LOOK WHO'S TALKING: THE SILENT FILM CAREER OF BABY PEGGY

Peggy-Jean Montgomery, the child star who would come to be adored by a nation as ‘Baby Peggy’, was the biggest silent film star on the planet. In Vera Irewerbor’s revealing new documentary Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room, the star, now a spritely 95 years old, recounts the height of her fame, the system that allowed her carers to squander her fortune, surviving mental illness and destitution and becoming a fierce advocate for film industry child labour laws.

On a day trip to Century Studios with her mother and a family friend in early 1920, a producer noticed the adorable Peggy-Jean sitting on a stool. Needing a foil to co-star opposite one of the studios most popular stars, a rambunctious dog named Brownie, Montgomery was tested, signed and launched onto the American public.

A natural in front of the camera, Montgomery’s wonderfully expressive face and natural effusiveness helped to make her debut short, Her Circus Man, a national hit. It would be the first of an incredible 18 projects she completed in her first year as a star, her only rival for the affection of the movie-going public being Jackie Coogan, co-star of the Charlie Chaplin classic, The Kid.

Her parents had delusions of their own fame at one point; her father was a true-life cowboy, who had hoped to parlay his work as a stand-in for such western stars as Tom Mix into a leading-man career. Despite a turbulent relationship with her parents, she honoured his legacy when she wrote her first book, Hollywood Posse: The Story of a Gallant Band of Horsemen Who Made Movie History, in 1975.

Century Studios worked their biggest star for all her box office potential. She would make nearly 150 comedic shorts over a three year period, including such popular titles as Playmates, Brownie’s Baby Doll, Little Red Riding Hood, Sweetie and Peggy, Behave! The stardom was unparalleled, although it came at a cost; laws were not in place to protect child stars, and Peggy (at her father’s behest) was working long hours for up to six days a week. She often performed dangerous stunt work, including underwater shoots, running through a burning set and, quite incredibly, being harnessed to the underneath of a speeding train.

Though contracted to Century (for a reported US$1.5million, at the height of her celebrity), she would be released periodically to star in feature-length projects for the majors. Her first was Universal’s The Darling of New York (1923), a prestige tentpole that was released under the ‘Universal Jewels’ banner; strong vehicles for her talent followed, amongst them The Law Forbids, Captain January and The Family Secret.

She was the toast of Los Angeles, her boisterous charisma and playful cheek making her a party favourite. Family friends included Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd and Rudolph Valentino. In 1924, the year that she was chosen to be the celebrity mascot at the Democratic Convention in New York City (pictured, left; with President Franklin Roosevelt), she would steal top-billing from superstar Clara Bow in Helen’s Babies.

But it would prove to be her final starring role for a major studio; her father entered into a row with producer Sol Lesser over pay and contract conditions only to see her contract torn up and his daughter blacklisted from unionised shoots. She resurfaced in 1926 for the Poverty Row cheapie, April Fool, before disappearing from screens altogether for six years. Fate then dealt a particularly cruel blow when a fire tore through the Century Studio lot and many of Baby Peggy’s films were destroyed.

As was the case with fellow child-star Coogan, Montgomery’s parents had taken advantage of their child’s fortune and left her with next to no savings. She turned to vaudeville, committing her life to an endless series of coast-to-coast appearances to make ends meet (a brief comeback in such forgotten talkies as Eight Girls in a Boat went nowhere). It was a particularly dire time for the youngster and set in motion mental health issues which led to a troubled adult life; following a failed marriage, she was hospitalised after a nervous breakdown in the 1950s.

As documented in Iwerebor’s warm and funny documentary, the vibrant Montgomery (pictured, above) has since emerged a true Hollywood legend. Taking the name Diana Serra Cary, she relaunched herself as an author and industry historian, receiving plaudits for her books, Hollywood’s Children: An Inside Account of the Child Star Era, and Whatever Happened to Baby Peggy: The Autobiography of Hollywood’s Pioneer Child Star. A much sought-after speaker on the festival circuit, where the few surviving prints of her silent era work are regularly shown, she resides close to her son Mark and his family in northern California.

JOE SOMEBODY: THE MICHAEL TIERNEY INTERVIEW

(WARNING – Some content is of a graphic, sexually-explicit nature and may offend)   

Michael Tierney has enjoyed a life of hedonistic excess. He was born into the biz (the son of Edward Tierney; the nephew of Laurence Tierney); he indulged his creativity in the independent cinema scene of the 90s (as director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival entry Evicted in 2000). But his fame came as ‘Joe Blow’, his iconic alter-ego hardcore porn persona. He is the subject of the revealing new documentary The Last Days of Joe Blow, directed by Tierney’s long-time friend and alternative film auteur, Richard Wolstencroft. Ahead of its screening at Monster Fest 2013, Tierney spoke with forthright candour to SCREEN-SPACE from Los Angeles...

When Richard came to you with the idea for his film, what was your first reaction? Were you at a point where you were moving away from the porn career, or did that period of change occur as a result, in some ways, because of the project?

Richard was visiting Los Angeles in early 2009 when he mentioned doing a documentary. I was receptive because when I initially created Joe Blow and entered the adult film business, I always thought that a documentary would be my eject button. Being a filmmaker before entering porn, I always thought a doco would be the natural way to re-enter the film business. And that is what it has become in a way. When Richard offered to do a documentary, I was at a point where I was very successful in porn yet very disillusioned in life. I had already tried quitting porn a few times by then. (pictured, below; Tierney, left, with Wolstencroft)

What were the toughest aspects of laying to rest your alter-ego, ‘Joe Blow’? Did it diminish your personal identity to any degree?

I don't think I had a personal identity any more. I had become Joe Blow. Becoming Joe Blow and being successful in porn, getting people to hire me and pay me to travel the world and bang porn superstars, this took a lot of commitment. I moved to ‘Porn Valley’. I only hung out with porn people. I had completely discarded my old life; staying in touch with only a few old friends. All my new friends called me Joe. I was Gilligan stuck on a paradise island. There was no Michael Tierney any more except when I signed my checks.

The film portrays the industry as a supportive one, in which nice guys like you make friends that last. Given the early loss of your father and the tumultuous relationship with your uncle/guardian, in hindsight, was that acceptance a driving force in you being part of the biz for so long?

I found acceptance in a group of people I found more interesting than Hollywood; rebel filmmakers, strippers, teenage runaways, and ex-cons. Guys in porn have to prove themselves. Once a porn actor does that you're like a made man. There's no reason to quit. Your call time is noon and you’re done by 4pm. You work with beautiful girls. On the surface it's a dream job. There was nothing to go back to.

Just as I would any actor or director, I want to ask about your craft and the technique you employed. What kind of physical connection or, perhaps, disconnection, did you employ at the height of your career? What became your focus before and during the hardcore sex scenes you filmed?

Most important was to get a good night rest. If I was rested I could handle anything. Never jerk off the night before a scene. Don't watch porn. Don't drink and party. Do non-sexual things. Go to the gym. Stay in shape. Live a low key stress free life. When it's your job to fuck for 2 to 4 hours almost every day it becomes a sexual marathon. Pace yourself. Trust your body. Don't worry. You need good vibes on set. If someone is angry or upset it can kill a scene. Small talk with the girl, a joke or two, a bit of indifference. Careful not to kiss her ass if she's a superstar. When the sex happens dive in and have fun. Listen to the director. Don't kiss too much. Take control. Think perverted thoughts. Breath steady. Open up for the camera. Show the penetration. Pull her hair a little. Feature the girl. Cum on cue. Check please!

There is a section in the film in which you descend into the tougher areas of Thailand’s night-life; at one point you intimate, but don’t expand upon, that you’ve done things that you’re not very proud of. How dangerously low did your health/sanity/life go?

In America you have girlfriends that act like whores. In Thailand, you have whores that act like girlfriends. I prefer the latter. The things I wasn't proud of were in the porn business. Scenes where a girl is swallowing 50 loads of cum or doing something in a scene I felt she would regret later. I preferred one on one scenes and small group scenes. Nothing too degrading. Because porn is a discipline and a job, I didn't realize that I had become a sex addict until I quit the business. The depression that I've experienced was partly sex addiction and partly rebuilding a life and identity I had destroyed. The lowest I got was in early 2012, struggling to pay rent in a sleazy motel on the Vegas strip and contemplating homelessness over paying the $135 weekly bill. Drugs were never my problem. Getting a job and fitting into society again has been my problem.

You’ve been out of the porn industry now for three years; the film ends on a man seeking out a new career and, more importantly, a new sense of self. How are things working out? And is there ever the urge to resurrect ‘Joe Blow’?

If you make a promise to yourself it's easy to break. This was another reason to participate in Richard's documentary. As uncomfortable as it was looking at myself, being looked at in this way, struggling with my life in public, I knew it was my best chance to get out of the business and stay out. I retired Joe Blow in September 2010. I left on high note. I had money, I was well liked, and I'd just travelled the world and banged a 1000 girls. I was done. Since leaving the business I've turned down many offers to return, and I've had every reason and excuse to re-enter the business. I've had to give up every comfort and addiction in life. I currently live on a friends couch in Los Angeles. My budget is $500 per month, but I have no debts. I don't own a phone or a car. I make phone calls through the internet. I work on my laptop designing websites for friends. I run Uncle Larry's website and others. It's become a Zen thing for me now. (And I’ve gone) from being a porn star to being celibate. I can't say I always love it but I am a man of extremes.

BODY MELT: THE ADDISON HEATH INTERVIEW

Emerging from the blood-soaked mayhem of the Monster Fest 2013 program is Australian writing talent, Addison Heath. The Melbourne-born 26 year-old is premiering his ‘sociopathic Mr Whippee’ black comedy Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla at the genre festival; a brazen, brutal yet somehow sweet-natured work, the project brought about a like-minded collaboration with one of Australia’s most respected underground auteurs, Stuart Simpson (pictured, below; from left, Simpson, Heath and leading man Glenn Maynard).

“Stu and I had been trying to get a film going for a while,” says Heath (pictured, below), talking to SCREEN-SPACE during a rare break in production on his directorial debut, an offbeat thriller called Under A Kaleidoscope. “We are both huge fans of anti-hero stories, like Taxi Driver, The King of Comedy, Raising Arizona. We wanted to take dark subject matter and turn it in to an absurdist comedy. One of our initial concepts was ‘What if Wes Anderson directed Taxi Driver?’”

Simpson recalls the experience of working with Heath as a truly creative one. “Addison has a talent and love of writing natural dialogue, especially for the more colourful characters in our suburban landscape,” he says. “Finding that balance between something confronting and comedic was what interested me.” Having read through some of the young writer’s scripts, the experienced Simpson took on the role of developing Heath’s screenplay into his third feature (Demons Amongst Us,2006; El Monstro del Mar, 2010).

Given his key influences are such out-there talents as Harmony Korinne, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Sion Sono and films as challenging as Oldboy, Enter The Void and Takeshi Miike’s The Happiness of Katakuris, it is perhaps inevitable that Heath’s screenplay exhibits such a bracingly individual voice. “I'd written a handful of unproduced genre scripts, so I wanted to try a different style of writing and experimented with shifts in tone,” he recounts of his writing process. “Every time I felt the film was becoming too deep, I thought it best to throw something absurd in the mix to keep the viewer on their toes.”    

Both Heath and Simpson acknowledge that the third crucial component in the mix that became Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla is their lead actor, Glenn Maynard (pictured, below), who creates a perversely unique central figure in ice-cream-vendor, Warren Thompson. “(It) was written with Glenn Maynard in mind for the lead,” states Simpson.

“We decided to construct a film for Glenn to play the lead,” agrees Heath, citing the actor was an ongoing source of inspiration. “I've always felt Glenn has an instant likeability, a certain quirkiness that really appeals to my sense of humour,” says the writer. “Seeing him bring Warren to life was very interesting. To carry a feature film, as an actor, is a gigantic effort and Glenn makes it look effortless.”

The character of Warren is in himself a powerful, ultimately frightening construct, yet engenders audience sympathy to the last frame of film. “I wanted to take a stereotype and give it a voice,” recounts Heath of his inspiration for the character, destined to be a cult figure in Australian cinema. “Warren is designed to be a voice for the unheard. The guy on the bus with a limp that high-school kids pick on or the dishevelled person talking to themself whilst walking in the city. People that, on appearance, are instantly judged. Warren is an anti-hero for the modern day ‘loser’.”

Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla screens Sunday, November 24 at Monster Fest. Further information available at the festival's website.

KIER-LA JANISSE AND THE WOMEN IN HER LIFE

Canadian film scholar Kier-La Janisse (pictured, below) paints an unforgettable portrait of international cinema’s most deranged and driven female leads in her landmark book, House of Psychotic Women: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films. Ahead of her highly-anticipated appearance at Monster Fest 2013, SCREEN-SPACE examines our six favourite, most fascinating performances from the 202 featured in her immense and compelling semi-autobiographical work…

ISABELLE ADJANI in POSSESSION (Dir: Andrzej Zulawski; 1981)
When she agreed to star in Polish director Andrrzej Zulawski’s blood-soaked tale of infidelity, Isabelle Adjani (pictured, right) was the most beautiful, popular actress in French cinema. But she would prove her fearless approach to her craft in the role of Anna/Helen, a woman betraying her husband (Sam Neill) with what may be an otherworldly creature capable of horrific acts.
“Adjani’s performance reaches a crescendo as she seems to literally bounce off the walls, screaming and yelping, as white liquid (pours) from her orifices.“ – Sound on Sight

DESIREE NOSBUSCH in TRANCE (DER FAN) (Dir: Eckhardt Schmidt; 1982)
Predating the new millenium’s increasingly dark infatuation with celebrity is Eckhardt Schmidt’s study of Simone, a displaced, anti-social teen whose fatalistic love for pop-star ‘R’ knows no moral or physical boundaries. As Simone, Desiree Nosbusch captures the mentality and flesh-&-blood manifestation of fetishistic obsession in a star-making yet deeply disturbing performance.  
“Desiree Nosbuch gives one of the most disturbing performances in horror movie history; the nature of the crime she commits is beyond shocking, especially for the age of the character.” – Hayley’s Horror Reviews

DAGMAR LASSANDER in THE LAUGHING WOMAN (FEMINA RIDENS) (Dir: Piero Schivazappa; 1969)
A shattering account of male sexual domination and the retribution dished-out by a woman who would stand for it no longer, this odd but engrossing relic from the early days of the militant feminist movement features Dagmar Lassander pictured, left) as the abused journalist Maria in one of her many stridently sexual performances.
“The rush of insight makes us realise that Maria is not a victim in yet another cheesy chauvinistic exploitation flick, but a strong, determined predator with a very obvious agenda that she is following in a splendid genre piece” – CiNEZiLLA.

JOSIE HO in DREAM HOME (Dir: Pang Ho-Cheung; 2010)
Drenched in as much modern social satire as it is the blood of not-so-innocents, Josie Ho is a revelation as Cheng Lai-Sheung, an increasingly downtrodden Hong Kong wallflower who takes it upon herself to make vacant the apartment she’ll do anything to own.
“Josie Ho’s everyday loveliness is dangerously winning; whilst indulging in the carnage, her expression indicates she is focussed on her goals, not her actions.” – SBS Film.

MYLENE JAMPANOI and MORJANA ALAOUI in MARTYRS (Dir: Pascal Laugier; 2008)
As the two friends who seek cold-blooded revenge for and a deeper understanding of their imprisonment and torture, Mylene Jampanoi and Morjana Alaoui (pictured, left) endure unspeakable acts in the name of Pascal Laugier’s gruelling but grandly spiritual masterpiece. The best European horror film of the last decade.
“The acting and endurance on display by the two leads is, at times, amazing and commendable.” – Film School Rejects.

MICHELLE VALLEY and MEREDYTH HEROLD in SINGAPORE SLING (Dir: Nikos Nikolaidis; 1990)
A loner searching for his true-love is forced into a sex-slave role by a mother and daughter team for whom any debauched act is just another hedonistic urge fulfilled. Labelled ‘unwatchable filth’ by some, ‘a masterpiece’ by others, Greece’s enfant terrible Nikolaidis films in sumptuous monochrome, but it is Michelle Valley (as the mum) and Meredyth Herold (as her offspring) who steal the show.
“No taboo is left unbroken as the film contorts itself into an explicit orgiastic nightmare of role-playing, degradation and fetishism.” – Time Out.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE: THE ANDREW TRAUCKI INTERVIEW

Andrew Traucki has waded knee-deep through swamps to convey the terror of a crocodile attack in Black Water and plunged into the open ocean to capture the horror of being stalked by a Great White Shark in The Reef. His latest on-location horror shoot is The Jungle, a supernatural thriller that pits two Australian men (lead actor Rupert Reid and Traucki himself) against an unseen force in the Indonesian rainforest. Ahead of his films screening at Monster Fest, SCREEN-SPACE delves into the filmmaker’s love for wilderness stories, shooting on location in Indonesia and the skills needed to pull off his first found-footage film…

How does The Jungle fit thematically with Black Water and The Reef? Is there a common thread that binds your man-vs-nature trilogy?

The film sort of has a man-vs-nature theme, but the creature in The Jungle is more of a supernatural human predator. This film plays more like a man-vs-man film. Honestly, The Jungle is a very different film to Black Water and The Reef. They were both based on true stories and have more to do with survival and luck. The Jungle examines pride and hubris, albeit in a dangerous, wilderness setting.

How specifically do the local Indonesian customs play into the narrative? Were you conscious of integrating the folk-lore of the region?

I did considerable research into the supernatural and contemporary shape-shifter myths. There are specific influences that stem from cultural beliefs inherent to Indonesian lore (pictured, right: actor Rupert Reid, right, with local cast members).

There was a hand-held component to your past films, but a straight-out found-footage film is a new aesthetic for you. What had to be done right and what were the pitfalls that had to be avoided?

I found it a huge challenge. The form really subverts conventional filmmaking in many ways. For example, trying to keep the story as ‘real’ as possible meant it was very hard to come up with a story that had all the beats and structure in a conventional sense. Also, there is no music, which thrillers rely on heavily. In many ways, you are throwing out all that you know about filmmaking and starting again.

Mastering the found-footage coverage was one of only a handful of challenges you faced. You step in front of your own camera for the first time; you direct in dense Indonesian forest; your film was independently financed. In hindsight, what was the toughest element of the film’s production (pictured, left; Traucki)?

There were many physical challenges, especially given that at one point, it rained for a week during filming. There was so much mud! Ultimately, I think the toughest challenge was trying to make a film that was engaging and compelling using the found footage format. When you are trying to make a film that feels brutally honest and real, it can be very hard to stay true to your story and get genre tropes into the film that don’t feel fake. There are times when you have to make the decision ‘Do I go for story tropes?’ or ‘Do I keep the film feeling real?’