Lotus Thompson: Silent Film Star

The Hal Roach Studio was situated at 8822 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California. All that is left of it is a plaque on the grass. This plaque is opposite a lonely, nondescript, industrial complex.

SITE OF THE HAL ROACH STUDIOS

LAUGH FACTORY TO THE WORLD

1919– 1963

In the 1920s, this area buzzed with life. Comedians, children, aspiring actors and actresses, established character actors, writers, directors, and animals filled the scene.

In 1924, Hal Roach kept a bevy of young women he called his ‘baby stars’ under contract at the studio. They were Katherine Grant, Martha Sleeper, Olive Borden, and Ena Gregory.

In August 1924, he welcomed Lotus Thompson into the gang.

The Los Angeles Times, 17 December, 1924

It was a training ground for actresses even though many were already experienced performers. The Hollywood illusion was peddled that they were just beautiful and lucky, and therefore anyone could do it. Still, some well-known names came out of the Hal Roach Studios. Notable examples include Anna May Wong, Thelma Todd, and Zasu Pitts.

Lotus took a risk coming to Hollywood. She took another risk working as a pinch hitter (slang for body double). She did this because she wanted to be accepted as a serious actress. This was a pattern for Lotus throughout her career, taking risks and hoping rewards would follow.

Her very first film that we know of in America came about as a Hal Roach girl. It is a ‘blink and you miss it’ few scenes but she is unmistakably there in All Wet, 1924.

There was an emphasis on the body, on sports, and athleticism, and wearing very little. In screen shots taken at the studios, the Roach girls wear furs. They also show skin. This was standard at the time. Some photographs have surfaced of particular actresses who died too young with their real stories untold.

More photos to come.

This image is said to be from a Hal Roach film, however it is more likely to be from a screen test.

A chance discovery in the chaotic haystack of Hal Roach’s 1924 comedies reveals Lotus Thompson. It offers a fleeting glimpse of her earliest days in America. All Wet was a ten minute film released by Pathe Exchange on 23 November 1924, starred Charlie Chase.

Chase contributed to over 300 films as a writer and director. Chase collaborated with Charles Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, Fatty Arbuckle, & The Three Stooges. It is pure slapstick. The simple storyline revolves around a man and his car who get stuck in the mud, and one by one so does everyone else who tries to help. Below, people in a boarding house receive the news that the man and his car have become stuck.

Charlie Chase, far left, stars in All Wet 1924, Lotus Thompson, far right