I hadn’t expected to write much more than a synopsis of Under the Red Robe – as you can see William Powell is billed 10th so his must’ve been quite a minor part. The notices are lukewarm to say the least, Photoplay Magazine describes the picture as ‘a bit draggy’ and Picture Play says that Cosmopolitan ‘spent too much money’ on the film, considering that the cinema going public are now ‘pretty well fed up with the Court of France’.
However, I hadn’t reckoned with the life story of star Alma Rubens – a story that is cautionary in extremis. I wouldn’t be surprised if E! Channel hadn’t made an E! True Hollywood Story about her. By the time Under the Red Robe was released at the end of 1923 Alma was two years into a multiple drug addiction that would see her descend from the pinnacle of Hollywood stardom into the violent desperation that dependency on cocaine, heroin and morphine often causes and which ultimately led to her early death in 1931.
Her story, which you can read more fully from the references below, was very reminiscent of Barbara Payton and even to a certain extent Amy Winehouse, and I found it both incredibly sad but also very troubling insofar as the entertainment industry continues in this circular pattern of encouraging vulnerable artists to destroy themselves without much evidence of a duty of care other than a very generous cash remuneration. I accept I’m possibly being a little unfair and judgemental here, being a mere civilian, but Alma’s story is incredibly relevant to today and her experience seems sadly familiar.
References/Recommended Reading:
William Powell: The Life and Films – Roger Bryant
Picture Play Magazine, January 1924, p.55
Photoplay Magazine, February 1924, p.17
Screenland Magazine, April 1924
http://immortalephemera.com/11914/alma-rubens-dies-in-1931-mrs-ricardo-cortez/
http://www.seraphicpress.com/silent-star-alma-rubens-i-am-a-dope-fiend-but-not-a-jewess/
http://flickchick1953.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/tragic-stars-alma-rubens.html
http://silenceisplatinum.blogspot.com/2015/02/alma-rubens.html
That William Powell Site 
That is a tragic story about Alma Rubens, one that sounds depressingly modern. Thanks for including all those links. I’ll be back to investigate after I finish my blog binge reading.
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