Many silent movie stars from overseas who worked in Hollywood saw their marketability go down when talkies came upon the scene. A number of them either knew little English or spoke with heavy accents. In the silent era, with inter titles, they made huge bucks because it didn't matter if they knew the language.
There's a debate whether her Hungarian accent spelled doom for one of film's more popular actresses, or whether she just became uninterested in acting. But Hungarian born and raised Vilma Banky's only surviving talkie and her last Hollywood movie was February 1930's "A Lady To Love." Hand selected by Rudolph Valentino to play opposite in two of his most successful movies, 1925 "The Eagle" and 1926 "The Son of the Sheik," Banky was a highly sought after actress in Hollywood. Billed as "The Hungarian Rhapsody," she was Samuel Goldwyn's biggest star attraction, making more money for him than any of his other actors. In an arranged studio marriage with actor Rod La Rocque in the summer of 1927, Goldwyn paid for one of the most extravagant receptions Hollywood had ever witnessed. The marriage proved to be one of the longest marriages between two screen stars, lasting almost 50 years until La Rocque's death in 1969.
Banky's acting resume was long and deep. But when she arrived in Hollywood in 1925 she knew absolutely not one word of English. Her first talkie, the now lost 1929 'This Is Heaven,' proved to be a nightmare for her. Her next movie, "A Lady To Love," under the direction of Swedish director Victor Sjostrom, Banky had an easier time, but she still spoke with a heavy accent. The actress decided to go to Germany to appear in two additional films, then retired from movies, something she said she was going to do when she married La Rocque.
Director Sjostrom felt the same way as Banky did about talkies. He was one of the highest paid Hollywood directors in the mid-to-late 1920s for MGM. But he felt uncomfortable with the new audio technology and left MGM for Europe after the completion of "A Lady To Love" to direct just four more movies before returning solely to acting.
"A Lady To Love," based on Sidney Howard's 1924 Pulitzer Prize winner "They Knew What They Wanted," stars Edward G. Robinson as Tony, a large estate winery owner in Napa Valley who gets Lena (Banky) to marry him sight unseen by passing a photo of his younger brother Buck (Robert Ames) as himself. Even though she's attracted to Buck, she ends up marrying Tony. Then things get really sticky when Buck returns after a long absence.
Banky and La Rocque, after he retired from movies in the 1940s, made a nice living selling real estate in the area. She lived to be 90, outliving her husband. But her death wasn't reported for over a year. With no children, Banky was upset no one had paid her a visit during her final years. She dictated to her lawyer not to make public her death when it happened. With 24 movies under her belt, only eight exist today. And "A Lady To Love" happens to be one of them.
There's a debate whether her Hungarian accent spelled doom for one of film's more popular actresses, or whether she just became uninterested in acting. But Hungarian born and raised Vilma Banky's only surviving talkie and her last Hollywood movie was February 1930's "A Lady To Love." Hand selected by Rudolph Valentino to play opposite in two of his most successful movies, 1925 "The Eagle" and 1926 "The Son of the Sheik," Banky was a highly sought after actress in Hollywood. Billed as "The Hungarian Rhapsody," she was Samuel Goldwyn's biggest star attraction, making more money for him than any of his other actors. In an arranged studio marriage with actor Rod La Rocque in the summer of 1927, Goldwyn paid for one of the most extravagant receptions Hollywood had ever witnessed. The marriage proved to be one of the longest marriages between two screen stars, lasting almost 50 years until La Rocque's death in 1969.
Banky's acting resume was long and deep. But when she arrived in Hollywood in 1925 she knew absolutely not one word of English. Her first talkie, the now lost 1929 'This Is Heaven,' proved to be a nightmare for her. Her next movie, "A Lady To Love," under the direction of Swedish director Victor Sjostrom, Banky had an easier time, but she still spoke with a heavy accent. The actress decided to go to Germany to appear in two additional films, then retired from movies, something she said she was going to do when she married La Rocque.
Director Sjostrom felt the same way as Banky did about talkies. He was one of the highest paid Hollywood directors in the mid-to-late 1920s for MGM. But he felt uncomfortable with the new audio technology and left MGM for Europe after the completion of "A Lady To Love" to direct just four more movies before returning solely to acting.
"A Lady To Love," based on Sidney Howard's 1924 Pulitzer Prize winner "They Knew What They Wanted," stars Edward G. Robinson as Tony, a large estate winery owner in Napa Valley who gets Lena (Banky) to marry him sight unseen by passing a photo of his younger brother Buck (Robert Ames) as himself. Even though she's attracted to Buck, she ends up marrying Tony. Then things get really sticky when Buck returns after a long absence.
Banky and La Rocque, after he retired from movies in the 1940s, made a nice living selling real estate in the area. She lived to be 90, outliving her husband. But her death wasn't reported for over a year. With no children, Banky was upset no one had paid her a visit during her final years. She dictated to her lawyer not to make public her death when it happened. With 24 movies under her belt, only eight exist today. And "A Lady To Love" happens to be one of them.