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February 3

First female action star?

I know that Jennifer Lawrence's claim to be the first was a lie -- Daniela Bianchi starred in action movies (opposite Sean Connery) long before Lawrence's parents even met for the first time, and I'm pretty sure Bianchi wasn't the first either -- but my question is, who was the first actress to star in an action movie? 2601:646:8A81:6070:20C2:40FF:CFB4:FA94 (talk) 03:00, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Barbara Stanwyck as Annie Oakley in 1935 might be a candidate. HiLo48 (talk) 03:41, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I like the mention of Stanwyck. I gotta think Pearl White and The Perils of Pauline (1914 serial) deserve a mention. While she probably doesn't fit today's definition of "action star" she took part in a lotta action :-) MarnetteD|Talk 05:29, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Honorable mention:

Helen Holmes (actress) in The Hazards of Helen:

-- Troy, Gil (2 October 2016). "The First Female Action Star". The Daily Beast. --136.56.52.157 (talk) 06:08, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Esme Beringer (stage actress)

--136.56.52.157 (talk) 07:14, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

From Filibus:

Filibus reflects the vogue in the 1910s for action-packed serial films featuring supervillains, such as Louis Feuillade's Fantômas (1913) and Judex (1916). Filibus's adventures in the film also recall other early action serials such as The Exploits of Elaine (1914), as well as the Arsène Lupin novels by Maurice Leblanc and Rocambole, a fictional adventurer created by Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail. (While the character of Filibus was likely inspired by the huge popularity of Fantômas, she strongly resembles Lupin in her enthusiasm for burgling and baffling for the thrill of it rather than for direct reward.)^[1] The film also recalls Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset's 1913 adventure film Protéa, featuring a female spy who dons multiple disguises (albeit working under a male boss and in partnership with a male spy, unlike the autonomous Filibus).

[...]

In particular, the character of Filibus was novel for adventure films in presenting an all-powerful female character in full control of her life and actions, able to move fluently between gendered identities as well as on and over the earth. These themes mirror a wave of gender identity exploration then occurring in Italian culture: for example, Francesca Bertini had recently played a male protagonist in Pierrot the Prodigal, women's fashions at Futurist parties had begun to imitate styles for men, and a trickle of short action films with autonomous heroines had begun to appear. [...]

The Hazards of Helen and the The Exploits of Elaine are different in spite of their titles.

--Error (talk) 10:35, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Bertetti, Paolo (Winter 2013–14), "Uomini meccanici e matrimoni interplanetari: La straordinarissima avventura del cinema muto italiano di fantascienza", Anarres, 2, retrieved 21 November 2016

Wow, that early??? Thanks! And yes, based on your description, Protea would fit the bill -- making 1913 the year of the first female action star, unless someone comes up with a film from even earlier! (Anyone know the name of the actress who starred as Protea?) 2601:646:8A81:6070:C56F:14B:6E83:66B6 (talk) 00:49, 5 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Appears to be Josette Andriot. -insert valid name here- (talk) 01:01, 5 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

That article says:

Her early films were made principally with the director Victorin-Hippolyte Jasset, for whom she became a favourite performer. In his Zigomar series, she played Rosaria, the title-character's accomplice, forever escaping from threatening predicaments. In 1913 Jasset made Protéa, a spy adventure with the distinction of being the first to have a woman as the central action figure.

--Error (talk) 00:43, 6 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Cinematheque française has an exhibition about spy films until May 21st, including De Protéa, férue de Jiu-Jitsu et première espionne de l’histoire du cinéma (1913).

--Error (talk) 00:50, 6 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks! So, this makes Josette Andriot the first female action film star -- and that was probably before Jennifer Lawrence's grandparents were even born! 2601:646:8A81:6070:B1AD:1112:B1A9:74A2 (talk) 03:54, 8 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Has there ever been a "payment from someone connected to a film for good review" scandal?

Like something that's probably real not just yet another conspiracy theory from those who think everything's a conspiracy. Also when a film is marketed with probably cherry-picked quotes from professional reviewers are they usually short enough to be an exception to copyright? Can they accurately quote reviewers like "a breathtaking spectacular" —Siskel and Ebert, ***** —Plaquemines Times-Picayune, "no force on Earth could [blah blah blah fair use quote length]" —North Terre Haute Times without needing permission? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:52, 3 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Don't know about a payola-type scandal, but you would be interested in the article David Manning (fictitious writer). Blurbs extracted from professional reviews can be used freely by studios, but they are sometimes twisted to make them sound better than what the writer actually meant. Xuxl (talk) 21:20, 5 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Shouldn't the closing quote mark go before the word scandal ? —Tamfang (talk) 22:27, 6 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Very well. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 02:40, 7 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Bertetti, Paolo (Winter 2013–14), "Uomini meccanici e matrimoni interplanetari: La straordinarissima avventura del cinema muto italiano di fantascienza", Anarres, 2, retrieved 21 November 2016

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