John Gilbert's Caviare a la Reine

We salute this underrated silent star and matinee idol.

John Gilbert began his film career in 1915 and garnered major attention with his role opposite Mary Pickford in Heart o' the Hills in 1919. He starred for acclaimed director King Vidor in five films including His Hour (1924), Wife of the Centaur (1924), The Big Parade (1925), La Boheme (1926) and Bardelys the Magnificent (1926). Gilbert starred in the romantic drama Flesh and the Devil (1926) and fell hard for Swedish actress Greta Garbo. Their turbulent romance made headlines and became the talk of the town. Unfortunately when sound arrived, John Gilbert was considered one of the great casualties. The reasons for this are still debated to this day. As he career declined, his health issues and alcoholism increased. He died far too young at only 38 years old. In spite of this, his reputation is being revived and we are fortunate that many of his films survive and are still shown today.

Recipe

Given the soaring temperatures, we decided to make something simple that didn't require the use of the stove. The book "Fashions and Foods in Beverly Hills" was published in 1930.

Ingredients

Six rounds of soft toast

caviar

lemon

onion

hard boiled eggs

lettuce

Directions

Cut six rounds of soft toast and spread with four table-spoonfuls of caviar mixed with strained juice of one lemon. Finely chop one tablespoonful of onion and place a tiny mound of it in the center of each round of soft toast. Chop fine two hard boiled eggs and sprinkle over all. Place a round of toast on a small lettuce covered plate and serve.

*My friend and frequent collaborator Mary said that we should NOT do the lemon part, as it would alter the taste of the caviar. Since we are both working girls on a budget, we opted to use a product called Caviart, which consists of black seaweed pearls.

Special Guest

Charles Cisneros Charles Cisneros has been working as a set dresser on films and television shows for over twenty years. He collects John Gilbert memorabilia and is currently writing a script and coffee table book. Many pieces of his collection were featured in the “Meet the Stars” exhibit to celebrate the 100th anniversary of M-G-M last spring at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Charles knew John Gilbert’s daughter Leatrice and he feels passionately about keeping his legacy alive. His is also a huge fan of Virginia Bruce and Carole Lombard. You can find videos about John Gilbert on the Youtube page that Charles runs.

Mary Stanford is a rare performer who is equally at home performing classical arias, show tunes and jazz standards. Armed with an impressive four octave vocal range, classical training, and an engaging stage presence honed from a lifetime in musical theater,  Mary has built a reputation as a performer to watch. Yet beneath her glamorous exterior lies the heart of a true nerd whose passion is keeping the Great American Songbook alive. As the definition of an over-achiever, Mary is also a "multi-hyphenate" writer, director, dramaturg, and theater/film historian. In her spare time, Mary enjoys sleeping.

Video

Final Result

As you can see by my reaction in the video, I just can't eat caviar or most kinds of seafood. I just don't have the taste for it. That said, Mary and Charles really seemed to enjoy the Caviare a la Reine and they both said they would make it again.

There are several John Gilbert films on DVD, Turner Classic Movies and on Youtube.

On Monday, August 19th 2024 Turner Classic Movies will dedicate an entire day to John Gilbert for "Summer Under the Stars".

Kevin Brownlow made a 12 part series entitled "Hollywood: A Celebration of American Silent Film". The video is called "Star Treatment". The first half is about Clara Bow and the second is about John Gilbert. It is well worth watching!

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Thank you for watching and stay tuned for more food, fun and film history.