Enid Bennett
| Enid Bennett | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
15 July 1893 York, Western Australia |
| Died | 14 May 1969 (aged 75) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1916–1941 |
| Spouse(s) |
Fred Niblo (1918–1948) Sidney Franklin (1963–1969) |
Enid Bennett (15 July 1893 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian-born silent film actress, mostly active in American film.
She was born Enid Eulalie Bennett in York, Western Australia, the second of three children born to Frank Bennett and Nellie Mary Louise (née Walker). Her older sibling was Francis Reginald, called "Reg," born 1891, her younger sibling was Marjorie, born 1896.
After an unsuccessful attempt to start his own school Frank took up the role of Headmaster at the newly established Guildford Grammar School in 1896. Frank died in tragic circumstances in 1898, when he apparently drowned in a river while suffering depression. Nellie later married the new Headmaster, Alexander Gillespie in 1899, with whom she had two more children, Catherine in 1901 and Alexander in 1903. Following Gillespie's death in 1903 Nellie supported her five children by acting as School Matron. Enid attended Lionel Logue's acting and elocution classes in Perth and after receiving encouragement from a visiting actress in 1910, joined a touring company. By 1912, Enid had joined the Fred Niblo-Josephine Cohan touring company, performing comedies around Australia and understudying for Cohan herself, receiving consistently positive reviews. Her family had moved across the continent to Sydney by this time.
In the early part of 1915, theatre agents J. C. Williamson's decided to make short films of some of their popular plays, to forestall the release of imported American filmed versions. They used Niblo as director, and members of his troupe appeared in Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford and Officer 666. Enid Bennett appeared in both. Three reels of Officer 666 survive today in the National Film and Sound Archive. Film historians Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper describe it as "a crude production doggedly faithful to the stage." Both films were released in Australia after Bennett left for the United States in June 1915, travelling with Niblo and Cohan.
Her first appearance in the US was in Henry Arthur Jones's play "Cock o' the Walk," at George M. Cohan's Theatre on Broadway in late 1915. Roles of increasing importance in films followed soon after. One of her most important early films was The Little Brother made in 1917, where she appeared opposite William Garwood. This brought her to the attention of studios, in particular Thomas H. Ince, who signed her up with the Triangle Film Corporation. From 1918 to 1921, she starred in twenty-three films, becoming well established as an actress and attracting great publicity and consistently positive reviews. In 1922, she starred in three films, one of which became her most famous role, the female lead of "Maid Marian" in Robin Hood with Douglas Fairbanks. Interviewed in the 1960s by Kevin Brownlow, Bennett said "I had a wonderful time playing Maid Marian. Of course, the part was not too demanding , I just walked through it in a queenly manner. Douglas Fairbanks was wonderful, inspiring."
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