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| Silent film star Gladys Walton |
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THE UNTAMABLE (1923)
Joy Fielding (Gladys Leslie) falls victim to the maniacal
medico Dr. Frederick Copin (John Sainpolis) who uses
his hypnotic powers to change her personality. She
becomes a man-hungry nymphette when under his spell
and marries the doctor one day while under hypnosis.
The next day she marries promising architect Chester
Arnold (Malcolm McGregor) with no previous recollection
of marrying Dr. Copin. The doctor falls victim to the
ravenous hound dogs he regularly abused in this low-
budget thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
From the Alternative Film Guide June 2nd, 2008 by Andre
Soares
Tthe Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles screened the
rare silent melodrama The Untameable, billed as "The
Most Shocking Film of 1923!" Long before The Three
Faces of Eve, The Untameable tackled the then
sensational issue of split personality disorder. Directed
by Herbert Blaché and adapted by Hugh Hoffman from
Gelett Burgess‘ novel, the film stars Gladys Walton
(photo) in the dual role of Joy and her sadistic alter-ego
Edna. Also in the cast: Malcolm McGregor, John St. Polis,
and Etta Lee.
As per the press release, "the dual role of Joy/Edna was
Gladys Walton’s most challenging up to that time.
Edna is a whip-toting brute who dresses in leopard skins
and flogs the Oriental maid with whom she lives in a
relationship with strong lesbian elements. Miss Walton
portrays this bizarre sadist in a manner shocking to even
the most brazen flapper of 1923.
The Untameable is an astonishing film, and it is safe to
say (at the least) that you have never seen anything else
like it!"
Joy Fielding (Gladys Leslie) falls victim to the maniacal
medico Dr. Frederick Copin (John Sainpolis) who uses
his hypnotic powers to change her personality. She
becomes a man-hungry nymphette when under his spell
and marries the doctor one day while under hypnosis.
The next day she marries promising architect Chester
Arnold (Malcolm McGregor) with no previous recollection
of marrying Dr. Copin. The doctor falls victim to the
ravenous hound dogs he regularly abused in this low-
budget thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
From the Alternative Film Guide June 2nd, 2008 by Andre
Soares
Tthe Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles screened the
rare silent melodrama The Untameable, billed as "The
Most Shocking Film of 1923!" Long before The Three
Faces of Eve, The Untameable tackled the then
sensational issue of split personality disorder. Directed
by Herbert Blaché and adapted by Hugh Hoffman from
Gelett Burgess‘ novel, the film stars Gladys Walton
(photo) in the dual role of Joy and her sadistic alter-ego
Edna. Also in the cast: Malcolm McGregor, John St. Polis,
and Etta Lee.
As per the press release, "the dual role of Joy/Edna was
Gladys Walton’s most challenging up to that time.
Edna is a whip-toting brute who dresses in leopard skins
and flogs the Oriental maid with whom she lives in a
relationship with strong lesbian elements. Miss Walton
portrays this bizarre sadist in a manner shocking to even
the most brazen flapper of 1923.
The Untameable is an astonishing film, and it is safe to
say (at the least) that you have never seen anything else
like it!"
Born in 1904 in either
Nashville, Tennessee or
Boston, Massachusetts and
educated in Portland,
Oregon, Gladys Walton
debuted in films in small
parts. However, as her acting
talent came more out into the
open, she was given larger
and more important roles in
films, such as La La Lucille
in 1920 with Universal
Studios, as well as The
Secret Gift, also in 1920. She
was also given a role in Pink
Tights (1920), opposite film
star Jack Perrin.
Nashville, Tennessee or
Boston, Massachusetts and
educated in Portland,
Oregon, Gladys Walton
debuted in films in small
parts. However, as her acting
talent came more out into the
open, she was given larger
and more important roles in
films, such as La La Lucille
in 1920 with Universal
Studios, as well as The
Secret Gift, also in 1920. She
was also given a role in Pink
Tights (1920), opposite film
star Jack Perrin.
Gladys Walton, the "Glad Girl" was a sheer delight to the Universal audience.
Two Bunch Palm Resort
was the rendezvous of
Gladys Walton and Al
Capone. On their first date
(that lasted a week)
Capone brought Walton to
his "Fortress West" and
dubbed her "The Queen of
Two Bunch Palms".Picture
taken sometime in the late
1920's showing remote
desolation where it is now
surrounded by the city of
Desert Hot Springs,
California. Today the resort
is greatly expanded -
serving affluent and
privileged guests.
was the rendezvous of
Gladys Walton and Al
Capone. On their first date
(that lasted a week)
Capone brought Walton to
his "Fortress West" and
dubbed her "The Queen of
Two Bunch Palms".Picture
taken sometime in the late
1920's showing remote
desolation where it is now
surrounded by the city of
Desert Hot Springs,
California. Today the resort
is greatly expanded -
serving affluent and
privileged guests.
Filmography
1. The Red Shoes (1948) (uncredited) .... Corps de Ballet
2. The Ape (1928)
3. A Little Girl in a Big City (1925) .... Mary Barry
4. Anything Once (1925)
5. The Sky Raider (1925) .... Marie
6. Easy Money (1925)
7. Enemies of Youth (1925)
8. The Near Lady (1923) .... Nora Schultz
9. The Wild Party (1923) (also known as Notoriety).... Leslie Adams
10. The Untameable (1923) .... Edna Fielding/Joy Fielding
... aka The Two Souled Woman (USA)
... aka The White Cat (USA)
11. Sawdust (1923) .... Nita Moore
12. Crossed Wires (1923) .... Marcel Murphy
13. The Town Scandal (1923) .... Jean Crosby
14. Gossip (1923) .... Caroline Weatherbee
15. The Love Letter (1923) .... Mary Ann McKee
16. A Dangerous Game (1922) .... Gretchen Ann Peebles
17. The Lavender Bath Lady (1922) .... Mamie Conroy
18. The Girl Who Ran Wild (1922) .... M'liss
19. Top o' the Morning (1922) .... 'Jerry' O'Donnell
20. The Trouper (1922) .... Mamie Judd
21. Second Hand Rose (1922) .... Rose O'Grady
22. The Wise Kid (1922) .... Rosie Cooper
23. The Guttersnipe (1922) .... Mazie O'Day
24. The Room of Death (1921)
25. Playing with Fire (1921/I) .... Enid Gregory
26. High Heels (1921) .... Christine Trevor
27. The Rowdy (1921) .... Kit Purcell
28. Short Skirts (1921) .... Natalie Smith
29. The Man Tamer (1921) .... The lion tamer
30. Desperate Youth (1921) .... Rosemary Merridew
31. All Dolled Up (1921) aka The Bobbed Squad.... Maggie Quick
32. Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1921) .... Nora McShane/Beatrice Vanderfleet
33. Risky Business (1920) .... Phillipa
34. Pink Tights (1920) .... Mazie Darton
35. The Secret Gift (1920) .... Winnie
36. La La Lucille (1920) .... Peggy Hughes
37. The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908)
1. The Red Shoes (1948) (uncredited) .... Corps de Ballet
2. The Ape (1928)
3. A Little Girl in a Big City (1925) .... Mary Barry
4. Anything Once (1925)
5. The Sky Raider (1925) .... Marie
6. Easy Money (1925)
7. Enemies of Youth (1925)
8. The Near Lady (1923) .... Nora Schultz
9. The Wild Party (1923) (also known as Notoriety).... Leslie Adams
10. The Untameable (1923) .... Edna Fielding/Joy Fielding
... aka The Two Souled Woman (USA)
... aka The White Cat (USA)
11. Sawdust (1923) .... Nita Moore
12. Crossed Wires (1923) .... Marcel Murphy
13. The Town Scandal (1923) .... Jean Crosby
14. Gossip (1923) .... Caroline Weatherbee
15. The Love Letter (1923) .... Mary Ann McKee
16. A Dangerous Game (1922) .... Gretchen Ann Peebles
17. The Lavender Bath Lady (1922) .... Mamie Conroy
18. The Girl Who Ran Wild (1922) .... M'liss
19. Top o' the Morning (1922) .... 'Jerry' O'Donnell
20. The Trouper (1922) .... Mamie Judd
21. Second Hand Rose (1922) .... Rose O'Grady
22. The Wise Kid (1922) .... Rosie Cooper
23. The Guttersnipe (1922) .... Mazie O'Day
24. The Room of Death (1921)
25. Playing with Fire (1921/I) .... Enid Gregory
26. High Heels (1921) .... Christine Trevor
27. The Rowdy (1921) .... Kit Purcell
28. Short Skirts (1921) .... Natalie Smith
29. The Man Tamer (1921) .... The lion tamer
30. Desperate Youth (1921) .... Rosemary Merridew
31. All Dolled Up (1921) aka The Bobbed Squad.... Maggie Quick
32. Rich Girl, Poor Girl (1921) .... Nora McShane/Beatrice Vanderfleet
33. Risky Business (1920) .... Phillipa
34. Pink Tights (1920) .... Mazie Darton
35. The Secret Gift (1920) .... Winnie
36. La La Lucille (1920) .... Peggy Hughes
37. The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908)
[Walton plays the role of Edna] "a
whip-toting brute who dresses in
leopard skins and flogs the
Oriental maid with whom she
lives in a relationship with strong
lesbian elements. Miss Walton
portrays this bizarre sadist in a
manner shocking to even the
most brazen flapper of 1923.
whip-toting brute who dresses in
leopard skins and flogs the
Oriental maid with whom she
lives in a relationship with strong
lesbian elements. Miss Walton
portrays this bizarre sadist in a
manner shocking to even the
most brazen flapper of 1923.
A Brief, Bright Star
Tribute created by Dean Gray, August 1, 2008
Tribute created by Dean Gray, August 1, 2008
The First Wizard of Oz
Gladys Walton first performed as an
infant Dorothy, working for the author
of the Wizard of Oz in 1908.
L. Frank Baum wrote the book and
screenplay of The Fairylogue,
appearing as an actor, as well.
It was early science fiction with an
interactive twist. Baum would appear
in a white suit and present his live
actors, slide shows and films as a
live travelogue presentation of his
popular fantasies.
Highlights include Dorothy being
swept to Oz in various ways, such as
with back-projection tornadoes and
storms in a chicken coop. Lack of
financial backing forced the show to
fold after appearing in only two cities,
despite being a critical and
commercial success.
Gladys Walton first performed as an
infant Dorothy, working for the author
of the Wizard of Oz in 1908.
L. Frank Baum wrote the book and
screenplay of The Fairylogue,
appearing as an actor, as well.
It was early science fiction with an
interactive twist. Baum would appear
in a white suit and present his live
actors, slide shows and films as a
live travelogue presentation of his
popular fantasies.
Highlights include Dorothy being
swept to Oz in various ways, such as
with back-projection tornadoes and
storms in a chicken coop. Lack of
financial backing forced the show to
fold after appearing in only two cities,
despite being a critical and
commercial success.
Gladys Walton enjoyed a life of adventure, drama,
comedy, and accomplishment. Her movies were
reviewed by Carl Sandburg, her Broadway shows also
always popular. A romance with Al Capone lead to
adventure in an exotic desert hideaway in Desert Hot
Springs, California and a son, John Walton, was born,
who still lives in the area.
It's estimated that 90% of American silent movies are
lost. Many were junked when talkies arrived. Others
might have been discarded during the silent era in the
belief that nobody would be interested in them;
besides, producers preferred to remake rather than
re-release. Disintegration of nitrate film stock
destroyed many that were stored, including the only
record of a small South American Indian tribe that died
out soon after being filmed.
But there are a few rays of hope. Silent films, or parts
of them, thought lost have been found over the years
here and there: a vault in the Czech Republic, a
forgotten storage room in the Yukon, and a boiler
room in Norway.
Walton's first movies were uncredited comedies for
Sunshine Studios. She was just sixteen years old
when Universal Studios put her under contract! Just
ten months later she was considered a star and her
initial $50 a week quickly became $500 a week at a
time when the ordinary man was only making $45 a
week.
While Priscilla Dean, the Universal Studio's top
female attraction at the time, played more worldly
women, Walton excelled in the same kind of roles that
had made Mary Pickford the screen's foremost
heroine.
Pickford was "Americ's Sweetheart." Walton was "The
Glad Girl" with roles more provocative and sensually
charged.
Walton's films had titles like Pink Tights (1920), Rich
Girl, Poor Girl (1921; she played a dual role), Second
Hand Rose (1922), and The Wild Party (1923).
By 1923, however, Walton's career was already on the
wane. She left films after the obscure The Ape (1928),
in which she shared top billing with another Universal
refugee, Ruth Stonehouse.
comedy, and accomplishment. Her movies were
reviewed by Carl Sandburg, her Broadway shows also
always popular. A romance with Al Capone lead to
adventure in an exotic desert hideaway in Desert Hot
Springs, California and a son, John Walton, was born,
who still lives in the area.
It's estimated that 90% of American silent movies are
lost. Many were junked when talkies arrived. Others
might have been discarded during the silent era in the
belief that nobody would be interested in them;
besides, producers preferred to remake rather than
re-release. Disintegration of nitrate film stock
destroyed many that were stored, including the only
record of a small South American Indian tribe that died
out soon after being filmed.
But there are a few rays of hope. Silent films, or parts
of them, thought lost have been found over the years
here and there: a vault in the Czech Republic, a
forgotten storage room in the Yukon, and a boiler
room in Norway.
Walton's first movies were uncredited comedies for
Sunshine Studios. She was just sixteen years old
when Universal Studios put her under contract! Just
ten months later she was considered a star and her
initial $50 a week quickly became $500 a week at a
time when the ordinary man was only making $45 a
week.
While Priscilla Dean, the Universal Studio's top
female attraction at the time, played more worldly
women, Walton excelled in the same kind of roles that
had made Mary Pickford the screen's foremost
heroine.
Pickford was "Americ's Sweetheart." Walton was "The
Glad Girl" with roles more provocative and sensually
charged.
Walton's films had titles like Pink Tights (1920), Rich
Girl, Poor Girl (1921; she played a dual role), Second
Hand Rose (1922), and The Wild Party (1923).
By 1923, however, Walton's career was already on the
wane. She left films after the obscure The Ape (1928),
in which she shared top billing with another Universal
refugee, Ruth Stonehouse.
A Career & Life-Defining Film
CONNECTING WITH AL CAPONE
CONNECTING WITH AL CAPONE
The Untamable, the movie set where Al
Capone met the young actress. Gladys was
just shy of her 20th birthday. Al was 23.
Capone met the young actress. Gladys was
just shy of her 20th birthday. Al was 23.
Gladys Walton Tribute
Carl Sandburg Review
Uncensored
Making Movies
Broadway & More
Still Hot
Trading Cards & France
The End
Book Review
Carl Sandburg Review
Uncensored
Making Movies
Broadway & More
Still Hot
Trading Cards & France
The End
Book Review
THE SECRET GIFT (1920)
Two Dutchmen, kindhearted Jan Saxe (vaudevillian Lee Kohlmar in his motion picture debut)
and ambitious Peter Harlingen (Rudolph Christians) immigrate to America. On the voyage over
they both fall in love with the same girl, but Peter wins her. The self-sacrificing Jan gives his all
to help them get started in life. But the young woman dies, leaving a little girl, Bertha. As she
grows to womanhood (to be played by Gladys Walton), Jan becomes as devoted to her as her
father. When she is old enough to be married, Peter wants to see her wed a wealthy young
man, but Bertha is in love with a boy of more modest means. Jan helps convince his old pal that
Bertha should marry whoever she wants. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Two Dutchmen, kindhearted Jan Saxe (vaudevillian Lee Kohlmar in his motion picture debut)
and ambitious Peter Harlingen (Rudolph Christians) immigrate to America. On the voyage over
they both fall in love with the same girl, but Peter wins her. The self-sacrificing Jan gives his all
to help them get started in life. But the young woman dies, leaving a little girl, Bertha. As she
grows to womanhood (to be played by Gladys Walton), Jan becomes as devoted to her as her
father. When she is old enough to be married, Peter wants to see her wed a wealthy young
man, but Bertha is in love with a boy of more modest means. Jan helps convince his old pal that
Bertha should marry whoever she wants. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
