Madge Evans — Pauvre Enfant ? Merci — Non ! (1918) 🇺🇸

"Les pauvres petits enfants du theatre !" a French writer exclaimed, going on to explain that "Those poor little children of the theatre are like pallid flowers, grown in hot-houses under artificial light, beautiful with the tragic loveliness of whatever is fragile and doomed to early death. For, while they may not die — these poor little ones — their exotic loveliness never bears fruit. For the sake of a tear or a smile they are condemned to sterility."

More or less true. Who, that knows the theatre, has not encountered the spindle-shanked youngster, wise with the uncanny sophistry of his trade, precocious to an unendurable degree, and making the fingers itch to deliver a good spanking, whether or not the "pauvre petit" happened at that particular moment to deserve castigation?

Enter Madge Evans — exit the picture of the pallid chee-ild.

Of course, Madge isn't exactly a stage "enfant." And the life of the movie youngster is much more varied and healthy than that of the child who lives in the more circumscribed surroundings of the parental footlights. And then too, Madge has traveled — traveled all the way across the Atlantic.

As already intimated, there is nothing pallid or exotic about this lively little youngster. She has a good, healthy flavoring of tomboy in her makeup. Beginning at the very beginning, Madge was a favorite baby model at the Carlton Studios, London, before she knew or cared much about what was going on around her. Then, later on, in New York, Jack Pratt, then casting director for Augustus Thomas' picture company, realized Madge's charm and was instrumental in launching her screen career. As a result of his interest, Madge appeared in "Shore Acres," "The Garden of Lies," with Jane Cowl, then, with World and Captain Robert Warwick came "Alias Jimmy Valentine," "Old Dutch," which starred Lew Fields. There followed then with Famous Players, "Za Za" with Pauline Frederick and "The Seven Sisters," with Marguerite Clark. Then William A. Brady saw the possibilities of the little lady and she became the star of her own plays, notably, "Gates of Gladness," "The Volunteer," "The Little Duchess," "Adventures of Carol," all directed by Harley Knoles. Too, she scored this winter in the stage version of Peter Ibbetson.

Photo by: Feder-Shallcross Studios

Little Madge Evans wants it particularly understood that she is all American, and was born in New York City.

Photo by: Campbell

Collection: Photoplay Magazine, September 1918