Jewel Carmen
| Jewel Carmen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Florence Lavina Quick July 13, 1897 Danville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 1984 (aged 86) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Evelyn Quick Florence La Vinci Jewell Carman |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1912–1926 |
| Spouse(s) | Roland West (m. 1918–35) |
Jewel Carmen (July 13, 1897 – March 4, 1984) was an American silent film actress.
Born Florence Lavina Quick in Danville, Kentucky, Carmen made her film debut in the 1912 film The Will of Destiny. She went on to appear in Daphne and the Pirate (1916), opposite Lillian Gish and D. W. Griffith's Intolerance (1916). 'Carmen' also appeared in films for Keystone, including 'The Ragtime Band', as Evelyn Quick in around 1913. On 30 April 1913, she lodged a police complaint that 2 car salesmen had forced her into delinquency, and further stated she was 15 years of age. Investigations centred around a blackmail and white slavery ring, in which Quick was involved. It later transpired she was 23 years old, and the charges were dropped. No Keystone people were involved, but most of the studio's actors and directors departed for Mexico at this time, only returning when the case was dropped.
In 1917, Carmen contracted with Fox Film Corporation, but finding the deal unsatisfactory opened a new contract with the Keeney Corporation in 1918 while her first contract remained in effect. Fox sent Keeney notice of their prior contract, warning that they would hold Keeney responsible for assisting her in breaking it, promising to indemnify Keeney against legal retaliation. Carmen launched two lawsuits against Fox, one to attempt to free herself of the obligation of living up to her contract and another to seek redress for their interference with her contract with Keeney.
Key to the issues was the question of where the contracts had been made: New York or California. Fox's offices were located in New York; Carmen was a resident of California. By California law, Carmen was an adult at the time of signing the contract; by New York law, which granted majority at 21, she was not. If not an adult, she could not be legally held to the document she had signed. Though Carmen initially won the first lawsuit, having the contracts set aside and receiving damages of $43,500 from Fox, the decision was overturned on appeal because she had "unclean" hands, having herself treated Fox unfairly. However, she won her second case because Fox's interference with her employment with Keeney had been outside the law, though Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo made clear that he did not approve of the legal loophole that allowed Carmen to break her contract with Fox.
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