Around that time, Nazimova’s life began to unravel. Professionally, she let her successes at Metro cloud her judgment. After starring in a series of box office hits, she began quietly assuming creative control over her productions. She wrote and directed films while hiding her role from Metro by working under the name Peter Winter or falsely assigning the credit to Charles. The results were mixed at best. After screening rushes from her Jazz Age Camille, costarring Valentino, Metro canceled her contract.
She responded by launching Nazimova Productions, investing $300,000 of her own money and raising another $100,000. United Artists signed on to handle distribution. In 1922, she produced a passion project – a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, a play so scandalous that it was banned in Britain.
When the National Board of Review screened Salome, 152 of 182 ballots rated it “exceptional.” It premiered at New York’s Criterion Theatre to sold-out crowds and critical praise. But in advance of its nationwide release, United Artists over-hyped it as “an orgy of sex and sin,” disappointing audiences and depressing word of mouth. It bombed at the box office, leaving Nazimova nearly bankrupt.
At this unfortunate moment, she was also rocked by personal scandal. In 1899, while a student in Moscow, she had married fellow actor Sergei Golovin. She regretted it immediately and left Russia soon after. Though the marriage ended, they were never divorced.
She met Charles Bryant in 1912 while starring opposite him in Bella Donna, based on a novel by Richard Smythe Hichens, the author of The Garden of Allah. Tall and handsome, Charles became the most consequential man in her life — but not in a good way. He was a mediocre actor, pompous, and intellectually incurious. And yet something resonated between them, and they struck a deal.
In December 1912, trade papers announced their marriage. It was a lie. Perhaps Alla wanted to marry Charles but couldn’t because she was still legally wed to Golovin. More likely, it was a partnership of convenience. They both had relationships on the side throughout their time together. While some have called it a “lavender marriage,” that’s not quite accurate. Alla was certainly bisexual, but there’s no evidence Charles had affairs with men.
On May 11, 1923, without informing Charles, Alla quietly obtained a divorce from Golovin. She planned to go to Paris and announce she’d divorced Charles – but that never happened. Instead, Charles walked out. They hadn’t been intimate in years. He was tired of playing second fiddle to Paul Ivano, her young cinematographer boyfriend, and to her affairs with women. Plus, she was out of money. His free ride was over.
On November 16, 1925, Charles surprised Alla – and the rest of the world – by getting married. He wed 23-year-old Marjorie Gilhooley in New Milford, Connecticut. Reporters rushed to the scene, and what they found there created a scandal. On the marriage license, Charles had told the truth, listing his marital status as “single.”
For 12 years, Alla had dreaded this moment. She had lied in interview after interview. Now the truth was out. She was broke, with few prospects in Hollywood. She retreated to New York to wait out the scandal – and did not emerge for a very long time.