Enid Bennett

Enid Bennett (1893-1969) Australian-born stage and silent film actress Enid Bennett was discovered by actor-manager Fred Niblo who brought her to New York in 1915. While he enjoyed a long run in 'Hit the Trail Holiday,' she had the lead in the concurrent 'Cock o'the Walk.' They married in 1918. Bennett's voice did not project well in large theaters, so upon the end of her run in 1916, she joined a movie troupe in New York as an ingenue. Photogenic, winsome, and able to project innocence and mischievousness at the same time, she won increasingly larger roles. Her breakthrough picture was 1918's 'The Vamp' in which she plays a theater wardroom girl who overhears the Showgirls talk about getting suitors to wine, dine, and gift them jewelry by vamping them and applies their techniques to a shy minister to get him to the altar. From 1922 to 1924 she was one of the first tier female leads in Hollywood, playing opposite Douglass Fairbanks in 1922’s 'Robin Hood,'Ramon Novaro in 1924's 'The Red Lily,' and Milton Sills in 1924's 'The Sea-Hawk.' The advent of sound found her sinking into secondary roles in 'Waterloo Bridge' and 'Sooky.' She retired in 1931, but biefly reemerged at the end of the decade to play choice minor roles in 'Intermezzo' and 'Strike up the Band.' PORTRAITS [l. to r.] by Sarony Studio circa 1916, Albert Witzel, Hoover Art, and Nelson Evans.