Impersonating in the USA, 1919

Abstract

Abstract When Julian Eltinge arrived on the Famous Players–Lasky lot, the movies had changed in just over two decades, from novelty to large-scale commercial enterprise. In films like The Countess Charming (1917), the actor played roles not unlike those he’d recently rendered onstage: a “regular” guy forced to impersonate women for variously absurd plot reasons. His films were well received and earned him high salaries and access to Hollywood’s elite inner sanctum. But it all got him no closer to playing non-drag or serious parts on the stage or screen. Meanwhile, he took a deep interest in the building and decoration of his Los Angeles mansion, the landmark, Spanish colonial-influenced Villa Capistrano. The environment for gender impersonation and same-sex eroticism had grown richer with the mobilization of millions of American servicemen during World War I who were in close quarters and who also enjoyed producing high-quality, all-male shows.