by
Greta de Groat
The Talmadge sisters were two of the most beloved stars of the silent era. At first glance, they could hardly seem more different. Norma was a slight, soulful-eyed brunette beauty adept at “emotional” roles while Constance was a tall, gawky blond, not particularly pretty but with a face full of mischief. Yet they were bound together closely in their professional careers and linked in publicity as well as in their personal lives. Their films were marketed together to distributors, and publicity generally presented them as a family unit, with sister Natalie along with their mother, the indomitable Peg. Norma is something of an enigma today. Though most of her films survive, they are rarely screened. Constance has fewer surviving films, but is more familiar to modern audiences through her appealing role in D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance (1916).
Norma & Constance Talmadge together. Private Collection.
Norma Talmadge portrait. Private Collection.
Constance Talmadge portrait. Private Collection.
Constance & Norma Talmadge. Private Collection.
Norma Talmadge. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Norma Talmadge, She Loves and Lies (1920). Private Collection.
Constance Talmadge, The Duchess of Buffalo (1928). Private Collection.
Lantern slide, Breakfast at Sunrise (1927). Private Collection
Lantern slide, Constance Talmadge’s Lessons in Love (1921). Private Collection.
Norma Talmadge publicity photo, c. 1927. Private Collection.
Norma Talmadge, Hollywood premiere for Camille (1926). Private Collection.
Lantern slide, Constance Talmadge’s Venus (1929). Private Collection.
Lantern slide, Wedding Bells (1921), produced by Constance Talmadge Film Company. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Norma Talmadge portrait. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Norma Talmadge, She Loves and Lies (1920). Private Collection.
According to the 1900 and 1910 census, Norma Talmadge was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1894. The oldest of three daughters in a largely fatherless Brooklyn household, Norma broke into films at the Vitagraph Company studios in Flatbush, New York, in 1910, with no previous acting experience. She started playing bit parts, and by the end of 1910, she was taking leading roles and had a prominent part in Vitagraph’s three-reel special A Tale of Two Cities (1911). Shortly thereafter she was given a permanent position in the stock company and was assigned to Van Dyke Brooke’s unit. In films that are still readily available, she appears chiefly in ingenue parts, but the true scope of her early roles is still under investigation. Youngest sister Constance tagged along to the studio and worked as an extra. In 1914 Constance also became part of the Vitagraph Company stock company, often in comedies with Billy Quirk.
The written material on the Talmadges is vast, but not deep, and largely repetitive. Much material about or attributed to Norma concerns her early days at Vitagraph. Details vary from one version to another, but common elements include her debut in a bit part in The Household Pest/A Four-Footed Pest (1910), the latter title referenced in Lauritzen and Lundquist’s Index; her starstruck worship of Vitagraph leading lady Florence Turner; and her reputation for versatility, which is possibly inflated in retrospect. One begins to wonder whether interviewers and ghost writers were copying each other, and we assume that Norma approved of these versions of her career, since several of the articles are attributed to her. Some of the stories may even be true, since they were told again years later by biographer Anita Loos, supposedly based on her conversations with Peg Talmadge. Many articles stress the Talmadges as a family; those and the rarer articles on Constance alone reinforce her carefree reputation.
Norma was well positioned for the transition to feature films with her harrowing performance in Vitagraph’s ten-reel special The Battle Cry of Peace (1915). Norma received a contract offer from National Film Corporation, and Constance resigned from Vitagraph as the Talmadge women pulled up stakes and moved to California. The National Film Corporation proved to be undercapitalized, and after one film, Norma was released from her contract. Constance picked up work in some Smiling Billy Parsons comedy shorts. Norma and Constance applied at the Triangle Film Corporation, supposedly drawn by the reputation of D. W. Griffith. Though she made much in later years of having worked with Griffith, Norma did not appear in any of his films. However, she found plenty of work starring in mostly unremarkable feature films by other directors. Her first film, The Missing Links (1916), also featured Constance. The impudent and irreverent Constance captured Griffith’s attention, and she was rewarded with a star-making role in Intolerance, as the comic and tragic tomboy Mountain Girl. After this she was promoted to starring parts. At Triangle, the Talmadges made an important professional contact, writer Loos. Loos wrote Norma’s best Triangle film, The Social Secretary (1916), a comedy about a young working woman who disguises herself to discourage unwanted advances from her employers.
Norma’s career took an important turn when she met self-made millionaire Joseph M. Schenck, who wanted to produce motion pictures and was looking for a star. He set up the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation in New York. Their first production, Panthea (1917), about a young Russian pianist who gives up her honor to save her husband, was a huge popular and critical success. The film was still extant in the 1950s but appears to now be lost. Norma married Schenck during the production of Panthea, and they worked together in producing a series of dramas that steadily built her popularity. Karen Mahar locates the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation as part of the second “star-producer movement,” and contrasts her relative passivity with Mary Pickford’s power as a film executive and Clara Kimball Young’s struggles with producer Lewis J. Selznick (2006, 158–159; 165). It now seems likely that the company named forNorma Talmadge was inspired by the Clara Kimball Young Film Corporation, particularly since it was Selznick who encouraged his friend Schenck to start the company using the star actress drawing power of the woman he would soon marry. Mahar says that in this venture, Schenck’s control was dominant, but the fact that Norma Talmadge received a percentage of the profits from the films in which she appeared is significant (2006, 159). While we wouldn’t discount the benefit to the star actress of being married to the producer, the company profit-sharing suggests an advantage that accrued to Talmadge beyond any awarded even the most popular male and female screen stars under contract in the next decades of the studio years. It is unclear exactly to what extent, however, Norma Talmadge participated in the production end. Norma took responsibility for the films in the public press aimed at her fan base, but Schenck was the public face of the Norma and Constance corporations in the industry press. We know that she spent long hours on makeup and costume tests (Sumner 38, 149), and she surely had story approval. Also, there is some evidence that at least story selection was a family affair (Talmadge 1924, 216; Loos 52). Director Allan Dwan, for instance, complained of “pillow talk” during the production of Panthea (Bogdanovich 43). Norma and Constance also critiqued each other’s rushes, as Norma tells us in the 6th part of the series titled “Close-ups” that she wrote for the Saturday Evening Post in 1927 (46). Norma’s years of experience must have been helpful in getting Schenck up to speed in the technical side of the picture business, starting him on his career as one of Hollywood’s most important and powerful producers. It was as a motion picture actress that she made her greatest impact. Her performances were usually excellent, and she gained stature as an actress in both public opinion and among her peers.
According to Loos, Peg Talmadge convinced Joseph Schenck to start a company for Constance when her Triangle contract ran out in mid-1917 (Loos 33). The Constance Talmadge Film Company, however, is not credited until 1920 when Loos and husband John Emerson began coproducing the films. Constance became renowned as a light comedienne, and her popularity soared. In a 1921 Moving Picture World poll, Norma and Constance Talmadge were voted the first and second most popular movie actresses in the country. They had sizable foreign followings as well.
Sister Natalie worked as a secretary to her sisters as well as in the Comique Film Corporation, Schenck’s other film corporation, which he started first to produce Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle films and later to feature Buster Keaton. Natalie, who married Buster Keaton, is also credited with one Keaton screenplay, Out West (1918). She later tried acting briefly, giving creditable performances in Norma’s Yes or No (1920), and in Keaton’s Our Hospitality (1923). Mother Peg, an irrepressible wit, achieved immortality of a sort by inspiring the character of the wisecracking Dorothy in the Loos property Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928).
Norma’s roles in her early independent productions were often honest young women in some sort of compromising situation and misunderstood by her husband or fiancé. She sometimes performed double or quasi-double roles, enabling her to briefly break out of her own mold, such as a bored socialite and tenement mother in Yes or No (1920), or the young wife who suffers a brain injury that turns her into a criminal in De Luxe Annie (1918). In 1921 there was a move to upgrade her films by hiring director Herbert Brenon. The results of this partnership range from the excellent The Sign on the Door (1921) to the abysmal The Wonderful Thing (1921). The most interesting was The Passion Flower (1921), which Norma fondly remembered as an artistic experiment (M. Talmadge 1924, 210–211; N. Talmadge 1927, 43). This disturbing and conflicted story of a Spanish girl stalked by her stepfather was a box office disappointment, and Norma never attempted anything noncommercial again. She did, however, begin to make fewer but bigger and often better motion pictures, particularly after the family moved to Hollywood in 1922, and she topped the Exhibitor’s Herald box office attraction polls in 1923, 1924, and 1925. Her greatest commercial success was the romantic Smilin’ Through (1922), but her greatest artistic successes were with director Frank Borzage in Secrets (1924) and The Lady (1925). In both of these films, Norma convincingly enacts characters who age from young women to old. She followed these dramas with a surprising comedy, Kiki (1926), which prompted director Clarence Brown to call her “the finest pantomimist who ever lived.” Later films included an excellent modern dress Camille (1927), written by Olga Printzlau, which survives in sadly abbreviated form, and an offbeat adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s short story “Boule de Suif,” Woman Disputed (1928).
Constance continued appearing in light romantic comedies, with only an occasional foray into drama. She usually played a willful young woman who was constantly having misunderstandings with the men in her life. Throughout the 1920s her films were becoming fewer and further between, and in 1929 Time magazine reported that she had become bored with filmmaking. Her last film, Venus (1929), was made in France. By this time, the tide had definitely turned in favor of Talkies, and Constance Talmadge retired. Norma, however, was not ready to end her career, and studied with actress Laura Hope Crews in an attempt to perfect her speaking voice. Her first Talkie, New York Nights (1929), was well received, and in this extant film her dialogue shows no trace of the Brooklyn accent that modern accounts often cite as ending her career (Thompson 1976, 548). However, her next film, Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930) was not a success. The public turned way from silent stars, particularly those, like Norma, who had been in motion pictures from the earliest days and were identified with those pioneering times. She was announced for a role in Samuel Goldwyn’s The Greeks Had a Word for It in 1930, but she quit before production started and never made another film.
In their own times Constance Talmadge was the lower-profile sister, but today she is more familiar than Norma, and her madcap antics may be seen as a precursor to the screwball comedies of the 1930s. Modern tastes find Norma at something of a disadvantage. With her reputation as the great dramatic actress of the silent screen, modern audiences expect a more high-powered histrionic type, and her still photos encourage the expectation of a diva personality. Though something of a grand manner appears in her late films, she is for most of her career a very youthful looking woman with a disarming, dimpled grin and a warm, friendly personality, and it is easy to overlook the subtlety and naturalism of her performances. Her persona well suited her times and Norma loomed large as a cultural icon and an ideal of modern womanhood. Audiences had grown up with Norma and delighted in seeing her as they would an old friend. Given a chance for repeated exposure, she can still captivate new viewers as well. With their marvelously expressive faces, high-spirited vitality, and effortless charm, the Talmadge sisters had much in common after all.
Bibliography
1. Norma Talmadge
Bogdanovich, Peter. Alan Dwan: the Last Pioneer. New York: Praeger, 1971.
de Groat, Greta. “Rediscovering Norma Talmadge.” Griffithiana. no.71 (2001): 82-109.
------. The Norma Talmadge Website. http://www.stanford.edu/~gdegroat/NT/home.htm
Loos, Anita. The Talmadge Girls: a Memoir. New York: Viking Press, 1978.
Oettinger, Malcolm H. “Beauty and the Bean.” Picture Play (April, 1922. http://www.welcometosilentmovies.com/features/norma/norma.htm
“Sisters Three: the Life Story of the Talmadge Sisters.” Picture Show (30 Oct. 1920): 15, 20, (Nov. 6, 1920): 18, 26, (13 Nov. 1920): 19-20.
Spears, Jack. “Norma Talmadge.” Films in Review (Jan. 1967): 16-40.
Smith, Greg N. “Silencing the New Woman: Ethnic and Social Mobility in the Melodramas of Norma Talmadge.” Journal of Film and Video, 48, no. 3 (Fall 1996): 3-16.
St. Johns, Adela Rogers. “Our One and Only Great Actress.” Photoplay (Feb. 1926): 58, 136-7.
Sumner, Keene. “Norma Talmadge: A Great Moving Picture Star.” American Magazine (June 1922): 36–39, 147–150.
Talmadge, Margaret L. The Talmadge Sisters: an Intimate Story of the World’s Most Famous Screen Family. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1924.
Talmadge, Norma. “Close-ups.” [Six article series] Saturday Evening Post (12 March 1927): 6-7; (26 March 1927): 26-27; (9 April 1927): 30-33; (7 May 1927): 34-35; (21 May 1927): 41-43; (25 June 1927): 43-46.
Archival Paper Collections:
Gloria Swanson papers. University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Center.
Norma Talmadge scrapbook, Robinson Locke collection, 1870-1920. New York Public Library, Archives and Manuscripts.
Samuel Stark. Theatre scrapbook collection, 1860-1950. Stanford University.
2. Constance Talmadge
Bodeen, DeWitt. “Constance Talmadge.” Films in Review (Apr. 1967): 613-630.
Kingsley, Grace. “The Wild Woman of Babylon.” Photoplay (May 1917): 80 - 82, 148.
Loos, Anita. The Talmadge Girls: a Memoir. New York: Viking Press, 1978.
“The New Pictures.” Time (28 Oct. 1929): n.p.
“Sisters Three: the Life Story of the Talmadge Sisters.” Picture Show (30 Oct. 1920): 15, 20, (Nov. 6, 1920): 18, 26, (13 Nov. 1920): 19 - 20.
Talmadge, Margaret L. The Talmadge Sisters: an Intimate Story of the World’s Most Famous Screen Family. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1924.
Archival Paper Collections:
Samuel Stark. Theatre scrapbook collection, 1860-1950. Stanford University.
Filmography
A. Archival Filmography: Extant Film Titles:
1. Norma Talmadge as Actress
A Dixie Mother. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke. (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1910) cas.: Florence Turner, Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Deutsche Kinemathek, BFI National Archive.
The Love of Chrysanthemum. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke (Vitagaph Co. of America US 1910) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
In Neighboring Kingdoms. Dir.: William Humphrey, sc.: Beta Breuil (Vitagaph Co. of America US 1910) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
The General's Daughter. (Vitagraph US 1911) cas.: Norma Talmadge. si, b&w, 1 reel. Archive: BFI National Archive.
A Tale of Two Cities. Dir.: William Humphrey, sc.: Eugene Mullin (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1911) cas.: Florence Turner, Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, BFI National Archive.
The Thumb Print/The Adventures of a Thumb Print. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: William A. Tremayne (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1911) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
Father's Hot Toddy. (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The First Violin. Dir.:Van Dyke Brooke (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Fortunes of a Composer. Dir.: Charles Kent (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Higher Mercy. Dir.: William V. Ranous, sc.: Charles L. Gaskill (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Ralph W. Ince, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
His Official Appointment. Dir.: Charles Kent, sc.: Catherine Carr (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna.
Lovesick Maidens of Cuddletown. Dir.: George D. Baker (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Mrs. 'Enry 'Awkins. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Sphinx, or, Mrs. Carter's Necklace. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: George H. Plympton (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912) cas.: Florence Turner, Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Library and Archives Canada.
The Troublesome Step-Daughters. Dir.: George D. Baker, sc.: Marguerite Bertsch (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1912). Cas.: Clara Kimball Young, Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
Father's Hatband. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Monte Katterjohn (Vitagraph Co. of America 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
Just Show People. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Walter C. Bellows (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
A Lady and her Maid. Dir.: Burt Angeles, sc.: Beta Breuil (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum.
An Old Man’s Love Story. Dir.: Van Dyke Brook, sc.: W.A. Tremayne (Vitagraph US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w,1 reel. Archive: Private Collection.
The Silver Cigarette Case. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: W.A. Tremayne. (Vitagraph US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 1 reel. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Solitaires. (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge,, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, EYE Filmmuseum.
Stenographer Troubles. Dir.: Fred Thompson (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Flora Finch, Florence Turner, Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Tables Turned. Dir.: Charles Kent, sc.: Winifred Dutcher (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Wanted, A Strong Hand. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Kate Price (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Van Dyke Brooke, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Under the Daisies. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Mrs. Owen Bronson (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1913) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.
The Sacrifice of Kathleen. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w,35mm. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Helpful Sisterhood. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, Theodore Marston, sc.: Margaret P. Dryden (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 2 reels. Archive: Private Collection.
John Rance, Gentleman. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Elizabeth R. Carpenter (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914). cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 2 reels. Archive: Private Collection.
The Loan Shark King. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Laura Colfax (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Norma Talmadge , si, b&w, 1 reel of 1 Archive: BFI National Archive.
Memories in Men's Souls. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: James Hopper (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914). cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Sawdust and Salome. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Valentine Fulton (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914). cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm,1 reel. Archive: Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna, Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive.
The Battle Cry of Peace/The Battle Cry of War. Dir.: Wilfred North, prod./sc: J. Stuart Blackton (Vitagraph US 1915) cas.: Charles Richmann, Norma Talmadge, L. Rogers Lytton, James Morrison, Mary Maurice, Louise Beaudet, Constance Talmadge [not confirmed], si, b&w. Archive: Svenska Filminstitutet, George Eastman Museum.
A Daughter of Israel. Dir.: Van Dyke Brook, sc.: W.A. Tremayne. (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1915) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum.
Elsa's Brother. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: W.A. Tremayne (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1915) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
The Children in the House. Dir.: Chester M. & Sidney A. Franklin, sc.: Roy Somerville (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1916) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, UCLA Film & Television Archive, George Eastman Museum.
The Devil's Needle. Dir.: Chester Withey, sc.: Chester Withey, Roy Somerville (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1916) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Fifty-Fifty. Dir.: Allan Dwan, sc.: Robert Shirley (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1916) cas.: Norma Talmadge, J.W. Johnston, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum.
Going Straight. Dir.: Chester M. & Sidney A Franklin, sc.: Bernard McConville (Fine Arts Film. Co. US 1916) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum, (28mm) Library of Congress, Cineteca del Friuli (16mm), BFI National Archive, Academy Film Archive.
The Social Secretary. Dir.: John Emerson, sc.: Anita Loos, John Emerson, Alfred Huger Moses, Jr. (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1916) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Eric von Stroheim, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Library of Congress, BFI National Archive , Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna, Academy Film Archive, Lobster Films.
2. Norma Talmadge as Actress and Owner of the The Norma Talmadge Film Corporation/Norma Talmadge Productions
The Law of Compensation. Dir.: Julius Steger & Joseph A. Golden, prod.: Joseph m. Schenck, sc.: Edna G. Riley (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1917) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art, Library of Congress.
The Moth. Dir.: Edward José, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: John B. Clymer, Harry O. Hoyd, cost.: Lucy Duff-Gordon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1917) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Adolph Menjou, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Poppy. Dir./sc.: Edward José, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, cost.: Lucy-Duff Gordon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1917) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
By Right of Purchase/ The Man who Bought a Wife. Dir.: Charles Miller, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Harry O Hoyt (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
De Luxe Annie. Dir.: Roland West, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Paul West (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Forbidden City/A Tale of a Forbidden City. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Mary Murillo (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Cineteca del Friuli.
The Ghosts of Yesterday. Dir.: Charles Miller, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Mildred Considine, cost.: Lucy Duff-Gordon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm., 6 reels. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Safety Curtain. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc,: Sidney A. Franklin, Paul West (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive, EYE Filmmuseum.
The Heart of Wetona. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Mary Murillo (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1919) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive, George Eastman Museum, Library of Congress, Cinema Museum, BFI National Archive.
The New Moon. Dir./sc.: Chester Withey, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1919) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Probation Wife. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Kathryn Stuart (Norma Talmadge Film Corp US 1919) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
The Way of a Woman/ Nancy Lee. Dir.: Robert Z. Leonard, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Eugene Walter, cost.: Lucy Duff-Gordon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1919) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: BFI National Archive.
The Branded Woman. Dir.: Albert Parker, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Anita Loos, Albert Parker, cost.: Lucy Duff-Gordon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1920) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
A Daughter of Two Worlds. Dir.: James L. Young, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: James L. Young, Edmund Goulding, ph.: David Abel. (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1920) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
She Loves and Lies. Dir.: Chester Withey, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Grant Cooper, Chester Withey (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1920) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Woman Gives. Dir.: Roy W. Neill, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Grant Carpenter, Waldo Walter (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1920) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Gosfilmofond.
The Sign on the Door. Dir.: Herbert Brenon, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Mary Murillo, Herbert Brenon (Norma Talmadge Film Corp/Norma Talmadge Productions US 1921) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Wonderful Thing Dir.: Herbert Brenon, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Clara Beranger, Herbert Brenon (Norma Talmadge Productions US 1921) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Ashes of Vengeance. Dir./adp.: Frank Lloyd, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, cost: Clare West (for Talmadge only) (Norma Talmadge Film Co. US 1923) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
The Only Woman . Dir.: Sidney Olcott, prod: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Gardner Sullivan (Norma Talmadge Film Co./ Norma Talmadge Productions US 1924) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Lady. Dir.: Frank Borzage, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Frances Marion (Norma Talmadge Film Co./Norma Talmadge Productions US 1925) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Kiki. Dir.: Clarence Brown, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Hans Kraly (Norma Talmadge Film Co./Norma Talmadge Productions/First National US 1926) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Ronald Colman, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, George Eastman Museum, Národní Filmov Archiv.
Camille. Dir.: by Fred Niblo, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Olga Printzlau, Chandler Sprague, ph.: Oliver Marsh. (Norma Talmadge Productions US 1927) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Cohen Film Collection (Raymond Rohauer Collection) (incomplete), Douris Corporation (a 5 reel condensation of 9 reels).
The Dove. Dir.: Roland West, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, Roland West, sc.: Wallace Smith, Roland West, Willard Mack, Paul Bern (Norma Talmadge Film Co./Norma Talmadge Productions US 1927) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Anna May Wong, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Svenska Filminstitutet.
Woman Disputed. Dir.: Henry King, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, Sam Taylor, sc.: C. Gardner Sullivan, (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1928) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si&so, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
3. Norma Talmadge as Actress and Producer
The Eternal Flame. Dir.: Frank Lloyd, prod.: Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Frances Marion (Norma Talmadge Film Co. US 1922) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Adolphe Menjou, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Smilin' Through. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Sidney A. Franklin, James Ashmore Creelman, Jane Cowl, Jane Murfin (Norma Talmadge Productions/Norma Talmadge Film Co. US 1922) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, EYE Filmmuseum.
Song of Love. Dir.: Frances Marion, Chester Franklin, Frank Borzage, prod.: Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Frances Marion, cost.: Clare West, Margaret Peterson (Norma Talmadge Productions/Norma Talmadge Film Co. US 1923) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. 35mm, 8 reels; 8, 000 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Národní Filmov Archiv.
Within the Law. Dir.: Frank Lloyd, prod.: Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, adp: Frances Marion (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1923) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Lew Cody, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Gosfilmofond, Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée.
Secrets. Dir.: Frank Borzage, prod.:Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Frances Marion, cost.: Clare West (Joseph M. Schenck Productions/Norma Talmadge Productions US 1924) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w, 8 reels; 8,363 ft. Archive: Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Museum of Modern Art, Gosfilmofond, Národní Filmov Archiv, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Library of Congress.
Graustark. Dir.: Dimitri Buchowetzki, prod.: Norma Talmadge, Joseph M. Schenck, adp.: Frances Marion (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1925) cas.: Norma Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum, Library of Congress.
4. Constance Talmadge as Actress
The Evolution of Percival. Dir.: Lee Beggs (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Billy Quirk, Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Fixing their Dads. Dir.: George D. Baker (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive, Library of Congress.
The Egyptian Mummy. Dir.: Lee Beggs, sc.: Alice A. Methley (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
In the Latin Quarter. Dir.: Lionel Belmore, sc.: Florence Bolles (Vitagraph Co. of US 1914) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
Beached and Bleached. Dir. Louis M. Chaudet (MinA US 1915) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Smiling Billy Parsons, William Shea, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
Billy, the Bear Tamer. Dir. Lee Beggs, sc.:Edward Montange, Jr. (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1915) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w, 2 reels. Archive: Library of Congress, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive.
The Green Cat. Dir. Lee Beggs, sc.: Donald I Buchanan (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1915) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum.
The Lady of Shalott. Dir.: C. Jay Williams, sc.: Cecilie B. Petersen (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1915) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum.
Intolerance. Prod./dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith, Anita Loos, Frank E. Woods (D.W. Griffith/Wark Producing Corp. US 1916) cas.: Lillian Gish, Constance Talmadge, Erich Von Stronheim, si, b&w. Archive: Bulgarska Nacionalna Filmoteka, Cinémathèque Québécoise, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Svenska Filminstitutet , National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Cineteca del Friuli, Münchner Stadtmuseum, Filmoteka Narodowa, George Eastman Museum, Gosfilmofond, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive, EYE Filmmuseum, Österreichisches Filmmuseum, Cineteca Nazionale, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinemateca Romana, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, Filmoteca Española, Harvard Film Archive, Library and Archives Canada, Danske Filminstitut, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive [USB], Jugoslovenska Kinoteka, Anthology Film Archives, Lobster Films.
The Matrimaniac. Dir.: Paul Powell; sc.: Anita Loos, John Emerson, st.: Octavus Roy Cohen, J. U. Giesy (Fine Arts Film Corp. US 1916) cas.: Douglas Fairbanks, Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Microscope Mystery. Dir.: Paul Powell, sc.: William E. Wing (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1916) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive.
The Girl of the Timber Claims. Dir.: Paul Powell, sc.: Mary H. O’Connor (Fine Arts Film Corp. US 1917) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Margaret Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
Betsy’s Burglar. Dir.: Paul Powell, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Fine Arts Film Co. US 1917) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
Scandal. Dir.: Charles Giblyn. sc.: Bess Meredith, Charles GIblyn (Lewis J. Selznick Enterprises, Inc. US 1917) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive.
Good Night, Paul. Dir.: Walter Edwards, adp.: Julia Crawford Ivers (Select Pictures Corp US 1918) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Filmoteca Española, Lobster Films.
A Lady’s Name. Dir.: Walter Edwards, sc.: Julia Crawford Ivers (Select Pictures Corp. US 1918) cas.: Constance Talmadge, ZaSu Pitts, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
A Pair of Silk Stockings. Dir.: Walter Edwards sc.: Edith M. Kennedy (Select Pictures Corp. US 1918) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum, Lobster Films.
Up the Road with Sallie. Dir.: William D. Taylor, sc.: Julia Crawford Ivers (Select Pictures Corp. US 1918) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive.
The Fall of Babylon. Prod./dir./sc.: D.W. Griffith (D.W. Griffith US 1919) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Academy Film Archive.
5. Constance Talmadge as Actress and Owner of Constance Talmadge Film Company and Talmadge Film Producing Corp.
A Tempermental Wife. Dir.: David Kirkland, Prod.: John Emerson, Anita Loos, Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: John Emerson, Anita Loos, Jane Cowl, Jane Murfin (Constance Talmadge Film Co., A John Emerson- Anita Loos Production US 1919) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
The Perfect Woman. Dir.: David Kirkland, sc.: John Emerson, Anita Loos (Joseph M. Schenck Productions, A John Emerson-Anita Loos Production) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Lobster Films.
A Virtuous Vamp. Dir.: David Kirkland and Sidney Franklin, sc.: Anita Loos and John Emerson (Constance Talmadge Film Co. US 1919) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Belle Daube, Jack Kane, si, b&w, orig. 5 reels [incomplete]. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
In Search of a Sinner. Dir.: David Kirkland [FIAF lists David Kirkman], sc.: John Emerson, Anita Loos (Constance Talmadge Film Co. US 1920) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Two Weeks. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, sc.: Anita Loos, John Emerson (Joseph M. Schenck Productions, Emerson-Loos Productions US 1920) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm, 6 reels. Archive: Library of Congress, UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Mama’s Affair. Dir.: Victor Fleming, prod. Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: John Emerson, Anita Loos (Constance Talmadge Film Co. US 1921) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Lessons in Love. Dir.: Ed R. Hyman, Chester Withey, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, Charles Withey, sc.: Grant Carpenter, Willart T. Renick (Constance Talmadge Film Co./Constance Talmadge Productions US 1921) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Flora Finch, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Woman’s Place. Dir.: Victor Fleming, prod.: Joseph M. Schenk, sc.: Anita Loos, John Emerson (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1921) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Kenneth Harlan, Hassard Short, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
East is West. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Frances Marion (Constance Talmadge Productions US 1922) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Primitive Lover. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklyn, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Frances Marion (Constance Talmadge Film Co. US 1922) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Academy Film Archive, George Eastman Museum.
The Dangerous Maid. Dir.: Victor Heerman, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: C. Gardner Sullivan (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1923) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Gosfilmofond.
The Goldfish. Dir.: Jerome Storm, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: C. Gardner Sullivan (Constance Talmadge Film Co./Constance Talmadge Film Productions US 1924) cas.: Constance Talmadge , ZaSu Pitts, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Her Night of Romance. Dir. : Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc. Hans Kraly (Constance Talmadge Film Co./Constance Talmadge Film Productions US 1924) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Ronald Colman, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Learning to Love. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck. sc.; John Emerson, Anita Loos (Talmadge Producing Corp.,/ Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1925) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
Her Sister from Paris. Dir: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schecnk, sc.: Hans Kraly (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1925) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Ronald Colman, George K. Arthur, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Duchess of Buffalo. Dir.: Sidney A. Franklin, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Hans Kraly, George Marion Jr. (Constance Talmadge Film Co./Constance Talmadge Productions US 1926) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Museum of Modern Art, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique.
Venus of Venice. Dir.: Marshall A. Neilan, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Wallace Smith (Constance Talmadge Film Co/Constance Talmadge Productions US 1927) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Hedda Hopper, si, b&w. Archive: George Eastman Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Library of Congress.
Breakfast at Sunrise. Dir.: Malcolm St. Clair, sc.: Gladys Unger, Fred De Gresac (Constance Talmadge Film Co./Constance Talmadge Productions US 1927) cas.: Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
6. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge as Actress
The Helpful Sisterhood. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: Margaret P. Dryden (Vitagraph US 1914) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Private Collection. The Peacemaker. Dir.: Van Dyke Brooke, sc.: William A. Tremayne (Vitagraph Co. of America US 1914) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Constance Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
7. Natalie Talmadge as Screenwriter
Out West. Dir.: Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, sc.: Natalie Talmadge (Comique Film Corp. US 1918) cas.: Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art, EYE Filmmuseum, Lobster Films.
8. Natalie Talmadge as Actress
Our Hospitality. Dir.: Buster Keaton, John G. Blystone, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, Joseph Mitchell (Joseph M. Schenck Productions US 1923) cas.: Buster Keaton, Natalie Talmadge, si, b&w, 35mm, 7 reels, 6,220 ft. Archive: Bulgarska Nacionalna Filmoteka, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cinemateca do Museu de Arte Moderna, Filmoteka Narodowa, Gosfilmofond, Museum of Modern Art, EYE Filmmuseum, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, Cinemateca Romana, UCLA Film & Television Archive, Academy Film Archive, George Eastman Museum, BFI National Archive, Harvard Film Archive, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Lobster Films, Library of Congress.
9. Natalie Talmadge as Actress and Norma Talmadge as Actress and Owner of Norma Talmadge Film Corp.
Yes or No. Dir.: R. William Neill, prod.: Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Mary Murillo (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1920) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Natalie Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Passion Flower/Love or Hate. Dir.: Herbert Brenon , prod. :Joseph M. Schenck, sc.: Herbert Brenon, Mary Murillo (Norma Talmadge Film Corp. US 1921) cas.: Norma Talmadge, Natalie Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
10. Natalie Talmadge as Actress and Constance Talmadge as Actress and Owner of Constance Talmadge Film Co.
The Love Expert. Dir. David Kirkland, prod./sc.: John Emerson, Anita Loos (Constance Talmadge Film Co., A John Emerson- Anita Loos Production US 1920) cas.: Constance Talmadge, Natalie Talmadge, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
11. Norma Talmadge as Herself
Show People. Dir.: King Vidor, sc.: Anges Christine Johnston, cont.: Wanda Tuchock (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. US 1928) cas.: Marion Davies, William Haines, Dell Henderson, Charles Chaplin, King Vidor, Elinor Glyn, Douglas Fairbanks, Norma Talmadge, Louella Parsons, si&sd, b&w, 35mm, 9 reels; 7,453ft. Archive: Library of Congress, UCLA Film & Television Archive, George Eastman Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique, Cineteca del Friuli, BFI National Archive, Museo Nazionale del Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.
B. Filmography: Non-Extant Film Titles:
1. Norma Talmadge as Actress
The Household Pest, 1910; The Child Crusoes, 1911; Forgotten, 1911; Her Hero, 1911; The Sky Pilot , 1911; Captain Barnacle's Messmate, 1912; Captain Barnacle, Reformer, 1912; Captain Barnacle's Waif, 1912; Casey at the Bat, 1912; The Extension Table, 1912; The Fortune in the Tea-Cup , 1912; O'Hara, Squatter and Philosopher, 1912; 'Arriets Baby, 1913; 'Belinda the Slavey, 1913; The Blue Rose, 1913; Count Barber, 1913; The Doctor's Secret, 1913; An Elopement at Home, 1913; Extremities, 1913; Fanny's Conspiracy, 1913; Keeping Husbands Home, 1913; He Fell in Love with his Mother-In-Law, 1913; His Silver Bachelorhood, 1913; ; The Honorable Algernon, 1913; Midgets Revenge, 1913; O'Hara's Godchild, 1913; O'Hara Helps Cupid, 1913; Omens and Oracles, 1913; The Other Woman, 1913; Sleuthing, 1913; Cupid Versus Money, 1914; The Curing of Myra May, 1914; Fogg's Millions, 1914; Goodbye, Summer, 1914; The Hero, 1914; The Hidden Letters, 1914; His Little Page, 1914; The Mill of Life, 1914; Miser Murray's Wedding Present , 1914; Officer John Donovan, 1914; Old Reliable; 1914; Politics and the Press, 1914; A Question of Clothes, 1914; The Right of Way, 1914; Sunshine and Shadows,1914; Under False Colors , 1914; The Vavasour Ball, 1914; A Wayward Daughter, 1914; The Barrier of Faith, 1915; Captivating Mary Carstairs, 1915; The Criminal, 1915; A Daughter's Strange Inheritance, 1915; Janet of the Chorus, 1915; A Pillar of Flame, 1915; The Crown Prince's Double, 1916; Martha's Vindication, 1916; The Missing Links, 1916.
2. Norma Talmadge as Actress and Producer (Norma Talmadge Film Corporation)
Panthea, 1917; The Secret of the Storm Country, 1917; Her Only Way, 1918; Norma Talmadge in a Liberty Bond Appeal, 1918; The Isle of Conquest, 1919; She Loves and Lies, 1920; Love's Redemption, 1921; The Voice from the Minaret, 1923.
3. Norma Talmadge as Owner of Studio
The Dangerous Business, 1920.
4. Constance Talmadge as Actress
Buddy’s Downfall, 1914; Buddy’s First Call, 1914; Father’s Timepiece, 1914; Forcing Dad’s Consent, 1914; In Bridal Attire, 1914; The Maid from Sweden, 1914; The Moonstone of Fez, 1914; The Mysterious Lodger, 1914; Our Fairy Play, 1914; Uncle Bill, 1914; Bertie’s Stratagem, 1915; Billy’s Wager 1915; The Boarding House Feud, 1915; Burglarius Billy, 1915; Captivating Mary Carstairs, 1915; A Keyboard Strategy,1915; A Little Puritan, 1915; The Master of His House, 1915; Spades are Trumps, 1915; A Study in Tramps, 1915; The Vanishing Vault, 1915; You Can’t Beat It, 1915; The Young Man Who Figgered/The Young Man Who Figured, 1915; The Missing Links, 1916; The She Devil, 1916; The Honeymoon,1917; The Studio Girl, 1918; The Shuttle, 1918, The Lesson, 1918; Sauce for the Goose, 1918; Mrs. Leffingwell’s Boots, 1918; Experimental Marriage, 1919; Happiness À La Mode, 1919; Romance and Arabella, 1919; The Veiled Adventure,1919; A Virtuous Vamp, 1919; Who Cares?, 1919; The Dangerous Business; 1920.
5. Constance Talmadge as Actress and Producer (Constance Talmadge Film Company and Talmadge Film Producing Corp.)
Good References, 1920; Wedding Bells, 1920; Polly of the Follies/Good for Nothing, 1922; Dulcy, 1923; Venus, 1929.
6. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge as Actress
Captivating Mary Carstairs, 1915; The Missing Links, 1916.
7. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge as Actress and Producer
In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter, 1924.
C. DVD Sources:
1. Constance Talmadge
D.W. Griffith Monumental Epics. DVD. (Eureka Entertainment UK 2002)
D.W. Griffith Years of Discovery, 1909-1913. DVD. (Image Entertainment US 2002)
The Actors: Rare Films of Constance Talmadge. DVD. (Classic Video Streams US 2010)
The Constance Talmadge Double Feature: Her Night of Romance and Her Sisters from Paris. DVD. (Kino Classics US 2010)
The Duchess of Buffalo. DVD/VHS (Grapevine Video)
A Pair of Silk Stockings. DVD/ VHS (Silent Videos for Film Preservation)
Intolerance. DVD (Kino Video US 2002)
Intolerance. DVD. (Delta Entertainment US 2004)
Intolerance. DVD. (Cohen Film Collection 2013)
The Love Expert. DVD. (Alpha Video US 2015)
2. Norma Talmadge
The Children in the House. DVD / VHS (Grapevine Video)
Going Straight. DVD/ VHS (Grapevine Video)
The Social Secretary and Forbidden City. DVD/VHS (Grapevine Video US 2004)
Norma Talmadge at Vitagraph 1911-1914.: A Tale of Two Cities, His Official Appointment, An Old Man’s Love Story, Father’s Hatband, Sawdust and Salome, A Helpful Sisterhood, John Rance, Gentleman, The Devil’s Needle [excerpts]. DVD. (Grapevine Video US)
The Norma Talmadge Collection. DVD. (Kino International US 2010)
The Actors: Rare Films of Norma Talmadge, vol. 1 and 2. DVD. (Classic Video Streams US 2010)
The Devil's Needle and Other Tales of Vice and Redemption. DVD. (Kino Classics US 2012)
Ashes of Vengeance. DVD. (Alpha Video US 2016)
Show People. DVD. (Warner Archive Collection US 2012)
D. Streamed Media:
1. Constance Talmadge
Intolerance (1916) is streaming online via Kanopy
Intolerance (1916) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
Intolerance (1916) is streaming online via the Internet Archive
The Egyptian Mummy (1914) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
Billy, the Bear Tamer (1915) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
The Duchess of Buffalo (1926) is streaming online via the Internet Archive
2. Norma Talmadge
The Helpful Sisterhood (1914) is available online at The Internet Archive
An Old Man's Love Story (1913) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
Sawdust and Salome (1914) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
The Forbidden City (1918) is streaming online via Amazon Prime
The Forbidden City (1918) is streaming online via the Internet Archive
Credit Report
The majority of Norma Talmadge’s films are extant, but many are held in private collectors. Others that are listed as extant suffer from serious decomposition. The author has given information about the condition of the prints and missing reels. Check with the archives for more detailed information. The location of the prints has been determined by checking FIAF, however the author has also listed archival holdings that are not listed on FIAF. It is best to contact the archive directly regarding their holdings. The end is missing of The General’s Daughter, The Silver Cigarette Case, and The Way of a Woman/Nancy Lee. The Passion Flower/Love or Hate is incomplete. 4 out of 6 reels of The Moth and The Ghosts of Yesterday are extant; 2 condensed reels of 8 reels of Poppy are extant; reels 2 and 4 are missing of The Prohibition Wife; reels 2 and 8 are missing of The Eternal Flame; reel 2 is missing of She Loves and Lies and The Women Gives; reel 2 is missing and there is sever deterioration in some of the other 7 reels of The Lady; reel 4 of The Only Woman is severely deteriorated; there is deterioration in reel 9 of The Dove; the Douris Corporation’s holding of Camille is a 5 reel condensation of 9 reels; there is 1 condensed reel of 9 reels of The Battle Cry of Peace; only reel 1 of 5 reels exists of The Microscope Mystery; only reels 3 thru 6 of 6 reels exist of In Search of a Sinner exist; reels 2 thru 6 of 7 reels exist of Learning to Love exist. FIAF does not list The General’s Daughter, His Official Appointment, The New Moon, She Loves and Lies, Yes and No, The Wonderful Thing, East is West. FIAF, Braff and AFI do not list The Loan Shark King. Credits also pose challenges for constructing the Talmadge filmography. FIAF does not credit Norma Talmadge as an actress in Lovesick Maidens of Cuddleton, The Thumb Print, and Passion Flower. The database mistakenly credits Norma instead of Natalie Talmadge for acting in Our Hospitality. Braff does not credit Norma for The Household Pest, Forgotten, ‘Belinda the Slavey, He Fell in Love with his Mother-In-Law, The Mill of Life, Miser Murray’s Wedding Present and Under False Colors. AFI does not credit Norma as the producer of Within the Law, Secrets and Graustark. However, since AFI states that these were produced by Joseph M. Schenck, Norma could have been involved in their creation. The database does note that there is a completely silent version of The Disputed Woman. In addition to being the location for the production of films starring or produced by Norma, the Norma Talmadge Studios were also used by other filmmakers. Someone Must Pay (1919, Ivan Abramson), Break the News to Mother (1919, Julius Steger), The Mothers of Men (1920, Edward José) were shot at the Norma Talmadge Studio. Natalie Talmadge is not credited by FIAF for writing Out West. Constance Talmadge is not credited by FIAF for acting in Up the Road with Sallie and Beach and Bleached and Braff does not credit her for acting in Helpful Sisterhood and The Mysterious Lodger. The author suggests that Constance could be in The Battle Cry for Peace, but AFI and FIAF do not confirm this. The author also proposes that she produced The Perfect Woman, Two Weeks, Woman’s Place, The Dangerous Maid, and Her Sister from Paris, but FIAF and AFI list Joseph M. Schenck Productions as the production company. It is therefore possible that Constance was involved in the creation of these films. Finally, the author lists Norma and Constance Talmadge as producers and actress of In Hollywood with Potash and Perlmutter, but AFI only confirms that Constance was an actress and lists Goldwyn Pictures Corp. as the production company.
Citation
de Groat, Greta. "The Talmadge Sisters." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2011. <https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-4pbj-6z33>
