Edna Purviance (pronounced per-vie'-ance) was Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in the comedian's early years with the Essanay, Mutual, First National, and United Artists studios. She performed as his love interest in over thirty films while simultaneously playing that role in real life on and off throughout their working relationship.
She had never intended on being an actress. After her natural good looks and easy going personality were spotted at a cafe, she was suggested to Chaplin after he had come up empty on his search for a female co-star. Her lack of experience didn't concern him. He felt it was actually more of a plus that she had never been in front of a camera - feeling he could train her much easier without her falling back on old habits. Chaplin was, however, worried she might not be suited for comedy. His fears were put to rest when at a party he performed an improvisational act pretending to be a hypnotist. Chaplin pulled her from the crowd and whispered directions to her, which she spontaneously followed impeccably.
In 1915, Edna Purviance made her film debut in A Night Out. And even though a lot of her screen time in that film was played opposite Bud Jamison, her bits with Chaplin not only showed her adaptability to his style of comedy, but also proved the two of them together had chemistry. It was a chemistry that carried beyond the celluloid as they soon became a couple in real life as well.
In her first several films, Chaplin wisely didn't push his novice leading lady into doing more than just looking pretty. Her inexperience, though, was overshadowed by her natural charm, and as she gradually found comfort in front of the camera, her roles became more demanding. And the larger the part, the more her winning personality shined through.
Although, Edna Purviance was never considered a slapstick actress, she managed to hold her own when physical comedy was needed. She took her first pratfall (falling off a tree branch) in A Jitney Elopement, and proved she could handle even more physical challenges in the knockabout film, Work. But it was her genuine charisma as a leading lady that made her performances so special.
Although she gained experience in front of the camera, she never really developed into a great actress. She certainly had the potential, though. Her work in A Burlesque on Carmen proved she could become a character other than herself. And her performance in The Vagabond showed she could handle any emotion. But Edna Purviance was ultimately just a regular girl, who, together with a mixed ensemble of ex-vaudevillians, found herself a key component in the early years of a comedy genius. And like Chaplin's other talented supporting players, she was never given the opportunity to outshine the star.
Early on, to make up for her lack of training, she relied on her winning personality. And it's her fun-loving nature that shines through in almost every film in which she appeared. When watching Edna Purviance, we rarely see the character, but instead, the audience is given the gift of witnessing her contagious persona. This is obvious in her early films. And the more she appeared in front of the camera, her true self came through. She had a natural magnetism, and it is easy to see what Chaplin saw in her, both professionally and personally.
However, Edna Purviance's weight fluctuated from film to film. And according to Chaplin himself, he felt she was becoming too matronly looking for the roles she would normally play. Instead of moving on without her, though, he decided to write and direct a drama in which she would star.
That drama was A Woman of Paris. It would be her first leading role and Chaplin had hoped the film would be the beginning of her career as a dramatic actress. But Chaplin ignored her greatest asset - her personality - which was nowhere to be found in this film. And even though the movie is quite good, and Edna Purviance does an adequate job, she is upstaged by her co-star, the then unknown, Adolphe Menjou. To make matters worse, since Charlie Chaplin wrote and directed the film, the public not only anticipated a comedy, but also expected to see him on the screen. And although it faired well with the critics, A Woman of Paris, was a box office flop in 1923.
Chaplin tried to help her once again when he was producing a film directed by the up-and-coming director, Josef von Sternberg, called A Woman of the Sea. This would be Edna Purviance's first time on a movie set without Charlie Chaplin, and according to von Sternberg, she was extremely timid and uncomfortable in front of the camera. The film was destroyed after one showing.
After one more failed film, Education of a Prince, her career was over. And while the public soon forgot Edna Purviance, Charlie Chaplin never did. He kept her on his payroll for thirty years until her death in 1958.
The film performances of Edna Purviance never fail to show a young woman with an infectious personality, opposed to the actress that the public thought she was. But nothing says it more clearly than a 1916 interview with Photoplay magazine when she was asked what her hobbies were, and she responded, "Oh, act, I guess."
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