rebecca of sunnybrook farm ( 1917 film )
rebecca of sunnybrook farm (1917) - - mary pickford, dir. by marshall neilan
rebecca of sunnybrook farm (1917) - - mary pickford, dir. by marshall neilan - youtube
rebecca of sunnybrook farm is a 1932 film based on the 1903 children' s classic novel by kate douglas wiggin .
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rebecca of sunnybrook farm gives a great crash course in pickford, but it lacks any thrust or memorable qualities outside of pickford’s presence. it’s like a day on a farm, basic if not pleasant overall .
the poor little rich girl (1917 film by m. tourneur with mary pickford )
rebecca of sunnybrook farm moves along in perfect unison, devoid of padding, minus the wastage of one foot of film, engrossing and impressive, yet with perfect accord in its relation to suspense and cumulative appeal .
“at least for a little while, pleasanton saw a lot of hollywood companies come to shoot in town, ” said david kiehn, historian for the niles essanay film museum. “mary pickford kind of kicked it all off with ‘rebecca of sunnybrook farm’ in 1917. ”
in the film version, rebecca is played by mary pickford, who arrived in june 1917 and stayed for a few weeks, officially marking the city’s heyday of the silent film era .
like many american films of the time, rebecca of sunnybrook farm was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. the chicago board of censors required a cut of the intertitle
i have just learned the simpsons are not married .
mary pickford film corporation production; distributed by artcraft pictures corporation. / produced by mary pickford. scenario by frances marion, from the play adaptation rebecca of sunnybrook farm by kate douglas wiggin and charlotte thompson of the novel rebecca of sunnybrook farm by kate douglas wiggin. art direction by wilfred buckland. assistant director, dudley blanchard. photographed (cinematography) by walter stradling. / © 4 september 1917 by artcraft pictures corporation [ lp11348 ]. released 22 september 1917. / standard 35mm spherical 1. 33: 1 format. / the film was rereleased in the usa in june 1920 .
like many american films of the time, rebecca of sunnybrook farm was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. the chicago board of censors required a cut of the intertitle
i have just learned the simpsons are not married .
[ 5 ]
a successful persona pigeonholed actors into various features, so repetition in film plots isn’t new. with filmmaking still in its infancy in 1917 films didn’t repeat themselves so much as live in the skin of a previous success, and pickford’s films can get stale very quickly. watching rebecca of sunnybrook farm after the poor little rich girl deviates slightly, albeit from the character’s monetary background, but it’s hard wiping away the stain of other films. if you’ve watched shirley temple’s take on the material, rebecca of sunnybrook farm’s treasure chest has been revealed .
rebecca of sunnybrook farm (1917) starring: mary pickford, eugene o' brien, helen jerome, marjorie daw, charles ogle, mayme kelso, jane wolfe, josephine crowell, jack mcdonald, violet wilkey, emma gordes directed by marshall neilan william thomas sherman, wts @ gunjones. com, urltoken
it was filmed by fox film corporation and directed by alfred santell. the film starred marian nixon as rebecca and co - starred ralph bellamy .
local historian charles huff said the filming made an impression on the town. he even came across a pink ribbon handed out to residents exclaiming, “i was there for the filming of rebecca of sunnybrook farm. ” and some even participated directly on the project .
england, george allan (1917), the greater crime, london: cassell and co .
the area’s history was not lost to paula wujek, who knew for several years that “rebecca of sunnybrook farm” was filmed in the city. as a fan of kate douglas wiggin’s story, which was published in 1903, wujek thought it would make a great play .
rebecca of sunnybrook farm moves along in perfect unison, devoid of padding, minus the wastage of one foot of film, engrossing and impressive, yet with perfect accord in its relation to suspense and cumulative appeal. in adapting the kate douglas wiggin book for the screen, frances marion wrought well. the original story has been retained, [ … ]
“then it came back to me, ” the director said, recalling the process of deciding which play to produce as part of the pleasanton civic arts stage company program this year. “rebecca of sunnybrook farm” will be performed may 6 to 15 at the firehouse arts center. two casts of 19 members each — including professional actors — will take on the tale of the gregarious farm girl sent to the city to live with her two aunts .
the american film institute catalog feature films: 1911 - 20 by the american film institute, c. 1988
survival status: prints exist in the ucla film and television archive film archive [ 35mm preservation positive ]; and in the mary pickford institute for film education film collection [ 35mm duplicate negative, 35mm duplicate positives ] .
after rebecca (shirley temple) is mistakenly rejected at an audition for a radio advertising campaign, her stepfather takes her upstate to stay at sunnybrook farm with her aunt miranda (helen westley), who bans her from show business. meanwhile, advertising exec tony kent (randolph scott) desperately searches for rebecca, who he has only heard, unaware that she' s on the farm next to his. tony' s search is interrupted by many things - - including rebecca' s attractive cousin, gwen (gloria stuart) .
a young girl from sunnybrook goes to live with her wealthy relatives and falls in love with a doctor .
crew: silent. (b & w) available on dvd. extract of a review from 1917. running time: 74 min .
exhibitors herald (jun - dec 1917): exhibitors herald co. : free download, borrow, and streaming: internet archive
mary pickford made a lot of films in 1917 when she was about 25, this time she played a teenager rather than a child which was a change. she plays rebecca, who is sent to live with her unsunny aunt, luckily rebecca has the sunshine everyone needs. this was a nicely amusing film and i felt more comfortable seeing pickford play someone a little closer to her age .
rebecca of sunnybrook farm is way too episodic in nature and some of its subplots aren' t as well incorporated, but it mostly works as an adaptation as it is well directed, well acted and well shot and it works as a great time capsule. the ending is so sweet and rewarding, the film is so charming and endearing and it benefits from mary pickford' s marvelous performance as she steals the show here with her obvious charm and plenty of charisma .
is one of these figures and pickford makes the biblical moral of the story explicit in the opening logo of the 1922 film version .
hollywood loves the simplicity of recycling. what works for one star will surely work for another, and so it was when the studio discovered another pint - sized sprite with sausage curls: shirley temple. temple was groomed and marketed as the next mary pickford so it stands to reason many of temple’s films were previously pickford vehicles, like rebecca of sunnybrook farm. based on the novel and play by kate douglas wiggin this thinly plotted tale of a country girl grasping the mores of society will please fans of little women or, another pickford film, pollyanna .
hollywood loves the simplicity of recycling. what works for one star will surely work for another, and so it was when the studio discovered another pint - sized sprite with sausage curls: shirley temple. temple was groomed and marketed as the next mary pickford so it stands to reason many of temple’s films were previously pickford vehicles, like rebecca of sunnybrook farm. based on the novel and play by kate douglas wiggin this thinly plotted tale of a country girl grasping the mores of society will please fans of little women or, another pickford film, pollyanna .
what: “rebecca of sunnybrook farm” when: 7: 30 p. m. may 6, 7, 13 and 14; 2 p. m. may 7, 8, 14 and 15 where: firehouse arts center, 4444 railroad ave. , pleasanton cost: tickets range from $ 6 - $ 18 and can be purchased at urltoken, or call 924 - 931 - 4848
“the grim entrance of the penitentiary filled him with exultation. its very massiveness and all the ingenious safeguards thrown about the unhappy victims of an insane social system spoke to him of his own safety. ” (england 1917: 169 )
rebecca doesn’t know what to make of this girl, but soon she’s jabbing the point - end of her umbrella in minnie’s solar plexus, backing her down .
with her family in financial difficulties, rebecca is sent to live with her two strict, unfeeling aunts, who do not appreciate the young girl' s charm and energy. rebecca must make new... see full summary »
note: a young zasu pitts had a role as an extra in the film .
when the film was complete, the executives at famous players - lasky / paramount (including studio heads adolph zukor and jesse l. lasky) disliked the final result so much that they considered not releasing the movie at all. pickford and marion were devastated by the news–marion especially was worried that her involvement had somehow “ruined” mary’s career. but when the film was finally screened in new york, it was an instant hit with audiences, and marion was contracted (for a large salary) to write future films for pickford. and because of the success of the poor little rich girl, the conceit of pickford playing a child for the length of the film was repeated in their next two collaborations, rebecca of sunnybrook farm, released six months later, and the little princess, released a mere two months after that .
as described in a film magazine, rebecca randall (pickford) is taken into the home of her aunt hannah (eddy), a strict new england woman. rebecca meets adam ladd (o' brien), a young man of the village, and they become great friends. one day rebecca promises to marry adam when she becomes of age. unable to withstand her pranks any longer, her aunt sends her away to a boarding school. she graduates a beautiful young lady. shortly thereafter, adam demands a fulfillment of her promise .
as described in a film magazine, [ 4 ] rebecca randall (pickford) is taken into the home of her aunt hannah (eddy), a strict new england woman. rebecca meets adam ladd (o' brien), a young man of the village, and they become great friends. one day rebecca promises to marry adam when she becomes of age. unable to withstand her pranks any longer, her aunt sends her away to a boarding school. she graduates a beautiful young lady. shortly thereafter, adam demands a fulfillment of her promise .
rebecca of sunnybrook farm was the first film version of the kate douglas wiggin novel and play. mary pickford, 23 years old but looking at least ten years younger, stars as the spunky little girl who is left with her tight - lipped aunt helen jerome eddy by her impoverished mother. it' s an uphill battle, but rebecca manages to spread a little sunshine around the staid new england community where her aunt resides. her reward comes when she is
all grow' d up ,
at which time she falls in love with handsome eugene o' brien. yes, we know that none of this happens in the 1938 shirley temple version. remember, though, that mary pickford could play a little girl who grows up in the course of a single film, while shirley was stuck at age 9, whether she liked it or not .
tony, a necessary piece on one of the women who helped us rethink notions of the female early in film history. such a fine piece of research and impassioned thinking .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
rebecca randall is adopted by her stern maiden aunts, emma jane perkins and miranda sawyer, to relieve her mother, who has six other children to rear. rebecca' s girlish antics severely try her cranky old aunts, who finally pack her off to boarding school. she returns a young lady and wins the heart of adam ladd, an upstanding young man. rebecca' s happiness is clouded when aunt miranda passes away, but as the months pass, sunshine returns to her life when the mortgage is paid on her mother' s farm and she marries adam .
a growing source of silent era film information. this listing is from the progressive silent film list by carl bennett. copyright © 1999 - 2018 by carl bennett and the silent era company. all rights reserved .
rebecca randall (pickford) leaves her mother and six siblings to go live with her two aunts. rebecca tries to do right but finds herself at odds with her aunts law and order policy and a snooty rival named minnie smellie (violet wilkey) .
superlatives, so indiscriminately used with reference to pictures in many instances, seem inadequate in properly approximating the transcendent merit of the latest artcraft production, ‘rebecca of sunnybrook farm, ’ with mary pickford in the titular role. it is a master work that is going to stand supreme in its particular niche for several years to come. … miss pickford plays as she never played before, varying lights and shades to elicit the major interest, tearful at one moment and laughing the next, holding the auditor at all times in mute admiration .
everything remains consistently upbeat – even the death of rebecca’s aunt has an air of happiness and peace to it – so there’s little reason to fear for rebecca or wager any stakes. things are focused on exploring the vivacity of youth and teaching children proper manners. the aimless plot can lead to watch watching since there’s no three - act structure or momentum .
the play follows rebecca through her new life, as she encounters the mean queen bee of the school, millie smellia, and learns to live more like a lady .
a silent film about a women who seduces a married man which in turn leads to deadly consequences .
to pay homage, wujek said the set will incorporate both stills from the film and other historic shots of pleasanton during the time period. and to educate the cast about the location’s heritage, wujek introduced them to the silent film .
but rebecca acclimates to life rather quickly, and though the aunts and her continue butting heads that’s not really the plot of the movie. rebecca and her friend emma jane perkins (marjorie daw) do a good turn for a neighbor by saving soap premiums, the group puts on a circus, and then rebecca’s grown and ready for marriage with adam ladd (eugene o’brien) – you have no idea how many times i almost spelled alan ladd .
britton, andrew (2009), britton on film. detroit, michigan: wayne state university press .
the exhibit is located on the fourth floor of the lightbox, in the new canadian film gallery, and features some 300 items, including photographs, posters, memorabilia, postcards, and products endorsed by pickford, assembled over a 30 - year period by private collector rob brooks. it’s curated by sylvia frank, director of the toronto international film festival’s film reference library and special collections .
marion was hired to write the film at pickford’s insistence, and the two of them conspired to add elements of comedy (a mud fight, playful antics in the girl’s bathroom) to lighten the relatively dark source material–much to the disgust of the film’s director, maurice tourneur. tourneur had the reputation of being a gruff, sometimes combative director, and he clashed frequently with the seasoned star of the film. he wanted the film to adhere more closely to the original play; pickford, supported by marion, felt the play was too dreary and needed moments of laughter so as not to weigh down the final product. in the end, of course, pickford won .
reconstruction of the last indian rebellion of mocovíes in san javier, north of the province of santa fe, in 1904. silent movie .
the productions from thanhouser' s mature period, 1915 - 1917, clearly show the advancements that set the stage for the first cinematic golden age, the 1920s. such advances are evident in this... see full summary »
pleasanton — pleasanton is proud of its prominent place in the silent film industry in the early part of the 20th century. the city even boasts about its distinction as the former “hollywood of the north” on its website .
with her family in financial difficulties, rebecca is sent to live with her two strict, unfeeling aunts, who do not appreciate the young girl' s charm and energy. rebecca must make new friends and must adjust to surroundings that are sometimes difficult. but she still finds time to think of numerous ways to help others in her new hometown .
works of astor piazzolla, antonio vivaldi, manuel de falla, niccolo paganini, fernando sor, and maria newman... and a little taste of mahma :
tender hearts
( 1909 silent short film) starring america' s sweetheart, mary pickford performed with music live to the film .
their most important collaboration may have been the 1917 film the poor little rich girl, which marion adapted from the same - named 1913 play by eleanor gates. the movie became the biggest hit of pickford’s career up to that point, and with its release, marion became the highest - paid screenwriter in hollywood, while pickford further secured control of her own career in a way that few actors–male or female–had been able to do .
( 1917). her repertoire was far more varied. even her child roles revealed an independent sense of self - reliance and struggle against the harsh conditions of human existence whether familial or social that belied any attempt to confine her significance to fantasized images of childhood. although these appear to be the dominant image of the actress they are not in the majority and within these roles are important sites of contestation and contradiction that deserve further examination .
this 1914 production belongs very much to the socially critical films of the pre - wwi era, but incorporation of romantic motifs with biblical precepts contained in the source novel prevents the film from realizing its more radical potentials. hollywood could not allow the appearance of a film that condemned a system permitting class oppression and the neo - starvation of the less well - off members of society. the original 1909 source novel by grace miller white who lived in ithaca for most of her life exhibits both a feminist sensibility as well as condemnation of the hypocritical practices of the affluent class who may read their bible but do not practice its precepts, a motif that appears in the opening caption of the 1922 film version .
tony williams is professor and area head of film studies in the department of english, southern illinois university at carbondale. he has recently published the second edition of george a. romero: knight of the living dead (new york: columbia university press, 2015). references
rebecca’s like a ginseng cure to the closed and quietly unhappy lives of her guardians; like marilla cuthbert or daddy warbucks, they unfurl in the presence of the child; returning to balance. but we don’t see much of this going on; we mostly just witness its results. in
mary’s rebecca is a plucky little girl with boundless energy and a kind heart, and rebecca’s charms as a feature are due to pickford’s vivacity. more so than in the poor little rich girl you buy into pickford’s trick of acting younger, maybe because director marshall neilan lights and frames her in a way that makes her as youthful as she is gorgeous (or maybe it was the benefits of a better print) .
ross, steven j. (1998), working - class hollywood: silent film and the shaping of class in america, new jersey: princeton university press .
( 1919) that depicts the railroading of another victim of the social system. the film’s nominal hero william turner (kenneth harlan) must have also shared the feelings of england’s main character when he began his one year sentence in the penitentiary .
chris edwards captures in words the essence of what the silent camera captures on film .
shirley hughes founder, executive director toronto silent film festival
as a long - time member of the toronto film society and its board of directors, i find it refreshing to read chris edwards' reviews of silent films. his writing is unique, personal, and thoughtful. he has a quick sense of humour and catches details others miss. having seen many of the films chris reviews, i look forward to reading what he has to say about them on his blog .
caren feldman seminar chairperson toronto film society
actions speak louder at this blog .
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( 1926) is one of the star’s major cinematic achievements. undoubtedly influenced by german cinematography, the film combines expressionist horror with the social dickensian features of pickford’s earlier films. it not only anticipates clint eastwood’s
williams, anne (1995) art of darkness: a poetics of gothic. chicago: the university of chicago press .
customers and clerks frolic in a general store. roscoe walks out of the freezer wearing a fur coat, then does some clever cleaver tossing. in buster' s film debut he buys a pail of molasses .
huff, an architect, said some of pleasanton’s downtown area was featured as backdrops in the film, including the church at second and neal streets, a former presbyterian place of worship that now is lighthouse baptist church .
with her family in trouble rebecca is sent to live with her aunts. she finds it difficult to fit in and doesn' t get along with her aunts. music: kevin macleod
role: rebecca randall co - stars: eugene o’brien, helen jerome eddy, charles ogle prod / dist co: mary pickford film corporation / artcraft pictures corporation director: marshall neilan screenwriter: frances marion, based on the 1909 play by charlotte thompson and kate douglas wiggin, adapted from the 1903 novel by kate douglas wiggin cinematographer: walter stradling filming location: exterior scenes shot in pleasanton, ca. farm house scenes shot in gladwyne, pa and at nearby valley forge studios; interiors shot at famous players - lasky studio at 1520 vine st. in hollywood, ca .
fab article! i adore mary pickford! i hope netflix has a silent film category in the near future. i’d love that. 🙂
pickford is charming and very funny here. i don' t really understand why rebecca hates millie smellie except for her awful name, but honestly that' s on millie' s parents .
evidence within many films suggests a much more self - aware actress often understanding the nature of the roles she played and their artificial constructions. while mary was no brechtian actress certain opening scenes suggests a particular type of self - awareness. the first version of her favorite film
the story of the training of a racehorse, the whip, of the amnesiac nobleman who loves the horse, and of the villains who attempt to keep it from racing .
a stranger comes to work at widow halla' s farm. halla and the stranger fall in love, but when he is revealed as eyvind, an escaped thief forced into crime by his family' s starvation, they... see full summary »
at about the eight - minute mark, pickford demonstrates hers. after rebecca arrives in riverboro, but before she meets her aunts, she’s accosted by the town’s reigning alpha - tween: minnie smellie
barely an hour the feature wanders from scene to scene with little connection then rebecca randall herself. her aunts try to instill proper manners into her which rebecca resists. fun comedy arises when rebecca is denied dinner and, while taking the dishes into the kitchen, tries to sneak a bite. a religious sign on the wall chastises her with “thou shalt not steal” causing rebecca to quickly put her hands behind her back before a contradictory message – “god helps those who help themselves” – inspires her to eat. the silent medium perfectly played up pickford’s comedic timing regarding facial expressions and hand gestures. her sideways glances, puckered lips and sneaky hands illustrate a rambunctious little girl far more clever than the average kid. and this scene, in particular, provides a nice little jab at religion’s mixed messages .
rebecca goes on to have many adventures: selling soap door - to - door to help the needy; staging a frighteningly dangerous circus show manned by children; using visitor’s day to debut her poem about minnie’s impending beatdown in front of their class, teachers, and town elders. each scene works as a self - contained piece of comedy, more or less, but all you can really say for them is that pickford’s front and centre, and consistently good. likewise for rebecca’s few moments of true pathos, though if you ask me, neilan never wanted us to feel moved by them, at least for long. the film’s too aware of its own silliness, its own contrivances, to ask for sympathy. it’s rather modern that way .
viewers of this film would have been well familiar with the original novel as well as interpreting the gestures of those on the screen. tess does not want frederick to think the baby is hers but is honor bound to keep “a woman’s secret. ”
featuring harvest music festival artists performing exceptional works of j. s. bach, joaquin turina, gabriel faure, gioachino rossini, rebecca clarke, william bolcom, max janowski, ernest bloch, aminadav aloni, bela bartok, edgar allan poe, and maria newman
mary’s last film secrets (1933), directed by frank borzage, reveals her as an accomplished actress ageing from youth to old age mourning her deceased baby in an earlier scene in the best traditions of silent film acting. the film was not commercially successful, a factor which probably had more to do with the great depression affecting audience attendance than her acting in general. a new era had arrived, cinematically and historically, that would render her stardom anachronistic (through no fault of her own) leading to her decision to retire from the screen. [ 10 ]
niccolo paganini: sonata concertata maria newman: chilmark trio mary pickford in: tender hearts (1909 silent film)... also featuring solo works for guitar
( 1914) opens with a glamorous image of the star very different from her urchin performance as if emphasizing the difference between star charisma and the role that she plays in the film, one far from glamorous .
i' m a college student getting my master' s in english, but dreams of getting an additional degree in film. i' m a movie reviewer for several sites, but i also write classic film reviews for several other sites. i stretch myself pretty thin these days. you can usually find me at a bookstore, or a movie theater. i dream of the day when the two are combined. i base a lot of my friendships on favorite movies .
for those who have seen as many of her films as possible and overcome the misleading stereotype of saccharine innocence the comments of james card are very relevant .
suds (1920) saw mary undertaking another non - glamorous role as a cockney laundress in london’s east end. despite dreams of upward mobility, the film emphasizes that such fantasies are not realizable. suds states this moral in two scenes. one is a fantasy scene with the glamorous mary who, like the other aristocrats, speaks in working - class lingo, and the other later expresses her realization that no solid relationship can happen with the upper class man of her dreams. “it came to her, swiftly, poignantly – he would be ashamed of her. ” at the end of the film suds is seen happily enjoying the company of her working - class boyfriend and the horse she has rescued from the glue factory suggesting the earlier fantasy’s associations with freud’s 1917 “escape fantasy” of the “family romance” thus placing it within the category of those fictions that “allow one to come to terms with the real world through stories about the past – about the origins and history of self and community” (williams 1995: 89). life may be grim in mary’s working class worlds but it is far better to struggle against the harsh realities of everyday existence than indulging in impossible dreams of class mobility .
this is the pinnacle of the entire novel and the 1914 film version. however, author and star cannot consciously follow the implications of this scene, one that would lead towards forming an alternative working - class marxist feminist community. instead, all versions must submit to the tenets of the dominant ideology of capitalist society and move towards that inevitable, but false, happy ending .
adapted from frances hodgson’s burnett’s novel by frances marion but directed by one of mary’s key directors marshall neilan, a little princess (1917) is a version of the cinderella story in reverse as well as a nightmare of downward mobility. following the loss of her father in india, the orphaned sara crewe loses her privileged status in miss minchin’s boarding school and is cast into the bottom of the social pit becoming a menial servant like working - class cockney becky whom she earlier befriended despite class differences. as she said to her earlier speaking lines anticipating her fall from upper - class grace into working class hell, “i’m only a little girl like you, becky, and it’s just an accident that i’m not you and you’re not me. ” yet accidents do happen in film and real life as sara abruptly discovers when she finds herself one of jack london’s the people of the abyss .
figure of gustav von seyffertiz’s mr. grimes) but also by savage carnivorous alligators. at the end of
[ … ] those which reveal other forms of less privileged lives. ” examining the films of mary pickford, tony williams writes of her transcendent acting and ingenious deployment of celebrity with an observant sympathy that [ … ]
the film moves to its climax. teola dies in the church with her dead baby in her arms. tess rejects the hypocritical upper - class community. however, for 1922, a more affirmative and non - political ending must occur. elias openly admits that tess has taught him “the true meaning of charity. ” if the film does not conclude like the original novel and the 1914 film version with “but i air your squatter, ” the 1922 adaptation reveals that any happy ending for these lovers of different classes is totally absurd and illusory. it ends outside tess’ hut with she and frederick blissfully embracing knee deep in snow !
( 1929) was the only film in which fairbanks and pickford co - starred and one which they both expressed dissatisfaction with later. however, in retrospect, this is one of the better early sound films made and far superior to
child - like mary pickford is a poor girl from a large family sent to live with her grouchy aunts. her mischievous but cheerful ways transform their lives and the lives of the town in the usual fashion for stories of this nature. there is some good fun here, mostly thanks to pickford’s boundless charm and energy, despite a story that, even in 1917, was utterly cliche. pickford made a career out of playing this role over and over again, but watching her play it, you can see how achieved such popularity .
[ 8 ] for a very fine analysis on mary pickford’s acting see eileen whitfield 2012: 7 - 20. she describes the role of tess (1914) on paper as not only resembling “a schizophrenic mess of clashing traits” (8) but also pickford’s portrayal as exhibiting “the soul of modern acting in the first great performance of feature film” (20; for pickford’s affinity with the plight of the unfortunates in society and her portrayals of the less fortunate see also 15, note 7). for pickford’s awareness of the flaws of several directors including porter and her acute awareness of the intricacies of film production see brownlow 2012: 35. despite demille’s pompous reference to her supposed “right - to - work” support in his introduction to her autobiography, brownlow mentions ample evidence for her consideration of others on set, preferential treatment to union members in hiring, and being “among the few who signed up for the closed - shop agreement” (brownlow 2012: 42, note 39) .
yet, her films contain both recognition of the harsh side of existence for poor people and a desire to alleviate sufferings. no matter how sentimental and overtly religious her sensibilities may seem to viewers today, she never denied the existence of another side of life and to her credit exhibited the darker side of american society in many of her films
_ _ _ (2012), “the natural: transitions in mary pickford’s acting from the footlights to her greatest role in film, ” in schmidt (ed .) 2012 .
is a self - aware film as if star, screenwriter, and director fully understood what must be repressed to create the illusion of hollywood stardom. the contrasting glamor and naturalistic cinematic techniques used to depict both heroines are revealing in themselves .
many of mary’s films reveal what patrick mcgilligan has described elsewhere about the actor as auteur. although she valued the skills of her many collaborators, “with few exceptions, mary chose directors who were capable but passive. through them, pickford’s vision would shape the film” (whitfield 1997: 237) .
if you want to reach me with recommendations for silent films, or for other film - related stuff, email chris [ dot ] scott [ dot ] edwards @ gmail. com .
a couple recounted their brushes with fame in newspaper stories of the time: emma oliveira received a 48 - star flag used as a film prop for allowing the crew to shoot a horse riding across her lawn; beuford hall was helped by pickford after he fell off his bicycle in front of her .
[ 6 ] in her 1959 canadian broadcast corporation interview, she stated that the 1914 version of tess of the storm country was the one feature she was really proud of .
[ 10 ] as brownlow (1999: 247) points out, “the film opened in twenty - five key cities the very day president roosevelt declared a bank holiday. the public had largely lost interest in pickford, as it had with many other great silent stars, and wanted new faces and personalities that seemed to be more in step with the new styles and attitudes of the 1930s. the film was a financial disaster. ”
“pluck is the operative word for the film and no real attempt is made to deal with social inequities except as something to be personally overcome. yet mary’s characters did not advocate passivity. in
the umbrella but concludes a series of subtler actions. first are the nervous glances rebecca darts toward the girls; intercut with wilkey’s own stern, unchanging and aggressive face. rebecca’s eyebrows rise and her mouth pulls down to a pout; she sizes up minnie and her followers, then turns attention to her own hat, umbrella, and shoes; realizing they’re the cause of minnie’s scorn. now her mouth tightens and she holds her chin high in defiance. snaps her head to one side as a threat. turns away. no words are spoken here, even through intertitles, but no one could misunderstand. emotions flow over pickford’s face like liquid .
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cast: mary pickford [ rebecca randall ], eugene o’brien [ adam ladd ], helen jerome eddy [ hannah randall ], charles ogle [ mr. cobb ], marjorie daw [ emma jane perkins ], mayme kelso [ aunt jane sawyer ], jane wolff [ mrs. randall, rebecca’s mother ], josephine crowell [ aunt miranda sawyer ], jack mcdonald [ reverend jonathan smellie ], violet wilkey [ minnie smellie ], frank turner [ mr. simpson ], kate toncray [ mrs. simpson ], emma gerdes [ clara belle simpson ], zasu pitts
according to a newspaper article of the time, directors spoke highly of the city, with one metro motion picture company representative calling it an “ideal spot for a certain class of picture work. ”
card, james (2012), “the films of mary pickford, ” in christel schmidt (ed .), mary pickford: queen of the movies, lexington: university of kentucky press .
s ends with mary now adopted by a rich benefactor in the same way as oliver twist, leading her flock in a rendition of “shall we gather at the river, ” john ford’s favorite hymn which he often used to express the utopian ideals of a society that very rarely lived up to its promises. at this point of film history, the hope exists that some segments of society may achieve a better life even though it is only represented on the cinema screen .
references: film credits, film viewing: afi - f1 n. f1. 3648; eyman - pickford pp. 14, 330; fell - history p. 84; higashi - virgins pp. 43, 46, 47, 48, 49 - 50; leish - cinema p. 29; shipman - cinema p. 61; sinyard - silent p. 75: website - legacy; website - pickford .
in adapting the kate douglas wiggin book for the screen, frances marion wrought well. the original story has been retained, with the necessary elaboration. compared with the dramatic production, which was excellently done, the screen version seems magnitudinous. the story is of rebecca, a member of a large family, who is sent to the home of her aunts for rearing, ultimately inheriting their estate, and, incidentally, marrying the finest young man in the town. it attained its great popularity through its fidelity in picturing the atmosphere of new england .
“we watched the movie as a cast during one of the rehearsals, ” she said. “that was a lot of fun. ”
rowe, kathleen (1995), the unruly woman: gender and the genres of laughter, austin: university of texas press .
one of the breeziest, purely funniest pickford films around. it’s more a collection of one - reeler comedies than a whole movie, and i suspect a lot of its source material is missing here (i haven’t read the book). what is intact is rebecca randall (pickford): the second of seven children, raised by a widowed mom with little money; precocious, bright, but unappreciated; selected to move to riverboro, maine, to live with her spinster aunts: the fearsome disciplinarian, miranda, and the heartbroken milquetoast, jane .
one cannot and should not expect to find any traces of revolutionary tendencies in the films of mary pickford, let alone the writings of john bunyan. the actress remained conservative during her life and career .
[ after his parents have left, thinking he is ill ]
they bought it. incredible! one of the worst performances of my…
the parents of five children were killed when a car made a turn in front of their motorcycles during a ride in the minnesota countryside .
alcoholic lawyer sydney carton travels to paris during the reign of terror to rescue french aristocrat charles darnay, husband of the woman he loves .
schmidt, christel (ed .) (2012), mary pickford: queen of the movies, lexington: university of kentucky press .
but is evident to any perceptive viewer. speaking of a god who accounts for every sparrow in the world (hence the film’s title), molly reveres a christian savior good shepherd who will welcome a dead baby into a better world than the one it left. as in many of mary’s films, religion has more of a social gospel connotation, one neglected in her era and even more today. she is an impoverished rural virgin mary tending her flock in the hope of some unexpected form of salvation and she leads them into the wilderness of the swamp where they are threatened not only by satan (who already exists in the monstrous
( 1920) but also another biograph - type social expose of the baby farms where illegitimate offspring of unwed mothers and prostitutes were deposited to work as slave laborers or sold to farmers for the same purpose. mary’s molly is the oldest of this group who acts as mother to foundlings of different ages, whether babies or younger kids, and who teaches them biblical axioms to help them survive the harsh conditions of their existence. as the dvd audio - commentary mentions, they are all abused children and the film hints at a condition that now cannot be explicitly revealed as in
members of the upper class regularly frequent alexander nyberg' s elegant establishment. affairs of the heart and misunderstandings create the comedic scenarios that accompany the guests. based on the gustav esmann play of the same name .
like the savior whose humanitarian teachings she reveres, tess now understands that due to her promise to keep teola’s illegitimate birth secret, she is now to bear a no - less stigmatized version of “bearing the sin” of a hypocritically social world. one of the most powerful passages in the novel follows one that could not be articulated in any silent film caption but suggested by contemporary conventions of silent screen performance. tess defiantly responds to frederick’s attitude by telling him explicitly to mind his “damn business” over her supposed illegitimate action .
( 1926), are hailed as high art. yet pickford was massively talented; a formidable physical comedienne and dramatic mime, and she’s in total command in this film; so much so that i sensed we were seeing the ‘real’ mary onscreen. rebecca is more than the stubborn, plucky waif of pickford’s lesser films—she has an edge and doesn’t suffer fools, and the look on her face when she meets one isn’t couched. pickford must have had this steely streak in her. she was a businessperson, as well as an artist—a very driven human being. neilan witnessed this, and at times, probably suffered its consequences. with
a restless young girl yearns to leave her rural environment and
get away from it all
. one day she stumbles upon a film crew shooting a western near her home. she makes friends with the... see full summary »
( 1920), a role pickford hated (marion 1972: 67). in addition to slapstick scenes is the line spoken by the heroine about wanting to marry a missionary when she grows up since they are easy to cook for because they don’t eat much, a line expressing both skepticism for the delusion of calls to the ministry as much as society’s material rewards for such dedication. mary does not remain in the realm of childhood at the end of the film but is last seen as a mother with a brood of children. her child roles often look forward to adulthood with the continuation of youthful resilient qualities. earlier in
works best as a slapstick shakespearian comedy with doug’s petruchio being an exaggerated version of those swashbuckling heroes he played in his heyday and mary being a mature version of those spitfire roles she was well - known for in the silent era. as brownlow points out, “she is both funny and, at the end of the bedroom scene, touching. and her close - ups, lit by karl struss, are ravishing” (1999: 236). furthermore, her tongue - in - cheek delivery of spousal obedience delivered at the end of the film to bride - to - be bianca (dorothy jordan) reveal much of the accomplished controlled businesswoman she was in everyday life. despite mary’s reservations, this is one of the best of her early sound films and had the real - life partnership with fairbanks continued, one could envisage them appearing in several screwball comedies and perhaps pioneering
. adopted from a turgid and verbose novel by british writer william j. locke, the film narrates two parallel narratives dealing with girls from different class backgrounds both played by mary herself. stella maris is the beautiful bed - ridden ward of lord and lady blount who aim to conceal from her the ugly realities of everyday existence. shot in the lighting style designed to elevate mary’s glamorous image, stella represents a combination of those fragile heroines from nineteenth century literature such as dora from charles dickens’s
[ 7 ] i quote the line “films of social conscience” from the actual dust jacket title since it aptly defines the relevant content of the author’s fine study .
in a boarding school for girls margarita is called to reception: the duchess widow of santauro, mother of margarita, has gone to take her out. her friend laura, the daughter of dr. reyes, ... see full summary »
pack your beach blanket for a bittersweet tale of love and summer' s magic .
a ranch foreman battles a rich stockbroker for the affections of a beautiful young woman .
among the simple fisher - folk of a little island off the west coast of scotland lives mactavish, head of a clan. here he rules as a chieftain and his word is law. one day a hurricane sweeps... see full summary »
for the purposes of this exploration the following silent films will be examined in terms of their exemplification of female characters emphasizing agency rather than passivity and who are aware of the vast extremes of affluence and poverty existing in society such as: tess of the storm country (1914 and 1922), stella maris, amarilly of clothes line alley (both 1918), heart o’the hills (1919), little annie rooney (1925), sparrows (1926), and my best girl (1927). the article concludes with comments on her generally neglected sound films such as coquette (1929), the taming of the shrew (1929), kiki (1931), and secrets (1933) in terms of the revealing contrasts to pickford’s recognizable screen image.
rebecca of sunnybrook farm is a 1917 american silent comedy-drama film directed by marshall neilan based upon the novel of the same name by kate douglas wiggin . this version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter frances marion . the film was made by the " mary pickford company " and was an acclaimed box office hit . when the play premiered on broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of rebecca was played by edith taliaferro . 
rebecca of sunnybrook farm is a 1917 american silent comedy-drama film directed by marshall neilan based upon the novel of the same name by kate douglas wiggin. this version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter frances marion. the film was made by the " mary pickford company " and was an acclaimed box office hit. when the play premiered on broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of rebecca was played by edith taliaferro.
rebecca of sunnybrook farm is a 1917 american silent comedy-drama film directed by marshall neilan based upon the novel of the same name by kate douglas wiggin. this version is notable for having been adapted by famed female screenwriter frances marion. the film was made by the " mary pickford company " and was an acclaimed box office hit. when the play premiered on broadway in the 1910 theater season the part of rebecca was played by edith taliaferro.