famous for fifteen minutes. We are so inondated with reality television "stars," people who've shot one episode of Law & Order and insist on walking red carpets, in-your-face "experts," cut-throat models, athletes, fallen starlets, and those who are simply "Winning." It's a lot to take. And it makes this star-gazer tres sad, to tell you the truth.

In a foregone era, the term celebrity was reserved for those who deserved it. They were bona fide stars, talented actors who lit up the screen and brought magic to the people. Grace, Audrey, Marilyn... but reaching even farther back, there was a period in film history that started it all. The stars of silent films, like the inimitible Gloria Swanson.

Born in 1899, "Miss Swanson," as she preferred to be called throughout her life despite many marriages, had a face so divine, so full of expression, that she was one of the first and most respected top picks during the silent film era. She swiftly transitioned to talking pictures with 1929's "The Trespasser," starring in over fifty films over the course of the 21st century. One of her most notables is the classic Sunset Boulevard, in which Miss Swanson played a character not unlike herself--an aging starlet living on former glory and taken with a young, dashing visitor portrayed by William Holden.

The film is filled with fabulous quotables but my favorite is so indicative of Swanson's own grace, talent, and beauty. At one point her character Norma Desmond gets into a row with Holden about Hollywood in days gone by, declaring, "We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!" And that she did.