Bitches and Blaggards: Theda Bara and Richard Widmark

This is the eighth in the "Bitches and Blaggards" series;  posts devoted to my favorite movie bad girls and rogues.  A bitch is a selfish, malicious woman. A blaggard is a villain, a rogue and a black-hearted man. Both are bad, both are devastatingly alluring. 

Theda Bara: Bad to the Bone

               

The original vamp, this bitch and bad girl was a sexually independent and unrepentant woman. No wonder we still love her!

The story of Theda Bara is well known: the demure Theodosia Goodman from Cincinnati Ohio is transformed by the Fox Studio Publicity Department into the screen's first sex symbol, a woman of exotic mystery whose name was an anagram for Arab death. Theda was the anti-Mary Pickford/Lillian Gish,  but the heavy perfume of the vamp was actually a breath of fresh air for her fans.

And boy did she have fans! Between 1915 and 1919 Theda was her studio's biggest star and in such extravaganzas as "Cleopatra" and "Salome," Fox spared no expense. Sadly, almost all of Theda's films have been lost. We are left with just a few glimpses of her allure in action and a boatload of enticing stills that only make what has been lost all the more painful.

A Fool There Was

This is the film that put Theda on the map as the vamp supreme. Thankfully, it is still with us. As the "vampire" who literally drains the life from her men, Theda, behind 1915 heavy make-up, is cool, purposeful and surprisingly pretty. She is a sexual predator who goes about her business with great focus.  It's not her fault that her victims are ultimately fools and oh so boring.

 

Those Photos: A reminder of lost treasure

All that remains of Theda's great epic "Cleopatra" are these few, tantalizing moments.

 Your work as been obliterated and still, Theda, we remain in awe of your power, your allure, your bad to the bone badness.

 Richard Widmark

                           

I admit I am a little conflicted about Mr. Richard Widmark. He was a fine and versatile actor, but every time I see him I just can’t get the image of giggling Tommy Udo pushing the old lady in the wheelchair down the stairs. Blaggards are supposed to be charming and bad, but Widmark, especially early in his career, was more psychotic and bad. Still, he could be a not-so-bad guy. He was awfully good looking, so he never had a hard time attracting the ladies. Now, if he wasn’t so darn good at being murderous….. 

Kiss of Death 

Widmark is horrifying and unforgettable. His performance as the menacing psychopath Tommy Udo is fearless. Shudder....

The Cobweb 

I’m including this film here, not so much for Widmark’s performance, but because this is a film about drapes. Granted, drapes as therapy in a mental institution, but still drapes. With a cast consisting of Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Gloria Grahame (terrific as always), Charles Boyer and Lillian Gish, this is a film where most of the inmates are saner than the caretakers. Widmark is handsome, but way too obsessed with the drapes.

In real life, Richard Widmark was one of the good guys. A man of peace who loved his ranch, Widmark got to show a much broader range as he aged, playing many a good and decent guy. But the thing I really liked learning about Richard Widmark was that, not only was he a movie star, he was, from an early age, a real movie fan. How nice for him that he got to fulfill his heart's desire. The Bitch and Blaggard of October: Glenn Close & Michael Douglas