The FIRST Vamp: Helen Gardner

Who the hell was Helen Gardner? Apparently no one knows. It takes some fancy googling to even get the most basic of information on someone who really deserved better. Helen Gardner was not only the first Vamp (predating Theda Bara), and the first non zombie Cleopatra (her 1912 film was technically the first real Cleopatra portrayal, with a French horror short in 1899 just barely beating her to it), but she was the first PERSON to have her own production company. In 1912 she launched Helen Gardner Picture Players with the sole intention of creating full length pictures...a radical idea at the time (D.W. wouldn't be allowed to make one till 1914!). Gardner had her own studio and did quite literally everything such as costume design, directing, and editing. She was a Mary Pickford before Mary Pickford was experienced enough to BE Mary Pickford!

Yet despite all this, and a career that spanned 14 years and 62 films, Gardner has been almost completely forgotten. And unlike her maybe more memorable successor, she has 16 surviving films compared to Theda's fragments. Maybe mystery makes the heart grow fonder...who knows.

One of Gardner's most well known films, and the one that caught my eye, was 1912's "Cleopatra" which was a smashing success and surely influenced its 1917 Bara starring cousin. In addition to playing the infamous Queen, Gardner also designed the lovely costumes. Being a 6 reeler this film clocks in at over an hour...something wildly radical in its day! Since nickelodeons were still all the rage her company played the film up as high art; and sent it to Opera houses and what not. Apparently it played for many years all over the world.

I'm not gonna lie...anything pre 1917 let alone pre 1915 is usually hard for me to watch. Film making was still finding its voice, and wasn't as delicious as the later silents (after 1922 or so). Anything experimental usually has to be taken with a grain of salt as its obvious that these were the pioneers...and not as smooth at the traditions they set forth. A lot of Griffith films feel that way (think Birth of a Nation).

However I was pleasantly surprised by Cleopatra. The sets were neat (how Egyptian Theatre!) and the costumes weren't too bad...though admittedly extremely ''Victorian'' compared to Theda's skinfest only a few years later. The story wasn't bad, and the acting wasn't hokey as expected of early films. Much to my surprise I really enjoyed Helen...who I would not have pegged as a Vamp just off her history and such. But she really pulled it off well. This woman definitly deserves more credit than she gets!

It took some extreme googling, but I did find a very tiny fan site for her: http://helengardner.org/ . The woman who runs it is Dorin Gardner Schumacher, her grand daughter. She gives lectures on her Grandmother, has helped restore one of her films, and is currently writing a biography on Helen. This is what I love about the internet and the renewed interest in silents...even if it seems random and obscure SOMEONE out there does care...and usually very passionately at that. I eagerly await Dorin's book as I'd love to hear more about Helen's career and life...since there is no more than 3 sentences about her online.

A sad note: I do believe Cleopatra (or any other Helen film for that matter) has not been released on DVD yet. However I hope someone can say I'm wrong on that...unfortunately I doubt it...yet.