A reader writes and shares his insights on Vilma Banky and his meeting with her. In this account, we discover another side of the Hungarian Rhapsody...Read on to find out how Vilma felt about her films and about her personality.
"Living in Southern California, I was constantly visiting the Hollywood area in the mid to late 1970's. I met Vilma Banky as she was walking herself home carrying a bag of groceries from her local Market Basket grocery store. Yes...she did her own shopping. Many people tried to get her to attend revival showings of her pictures. She chose not to do so for reasons of her own. I did introduce myself to her, and I offered to carry her groceries (which she allowed to me to do for a few blocks). She would not be bothered with discussions of her old movies. She just seemed disinterested. By the way, the first five reels of The Magic Flame (a little more than half) have been preserved and are held at the George Eastman House archive." (He also has a photo documentary that appears on the Sony DVD release of Frank Capra's Lost Horizon, so take a look at that!)
Another visitor shares his comments: "Back in the early 1990s, when I was single and working at a small newspaper in Rosenberg, Texas, I rented a room out from an elderly woman. I'd talk to her a lot (she lived by herself and was lonely) and learned that back when she was younger, she had moved out to California and spent several years as a housekeeper for Vilma Banky and Rod La Rocque. She had some interesting stories about serving dinner to some other famous guests at their home. I even wrote an article for the paper about her experiences. I eventually moved out, got married and lost touch with her. (Her name was Emily Hochman). Several years ago, I ran into one of her neighbors and learned she had moved to California and was living in a nursing home there to be closer to her family..."
Mort Doyle, an extra in This is Heaven shares his story: For Mort Doyle, his son Ken writes... "I am sitting here with my father who was an extra in the Vilma Banky film This Is Heaven. He was quite interested to read about the film and Miss Banky. He remembers much about the movie and was trying to find out if anyone has a copy. My father was a 12-year-old boy living in New York. There was scene where he and several other boys were skating in front of his home (on cue from the director.) They shot the scene using my dad's front door and the front of his house. They were not paid for their parts." |
