Theda Bara Part II

Theda followed that success with a typical vamp role in When a Woman Sins. The movie drew noticeably smaller crowds. Fox was now more interested in his new cowboy star, Tom Mix; his westerns were popular and inexpensive to produce. Theda's career was on the wane.

The box office faltered again when World War I ended in 1919 and Spanish Influenza infected, and often killed, many Americans. Theda bravely insisted on visiting army hospitals without a protective mask. She believed her fans deserved more than a glimpse of her famous eyes.

By 1919, Theda's movies were failing to draw crowds at all. She hoped Kathleen Mauvourneen, the story of a nineteenth century Irish girl, would save her career. Though it opened to good advance word, Irish groups began to protest the squalid settings in the film; they felt their homeland was being unfairly portrayed. There were riots in theaters and demands for cuts. The movie was pulled from release early; some theaters refused to show it at all. On the upside, she enjoyed instant chemistry with the director of the film, an Englishman named Charles Brabin.

By now Theda had tired of acting and Fox Studios was glad to be rid of her. After struggling to complete the last movie of her contract, The Lure of Her Ambition, she took a European cruise. With her movie career apparently over, Theda's family, and her growing affection for Brabin, were her only consolations.

When Theda returned from Europe, she unsuccessfully shopped studios; The Vamp was no longer in vogue. Looking to the stage for a comeback, Theda accepted the lead in The Blue Flame, in which she played a good girl who comes back from the dead as an evil vamp. The production was a huge success out-of-town, where curious movie fans broke box office records.

Opening night in New York was less successful. The absurd script, and Theda's old-fashioned acting style, made some members of the audience laugh out loud. Still, the show played to sell-out crowds on the road for two months. Theda made a fortune. After a successful vaudeville speaking tour, Theda realized the stage alone could not satisfy her. She became lonely for her family and she missed Brabin. The two were married in 1921. Brabin didn't want Theda to work and she agreed to retire.

After a few years of marriage, Theda realized she couldn't stay in retirement. While Brabin was filming in

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