Silent Film Star Madge Bellamy Vintage 1920s Piercing Eyes Glamour Photograph
Item History & Price
ITEM: This is a stunning, 1920s, vintage and original photograph of silent film actress Madge Bellamy. Photographed for Fox Films, this is an enchanting portrait of the star showing off her doll-like eyes and heart-shaped lips. This photo comes from Bellamy's personal archive and was stored in a close friend's collection since the star's death in 1990.
Delicately pretty, Madge Bellamy was a charming silent screen heroine popular in the 1920s in mostly light fare. Bellamy's most impo...rtant film is arguably the landmark John Ford Western, The Iron Horse (1924). She continued on into the early days of the sound period (probably her best remembered feature from this period is the 1932 haunting low-budget horror film, White Zombie), but her status quickly waned.
Photograph measures 8" x 10" on a matte double weight paper stock with ink stamp on verso.
Guaranteed to be 100% vintage and original from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
More about Madge Bellamy:
Madge was born as Margaret Philpott in Texas. She got her start in theater working with a stock company in Denver. Put under a personal contract by a Broadway producer, Madge got her big break when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway play "Dear Brutus". Her success as a stage actress led to her being signed by Fox Pictures. After appearing in a number of movies in the early 20's, Madge was best remembered for her performances in 'Lorna Doone (1922)' and 'The Iron Horse (1924)'. A strong will contrasted the screen image of innocence and led to disagreements over roles by the late 20's. Madge had been cast in a number of movies each year and was in Fox's first dialogue feature 'Mother Knows Best (1928)'. But her refusal to work in the film 'The Trial of Mary Dugan', which was bought expressly for her, led to her contract with Fox being terminated. It would be 3 years until she returned to the screen in the cult favorite 'White Zombie (1932)' with Bela Lugosi, but her career was not going anywhere as Madge was just one of those old silent stars. For the next few years, she appeared in a small number of low budget films and by 1936 her film career was over. In 1943, she would again appear in the headlines when she shot her lover, millionaire A. Stanford Murphy after he jilted her to marry another woman. She did marry two other men, Carlos Bellamy, whose last name she kept, and then to Logan F. Metcalf. Both marriages ended in divorce. She has no children.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana
More about George Hommel:
Overshadowed by the work of 1920s Paramount colleagues Donald Biddle Keyes and Eugene Robert Richee, stillsman George P. Hommel crafted thoughtful portraits highlighting both the beauty and sorrow of those he photographed. Like Keyes, the peripatetic Hommel always looked for new challenges, new opportunities, keeping him on the move. Unobstrusive and elegant, Hommel’s work reveals hidden depths in those he shot.
Little is known about his early life. Born George Peter Hommel in New York City, May 8, 1901, Hommel turned to photography at a young age. Trades list him as an assistant cameraman working with Edwin Carewe in 1919. At the time, Pathe director Carewe had established his own unit to produce “The Girl of the Moulin Rouge” with Dolores Cassinelli in Europe. Young Hommel gained early film experience serving as an assistant cameraman, studying the importance of lighting, angles, and setting a mood.
Always looking for opportunities and challenges, Hommel left motion pictures for the stark reality of police work. Learning the importance of objectivity, stark reality, and framing, Hommel served as official photographer for Bergen County, N.J., police in the early 1920s. The photographer was even called to testify during the 1922 murder trial of George Kline, convicted of killing “Jack” Bergen in Kline’s home.
Seizing the opportunity, Hommel moved into studio portraiture in 1924 when he was hired to work at Paramount’s Astoria Studio as a stillsman. Employing his skills to forensically capture a scene or a passing emotion on a star’s face, Hommel quickly gained renown for his work. He spent three years shooting scene stills, off-camera studies, and portraits for Paramount’s top stars and films.
In 1927, Paramount brought him west to head their stills department, originally established by Donald Biddle Keyes. Shooting production stills and studio portraits, Hommel focused on getting to the heart of emotions, not trying to create a mood or a scene, but capturing the truth underneath as in police reportage. Good at organizing and delegating, Hommel studied the artistry of colleague Eugene Robert Richee, renowned for stylish visual settings and abstract art framing.
Hommel’s straightforward portraiture captured the vulnerability of his sitters, revealing a wistful and often melancholic look in their expressive eyes. His pensive work focused on serious matters, not straining to create fleeting moods but revealing the heart of those he photographed. Employing simple, dark-textured background, Hommel focused on the eyes and lips, creating a sharp image with an often soft-focus background. His portraits often feature shadows and strong angular lines, creating dramatic composition. Hommel could also capture the sometimes insouciant or even overly exuberant emotions of sitters, often covering their vulnerability and pain, such as in his Pierrot portraits of Clara Bow as clown.
From 1927 until fall 1929, Hommel worked diligently in Paramount’s studio and sets, revealing a soft glamour in his portraits and stills. Trade magazines, newspapers, and magazines carried his thoughtful work, propagating the beauty and artistry of Paramount’s product.
Restless and looking for new challenges, Hommel resigned from Paramount in October 1929. For the next several years, he shot scene stills at MGM on such titles as “Dance, Fools, Dance, ” “Laughing Sinners, ” “This Modern Age, ” and the iconic “Wizard of Oz” in 1939. Hommel moved to Republic in the early 1941, working on Gene Autry and Roy Rogers’ pictures. By the mid-1940s, Hommel worked freelance, skipping around among the studios.
In 1945, Hommel served as stills photographer for Allan Dwan’s 1945 “Brewster’s Millions, ” more than 20 years after working as stillsman on Dwan’s 1924 Gloria Swanson feature “Manhandled.” Over the next seven years, Hommel shot stills on such diverse films as “He Walked By Night” (1948), “Siren of Atlantis” (1949), “Trapped” (1949), and Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight” in 1952.
Hommel died September 10, 1953, just 52 years old. Restless and unsettled, his constant moving from studio to studio prevented a lasting signature look to help memorialize his work. Serving as stillsman, Hommel seldom returned to his glamorous portrait work, a true loss. Packing stunning portrait work into only a few years, Hommel is collected by museums and art connoisseurs today while little known to classic film fans.
Biography From: Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: George P. Hommel, Pensive Photographer
Delicately pretty, Madge Bellamy was a charming silent screen heroine popular in the 1920s in mostly light fare. Bellamy's most impo...rtant film is arguably the landmark John Ford Western, The Iron Horse (1924). She continued on into the early days of the sound period (probably her best remembered feature from this period is the 1932 haunting low-budget horror film, White Zombie), but her status quickly waned.
Photograph measures 8" x 10" on a matte double weight paper stock with ink stamp on verso.
Guaranteed to be 100% vintage and original from Grapefruit Moon Gallery.
More about Madge Bellamy:
Madge was born as Margaret Philpott in Texas. She got her start in theater working with a stock company in Denver. Put under a personal contract by a Broadway producer, Madge got her big break when she replaced Helen Hayes in the Broadway play "Dear Brutus". Her success as a stage actress led to her being signed by Fox Pictures. After appearing in a number of movies in the early 20's, Madge was best remembered for her performances in 'Lorna Doone (1922)' and 'The Iron Horse (1924)'. A strong will contrasted the screen image of innocence and led to disagreements over roles by the late 20's. Madge had been cast in a number of movies each year and was in Fox's first dialogue feature 'Mother Knows Best (1928)'. But her refusal to work in the film 'The Trial of Mary Dugan', which was bought expressly for her, led to her contract with Fox being terminated. It would be 3 years until she returned to the screen in the cult favorite 'White Zombie (1932)' with Bela Lugosi, but her career was not going anywhere as Madge was just one of those old silent stars. For the next few years, she appeared in a small number of low budget films and by 1936 her film career was over. In 1943, she would again appear in the headlines when she shot her lover, millionaire A. Stanford Murphy after he jilted her to marry another woman. She did marry two other men, Carlos Bellamy, whose last name she kept, and then to Logan F. Metcalf. Both marriages ended in divorce. She has no children.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana
More about George Hommel:
Overshadowed by the work of 1920s Paramount colleagues Donald Biddle Keyes and Eugene Robert Richee, stillsman George P. Hommel crafted thoughtful portraits highlighting both the beauty and sorrow of those he photographed. Like Keyes, the peripatetic Hommel always looked for new challenges, new opportunities, keeping him on the move. Unobstrusive and elegant, Hommel’s work reveals hidden depths in those he shot.
Little is known about his early life. Born George Peter Hommel in New York City, May 8, 1901, Hommel turned to photography at a young age. Trades list him as an assistant cameraman working with Edwin Carewe in 1919. At the time, Pathe director Carewe had established his own unit to produce “The Girl of the Moulin Rouge” with Dolores Cassinelli in Europe. Young Hommel gained early film experience serving as an assistant cameraman, studying the importance of lighting, angles, and setting a mood.
Always looking for opportunities and challenges, Hommel left motion pictures for the stark reality of police work. Learning the importance of objectivity, stark reality, and framing, Hommel served as official photographer for Bergen County, N.J., police in the early 1920s. The photographer was even called to testify during the 1922 murder trial of George Kline, convicted of killing “Jack” Bergen in Kline’s home.
Seizing the opportunity, Hommel moved into studio portraiture in 1924 when he was hired to work at Paramount’s Astoria Studio as a stillsman. Employing his skills to forensically capture a scene or a passing emotion on a star’s face, Hommel quickly gained renown for his work. He spent three years shooting scene stills, off-camera studies, and portraits for Paramount’s top stars and films.
In 1927, Paramount brought him west to head their stills department, originally established by Donald Biddle Keyes. Shooting production stills and studio portraits, Hommel focused on getting to the heart of emotions, not trying to create a mood or a scene, but capturing the truth underneath as in police reportage. Good at organizing and delegating, Hommel studied the artistry of colleague Eugene Robert Richee, renowned for stylish visual settings and abstract art framing.
Hommel’s straightforward portraiture captured the vulnerability of his sitters, revealing a wistful and often melancholic look in their expressive eyes. His pensive work focused on serious matters, not straining to create fleeting moods but revealing the heart of those he photographed. Employing simple, dark-textured background, Hommel focused on the eyes and lips, creating a sharp image with an often soft-focus background. His portraits often feature shadows and strong angular lines, creating dramatic composition. Hommel could also capture the sometimes insouciant or even overly exuberant emotions of sitters, often covering their vulnerability and pain, such as in his Pierrot portraits of Clara Bow as clown.
From 1927 until fall 1929, Hommel worked diligently in Paramount’s studio and sets, revealing a soft glamour in his portraits and stills. Trade magazines, newspapers, and magazines carried his thoughtful work, propagating the beauty and artistry of Paramount’s product.
Restless and looking for new challenges, Hommel resigned from Paramount in October 1929. For the next several years, he shot scene stills at MGM on such titles as “Dance, Fools, Dance, ” “Laughing Sinners, ” “This Modern Age, ” and the iconic “Wizard of Oz” in 1939. Hommel moved to Republic in the early 1941, working on Gene Autry and Roy Rogers’ pictures. By the mid-1940s, Hommel worked freelance, skipping around among the studios.
In 1945, Hommel served as stills photographer for Allan Dwan’s 1945 “Brewster’s Millions, ” more than 20 years after working as stillsman on Dwan’s 1924 Gloria Swanson feature “Manhandled.” Over the next seven years, Hommel shot stills on such diverse films as “He Walked By Night” (1948), “Siren of Atlantis” (1949), “Trapped” (1949), and Charlie Chaplin’s “Limelight” in 1952.
Hommel died September 10, 1953, just 52 years old. Restless and unsettled, his constant moving from studio to studio prevented a lasting signature look to help memorialize his work. Serving as stillsman, Hommel seldom returned to his glamorous portrait work, a true loss. Packing stunning portrait work into only a few years, Hommel is collected by museums and art connoisseurs today while little known to classic film fans.
Biography From: Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: George P. Hommel, Pensive Photographer
