John Gilbert (1897 - 1936)

John Gilbert was an American actor who was active in the entertainment industry during the silent film era of the 1920s. He was born in 1897 in Logan, Utah and began his acting career in the early 1920s. Gilbert quickly became one of the most popular and successful actors of the era, known for his good looks, charm, and acting talent.

Gilbert's breakthrough role came in 1925 when he starred in the films The Merry Widow and The Big Parade, which became one of the highest grossing films of the decade. He went on to have a successful career in Hollywood, starring in a number of popular films such as "Flesh and the Devil," The Show (1927), and Twelve Miles Out (1927). Gilbert was also a popular leading man and had a number of high-profile relationships with actresses such as Greta Garbo and Marion Davies.

Despite his success, Gilbert struggled with the transition to sound films in the late 1920s and his career declined as a result. He continued to act in the 1930s, but his popularity had waned and he was no longer a top box office draw. Gilbert retired from acting in 1934 and passed away in 1936 at the age of 38. Despite his untimely death, Gilbert left behind a legacy as a talented and influential actor who helped to define the Hollywood star system of the 1920s.

Vintage magazines

Books on John Gilbert

Leatrice Gilbert Fountain with John R. Maxim Dark star New York, 1985

Books with substantial mentioning of John Gilbert

		Brian J. Robb Silent cinema Harpenden, Herts, 2007
		Jane Ellen Wayne The Leading Men of MGM 2006
		Foreword by John-Michael Howson Cut!, Hollywood murders, accidents, and other tragedies Willoughby, Australia, 2005
		Mick LaSalle Dangerous Men, Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man 2002
		John Dileo 100 Great Film Performances You Should Remember - but probably don't New York, 2002
		Jeanine Basinger Silent Stars Hanover and London, 2000
		Richard Dyer MacCann The Stars Appear Metuchen, NJ & London, 1992
		Ann Lloyd (ed.) Movies of the Silent Years London, 1985
		James Robert Parish Hollywood's Great Love Teams New Rochelle, N.Y., 1974
		Ray Stuart (ed.) Immortals of the Screen New York, 1965
		Cedric Osmond Bermingham (editor) Stars of the Screen 1931, A volume of biographies of contemporary actors and actresses engaged in photoplay throughout the world London, [1931]

Books with an entry on John Gilbert

		David Thomson The New Biographical Dictionary of Film New York, 2003
		Roy Liebman Silent Film Performers, An Annotated Bibliography of Published, Unpublished and Archival Sources for over 350 Actors and Actresses Jefferson, North Carolina, and London, 1996
		Martin J. Quigley (ed.) The Motion Picture Almanac, Big Stars in Big Pictures Chicago, Ill., 1929
		Charles Donald Fox Mirrors of Hollywood, with brief biographies of favorite film folk New York, 1925

Books with photograph(s) of John Gilbert

John Richard Finch and Paul Elby Close-Ups, From the Golden Age of the Silent Cinema South Brunswick and New York - London, 1978

Articles on John Gilbert

Michael Williams, 'Gilbo Garbage' or 'The Champion Lovemakers of Two Nations': Uncoupling Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, in: Shelley Cobb and Neil Ewen (eds.), First comes love, New York, 2015

Films

1915
Civilization
The Coward

1916
Hell's Hinges
Shell 43
The Aryan
The Apostle of Vengeance
Eye of the Night

1917
The Bride of Hate
The Dark Road
The Devil Dodger
Princess of the Dark
The Hater of Men

1918
Doing Their Bit
More Trouble
Nancy Comes Home

1919
Heart o' the Hills
The Man Beneath
The Busher
Should a Woman Tell?

1920
The White Circle

1921
Shame
Ladies Must Live
The Bait
Love's Penalty

1922
Honor First
Monte Cristo
The Love Gambler
Calvert's Valley
Arabian Love
A California Romance
Gleam O'Dawn
The Yellow Stain

1923
Cameo Kirby
While Paris Sleeps
The Exiles
Madness of Youth
St. Elmo

1924
Married Flirts
He Who Gets Slapped
His Hour
Just Off Broadway
Romance Ranch
The Snob

1925
The Big Parade
The Merry Widow

1926
La boheme
Flesh and the Devil
Bardelys the Magnificent

1927
The Show
Love
Man, Woman and Sin
Twelve Miles Out

1928
Show People
A Woman of Affairs
Four Walls
The Cossacks
The Masks of the Devil

1929
A Man's Man
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Desert Nights
His Glorious Night

1930
Way for a Sailor
Redemption

1931
Wir schalten um auf Hollywood
The Phantom of Paris
Gentleman's Fate
West of Broadway

1932
Downstairs

1933
Queen Christina
Fast Workers

1934
The Captain Hates the Sea

1951
Strictly Dishonorable

1964
The Big Parade of Comedy

1965
The Love Goddesses

2003
Complicated Women

IMDb: 0318105