The pretty actress in this risque vintage real photo postcard is Mabel Poulton (1901-1994). She was a popular English film actress during the silent film era. Poulton was born in England. Her family was poor. Her father worked as a “clicker”, someone who cuts patterns for shoes and boots. Her father belonged to a social club and took Mabel to see a play. After the experience, Mabel became determined to become an actress. Before entering films, she worked as a secretary at London’s Alhambra Theatre. While employed at the theatre, she was asked to impersonate actress Lillian Gish, dead on stage. She was Gish’s double in a death scene in the play’s prologue. It was noted that Poulton had theatrical talent. As a result, she was given a screen test and aced it. Her debut role was in “Nothing Else Matters (1920)”. Noted actress Betty Balfour also made her debut in this film. The film was a success. Over the next several years Poulton appeared in many films. She tended to land parts playing feisty and mischievous characters. She was blonde and petite. Poulton became a major celebrity of her time and was noted for her fashion sense. In 1928, she starred in “The Constant Nymph” and was highly acclaimed for her performance. By the end of the 1920’s, she and Betty Balfour were considered Britain’s leading film actresses. It is said that “all good things come to an end”, That was especially true for many successful silent film performers with the arrival of “talking pictures”. Mabel Poulton was one of those victims. Her cockney accent did not fit for the roles she tended to play. An attempted comeback in the mid 1930’s was a failure. Her last significant film appearance was in 1938. She spent her final years working on a script about a young British starlet who gets raped by a film director and due to the trauma, becomes an alcoholic. Sadly, the plot appears to have been autobiographical. In fact, she eventually wrote in the character’s real names. She accused director Thomas Bentley of the crime. The pair had worked together on two films. The first of these films was shot in 1921, when Mabel Poulton was about twenty years old. Poulton was married in 1939 to an oil engineer. The IMDB credits Poulton with 29 film roles between 1920 and 1943. This vintage portrait postcard was published by Iris Verlag/Amag and is part of a series (no. 5887). Iris Verlag was a popular Austrian postcard producer. Amag (Albrecht & Meister) was a publisher located in Berlin. The company took over Aristophot in 1909. Amag ceased production in 1920.The photo was taken while she was working for Gaumont Film. She is scantily dressed (for her time) and smoking a cigarette. This risque vintage postcard is in very good condition. A glance at the reverse of the postcard indicates that it formerly resided in someone’s postcard album. This postcard portrait of Mabel Poulter is uncommon. (SOLD)
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