To commemorate the centennial of Barbara’s passing, I (Sherri Snyder) joined Stewart Lee on the Golden Silent Films Podcast for an episode devoted to Barbara’s incredible life and commendable career. We discuss her early years, the winding career path that led her to silent film stardom, her untimely death at age twenty-nine, her legacy, my Barbara La Marr portrayal, my biography (Barbara La Marr: The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful for Hollywood), and more. Listen to the podcast here.
I (Sherri Snyder) was happy to appear alongside Laura Riebman, producer Paul Bern’s great-niece, on Christy Alexander Hallberg’s Rock is Lit podcast, “Fatal Fame: Paul Bern, Jean Harlow, Barbara La Marr & a 1930s Hollywood Mystery.” We discussed Paul Bern’s life, Barbara La Marr, Barbara’s relationship with Paul in the 1920s, Paul’s marriage to platinum bombshell Jean Harlow, and Paul’s sensationalized death in 1932. The episode may be viewed here.*
*Though I listened to the audio recording of the podcast before the video was posted, I’ve not yet had a chance to view the entire video and the photos the host added.
Film restorationist Joe Harvat has been working diligently on restoring The Eternal Struggle, a 1923 silent drama starring Renée Adorée as a fugitive caught in a love triangle with the two Northwest Mounted Police officers (Pat O’Malley and Earle Williams) pursuing her.
Barbara appears in the film as temptress-turned-murderess Camille Lenoir, a supporting part that was enlarged after she agreed to play it. Despite her relatively minor role, Barbara made an impression when the film hit theaters. Movie Weekly declared that “no picture requiring a dark-eyed adventuress is complete these days without Barbara La Marr.”
Please consider donating to Joe’s fundraiser. (The campaign begins on Friday, January 24 and will remain open until Sunday, February 2.)
I am pleased to announce a coffee blend specifically created to pay tribute to the legendary Barbara La Marr. As one of the silent screen’s leading vamps, Barbara seduced audiences worldwide with her laudable talent, exotic beauty, and enigmatic allure. Offscreen, her sweetness, tender heart, and giving nature endeared her to others. The Siren Blend, a cinnamon vanilla flavored medium roast, salutes Barbara’s fiery screen persona and her kind soul.
It was a pleasure to work with Dominique Benedict of Breakfast at Dominique’s on this blend in an advisory capacity, providing biographical information and photos for the bag design, naming the blend, and choosing a proceeds recipient.
Breakfast at Dominique’s fair trade, organic, and sugar-free coffees honor classic Hollywood luminaries and other celebrated icons, including Mary Pickford, Ava Gardner, Bette Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Joan Crawford, and many more. A variety of the blends support charities and other deserving organizations.
Proceeds from Barbara’s Siren Blend benefit the National Film Preservation Foundation.
(Coffee bags may be purchased here.)
Published paper doll artist extraordinaire Gregg Nystrom, who specializes in Old Hollywood glamour, has had a longstanding fascination with Barbara La Marr.
When the opportunity arose to create a souvenir doll for the Roaring Twenties-themed 2024 Paper Doll Convention, he chose to spotlight Barbara in her starring turn as a rich, disreputable temptress who finds love with an Englishman in the silent drama The Heart of a Siren (1925). Featured here are Nystrom’s Barbara doll and Barbara’s Nile green charmeuse, chiffon, and ostrich feather negligee; white crepe satin gown with black beading and tassels; and black velvet gown from the film.
Oscar-winning designer Charles LeMaire, creator of the costumes, rhapsodized, “[Barbara] was gorgeous, feline, and wore clothes with grace and elegance.” Nystrom could not agree more. “I’m an aesthete,” he said, “and she is very beautiful.”
(Read more about Gregg Nystrom, his work, and his Barbara La Marr dolls in my previous post, Barbara All Dolled Up: Celebrating the Work of Gregg Nystrom.)
Though not all silent films have survived, some of Barbara’s most noteworthy film acting work has! Why not celebrate the day by watching one of Barbara’s wonderful films free online?
The Nut (1921)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
The Prisoner of Zenda (1922)
Souls for Sale (1923)
The White Moth (1924)
The White Moth, directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Barbara La Marr as Mona Reid (aka the White Moth), a famous dancer caught in a love tangle with Ben Lyon, Charles De Roche, and Conway Tearle, may now be viewed for free on YouTube. The photo below, from one of the film’s scenes, features Barbara in what was considered in 1924 to be a very provocative scenario in a film: a woman in a bathtub. Though she was completely covered, censors in some states cut the scene before allowing the film in theaters. Still, one critic raved that “Barbara is scintillating as she has never scintillated before” in the film.
