Sexy Norma and the George Hurrell photo shoot of October 1929

Norma Shearer was a big box-office draw for MGM throughout the silent era. She proved her worth to the studio when she became The First Lady of Talkies with MGM's inaugural talkie was The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929) . However, Norma had always been frustrated with the roles she had been given. She played numerous good girl parts during the silent era which made her famous but kept her type-cast. She wanted meatier more satisfying roles and even critics thought that she could rise above poor parts. However, with the advent of talking pictures her roles weren't getting any better.

After her frustration with Their Own Desire (1929), a film I absolutely adore yet was a major flop at the time, Shearer had her eye out for a very juicy part to play. MGM had been working on adapting the successful novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrot into the film The Divorcée. Norma Shearer's husband, MGM producer Irving Thalberg, didn't think she could be convincing as sexy, glamorous and modern and denied her the part.

Norma Shearer confided in her good friend and fellow actor Ramon Novarro, who had starred with Shearer in The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1928), about her situation. Novarro told Shearer of a photo shoot he had done with a then unknown photographer by the name of George Hurrell. Novarro had been very satisfied with the results and recommended Hurrell to Shearer.

Shearer immediately hired Hurrell for a photo shoot, one that she kept secret from her husband Thalberg. Hurrell and Shearer worked together on revamping her image. Shearer explained to Hurrell her major flaws including the slight cast in her eye and her thick arms and legs. Hurrell, along with a small entourage, gave Shearer a makeover. They cut and styled her hair, did her make-up and dressed her in luxurious silver lamé and silk. Hurrell worked with her on various different poses that would showcase her blue eyes, hide her large forehead and chin, and make her arms and legs look long and lean.

The results were astounding and Norma Shearer was very happy. She presented the pictures to Irving Thalberg who was happily surprised to see how his wife had transformed into such a glamorous sexpot. She had thoroughly convinced him of her potential and the role of Jerry in The Divorcée (1930) was hers! Norma Shearer was very grateful to George Hurrell and using her influence at MGM, she helped him get contracted as an official MGM photographer.

I love this story because it demonstrates how Norma Shearer fought for what she wanted and even being married to the boss didn't guarantee her a free pass to any role. It also shows how Shearer overcame her flaws and never allowed herself to be in a situation she wasn't happy with. Go Norma!

Guest Post & Norma Shearer Linkage

You won't find today's entry here. You'll find it at Kate Gabrielle's excellent blog Silents and Talkies. She has done a painting for me of Norma Shearer (which I now own, yay!) and I wrote a guest post for her blog. It will be up today, so check it out and let me know what you think.

Also, while I'm linkin' it up, if you'd like to visit some excellent Norma Shearer sites here are my top three favorites. Enjoy!


Divas: The Site ~ Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer at Classic Movie Favorites

Lady of the Night ~ Norma Shearer

Young Norma and Her Long, Beautiful Curls

Norma Shearer was known for her short hair and striking profile. A photograph of her would have likely shown Norma wearing her characteristic helmet of curls that would crown her temples. It was a look that the Queen of MGM carried with her throughout her talking picture career, only deviating for films such as Marie Antoinette and Idiot's Delight which required her to wear wigs.

However, a younger Norma in the silent era had a much different look. Norma had long flowing curls. They were frizzy, bountiful and glorious. She usually wore them up, tied in the back yet ocassionally she would let them loose and they would flow down her neck and shoulders.

Photographs of Norma in her twenties showed that she carried those curls in many different ways. Her hair was of various lengths and styles and it always looked different. I haven't been able to find much information about Norma Shearer's hairstyle which doesn't surprise me. I may be the only one to whom this matters and I doubt biographers Gavin Lambert and Lawrence Quirk ever cared about such triviality.

In the same way I obsess with Bette Davis' blonde look, I simply adore the long curly locks of Norma Shearer. Why? Because I secretly have long curly hair too. I say "secretly" because I wear mine straight, wavy or in ironed curls. I'd like to think Norma Shearer's hair was naturally curly like mine. We both found ways to tame of our locks to flatter our appearance, but hidden beneath the surface were wild curls just waiting to spring into their natural state.

(Pictures of Norma from Divas: The Site)