Carol Dempster

Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era.[1] She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively.

Carol Dempster
Dempster in 1920
Born(1901-12-09)December 9, 1901
DiedFebruary 1, 1991(1991-02-01) (aged 89)
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1916–1926
Spouse
Edwin S. Larsen
(m. 1926; died 1978)

Early years

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Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was the daughter of a captain on the Great Lakes and the youngest of four children. The family moved to California when her father decided to change careers. While dancing in a school program, Dempster was noticed by Ruth St. Denis and went on to become the youngest graduate in the first class of St. Denis's school of dance.[2]

Career

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Dempster's first feature role came in 1919 in the Griffith directed The Girl Who Stayed at Home opposite Robert "Bobby" Harron. Dempster followed this with Griffith's The Love Flower (1920), Dream Street (1921), One Exciting Night (1922) and Isn't Life Wonderful (1924), America (1924), Sally of the Sawdust (1925), and That Royle Girl (1925). Dempster appeared opposite such notable actors as John Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess, William Powell, Ivor Novello, and W. C. Fields.

In 1926 Dempster acted in her final film, a Griffith vehicle entitled The Sorrows of Satan (1926), co-starring Adolphe Menjou, Ricardo Cortez, and the Hungarian vamp Lya De Putti. Dempster then retired from the screen to marry wealthy banker Edwin S. Larson in 1926.[1]

"Griffith made three films at Paramount's Astoria Studios, each marked by his increasing obsession with his then inamorata, another ex-Denishawn dancer named Carol Dempster...her talents have received as little respect from historians as they did at the time from her co-workers. To Griffith's biographer Richard Schickel, Dempster was a 'mildly attractive young woman' who moved well but photographed badly. Actress Louise Brooks described her as unfriendly and withdrawn. Ed Falherty, a longtime studio gaffer who observed everything and everyone from high up in the grid, remembered icily: 'she had nothing.'"—Film historian Richard Koszarski in Hollywood on the Hudson (2008).[3]

Dempster's critical stock was never very high, in part because she was unable to live up to the performances of Lillian Gish, whom she replaced as Griffith's leading lady. Her somewhat "ordinary" appearance and animated acting style were frequently criticized.[4] Also, with a few exceptions, the films she appeared in were not among Griffith's more popular works. In recent years, however, viewers and critics alike have slowly begun to appreciate her performances, particularly in two later films, Isn't Life Wonderful and The Sorrows of Satan.[5][6]

Death

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Dempster died in La Jolla, California, in 1991 at the age of 89 from heart failure and was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California. Upon her death, Dempster left $1.6 million to the San Diego Museum of Art, which was used to expand the museum's collections of prints and drawings.[7]

Filmography

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Carol Dempster in The Love Flower (1920)

All features were directed by D. W. Griffith except Sherlock Holmes, which was directed by Albert Parker. The Hope Chest, a product of the New Art Film Company from 1918, was produced by Griffith but directed by Elmer Clifton.

YearTitleRoleNotes
1916IntoleranceDancerUncredited
1918Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan AppealLillian's SisterShort
Lost film
The Greatest Thing in LifeDancerUncredited
Lost film
The Hope ChestEthel HoytUndetermined / presumably lost
1919A Romance of Happy ValleyGirl John Logan meets in New YorkUncredited
The Girl Who Stayed at HomeAcoline France
True Heart SusieBettina's friend
Scarlet DaysLady Fair
1920The Love FlowerStella Bevan
Way Down EastBarn dancerUncredited
1921Dream StreetGypsy Fair
1922Sherlock HolmesAlice Faulkner
One Exciting NightAgnes Harrington
1923The White RoseMarie Carrington
1924AmericaMiss Nancy Montague
Isn't Life WonderfulInga
1925Sally of the SawdustSally
That Royle GirlJoan Daisy RoyleLost film
1926The Sorrows of SatanMavis Claire

Footnotes

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Sources

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