what is rememberd

silent screen buffs know Marie Prevost as a Mack Sennett bathing beauty who went on to star in a trio of Lubitsch films. I don't recall having seen her before tonite. "The Racket"     one of the first movies to be nominatd for an Oscar as Best Picture     had long been on the lost list. but a print was found in a Howard Hughes collection in Las Vegas. Turner Classic Movies had it restord & it was shown tonite for the first time since its original 1928 release. Prevost is a sassy nite club singer     a blonde flapper with plenty of pizazz.



unfortunately most people today remember Marie Prevost for a photo in Hollywood Babylon & the lyrics of a Nick Lowe song. after the death of her mother in a car accident Prevost began drinking & adding pounds. her career was on the skids. she died of alcoholism in a cheap apartment. her dog began eating her body. Kenneth Anger uses a picture of her corpse which no doubt was Lowe's "inspiration."

her sparkle in the once-lost Lewis Milestone picture I saw tonite makes me want to find more of her work. it looks as if she deserves to be rememberd for more than the manner of her exit.