Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor
For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at a clipping from the Donna Darling Collection with Donna in her fashion coat.
Donna Darling.
Bathing Beauties of Movies Here in Revue at the Lincoln.
Bathing girls from various California motion picture studios will make a personal appearance in a colorful Hollywood revue at the Lincoln. This revue is a clever musical and dancing number which will show patrons that these versatile girls can do other things than merely making poses before the camera. Miss Donna Darling, who comes direct from the Mack Sennet studios, is the charming star who introduces the bathing beauties dressed in bathing costumes dating from 1860 to the present day. Bettl [sic] Bryant is the “Miss America of 1925.’’ Bathing costumes of various countries and fashionable seashore centers are introduced. Chief among these number is Mildred O’Brian, who appears as the beauty from Palm Beach. Miss Darling’s life guards, Murry Earl and Al Ross, add comedy to the Egyptian dance, while Petite Clarice Allyn as the Chinese bathing girl enhances the program with clever toe dancing.
Elaborate costumes have been selected for this sparkling revue. The music is snappy and the production has brilliant scenic and lighting effects.
Key features:
- The venue is the Lincoln; however, neither a city nor state is provided.
- No date is provided; however, Betty Bryant is “Miss America of 1925” indicating that the show was in 1925.
- Other cast members included
- Betty Bryant
- Mildred O’Brian
- Murry Earl
- Al Ross
- Clarice Allyn
Analysis
Donna Darling and Girls is known to have played at the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville, Illinois, on 6 October 1925. She also played there in 1924 and 1926 with different shows, so the Lincoln Theatre in Belleville was well known to her.
The Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, IL) paper dated 6 October 1925, Page 9[i], mentions Donna Darling and girls in their “Song and Dance Revue” were at the Lincoln.
A further review of Genealogy Bank, Newspaper Archives, Elephind, Chronicling America, and the Byron Public Library District at Advantage Preservation failed to provide any additional potential venues for Donna at “the Lincoln” during 1925.
Conclusion
Tentatively, I ascribe this clipping to her playing at the Lincoln in Belleville, IL, on 6 October 1925.
Sources
[i] The Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Illinois) 06 Oct 1925, Tue – Page 9 – Via Newspapers.com.
