Editing Norma Shearer (section)

== Career ==
=== Early days===
[[File:Portrait photograph of Norma Shearer.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Shearer by [[Arnold Genthe]], c. 1920]]

In January 1920, the three Shearer women arrived in New York, each of them dressed up for the occasion. "I had my hair in little curls", Shearer remembered, "and I felt very ambitious and proud."{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=19}} Her heart sank, however, when she saw their rented apartment: "There was one double bed, a cot with no mattress and a stove with one gas jet. The communal bathroom was at the end of a long, dimly lit hallway. Athole and I took turns sleeping with mother in the bed, but sleep was impossible anyway—the elevated trains rattled right past our window every few minutes."{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}}

The introduction to Ziegfeld proved equally disastrous. He turned Shearer down flat, reportedly calling her a "dog", and criticized her crossed eyes and stubby legs.<ref>Jacobs and Braum, p. 17</ref> She continued doing the rounds with her determination undimmed: "I learned that [[Universal Pictures]] was looking for eight pretty girls to serve as extras. Athole and I showed up and found 50 girls ahead of us. An assistant casting director walked up and down looking us over. He passed up the first three and picked the fourth. The fifth and sixth were unattractive, but the seventh would do, and so on, down the line until seven had been selected—and he was still some ten feet ahead of us. I did some quick thinking. I coughed loudly, and when the man looked in the direction of the cough, I stood on my tiptoes and smiled right at him. Recognizing the awkward ruse to which I'd resorted, he laughed openly and walked over to me and said, 'You win, Sis. You're Number Eight.{{' "}}{{sfn|LaSalle|2000|p=14}}

[[File:Norma Shearer 1926.jpg|thumb|left|Norma Shearer's [[strabismus]], 1926]]

Other extra parts followed, including one in ''[[Way Down East]]'', directed by [[D. W. Griffith]]. Taking advantage of a break in filming and standing shrewdly near a powerful arc light, Shearer introduced herself to Griffith and began to confide her hopes for stardom. "The Master looked down at me, studied my upturned face in the glare of the arc, and shook his eagle head. Eyes no good, he said. A [[Cast of the eye|cast]] in one and far too blue; blue eyes always looked blank in close-up. You'll never make it, he declared, and turned solemnly away."

Still undeterred, Shearer risked some of her savings on a consultation with Dr. [[William Bates (physician)|William Bates]], a pioneer in the treatment of [[strabismus]].<ref name="NormaShearer-COM">{{cite web |last1=Vieira |first1=Mark A. |title=New York |url=http://normashearer.com/biography/moving-picture-actress/new-york/ |website=Norma Shearer |publisher=Darin Barnes |access-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030130617/http://normashearer.com/biography/moving-picture-actress/new-york/ |archive-date=October 30, 2017 |date=2017 |quote=She also had flaws. Her legs were not well turned. Her eyes were blue, which went pale when shot with the orthochromatic film of the time. Her left eye had a tendency to wander, the symptom of a strabismus.}}</ref>{{sfn|Vieira|2013|p=180}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dart |first1=William |title=Book review: The Art Of The Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers 1925 to 1940 by John Kobal <!-- Published by Allen Lane, London, 1980 --> |journal=Art New Zealand |date=Spring 1981 |volume=21 |url=https://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/books2102.htm |access-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-date=January 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131093803/http://art-newzealand.com/Issues21to30/books2102.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> He wrote out a series of muscle-strengthening exercises that after many years of daily practice would successfully conceal Shearer's cast for long periods of time on the screen. She spent hours in front of the mirror, exercising her eyes and striking poses that concealed or improved the physical flaws noted by Ziegfeld or Griffith. At night, she sat in the galleries of [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] theatres, studying the entrances of [[Ina Claire]], [[Lynn Fontanne]], and [[Katharine Cornell]].

In desperate need of money, Shearer resorted to some modeling work, which proved successful. On her modeling career, she commented: "I could smile at a cake of laundry soap as if it were dinner at the Ritz. I posed with a strand of imitation pearls. I posed in dust-cap and house dress with a famous mop, for dental paste and for soft drink, holding my mouth in a whistling pose until it all but froze that way." She became the new model for Kelly-Springfield Tires, was bestowed with the title "Miss Lotta Miles" and depicted seated inside the rim of a tire, smiling down at traffic from a large floodlit billboard.{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=28}}

Finally, a year after her arrival in New York, she received a break in film: fourth billing in a [[B-movie]] titled ''[[The Stealers]]'' (1920). In January 1923, Shearer received an offer from [[Louis B. Mayer Pictures]], a studio in Northeast Los Angeles that was run by a small-time producer, [[Louis B. Mayer]]. [[Irving Thalberg]] had moved to Louis B. Mayer Pictures as vice president on February 15, 1923, but had already sent a telegram to Shearer's agent, inviting her to come to the studio. After three years of hardship, she found herself signing a contract. It called for $250 a week for six months, with options for renewal and a test for a leading role in a major film called ''[[The Wanters]]''.

=== Hollywood ===
Shearer left New York around February 17.<ref>Vieira, ''Irving Thalberg''.</ref> Accompanied by her mother, she felt "dangerously sure of herself"{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=34}} as her train neared Los Angeles. When she was not welcomed, even an hour after her arrival, she realized that there would be no star treatment from her new studio. Dispirited, she allowed Edith to hail a taxi.

The next morning, Shearer went to the Mayer Company on Mission Road to meet with Thalberg. Shearer was momentarily thrown by their confused introduction, but soon found herself "impressed by his air of dispassionate strength, his calm self-possession and the almost black, impenetrable eyes set in a pale olive face".{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=42}}

[[File:Norma Shearer portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Shearer in an early [[MGM]] publicity photo]]

Shearer was less impressed, however, with her first screen test: "The custom then was to use flat lighting, to throw a great deal of light from all directions, in order to kill all shadows that might be caused by wrinkles or blemishes. But the strong lights placed on either side of my face made my blue eyes look almost white, and by nearly eliminating my nose, made me seem cross-eyed. The result was hideous."{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=42}}

The day after the test had been screened for Mayer and Thalberg, cameraman [[Ernest Palmer (American cinematographer)|Ernest Palmer]] found Shearer frantic and trembling in the hallway. Speaking with her, he was struck by her "fierce, almost raging disappointment", and after viewing the test himself, agreed that she had been "poorly handled". Under Palmer's own supervision, a second test was made and judged a success by the studio brass. The lead in ''[[The Wanters]]'' seemed hers, until the film's director, [[John M. Stahl]], objected, finding her "unphotogenic". Again, Shearer was to be disappointed, relegated to a minor role.

[[File:Norma Shearer in "Slave to Fashion".jpg|thumb|Shearer in ''[[A Slave of Fashion]]'' (1925)]]

She accepted her next role in ''[[Pleasure Mad]]'', knowing "it was well understood that if I didn't deliver in this picture, I was through". After only a few days of shooting, things were not looking good. Shearer was struggling. Finally, the film's director, [[Reginald Barker]], complained to Mayer that he could get nothing out of the young actress, and when summoned to Mayer's office, she fully expected the axe to fall: <blockquote>"But to my surprise, Mr. Mayer's manner was paternal. 'There seems to be a problem,' he said, 'tell me about it.' I told him that the director had shouted at me and frightened me. Nobody had warned me that Mayer was a better actor than any of us, and I was unprepared for what happened next. He staged an alarming outburst, screaming at me, calling me a fool and a coward, accusing me of throwing away my career because I couldn't get on with a director. It worked. I became tearful, but obstinate. 'I'll show you!' I said to him. 'You'll see!' Delighted, Mayer resumed the paternal act. 'That's what I wanted to hear', he said, smiling."{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=44}}</blockquote> Returning to the set, Shearer plunged into an emotional scene. "I took that scene lock, stock, and barrel, fur, fins and feathers",{{sfn|Vieira|2009|p=28}} she remembered, earning her the respect of her director and her studio. As a reward, Thalberg cast her in six films in eight months.

The apprenticeship served Shearer well. On April 26, 1924, Louis B. Mayer Pictures was merged with [[Metro Pictures]] and the [[Samuel Goldwyn Company]] to form [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Shearer was cast with [[Lon Chaney]] and [[John Gilbert (actor)|John Gilbert]] in the studio's first official production, ''[[He Who Gets Slapped (film)|He Who Gets Slapped]]''. The film was a conspicuous success and contributed to the meteoric rise of the new company, and to Shearer's visibility. By late 1925, she was carrying her own films, and was one of MGM's biggest attractions, a ''bona fide'' star. She signed a new contract; it paid $1,000 a week and would rise to $5,000 over the next five years. She bought a house for herself and Edith at 2004 Vine Street, which was located under the [[Hollywood Sign|Hollywoodland sign]].

=== Irving and Norma ===
[[File:Norma Shearer and Irv Thalberg.png|thumb|upright|Shearer and [[Irving Thalberg]] outside the White House, 1929]]

Having become a star, Shearer's new challenge was to remain one. Many other talented actresses were at the studio, and she realized she would have to fight hard to stay ahead of the pack. Seeing that sensational newcomer [[Greta Garbo]] was one of a kind, she went to Thalberg and "demanded recognition as one of another kind". It was just one of the many visits she paid to his office, always to plead for better material, better parts. Thalberg would listen patiently, then invariably advise her to keep toeing the line, that MGM knew best, and that the movies she complained about had made her a popular actress. Occasionally, Shearer would burst into tears, but this seemed to make "no more impression than rain on a raincoat".{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=59}}

Privately, Thalberg was very impressed by Shearer. In a story conference, when her name was suggested to him for the part of a girl threatened with rape, Thalberg shook his head, and, with a wry smile, he said, "She looks too well able to take care of herself."{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=60}}

Thalberg's appeal was not primarily sexual. What attracted Shearer was his commanding presence and steely grace, the impression he gave that wherever he sat was always the head of the table. In spite of his youth – he was only 26 – Thalberg became a father figure to the 23-year-old actress.

At the end of a working day in July 1925, Shearer received a phone call from Thalberg's secretary, asking if she would like to accompany Thalberg to the premiere of [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]]'s ''[[The Gold Rush]]''. That night, they made their first appearance as a couple. A few weeks later, Shearer went to Montreal to visit her father. While there, she had a reunion with an old school friend, who remembered: "At the end of lunch, over coffee, Norma leant in across the table. 'I'm madly in love', she whispered. 'Who with?' I asked. 'With Irving Thalberg', she replied, smiling. I asked how Thalberg felt. 'I hope to marry him', Norma said, and then, with the flash of the assurance I remembered so well, 'I believe I will.{{' "}}{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=66}}

Over the next two years, both Shearer and Irving saw other people. [[Louise Brooks]] remembered: "I held a dinner party sometime in 1926. All the place cards at the dinner table were books. In front of Thalberg's place was [[Theodore Dreiser|Dreiser's]] ''[[The "Genius" (novel)|Genius]]'', and in front of Norma's place, I put ''The Difficulty of Getting Married''. It was so funny because Irving walked right in and saw ''Genius'', and sat right down, but Norma kept walking around. She wouldn't sit down in front of ''The Difficulty of Getting Married''&nbsp;– no way!"{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=86}}

[[File:Shearer Thalberg wedding 1927.jpg|thumb|upright|Shearer and Thalberg on their wedding day, 1927]]

By 1927, Shearer had made a total of 13 silent films for MGM. Each had been produced for under $200,000, and had, without fail, been a substantial box-office hit, often making a $200,000+ profit for the studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hollywood-legends.webs.com/ladyofthenight/boxoffice.htm|title=Shearer at Hollywood Legends website|publisher=Hollywood-legends.webs.com|access-date=July 21, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817234423/http://hollywood-legends.webs.com/ladyofthenight/boxoffice.htm|archive-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> She was rewarded for this consistent success by being cast in [[Ernst Lubitsch]]'s ''[[The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg]]'', her first prestige production, with a budget over $1,000,000. While she was finishing ''The Student Prince'', Shearer received a call summoning her to Thalberg's office. She entered to find Thalberg sitting at his desk before a tray of diamond engagement rings. He granted her the option to choose her own ring; she picked out the biggest. After weeks of rumors, provoked by wearing the ring, it was announced in August 1927 that they were to wed.<ref>{{cite news|title=Norma Shearer To Wed Metro Film Executive|agency=United Press|newspaper=Pittsburgh Press| location=Pittsburgh|date=August 18, 1927|page=12}}</ref> On September 29, 1927, they were married in the Hollywood wedding of the year. Shearer had two children with Thalberg – [[Irving Thalberg, Jr.]] (1930–1987), and Katherine (1935–2006). Before they were married, Shearer [[converted to Judaism]] so she could marry Thalberg.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxouLp7j7PYC&q=norma+shearer+jewish%3E&pg=PA381|title=Who's who in Jewish History: After the Period of the Old Testament|first1=Joan|last1=Comay|first2=Lavinia|last2=Cohn-Sherbok|date=June 27, 2019|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415260305|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Transition to sound ===
One week after the marriage, ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' was released. The first [[feature film|feature-length]] motion picture with sound, it effectively changed the cinematic landscape overnight and signaled the end of the [[silent film|silent motion-picture]] era. It also spelled the end of many silent careers, and Shearer was determined hers would not be one of them. Her brother, [[Douglas Shearer]], was instrumental in the development of sound at MGM, and every care was taken to prepare her for the microphone.

Her first talkie, ''[[The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929 film)|The Trial of Mary Dugan]]'' (1929), turned out to be a tremendous success. Shearer's "medium-pitched, fluent, flexible Canadian accent, not quite American, but not at all foreign",{{sfn|Lambert|1990|p=121}} was critically applauded, and thereafter widely imitated by other actresses, nervous about succeeding in talkies. Despite the popularity of her subsequent early talking films, ''[[The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1929 film)|The Last of Mrs. Cheyney]]'' and ''[[Their Own Desire]]'' (both 1929), Shearer feared the public would soon tire of her "good girl" image, and took the advice of friend and co-star [[Ramón Novarro]] to visit an unknown photographer named [[George Hurrell]].<ref>[[Virginia Postrel|Postrel, Virginia]]: "Starlight and Shadow", ''The Atlantic'', July/August 2007, p. 149.</ref> There, she took a series of sensual portraits that convinced her husband that she could play the lead in MGM's racy new film, ''[[The Divorcee]]'' (1930).

=== Pre-Code ===
Shearer won an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for her role in ''The Divorcee'',<ref>{{cite news|access-date=November 9, 2011|title=FILM AWARDS ARE MADE.; Norma Shearer and George Arliss Get High Honors|work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/11/07/archives/film-awards-are-made-norma-shearer-and-george-arliss-get-high.html?sq=norma%2520shearer%2520the%2520divorcee%2520academy%2520awards&scp=2&st=cse|date=November 7, 1930}}</ref> and a series of highly successful [[pre-Code]] films followed, including ''[[Let Us Be Gay]]'' (1930), ''[[Strangers May Kiss]]'' (1931), ''[[A Free Soul]]'' (1931) with [[Leslie Howard]] and [[Clark Gable]], ''[[Private Lives]]'' (1931), and ''Strange Interlude'' (1932). All of these were box-office hits, placing Shearer in competition with [[Joan Crawford]], [[Greta Garbo]], and [[Jean Harlow]] as MGM's top actress through the remainder of the decade.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gary Morris|url=http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/16/norma.html|title=Shearer at Bright Lights website|publisher=Brightlightsfilm.com|date=March 31, 2010|access-date=July 21, 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120727231958/http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/16/norma.html|archive-date=July 27, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Shearer's marriage to Thalberg gave her a degree of power in Hollywood that was resented by rivals such as Crawford, who complained that Shearer would always be offered the best roles and best conditions: "How can I compete with Norma when she's sleeping with the boss?"{{sfn|Quirk|Schoell|2002|p=102}}

Shearer's pre-Code films included period dramas and theatrical adaptations. ''[[Smilin' Through (1932 film)|Smilin' Through]]'' (1932), which co-starred [[Fredric March]], was one of the most successful films of the period.{{sfn|Vieira|2009|p=247}} An adaptation of [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s four-hour experimental ''[[Strange Interlude (film)|Strange Interlude]]'' (1932), which also starred [[Clark Gable]], was a disappointing adaptation of O'Neill, but a showcase for Shearer, thus a major hit.<ref>Samuel Marx, ''Mayer and Thalberg: The Make-Believe Saints'' (New York: Random House, 1975)</ref>

=== The First Lady of MGM ===
[[File:March-shearer-barretts.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Fredric March]] and Shearer in ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1934)]]

The enforcement of the [[Motion Picture Production Code|Production Code]] in 1934 forced Shearer to drop her celebrated "free soul" image, and move exclusively into period dramas and "prestige" pictures. Of these, ''[[The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934 film)|The Barretts of Wimpole Street]]'' (1934) proved her most successful at the box office, making a profit of $668,000, in part because the film contained elements that slipped by the newly instituted Production Code. In that film, she played a role made famous by [[Katharine Cornell]]. Shearer also took on another play popularized by Cornell in [[Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)|''Romeo and Juliet'']] (1936) (her first film of the 1930s to lose money), and ''[[Marie Antoinette (1938 film)|Marie Antoinette]]'' (1938) (a budget of almost $2,500,000 was too great for the studio to expect a profit), though their elaborate sets and costumes helped make the films immensely popular with audiences.<ref>'Marie Antoinette' was Shearer's first film after her husband Irving Thalberg's death. An album of Film Stars (third series) John Player and sons card no 44</ref>

Shearer was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] on six occasions, winning only for ''The Divorcee'' in 1930. She was nominated the same year for ''Their Own Desire'', for ''[[A Free Soul]]'' in 1931, ''The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' in 1934, ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1936, and ''Marie Antoinette'' in 1938. [[Marion Davies]] later recalled that Shearer came to a party at [[San Simeon]] in her [[Marie Antoinette]] costume; Davies said she was not about to remove the door so Shearer could enter, so Norma made her grand entrance through wider doors leading from another room. Four chairs were arranged so she could sit at the table in her voluminous skirts.

George Cukor, who directed Shearer in ''Romeo and Juliet'', offered this character sketch of the actress:

{{quote|"I found that Norma Shearer, when I made ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a nervous, highly self-critical woman who has schooled herself to give an impression of self-confidence. If one had accepted that impression, one would have gone far astray in working with her. She needed sympathy and reassurance. Another way in which Miss Shearer might mislead a—I am sure she continually misleads herself—is in the matter of physical resources and sheer stamina. She becomes so engrossed in her work, so keyed up with a kind of taut, nervous energy, that she is apt to overtax her strength. She will play a long, exhausting scene over and over again without appearing to lose an atom of her freshness and verve. When it is over she will tell you she feels fine—and believe it. Then she will go to her dressing room and collapse. If one worked her as hard as she seems to want to work, she would be worn out before the film was half finished. With her, the director has to reverse the normal process of inspiring his star to greater efforts. He has to persuade her to spare herself. The greatest joy of working with Miss Shearer comes from her complete lack of vanity. Far from bridling at minor criticisms as many actresses do, she will criticize herself with a penetrating, almost unfeminine, impersonal judgment. When she sees the unedited versions of the previous days footage ["rushes"] she seems to cease to be an actress and to look at her own work on the screen with the shrewd and critical mind of a producer."<ref>Koszarski, 1976 p. 329-330</ref>}}

[[File:Norma Shearer Marie Antoinette 1938.jpg|thumb|left|Shearer in ''[[Marie Antoinette (1938 film)|Marie Antoinette (1938)]]'']]

In 1939, she attempted an unusual role in the dark comedy ''[[Idiot's Delight (film)|Idiot's Delight]]'', adapted from the 1936 [[Robert E. Sherwood]] play. It was the last of Shearer's three films with [[Clark Gable]], after ''A Free Soul'' (1931) and ''Strange Interlude'' (1932). ''[[The Women (1939 film)|The Women]]'' (1939) followed, with an entirely female cast of more than 130 speaking roles.

Shearer was also one of the many actresses considered for the role of [[Scarlett O'Hara]] in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone With The Wind]]'' (1939) and some publications even reported that she won the role in 1938. However, she withdrew herself from consideration after negative feedback from movie fans. Years later when asked about potentially playing Scarlett, Shearer jokingly said, "Scarlett is a thankless role. The one I'd really like to play is [[Rhett Butler|Rhett]]!"<ref>''Clark Gable: A Biography'', Harris, Warren G., p. 408</ref>

Critics praised the suspenseful atmosphere in her next film, ''[[Escape (1940 film)|Escape]]'' (1940), where she played the lover of a [[Nazi]] general who helps an American free his mother from a [[concentration camp]]. With increasing interest in the war in Europe, the film performed well at the box office, but Shearer passed up roles in highly successful films ''[[Now, Voyager]]'' and ''[[Mrs. Miniver]]'', to star in ''[[We Were Dancing (film)|We Were Dancing]]'' and ''[[Her Cardboard Lover]]'' (1942), which both failed at the box office. In 1942, Shearer unofficially retired from acting.