The Story of Queen Norma Shearer: First Lady of the Films

Queen of the Lot:

Andrew Shearer arrived to Hollywood by train in 1929. Norma, Athole, and an unimpressed Edith greeted him at the station. To Norma, he was more lost than ever. He would never recover from what had happened to the family fortune back in 1919. Even when Norma reached the height of her power, Andrew Shearer seemed lost, unable to realize how far things had progressed for Norma. What they didn’t realize was the financial disappointment was the mental breaking point for him. Andrew Shearer lived the rest of his life in a slow mental state. Norma moved him into the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, and he eventually married a local widow named Elizabeth, who would take care of Andrew for the rest of his life. Athole’s condition was an open Hollywood secret. On May 28, 1928 she married legendary director Howard Hawks. In the first three years of marriage, there were reportedly no problems. They even had two children, but Athole had mental relapses in 1931 and 1932. Hawks felt a greater need to protect his wife more than Norma. Openly he was respected as one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, but Athole’s illness turned him into a secret joke.

Douglas Shearer would be the only child of Edith and Andrew not to suffer from the inherited chemical imbalance. By 1929, he had established himself as one of the most important men on the MGM lot. He was cautious of nepotism. His first Hollywood related job was at Warner Brothers, where he would supply the props for certain films. Now that sound movies were catching on, Douglas jumped on the chance to further his knowledge of the subject. His first experiment was work on a trailer for Norma’s 1925 film, A Slave of Fashion. He shot eight minutes of film which included Norma and her costar, Lew Cody discussing the film. Their voices were recorded on a paper sheet, and were synchronized to the visual footage. He then tested the footage at various theaters, but realized that their voices were out of sync with the movements of their mouths. After being sent to work in the camera department, he eventually emerged as an expert in special effects.

In 1929 Douglas was sent to the Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, from there he put together what would become MGM’s brilliant sound department. “I had one guy from Bell Labs, another from somewhere else, a few from the colleges,” he later said. Eventually Douglas was able to synchronize some sound effects into White Shadows in the South Seas, Alias Jimmy Valentine and Norma’s A Lady of Chance (1928). He then advised Norma that her silent days were more than likely over.

Big brother Douglas was right, and his advice eventually lead to Norma visiting the University of Southern California. There Professor W.D. MacDonald recorded Norma’s voice and told her that, though sometimes it could be a bit too high-pitched, it was ideal for talking films. Amongst great studio inspired publicity, Norma prepared herself for her first speaking movie.

The Trial of Mary Dugan had been a major Broadway hit starring Ann Harding. Paul Bern recommended it to Thalberg as Norma’s first talking film. Norma read the script, liked it, and was given the part from the director of the play, Bayard Vieller. In her first speaking role, Norma Shearer reinvented herself. She plays the title character, aged into her thirties, with a long history of men. Not only that, but the character was on trial for murder. The reinvention proved a winner, as the film became a major hit with audiences and critics, with Norma being referred to as the “first lady of the talkies.” Earning a phenomenal profit of over $400,000, Norma’s talking follow up was an even bigger hit. The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, also released in 1929, cast Norma as a chic London jewel thief who makes her money stealing the diamonds of British society figures. At the climax of the movie, Norma is caught, and forced to have sex as blackmail. Fans loved the new Norma, but after appearing in her disastrous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet with John Gilbert in MGM’s all star talkie, The Hollywood Revue of 1929, Norma’s fourth sound appearance was a major flop. The film was Their Own Desire. Norma played a flapper-like character that falls in love with her stepmother’s son without realizing the relationship.

When Hollywood friend Ramon Novarro visited Norma on the set of Their Own Desire he noticed something was wrong. Norma began discussing Thalberg’s purchase of Ursula Parrott’s sexual and controversial novel, Ex-Wife. She had asked Irving to let her play the part of Jerry, the wronged wife who leaves her husband and indulges herself sexually, but Thalberg laughed at her. Novarro listened inventively, then gave Norma the address of a little, unknown photographer named George Hurrell. There she posed for a series of glamorous, seductive portraits, and a week later showed Irving Thalberg the proofs. Shocked by his wife’s ability to transform herself into an enticing vamp, Thalberg gave her the part. Retitled The Divorcee, it opened in theatres on April 19, 1930 and shocked the world. Returning a profit of over $300,000, Norma had succeeded in ditching her good girl image. Critics did more than just accepted Norma’s new version of herself, they also awarded her with an Academy Award for Best Actress as well.

During the making of The Divorcee, doctors concluded that Norma was pregnant. She gave birth to Irving Grant Thalberg Jr., on August 25, 1930. Before this point, Norma had successfully managed both a career and marriage, but she was more than willing to add a third part to that image. Throughout the 1930s, Norma was the ideal version of the modern woman. She balanced career, matrimony, and motherhood. Underneath the glitz surface were a series of controversial problems.

Athole’s condition was an open Hollywood secret, and a constant topic in gossipy conversations from Norma’s rivals. In 1932, while Howard Hawks was making Tiger Shark, Athole relapsed again. It wasn’t clear to Norma that the mental demise of Andrew and Athole might be related. In June 1930, Douglas’ wife killed herself with a target pistol by firing it between her eyes. Only this time, it was front page news. A close friend of the Thalberg’s, journalism tycoon William Randolph Hearst, was able to keep the tragedy as big of a secret as he possible could. (His way of “dealing” with situations like that was to basically not report anything about it in his media chain.) However, other newspapers and fan magazines ate up the story. Douglas remarried again a year later and had two sons.

Norma’s first two releases of 1931, Strangers May Kiss and A Free Soul, advanced her box office status, the latter even earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Private Lives (1931) and Strange Interlude (1932) were critically hailed, but bombed at the box office. This was the first evidence of Thalberg’s over-hyping of his wife. (Prior to that, Thalberg had only over-hyped her by having her announced as “The Gracious Norma Shearer” in the Hollywood Revue of 1929.) Irving Thalberg was fighting to make Norma the First Lady of the Screen, but the American audiences could care less. This was the Great Depression, Americans couldn’t stand all the sophistication he was putting in Norma’s image. Smilin’ Through was released in December 1932. The predictable box office ending worked, and the film emerged as one of the top grossing movies of that year. Later that year, Irving suffered a massive heart attack. Norma remained off the screen for the rest of 1933. When she and Irving returned to the studio, he was ousted from MGM as chief of production. He was allowed to return, but as an independent producer.

Riptide (1934) was the next Norma movie to be released. A poor financial earner and critically claimed as a “loser”, the modest commercial success proved that Norma Shearer was still an event in a movie that was not. She was still a star in her own right, and could have made it with or without Thalberg. Next it was inheriting the lead role in the movie adaptation of, The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934). The film was a better return to the screen. Earning an outstanding profit of over $600,000, it was one of the highest grossing films of that year, and both the movie and Norma were nominated for Academy Awards. When doctors concluded that Norma was pregnant for a second time, she chose against making another movie, and remained off the screen for nearly three years. She gave birth to daughter Katherine on June 12, 1935.

Most of MGM’s stars of this period were famous in their own right. Others had the backing of higher powers to excel their careers. Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Jeanette MacDonald, and Jean Harlow were stars in their own right. They had scrambled to get where they were, and fought to remain on top. No matter how predictable the movies they made were, they consistently made money. Greta Garbo and Marion Davies were promoted by the higher powers of Irving Thalberg, Louis B. Mayer, and William Randolph Hearst. The movies of Garbo and Davies were box office losers, but the studio kept them employed for particular reasons. Norma, however, floated in between each label. While she had Thalberg to purchase the rights to prestigious films for her, they mostly made money, and a lot of it. Even without the prestige, Norma had proved herself to be a star in her own right. She fought just as hard as her contemporaries to get where she was, however, Norma had Thalberg there to protect her. But being the wife of such a powerful man had its setbacks. Some of his ideas for Norma’s films were off the wall. As was the case for her next movie, Romeo and Juliet (1937).

After the successful opening of a Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare’s legendary play, Romeo and Juliet, Thalberg took it upon himself to make it into Norma’s next movie. Contrary to what many other sources claim, Norma did not want any part of it. She remembered her disastrous balcony scene with John Gilbert in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. She had no professional stage training, a talented that was there, but limited, and was far too old to play the fourteen year old Juliet. Thalberg pushed her into the movie anyway.

Oliver Messel was brought out from England to design the sets and costumes; Agnes de Mille was instructed to choreograph the dance sequences, an agreement between Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg decided that the budget would not exceed million dollars. This was big. After taking Leslie Howard from Warner Brothers, filming started in 1936. Completed that year, it premiered on September 1, 1936. The critical reviews were mixed. The film abruptly ended, and Norma’s performance was deep, but the chemistry between her and Leslie Howard was not. (Norma and Howard had worked together previously in A Free Soul [1931] and Smilin’ Through [1932].) The film was a major financial disaster, losing $900,000 at the box office.

A week after the premier, Thalberg was outside playing cards with friends. Norma advised him to wear a sweater, but he refused to listen. On September 14, 1936, he died of phenomena at age thirty-seven. Brother Douglas escorted Norma to the services, where they sat near the altar, concealed from other mourners. Rabbi Magnin said of the Thalberg marriage, “The love of Norma Shearer and Irving Thalberg was a love greater than that in the greatest motion picture I have ever seen-Romeo and Juliet.”

In early 1937, Norma was contacted by Louis B. Mayer about her future with the studio. (Over three-hundred thousand dollars had been spent for her next vehicle, Marie Antoinette.) She refused to make up her mind and demanded a waiting period. During that time she contracted the same disease her husband had died of. Douglas now had become the most important person in her life, she confided in him about her reluctance about continuing her career. Later that year, Norma made a move that shocked every employee of Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

 Part 1: Intro/Canadian Childhoow & New York  •  Part 2: Hollywood & Silent Films  • Part 3: Queen of the Lot  •   Part 4: Retirement/Death & Legacy