Mary secured a number of leading lady roles in notable films including West of Zanzibar (1928) with Lon Chaney, and Outside the Law (1930), opposite Edward G. Robinson. Interestingly, both films were directed by Tod Browning. Unfortunately, dwindling roles led a probably always unstable Mary to rekindle herself destructive behavior, ending with heroin addiction. She was 42 and weighed only 90 pounds when she died in a small stucco bungalow at 1504 South Mansfield Avenue, Los Angeles, California. Her apartment was simply furnished except for a single possession. There was a huge antique piano formerly owned by Rudolph Valentino, which almost filled her living room. She bought it from the possessions which were once a part of Falcon's Lair, Valentino's home. Nolan revered the Valentino and kept his photo on the music rack.
No postcard images, but another beautiful cover by Marland Stone - this one the June 1930 edition of Motion Picture magazine (another Ebay find). As I have mentioned before with most of the movie magazines of the time, the person featured on the cover isn't once mentioned throughout the entire magazine - I still find that so strange. Click the image for a larger view.
Mary Nolan - What do you think - Allure?
4 comments:
Wow, this is one blonde maudit I had not heard of. Obviously begging for a screen treatment--on the face of this post she sounds more sympathetic than Barbara Payton, who is slated for a biopic at some point. (Plans seem to be rather on-and-off.) Yes, she is quite beautiful.
As if the end of Mary's life was bad, her mother died when she was three She was shipped off to a convent in St. Joseph, Missouri, where she lived until she was 13. After that, she and her brother Ray were hired out by their grandmother as farm laborers until they were finally rescued by their sister Mabel.
Wow, I didn't know any of that about her, how sad. I've only seen her in Desert Nights where I thought she was pretty good. I'd love to see the Chaney film she was in. Great info - thanks very much!
Anna, West of Zanzibar shows on TCM from time to time, usually coupled with Unholy Three, both directed by Tod Browning. The irony is that in West of Zanzibar, the character Mary plays is turned into a drug addict.
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