Dorothy Mackaill
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Mackaill was an English-born American actress, most notably of the silent film
era and into the early 1930s.
, Mackaill lived with her father after her parents separated when she was eleven. She attended Thoresby Primary School and was living on Newstead Street nearby at the time. As a teenager, Mackaill ran away to London to pursue a stage career as an actress. After temporarily relocating to Paris
, she met a Broadway
stage choreographer who persuaded her to move to New York City where she became involved in the Ziegfeld Follies
and befriended future motion picture actresses Marion Davies
and Nita Naldi.
-directed mystery, The Face at the Window. Mackaill also appeared in several comedies of 1920 opposite actor Johnny Hines. In 1921 she appeared opposite Anna May Wong
, Noah Beery, and Lon Chaney
in the Marshall Neilan
-directed drama Bits of Life. In the following years, Mackaill would appear opposite such popular actors as Richard Barthelmess
, Rod La Rocque
, Colleen Moore
, John Barrymore
, George O'Brien, Bebe Daniels
, Milton Sills
and Anna Q. Nilsson
.
In 1924, Mackaill rose to leading lady status in the drama The Man Who Came Back, opposite rugged matinee idol George O'Brien. Her role of the nightclub chanteuse Marcelle catapulted Mackaill into a genuine Hollywood
star and her career continued to flourish throughout the remainder of the 1920s. In early 1924 she starred in the western film, The Mine with the Iron Door
, shot on location outside of Tucson, Arizona
. That same year she was awarded the WAMPAS Baby Stars
award by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honored thirteen young women each year who they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. Other notable recipients of the award that year were Clara Bow
, Julanne Johnston
and Lucille Ricksen.
with a young Humphrey Bogart
as her leading man. She made several films for MGM
, Paramount
and Columbia
before retiring in 1937 for many years from the industry to care for her aging mother.
Dorothy Mackaill occasionally came out of retirement to appear in roles for television, notably in several episodes of the 1960s and 1970s series Hawaii Five-O
, which was filmed on location where Mackaill had lived for several decades.
, but the union only lasted for two years before ending in divorce. She would marry two more times: from 1931 to 1934 to Neil Miller, and from 1934 to 1938 to Harold Patterson, both of which marriages also ended in divorce. She produced no children in either of the marriages.
in 1990, aged 87. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea off of Waikiki Beach.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
era and into the early 1930s.
Early life
Born in Kingston upon HullKingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Mackaill lived with her father after her parents separated when she was eleven. She attended Thoresby Primary School and was living on Newstead Street nearby at the time. As a teenager, Mackaill ran away to London to pursue a stage career as an actress. After temporarily relocating to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, she met a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage choreographer who persuaded her to move to New York City where she became involved in the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
and befriended future motion picture actresses Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
and Nita Naldi.
Career rise
By 1920, Mackaill had begun making the transition from "Follies Girl" to film actress. That same year she appeared in her first film, the Wilfred NoyWilfred Noy
Wilfred Noy was an English film director, actor, screenwriter and producer of the silent era. He directed 89 films between 1910 and 1936...
-directed mystery, The Face at the Window. Mackaill also appeared in several comedies of 1920 opposite actor Johnny Hines. In 1921 she appeared opposite Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong
Anna May Wong was an American actress, the first Chinese American movie star, and the first Asian American to become an international star...
, Noah Beery, and Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
in the Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
-directed drama Bits of Life. In the following years, Mackaill would appear opposite such popular actors as Richard Barthelmess
Richard Barthelmess
Richard Semler "Dick" Barthelmess was an Oscar-nominated silent film star.-Early life:Barthelmess was educated at Hudson River Military Academy at Nyack and Trinity College at Hartford, Connecticut...
, Rod La Rocque
Rod La Rocque
-Biography:He was born Roderick La Rocque in Chicago, Illinois. He began appearing in stock theater at the age of seven and eventually ended up at the Essanay Studios in Chicago where he found steady work until the studios closed. He then moved to New York City and worked on the stage until he was...
, Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
, John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
, George O'Brien, Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent movie era as a child actress, became a star in musicals like 42nd Street, and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain...
, Milton Sills
Milton Sills
Milton Sills was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century....
and Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Q. Nilsson
Anna Quirentia Nilsson was a Swedish born American actress who achieved success in American silent movies.-Background:...
.
In 1924, Mackaill rose to leading lady status in the drama The Man Who Came Back, opposite rugged matinee idol George O'Brien. Her role of the nightclub chanteuse Marcelle catapulted Mackaill into a genuine Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
star and her career continued to flourish throughout the remainder of the 1920s. In early 1924 she starred in the western film, The Mine with the Iron Door
The Mine with the Iron Door
The Mine with the Iron Door is a 1924 silent film directed by Sam Wood and produced by Sol Lesser. The film is based on the book of the same name by American Author Harold Bell Wright published in 1923. The Film was shot on location in the Tucson Arizona Valley, Oracle, Arizona and Mt. Lemmon...
, shot on location outside of Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. That same year she was awarded the WAMPAS Baby Stars
WAMPAS Baby Stars
The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States which honored thirteen young women each year whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. They were selected from 1922 to 1934, and annual...
award by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honored thirteen young women each year who they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. Other notable recipients of the award that year were Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
, Julanne Johnston
Julanne Johnston
Julanne Johnston was an American silent film actress born in Indianapolis, Indiana.Johnston is known for being on William Randolph Hearst's yacht The Oneida during the weekend in November 1924 when film director and producer Thomas Ince later died of heart failure...
and Lucille Ricksen.
Later career
She made a smooth transition to sound with the part-talkie The Barker in 1928 and had continued success in talkies for the next couple of years. Mackaill's film contract at First National Pictures was not renewed upon its expiration in 1931 and Mackaill became a free agent actress. Her most memorable role of this era was the 1932 Columbia Pictures release Love AffairLove Affair (1932 film)
Love Affair is a 1932 romantic drama film starring Dorothy Mackaill as an adventurous socialite and Humphrey Bogart as the airplane designer she falls for. It is based on the short story of the same name by Ursula Parrott.-Plot:...
with a young Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
as her leading man. She made several films for MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and Columbia
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
before retiring in 1937 for many years from the industry to care for her aging mother.
Dorothy Mackaill occasionally came out of retirement to appear in roles for television, notably in several episodes of the 1960s and 1970s series Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, which was filmed on location where Mackaill had lived for several decades.
Personal life
In 1926, Mackaill married the successful film director Lothar MendesLothar Mendes
Lothar Mendes was a German screenwriter and film director. His most important work was Jew Suss- Personal life:...
, but the union only lasted for two years before ending in divorce. She would marry two more times: from 1931 to 1934 to Neil Miller, and from 1934 to 1938 to Harold Patterson, both of which marriages also ended in divorce. She produced no children in either of the marriages.
Death
Mackaill died of kidney failure in Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
in 1990, aged 87. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea off of Waikiki Beach.
Partial Filmography
- Bits of LifeBits of LifeBits of Life is a 1921 American film produced, written and directed by Marshall Neilan. It is notable as the first anthology film. For her performance in this film, Anna May Wong received her first screen credit...
(1921) - The Lotus EaterThe Lotus Eater (1921 film)The Lotus Eater is a silent 1921 drama film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan and released through Associated First National.-Story:...
(1921) - The Next CornerThe Next Corner (1924 film)The Next Corner is a 1924 silent melodrama produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures Corporation. It was directed by Sam Wood. It stars Dorothy Mackaill, Lon Chaney, Conway Tearle and Louise Dresser. The film has come down through the decades as a Chaney picture but...
(1924) - Shore LeaveShore Leave (film)Shore Leave is a 1925 comedy film directed by John S. Robertson and starring Richard Barthelmessand Dorothy Mackaill. It was produced by Barthelmess's production company, Inspiration, and released by First National Pictures...
(1925) - The BarkerThe BarkerThe Barker is a 1928 romantic drama film which tells the story of a woman who comes between a man and his estranged son. It stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Betty Compson, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and released by First National Pictures in December 1928...
(1928) - Kept HusbandsKept Husbands- Cast :*Dorothy Mackaill as Dorothea "Dot" Parker Brunton*Joel McCrea as Richard "Dick" Brunton*Ned Sparks as Hughie Hanready*Mary Carr as Mrs. Brunton*Clara Kimball Young as Mrs. Henrietta Post*Robert McWade as Arthur Parker*Bryant Washburn as Charlie Bates...
(1931) - Safe in HellSafe in HellSafe in Hell is a 1931 pre-Code Warner Bros. melodrama film directed by William Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Noble Johnson and Nina Mae McKinney.-Plot:...
(1931) - The Reckless Hour (1931)