In a life cut tragically short at age 24, Martha Mansfield nevertheless stood out by virtue of her self-belief and ambition, resulting in a stage career, a Ziegfeld Girl, and appearances in several silent movies. Oh, and her beauty.
Incidentally, if you read her bio at the above link, does her death not strike you as… suspicious?
Maybe.
Back then cellulose acetate was cheap and widely used in clothing because it took dye wonderfully and had a sheen. It was marketed as synthetic silk. Since the movie was in black and white, dye was irrelevant but the sheen was not.
Before cellulose acetate took over, cellulose nitrate was sometimes used and had the same properties as cloth except that it is MUCH more flammable. You may know it by its common name, gun cotton.
You can see where this is going. If one of the Ruffles were cellulose nitrate, this is the exact outcome one would expect.
But, given that all the people there were sleezoids in the film industry, the needle is shifted back into the “Very Suspicious” range.
Every bit as suspicious as the death of Thelma “Hot Toddy” Todd.