Rosson. The film was a dramatic tour de force for her in a story set in Russia of a woman who sacrifices herself to help her husband. The film was a hit, turning Talmadge into a sensation and established her as a first-rate dramatic actress. Talmadge's acting ability improved rapidly during this period. She made four to six films a year in New York between 1917 and 1921. Under Schenck's personal supervision, other films followed, including Poppy (1917), in which she was paired with Eugene O'Brien. The teaming was such a hit they made 10 more films together, including The Moth and The Secret of the Storm Country, a sequel to Tess of the Storm Country (1914), starring Mary Pickford. In 1918, she reteamed with Sidney Franklin, who directed The Safety Curtain, Her Only Way, Forbidden City, The Heart of Wetona, and 1919's The Probation Wife. These films have small-scale settings and familiar actors appearing from one film to the next. An advantage of the East Coast locale was access to the country's best high-fashion designers, such as Madame Francis and Lucile. Between 1919 and 1920, Talmadge's name appeared on a regular monthly fashion advice column for Photoplay magazine; her publicist was Beulah Livingstone. Hollywood films Throughout the 1920s, Talmadge continued to triumph in films such as 1920's Yes or No, The Branded Woman, Passion Flower (1921), and The Sign on the Door (1921). The next year, she had the most popular film of her entire career, Smilin' Through (1922) directed by Sidney Franklin. One of the greatest screen romances of the silent film era, it was remade twice, in 1932 with Norma Shearer, and in 1941 with Jeanette MacDonald. After Smilin' Through, Schenck closed the New York studios and Norma and Constance moved to Hollywood to join Keaton and Natalie. Talmadge's Hollywood films were different from her New York films. Bigger and glossier, they were fewer but more varied, often with period or exotic settings. She teamed with cinematographer Tony Gaudio and some of Hollywood's finest costume designers for a more glamorous image. She also worked with top-flight directors such as Frank Lloyd, Clarence Brown, and Frank Borzage. With help from films directed by her first husband Joseph M. Schenck, she became one of the highest-paid actresses of the 1920s. In 1923, a poll of picture exhibitors named Norma Talmadge the number-one box office star. She was earning $10,000