Theda began 1916 with typical vamp roles in The Serpent and Gold and the Woman. She now received thousands of fan letters, many of which she pasted into scrapbooks, along with her good and bad reviews.
She was so successful that the studio granted her request to play heroines in East Lynne and Under Two Flags. Though the movies did modestly well, her fans wanted their vamp back.
Theda began 1917 in the hit vamp films The Darling of Paris and The Tiger Woman. As a reward, she was allowed two more heroine parts. This time the movies were not well received; she would be forced back to vamp roles for a long time.
The start of World War I suddenly reduced Theda's audience. She went to work for the war effort. An enthusiastic fundraiser, Theda would often attend bond rallies and give speeches.
Later in 1917,Theda went back to acting. She created a sensation as the most famous vamp of all in Cleopatra. The production was the most elaborate of Theda's movies to date. The scandalously skimpy costumes barely covered her.
Cleopatra was the biggest hit of the year. Audiences were awed by the lavish production, which had some of the most elaborate sets and costumes ever created for a movie. The critics tended to either love or hate Theda's performance, but all were impressed with the movie. There is no known existing print of the film and it is one of the most sought after by film archivists.
After making the modestly successful The Rose of Blood, and taking a vacation in New York with her family, Theda was sent back to California to appear in Madame DuBarry. The successful picture showed her as a blonde for the first and only time. Theda ended 1917 at the peak of her career.
Now Theda was an integral part of popular culture; songs, poems, and vaudeville sketches were created in her honor. She continued to use her fame to help the war effort, and the 158th Infantry Regiment named her their godmother in a display of gratitude.
Unfortunately, the quality of Theda's movies began to drop, with bombs such as The Forbidden Path and The Soul of Buddha. She bounced back briefly with Salome, for which she dropped twenty pounds. The movie was a critical and popular success, but Theda was ill for a month after the production, possibly because she had lost so much weight.
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