Celebrity Jukebox #126: Marie Prevost

Canadian actress Marie Prevost was one of the original stars of the silent movie era, appearing in dozens of films throughout the 1920s and early 30s, although many of these are now lost to the sands of time (no intact reels remain). Her career went into decline when the talkies arrived, and her subsequent life was marred by the tragic death of her mother, alcoholism and binge eating. She died in 1937, aged just 40, but as she lived alone, her body wasn't found until two days later when her neighbours complained to police about the noise of her barking dog.

Which is where the myth of Marie Prevost begins. Police noted at the time that there were small bite marks on her legs, which the coroner suggested came from her dog nipping its owner to try and wake her up. In his book Hollywood Babylon, controversial writer Kenneth Anger suggested the dog made "mincemeat out of his mistress" in order to survive, though this has since been proved a fabrication. 

All of which brings us to Nick Lowe, and his Anger-influenced retelling (and re-spelling) of Marie Prevost's life, a song which manages to fall somewhere between a touching examination of the fickleness of fame... and a rather sensationalised tabloid joke. I've got a lot of respect for Nick Lowe as a songwriter, but Marie Provost is very much the work of a young songwriter, influenced by the outrage of punk, looking to make his mark. Subtlety only comes with age, I guess...

Marie Provost was a movie queen

Mysterious angel of the silent screen

And run like the wind

The nation's young men steam

When Marie crossed the silent screen

Oh she came out west from New York

But when the talkies came

Mary just couldn't cope

Her public said Mary take a walk

All the way back to New York

As her nights grew long

And her days grew bleak

It's all downhill

Once you've passed your peak

Mary got ready for that last big sleep

The cops came in

And they looked around

Throwing up everywhere over

What they found

The handywork of Marie's little dachshund

That hungry little dachshund