Cats in Silent film part 2

This is a small excerpt from Kevin Brownlow's fine documentary, "Hollywood".  The lovely woman you see speaking with all her teeth perfectly intact, those incredible blue eyes that are beyond compare, and incredible facial structure that beats Garbos all to heck is Miss Gloria Swanson.  She was a *STAR* in the highest sense of the word.  She lived it, she was it, she became it.  Miss Swanson was totally without fear.  Maybe it was because her father was a soldier or that her mother taught her from day one to be brave, to be herself and that she was a very special person.  If you read her auto-biography you will find a wealth of lessons in it about life and how to live.   She brought up children with love and lots of self-worth.  See, to me she was more than a movie star.  She was a wonderful person, somewhat like my Grandma Wolff.  You were special from day one and don't forget it.
Watch this clip, see the lack of fear on her face as she faces the lions, LIVE lions, no backdrop, just Mr. DeMille with his gun and a trainer with a whip.  They put canvas over her back and the lion rested it's paws against it.  Slowly, they eased the canvas off until the heavy mitts rested softly against her bare back.  The rest is history.  She was a brave girl!  She got a gold mesh purse with a sapphire on it as a reward from Mr. DeMille for being a good 'fellow'.
I reflect on the films she has done, "Sunset Boulevard" being the one she is most known for.  My favorite of her silent films is "Sadie Thompson" based on the Somerset Maugham's play, "Rain".  It was forbidden in the Hollywood of 1928.  Hollywood wanted to make it, but was not allowed by the Hayes code to so much as breathe the word, Rain.  She slipped and slid, along with Raoul Walsh, around the rim of censorship and got the damned thing made.  They made sure there were tons of shots of rain, dripping, drenching, forming in puddles.  The sheer humidity in the tropics seeps into your pores watching this film.  Sadie was a very wicked person, you know,  Hot like the tropics, sultry.  A sinner.  And best yet, guess what?  She wins at the end.  Davidson does his best to convert Sadie--but you have to see the film to understand the real ending!

In most photos you see from her silent film work her eyes look 'clear'.   Blue eyes did not photograph well on the pre-panchromatic film.  Stan Laurels eyes had the same issues. They worked around this in a very simple way.  But this is not about technicalities.  It's about glorious Gloria.  Sultry, steamy, and amazing in every way.