A few weeks back there was much hoopla in the news about saving historic buildings that were being demolished on The Lot (former UA, Pickford-Fairbanks Studio). Sadly, that effort was really too little, too late as the permits for that demolition had been signed off on years ago.
There is a much more critical emergency with the Mary Pickford Institute and their loss of funding from the Mary Pickford Foundation. The Mary Pickford Foundation recently appointed a new Director of Archive and Legacy. Both sides are gearing up for a legal battle that does not look to be pretty.
The Mary Pickford Institute and Library are fighting for their identity and their life right now. You can help firstly by signing the petition. Secondly, if you are in the Los Angeles area, attend the screening advertised above. Help show your support and go see the films and see what a delightful and talented actor Mary Pickford was.
It's a very sad thing. To me, much more tragic than the loss of some old buildings long ago earmarked for demolition. The Mary Pickford Institute has provided great service to the life and legacy of Mary Pickford. I hope they prevail.
In conjunction with the Mary Pickford Foundation and Mary Pickford Institute, Milestone Films has released several of Mary Pickford's classic silent films on DVD. Some films will be soming to blu-ray later this year, for which I'm really excited. Please note in the link to the blu-ray the price you see is not for the home dvd market, that is for institutional/educational. Don't be alarmed, home viewing is much more budget friendly!
By the time Gladys Marie Smith made her film debut in the 1909 Biograph film Her First Biscuits, she was a seasoned veteran of the stage. She'd played the hard circuit of the "ten-twenty-thirts" of one night stands criss-crossing the country and also starred on Broadway in David Belasco's production, The Warrens of Virginia. The trip to Biograph for work in 1909 was one out of necessity and it was also a bit of a comedown for a player on the legitimate stage.
Within a short period of time, Mary Pickford was a force to be reckoned with in the film business. She was one of the first "name" stars of the silent era. She was one of the first stars to earn a million dollars at a time when the average salary of the working man was less than $100 a month. She was also one of the first stars to have her own production company. By 1919 she was pioneering further with the founding of a new studio with her partners, D.W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin and her partner in life, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Mary Pickford was, for a time, the biggest star of the movies. Known in the early years as "The Girl with the Curls," (this was before name billing), she was later identified as "Little Mary." A sign bearing the legend "Little Mary Here Today" was enough to bring crowds in to the nickelodeon.
Mary Pickford is best remembered and stereotyped as playing little girl characters. There is no mistake, she made many films playing an adolescent. She was capable of and did so much more than that. In the early Biograph years, she played a wide variety of roles, indian squaws, married women, artists and everything in between. In films that she produced, she played mischevious children, teenagers and mature women. She did this very well, the spunky hoydenish girl, the tough street kid, a young boy (and his mother), the daughter of a beloved cop on the beat and the orphan mother to a brood of younger children. Pickford could, and did, do it all. She was a skilled actress and one who was mature well beyond her young age. Pickford showed great poise, enormous depth and an economy of gestures uncommon in the early days of film. She honed her craft with a keen eye and a sense of pride in doing the absolute best she could, for herself and her fans. Fans, one might add, that numbered in the millions. She had fans from every country across the globe.
As a producer, she took great care with her productions, always aware and economical with a dollar due to the crushing poverty of her early years as the main family breadwinner (a role she never stopped playing), her film productions were oppulant and beautifully staged. She was a pioneer and able businesswoman, she crossed swords with the best and worst of the producers and film moguls, and usually won.
In the end and late in life, Pickford misjudged thinking her films would not hold up and would be silly and antique to future generations. She was intent on burning them and destroying the negatives. Happily, her good friend Lillian Gish talked her out of this drastic deed. Through the aegis of the Mary Pickford Foundation and their partnership with Milestone Film and Video, many of Mary Pickford's films can be seen by the home viewer on DVD. To those lucky enough to attend film festivals around the world, her pictures are regularly shown. Thanks to the hard work of film preservationists, Pickford's charm will never be lost. She was a pioneer, she was a fine actress and artist, she was a leading figure in the film community, she was studio mogul, and a very astute businesswoman. In the end, she will remain, Little Mary Pickford, America's Sweetheart.
Happy Birthday Mary Pickford, you're still one of the greatest stars.
Here is one of Mary's finest early performances, posted here previously, the 1912 film The New York Hat.
