Continuing our
historical dive into the most intriguing forgotten starlet of silent cinema, Persephone Whitehall Clarke, these photographs were found in an estate sale in Germany; not much is known about the owner save that he seemed to have at one time rented a warehouse in Hollywood. This warehouse was at one time also owned by the film studio which produced many of Persephone's earlier films, and one might assume that these pictures were taken by a producer who probably took advantage of the poor starlet. Curiously, several of these seem to have come from a studio or film set, and this has triggered a search for her lost film, "The Jungle Girl of Kalimar," of which only promotional materials remain. There were rumors of nudity and scandalous pictures, and this may be why the film has been lost or buried; it was certainly never released, and to this day tops the wishlists of many a cinephile.
She was at one point associated with Chaplin, and once supposedly punched Harold Lloyd in the face in a drunken altercation over mirkens. He twice walked out of interviews when her name was mentioned, and if she knew anything she took it to her grave. Such were the heady times of a bygone cinematic age, the likes of which we shall never see again. Just like Persephone.