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The
beginning of 1927 was just as dramatic as the ending of 1926 for Joan. Five days into the New Year, Joan's beau Mike Cudahy
ran off and married young actress Marie Astaire. Cudahy was jailed for marring the young actress and, once again, Cudahy's
over protective mother stepped in to annul the marriage. Joan was out of the picture and never reunited with the young meat-packing
heir! Instead, Joan was focusing on her career and ready to release her first of six films she appeared in 1927. On January
15th, Winners of the Wilderness was released. The period
film featured Tim McCoy and showcased several fancy costumes - an early look into the fashion plate Joan would become on the
big screen.
 Joan
released two pictures in February of 1927, The Taxi Dancer
on February 5th and The Understanding Heart on February
26th. Both films were forgettable to the public at the time, but Joan showcased promise as an actress in The Taxi Dancer and was hoping her next film would showcase her as a credible actress.
It took Joan four-months to release her next film and although four-months seems like a small lapse in time making films,
silent pictures were cranked out in a few weeks and Joan's four-month absence from the big screen could have cost her a future
in acting if her next film was a turkey.
Some herald Joan's 1927 performance in The Unknown as her finest silent picture. Joan was teamed up with acting legend Lon Chaney
and classic horror director Tod Browning for this dramatic and bizarre film released on June 4th 1927. The result was a hit
film and some acting lessons for Joan. Joan was quoted in saying that she learned more about acting from watching Chaney than
from anything else in her long career. It showed. Joan showcased passion and versatility with her expressions and emotions
in The Unknown. Joan was drawing from her difficult childhood
to strum up those emotions that she displayed so magnificently on screen. MGM noticed they had a legitimate star on their
hands and helped finance Joan's first home in July of 1927. For only 28,000, which transfers roughly into $350,000 today,
Joan was living in her own home located at 513 Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills, California. After only being at MGM for two
and a half years Joan's accomplishments were pretty impressive.
Joan
followed up her success with acting giant Lon Chaney with another big male star of the silent era, John Gilbert. Twelve Miles Out was released on July 9th 1927. The film was given favorable reviews and
helped Joan build up her resume with noteworthy actors. Joan was off to film yet another film with a huge male actor and her
best friend on the MGM lot, Billy Haines. Joan and Billy traveled to West Point, New York to film their forthcoming film West Point, which would be released in early 1928. During the
filming, Joan and Billy were having a bit too much fun sleeping around with the West Point cadets - rumor has it a few men
were discharged for frolicking with Crawford and possibly Haines! Joan and Billy also got into a minor car accident, read
the piece below from the New York Times:
WEST POINT, N.Y., Aug. 29, 1927 – Miss Joan
Crawford and William
Haines, motion picture stars, were shaken here today when the automobile in
which they were riding was sideswiped by a motor truck near the West Point
Military Academy reservation. Miss Crawford received slight bruises on the
forehead and right knee. Mr. Haines was jarred. They returned to the Thayer
Hotel at Highland Falls, where they have suites during the filming of a picture
in which one of the barracks at the Military Academy is being featured,
declining the services of a physician.
After
the drama at West Point was over for Crawford and Haines, they released Spring Fever on October 18th 1927. This would be Crawford's sixth film released in 1927 and her last for that
year. The film was a classic comedic Haines performance and Joan knew that and was not expecting much praise for her supporting
role in the film. A day before the release of Spring Fever,
Joan attended a play at the Majestic Theater in Los Angeles called Young
Woodley that featured Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Joan was accompanied by Paul Bern, MGM exec and early Joan-booster, who
took Joan backstage to meet the dashing young actor hat Joan had become smitten with after seeing his performance. In traditional
Crawford fashion, Joan sent him a telegram that very night praising Fairbanks performance. Fairbanks responded the next day
with a phone call and the rest is history. On December 31st 1927, New Years Eve, Douglas Fairbanks proposed marriage to Joan
Crawford.
Joan Crawford appeared in six films in 1927.
To view each film in detail, click the thumbnails below.
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Winners of the Wilderness
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The Taxi Dancer
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The Understanding Heart
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The Unknown
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Twelve Miles Out
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Spring Fever
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