} Crítica Retrô: As latinas do cinema mudo: Myrtle Gonzalez e Beatriz Michelena

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Monday, October 12, 2015

As latinas do cinema mudo: Myrtle Gonzalez e Beatriz Michelena

Latin women in silent cinema: Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena

O mundo real é sexista. O mundo do cinema também. Precisamos de Patricia Arquette clamando por salários iguais para homens e mulheres em seu discurso do Oscar, precisamos de estrelas denunciando o sexismo que existe dentro dos estúdios de cinema, precisamos de estudos que mostram que a minoria dos roteiristas, diretores e produtores de filmes são mulheres. Mas Hollywood nem sempre foi assim. Como toda novidade, a indústria do cinema, em seus primeiros tempos, era vista com desdém, como mera curiosidade passageira, e então muitas mulheres se envolviam no trabalho de fazer filmes. Na época do cinema mudo, havia grandes roteiristas, diretoras, produtoras e, claro, atrizes.

The real world is sexist. The movie world is sexist, too. We need Patricia Arquette asking for equal payment for women and men in her Oscar speech, we need film stars denouncing the sexism inside studios, we need studies showing that the minority of screenwriters, directors and producers are women. But it was not always like that. In its beginnings, the film industry was seen with disdain and as a fad. The consequence: many women were involved in making moving pictures. In the silent film era, there were many great female screenwriters, directors, producers and, of course, actresses.



Se hoje ainda temos de lutar contra o estereótipo da mulher-objeto, em especial quando a personagem feminina não é de origem estado-unidense (hola, Sofía Vergara), esta questão era mais complicada no passado. Nos anos 1910, personagens latinos se limitavam aos greasers: mexicanos com longos bigodes e escuros sombreros que eram invariavelmente vilões das películas. As mulheres latinas nestes filmes eram protótipos de femme fatales, sedutoras e nem um pouco confiáveis. Mas, ao lado das maiores e mais aclamadas atrizes da época, ao lado de Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish e Mabel Normand, havia duas latinas que fugiam de qualquer estereótipo: Myrtle Gonzalez e Beatriz Michelena.

If today we have to fight against the objetification of women, in special when we are talking about non-American women (hola, Sofía Vergara), this question was much more complicated in the past. During the 1910s, the only Latin characters were the greasers: Mexocan men with long moustaches  and dark sombreros who were always the villains in the movie. Latin women were femme fatale prototypes: seductive and not trustworthy. But, next to the biggest and most acclaimed actresses of the time, along Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish and Mabel Normand, there were two Latin girls who didn't fit any stereotype: Myrtle Gonzalez and Beatriz Michelena.


Myrtle Gonzalez nasceu em Los Angeles em 1891. A moça foi batizada com um nome 100% inglês, mas o sobrenome não deixa dúvidas sobre sua origem: seu pai era de origem mexicana, e sua mãe de origem irlandesa. Herdou da mãe o desejo de estar nos palcos, e começou a cantar e atuar ainda criança. Em 1913, quando os estúdios de cinema começavam a mudar de Nova York para Los Angeles, Myrtle conseguiu seu primeiro papel. Àquela altura, ela estava divorciada e tinha um filho bebê. Abaixo está um GIF de seu terceiro filme, “The Courage of the Commonplace” (1913):


Myrtle Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles in 1891. The girl's first name was 100% English, but her last name gives us no doubt about her origins: her father was from a Mexican family, and her mother from an Irish one. She inherited from her mother the desire of being on the stage, so she start singing and acting as a child. In 1913, when film studios started moving from New York to Los Angeles, Myrtle got her first role. At that time, she was divorced and had a baby son. Below there is a GIF from her third film, “The Courage of the Commonplace” (1913):




Myrtle teve pequenos papéis em curtas-metragens da Vitagraph, contracenando com William Desmond Taylor em cinco filmes entre 1913 e 1914. “The Kiss”, de 1914, é um dos poucos registros de Taylor em frente às câmeras. A protagonista do filme é Margaret Gibson, que confessou, em seu leito de morte em 1964, envolvimento com o misterioso assassinato de Taylor em 1922. Nada foi comprovado.

Myrtle had small roles in Vitagraph shorts, playing alongsie William Desmond Taylor in five films between 1913 and 1914. “The Kiss”, from 1914, is one of the few extant registers of Taylor in front of the cameras. The leading lady in this film is Margaret Gibson, who confessed, in her deathbed in 1964, that she was involved with Taylor's mysterious murder in 1922. Nothing was ever proved.


No começo da carreira, Myrtle Gonzalez não teve muito destaque, mas com o tempo conquistou papéis importantes. Suas protagonistas, como em “The End of the Rainbow” (1916), eram heroínas corajosas que viviam cercadas pela natureza e não se deixavam abater pelas adversidades.

In the beginning of her career, Myrtle didn’t call much attention, but with time she got more important papers. Her leading ladies, like in “The End of the Rainbow” (1916), were bold heroines who lived among the nature and didn’t let bad times prevent her from succeeding.



A carreira de Myrtle foi breve. Em dezembro de 1917, ela deixou o cinema para se casar pela segunda vez. Menos de um ano depois, em outubro de 1918, Myrtle Gonzalez sucumbiu à epidemia de gripe espanhola. Tinha apenas 27 anos e um coração frágil. O viúvo Allen Watt dirigiu e atuou em alguns poucos filmes da Universal nos anos 1920.

Myrtle's career was brief. In December 1917, she left the movies to get married for the second time. Less than a year later, in October 1918, Myrtle Gonzalez passed away from Spanish flu. She was only 27 and had a heart condition. Her widower, Allen Watt, direct and acted in a few Univwersal movies in the 1920s.



Beatriz Michelena nasceu em nova York em 1890. Seu pai era um tenor venezuelano que introduziu as duas filhas, Vera e Beatriz, no mundo artístico. Vera ficou no teatro de Nova York, fazendo parte do elenco do Ziegfeld Follies de 1914 a 1921. Beatriz se casou com um amor de infância em 1907, e se dedicou totalmente ao teatro nos anos seguintes.

Beatriz Michelena was born in New York in 1890. Her father was a Venezuelan tenor and he introduced his two daughters, Vera and Beatriz, to show business. Vera worked in the New York theater and was part of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1914 to 1921. Beatriz married her childhood sweetheart in 1907 and worked in theater the following years.



George E. Middleton, o marido de Beatriz, fundou a California Motion Picture Corporation em 1912 para rodar filmes publicitários dos automóveis que ele vendia. Em 1914, Michelena estreou nos cinemas com “Salomy Jane”, um ambicioso e belo western com uma trama complexa e uma bela atuação de sua protagonista. Teria nascido uma estrela para a California Motion Picture Corporation?

George E. Middleton, Beatriz’s husband, created the California Motion Picture Corporation in 1912 to make advertising films for the cars he was selling. In 1914, Michelena made her debut in the movies with “Salomy Jane”, an ambitious beautiful western with a complex plot and a great performance by the leading lady. Was a star born for California Motion Picture Corporation?


A produção caprichada deu uma ideia para George Middleton: sua esposa poderia ser uma estrela maior que Mary Pickford! Beatriz não chegou a este patamar, mas obteve relativo sucesso alternando westerns (em que ela dispensava o trabalho de dublês) e adaptações de óperas.

The gorgeous production from 1914 gave an idea to George Middleton: his wife could be a star bigger than Mary Pickford! Beatriz didn’t reach this point, but she had some success alternating between westerns (in which she dispensed stuntwomen) and opera adaptations. 



Entre 1916 e 1917, problemas na produção do épico “Fausto” levaram Beatriz a romper com a California Motion Picture Corporation. Na época, ela escrevia uma coluna de jornal sobre cinema e dava dicas para aspirantes a atrizes. Fragmentos de “Fausto” foram inseridos no filme “The Price Woman Pays”, de 1919, mas Beatriz já trabalhava em outro empreendimento.

Between 1916 and 1917, problems involving the production of the epic “Faust” amde Beatriz leave the California Motion Picture Corporation. At the time, she also wrote a newspaper column about the movies and gave tips to aspiring starlets. Stills from “Faust” were added to the film “The Price Woman Pays”, from 1919, but Beatriz was already working with something else.



No mesmo ano em que Mary Pickford se tornava sócia da United Artists, Beatriz fundou sua própria produtora: Beatriz Michelena Features. Foram realizados apenas dois filmes pela produtora, mas eles foram suficientes para Beatriz marcar seu lugar na história.
In the same year that Mary Pickford became a partner at United Artists, Beatriz created her own production company: Beatriz Michelena Features. Only two films were produced there, but it was enough to guarantee Beatriz a place in film history.



Aposentada das telas em 1920, Beatriz voltou à ópera. Ela viajou pela América Latina cantando ópera em 1927, e em 1931 um incêndio destruiu todas as cópias dos filmes da Beatriz Michelena Features (algumas cópias sobreviveram em arquivos ao redor do mundo). Beatriz Michelena faleceu em 1942, aos 52 anos.

Retired from the screen in 1920, Beatriz returned to opera. She toured in Latin America singing opera in 1927, and in 1931 a fire destroyed all the film copies at Beatriz Michelena Features (some copies survived in archives around the world). Beatriz Michelena passed away in 1942, aged 52. 


Myrtle e Beatriz, apesar de terem nascido nos Estados Unidos, tinham a força e a graça do sangue latino. Não se curvaram frente às adversidades, conquistaram um lugar ao sol, interpretaram mulheres fortes e corajosas e deixaram um legado a ser admirado por todos, mulheres e homens, latinos e não-latinos.

Myrtle and Beatriz, although American women by birth, had the strengtth and grace found only in Latin blood. They didn’t give up when obstacles appeared, they found a place in the sun, they played courageous strong women and left a legacy that deserves to be admired by all, men and women, Latin or not. 

This is my contribution to the Hollywood's Hispanic Heritage Blogathon 2015, hosted by Aurora at Once Upon a Screen. Bravo!

9 comments:

  1. adorei o post. o pior são pessoas criticando os discursos. vergonhoso. beijos, pedrita

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  2. Me encanta esto, Le! Two early film stars I know little about and am sure few others do as well. Fantastic and important shout out!! Thanks so much for taking part in the blogathon!

    Aurora

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  3. Oh dear....my knowledge of silent films is woefully lacking. I had never even heard of Myrtle Gonzalez. This was a wonderful read and thank you for introducing her to me!

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  4. Awesome post, my friend. So many stories lost to history. thank you for bringing these 2 stars to our attention.

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  5. That was a very interesting post! I have to admit to being unfamiliar with both actresses. I am so glad you posted on them!

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  6. Thank you for the profiles on these two silent film Latina actresses, Lê! I have heard the names before but am not very familiar - it was good to learn more.

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  7. Great post Le. Love how this blogathon has shone a spotlight on so many who should be remembered. Look forward to watching some of their roles and continuing my education :)

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  8. Oh, my silent film knowledge is woefully lacking, thank you for highlighting two important early female actresses, this was a lovely post, I will look for both of them in the future!
    -Summer

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  9. Very nice post. Bem feito! I had not heard of these two silent film actresses. Thanks for sharing!

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