Carla And Tom Tangen talk about the new documentary on her life!
All Photos: Alan Mercer Make-up: Anthony Cody
Carla entered films in 1925 playing an uncredited role as a ballet dancer in the original silent film version of 'The Phantom of the Opera' and a very small role in the early talkie version of 'Dracula', and is the last surviving cast member of both classic films. Carla continued to appear in small roles until the late 1930s and disappeared from the movie screen. She briefly came out of retirement to play a vampire in 'The Vampire Hunters Club.'
She shared her reminiscences of appearing in a bit part in 'Dracula' by hosting the original documentary 'The Road to Dracula', a supplemental piece included on the 2004 DVD release, 'Dracula: The Legacy Collection.' In that classic film, she portrayed a bespectacled passenger riding in a bumpy horse-drawn carriage with Renfield as he is traveling to Dracula's castle. In this documentary, Laemmle proudly states: "I had the privilege of speaking the first lines of dialogue in the first talking supernatural thriller".
In 2009 the book 'Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes', co-authored by Carla Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, was released. The book details her life at Universal Studios from 1921 to 1937. On October 20, she celebrated her 100th birthday with a guestlist which included Ray Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson, Bela Lugosi, Jr., Sara Karloff and Ron Chaney.
Tom Tangen is the founder of the St. Croix Valley Actors Theatre and also The Los Angeles, Actors Coalition. He has appeared in over thirty films. He recently made the documentary 'Among The Rugged Peaks' about the life of Carla Laemmle. Tom wanted to put a recent portrait of Carla at the end of the film so this is our conversation after our photo session.
AM: Carla I was interviewed on Internet radio yesterday and was asked about my next shoot and I said it was you. I received several emails from people telling me they were excited to see new photos of you. How does it feel to have such a loyal following?
CL: Oh it's unbelievable...sort of. You know the attention that I'm getting just bowls me over.
AM: You were obviously meant to get this attention. Is this fulfilling for you now?
CL: Oh I love it! YES!
AM: We know about your life in your early days and we know about your life now, but how did you fill the years between?
CL: Well I was working with Ray Cannon. He wrote two books, 'How To Fish The Pacific Coast' and 'The Sea Of Cortez.' I typed them both. I knew him for fourteen years. He was the love of my life. He was a writer/director who I met at Universal. He'd written a short story that I was cast in. He was the most wonderful person who was very, very gifted.
AM: How long did you work in films?
CL: I was in film a long time, well into my fifties. I never stopped.
AM: You come from a show business family don't you?
CL: Yes, my uncle made all kinds of pictures but he seems to be famous for his horror movies. It was odd because he wasn't especially enthusiastic about them, but Junior was and he urged his father to go into making them. When my uncle made them, they were immediately successful. He had all these wonderful people who worked for him. He was the success of Universal.
AM: Did you have a desire to be in horror films?
CL: No, my uncle just cast me, well the casting office did. He wanted me to work and do something. I didn't know what it was. He had me in wardrobe and we went to the back lot where they filmed it. I didn't have to memorize any lines because it was written down a little piece of paper, (Carla then recites her famous opening line from 'Dracula') "Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass, are found crumbling castles of a bygone age." That was my line!
AM: And you've never forgotten it ever! How wonderful to have this line in cinema history. Tom, how did you get interested in Carla's career?
TT: Well I have known about Carla for many, many years. When I first started acting I wrote to her asking for her advice on how to break into the business. She was so gracious to write me this lovely letter back telling me not to give up and to always pursue my dreams and career. Twenty years after writing that letter and after doing about thirty films myself, I was able to reconnect with Carla and present her with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern California Motion Picture Counsel.
AM: Is this when you realized she had a following?
TT: There was so much interest in Carla and the horror films. Not only her horror films but her wonderful musicals as well. She wrote for every studio in Hollywood. It was suggested to me that someone should do a documentary on Carla's life so that's what I did. Hopefully it will come out this fall. It's called 'Among The Rugged Peaks' named after those first great lines of dialogue that Carla had in 'Dracula.' I guess the rest really is history, here we are a hundred years later with Carla about to see her life hit the big screen.
AM: Is there a release date yet?
TT: There is no release date. We are hoping to premiere it for her hundred and first birthday in October. Carla will be there and all her friends will be there. It's an amazing film that not only chronicles Carla's life but also the story of Universal as well.
AM: Carla do you think your popularity has increased since the advent of the internet?
CL: I've never considered my popularity. This has all been amazing.
AM: You get tons of fan mail don't you?
CL: Yes I do. I get more from all the countries in Europe.
AM: Does everyone have an autograph request?
CL: Yes.
AM: Do they at least send the postage? That's expensive.
CL: I have asked everyone to please send the postage. I really want ten dollars for each picture.
AM: That's understandable. You appreciate all your fans don't you?
CL: Oh yes, it's flattering and all that. They write me little letters.
TT: I want to say that Carla's popularity has increased with the internet. A whole new generation is seeing 'Dracula' for the first time. She is the last surviving cast member from that as well as 'Phantom Of The Opera.' I think young kids are so amazed that she is still here and able to talk to them and write to them and give them an autograph. I think that is a true testament to who she is as an actress and a person. She's so modest. She doesn't think she is anyone but she certainly is in so many people's eyes. She does have the first lines of dialogue ever in a horror film and that's kind of a pretty amazing claim to fame.
AM: It really is film history.
TT: And then to be sixteen years old and be cast as the prima ballerina in 'Phantom Of The Opera,' a silent film!
CL: Oh I remember that time and the set itself was just wonderful. It was a duplicate of a theater in France.
TT: When we shot the documentary on Carla's life we went back to Universal. The Phantom set is still there. It's the only totally remaining silent film set in the world. It was pretty amazing to take Carla back after eighty years back to that set and relive her memories and talk about the making of Phantom.
AM: Do you remember it like it was yesterday?
CL: YES! When I think back I can see the set in the studio. They had an orchestra in a pit. It was real life. It didn't feel like a set. I danced with a partner, but they cut that out.
AM: Aren't you a Buddhist?
CL: Yes for some years now.
AM: Do you think Buddhism gives you peace?
CL: Oh absolutely.
AM: I heard that you posed for some nude photographs.
CL: Yes I did.
AM: Do you think you were ahead of your time?
CL: It wasn't a big deal for me to do it. I've always loved my body because it's beautiful. I don't mind showing it. I've had an amazing life and this is the best part of it. One of my little secrets that I saw in a book years ago is the quote "Harm no one, especially yourself" and I try to live by that.
Tom Tangen and Carla Leammle
To learn more about Carla Leammle please visit www.amongtheruggedpeaks.co
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