One moment I am sprawled on a couch in my New Jersey home, lost in another classic old movie. Yes, I had gone down a rabbit hole, down into the black-hole past. As I plummeted, I learned about “lost” movies, an unlikely box office star, a secure facility where national memories are stored — and a silent film whose comic Irish stereotypes once caused uproars in theaters. Wanting to know more about Dressler, I opened my laptop and down the hole I went. I learned that Dressler’s success had come after decades of triumph and travail.

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Persons: Alice, “, Marie Dressler, Dressler, Frances Marion, ” Organizations: MGM Locations: New Jersey, Virginia, Hollywood