Phil attends MARY PICKFORD SHORT FILM NIGHT at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum-February 2, 2013

Mary Pickford (1892-1979)

It's been far to long since I've visited my friends over at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. located in the quaint Niles District in Fremont. However, Saturday's screening was a very special one. The museum was having a MARY PICKFORD SHORT FILM PROGRAM, and all the shorts were 35mm prints from the Library of Congress. Another cool bonus was that Christel Schmidt was on hand to talk about the short films and to autograph her new book Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies. After having dinner at my favorite Niles eatery Broncho Billy Pizza Palace, I made my way over to the museum to spend the night with America's Sweetheart.

After saying hi to all my friends at the museum, the night began with Christel welcoming the sold out crowd to the show! She informed the audience that they would be seeing a total of seven shorts with her talking about the films as well as about Mary Pickford's career.

SWEET AND TWENTY (1909): Mary stars as Alice, who jumps to the wrong conclusion when she sees her boyfriend Frank (Billy Quirk) kissing her sister (Florence Lawrence). Upset about losing Alice, he tells her he's going to drown himself, but Alice runs off and stops him and they kiss and make up. It's a cute little film, with Mary showing signs of greatness. The film was directed buy the legendary D.W. Griffith for the Biograph Company and released on July 22, 1909.

THEY WOULD ELOPE (1909): Another D.W. Griffith short film, Mary stars as Bessie. She and her boyfriend Harry (Billy Quirk once again) elope without the consent of her father (James Kirkwood). However, her father tricked them into running off, and after a series of hilarious missteps, the "happy couple" return home to have the father celebrating their marriage. Also making a cameo in the film is none other than Mack Sennett, the future Keystone Films ringmaster. Mary started off making a series of romantic comedies before becoming a dramatic actress. The Biograph Company released the film to theaters on August 9, 1909.

TRICK THAT FAILED (1909): Mary is Nellie Burt, a struggling artist whose paintings nobody wants to purchase. She tells her boyfriend Billy Hart (Arthur V. Johnson) that she can't marry until she sells her paintings. Seizing a brilliant idea, Billy asks his friend Hans Kessler (Anthony O'Sullivan) to buy them. However she soon learns the truth, and then accepts the proposal of a rival painter. Another great comedic performance by Pickford! Directed by  D.W. Griffith, Biograph released the film on November 29, 1909.

After a brief intermission, the show continued with:

Cover of Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies

THE SIMPLE CHARITY (1910): Starring Mary Pickford, W. Chrystie Miller, Kate Bruce, Edwin August, the film was directed by D.W. Griffith for the Biograph Company and released on November 10, 1910.

THE DREAM (1911): A  drunken lush husband enjoys a night out on the town and neglects his loving wife at home. When he finally comes home after an all-nighter, he mistreats her and totally disregards her love and affection. When he falls asleep, he dreams that his wife is the scandalous one and he's waiting for her at home. When he wakes up, he's a new man and loves his wife again. This was one of the first films that Mary starred in for her new employer Independent Moving Pictures (or IMP for short) and was directed by Thomas H. Ince. The film was released on January 23, 1911.

SWEET MEMORIES (1911): Polly Biblett (Pickford) is an elderly woman who looks back on her life; all the special events that happened to her as well as her dead husband. She shares these fond memories with her children and grandchildren. A sweet, touching short tha features the Pickford clan:  mother Charlotte Smith Pickford, daughter Mary Pickford, daughter Lottie Pickford, son Jack Pickford, and son-in-law Owen Moore. The film was directed by Thomas H. Ince (in 1915 he joined D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett to form the Triangle Motion Picture Company) and was released to theaters on March 27, 1911.

THE INFORMER (1912): The year 1912 marked her return to Biograph and once again making movies with D.W. Griffith. In this film Mary portrays the sweetheart of a Confederate Captain (Walter Miller), who after she's been informed that he was killed, is alive and being hunted by those damn Yankees. Soon she and her slaves are shooting at the Yankees while help is on the way. Fun fact: the child actor in the black face paint is Mary's younger brother Jack Pickford. This was a precursor to Griffith's 1915 film epic THE BIRTH OF A NATION. The film was released on November 12, 1912.

THE NEW YORK HAT (1912): Preacher Bolton (Lionel Barrymore) receives a letter from the deceased Mrs. Harding, who requests him to administer a small trust for her lovely daughter (Pickford) so she can enjoy some of the finer things in life that her father (Charles Hill Mailes) has always denied her. The pastor uses some of the trust to buy Mary a brand new hat (a New York hat) that she saw the other day. However, a group of gossip girls (not like the young girls on that TV show. These are old and prudish!) starts up the gossiping which puts Mary and the pastor at risk. This was Mary's last film for Biograph. The film was released to theaters on December 5, 1912.

And there you have it folks! An amazing night with Mary Pickford!! I got to see some really rare films, saw all my friends again, and had Christel Schmidt sign my copy of her book!! Remember the museum is open for tours every weekend from 12pm-4pm and every Saturday night there's a silent film show starting at 7:30 (doors open at 7pm). So if you would like to learn more about the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, becoming a member, and to view their film schedule, visit their website at www.nilesfilmmuseum.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees A ROMANCE OF THE REDWOODS at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum-Sept. 24, 2011

Once again I made my way back up to the Niles District of Fremont, where at the Edison Theater silent films are still being shown at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Tonight the museum was a showing rare Mary Pickford film, plus two shorts. Let's get this show started, shall we?

First short of the night was MAX JUGGLES FOR LOVE (1912) starring Max Linder. In the film, Max falls in love with a beautiful woman, but she will only marry him if he learns how to juggle! Really! I'm not making this up. So to all you ladies out there; is this how it works? I mean, I'm 38, single, and can't get a date. So if I need to learn how to juggle to meet a woman, then I'm gonna start practicing now! The film was released by Pathe in February in 1912.

The second film up was one of my favorite comedy shorts. FATTY AND MABEL ADRIFT (1916) stars Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, a cute couple who get married and live in a beach house. However a jealous ex teams up with some shady people and casts their beach house out to sea. Fatty and Mabel have great comedic chemistry together and it shows on the screen. Both are hilarious and lovable. The film was released by Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company on January 9, 1916.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1917)

After the intermission, the show continued with the main feature of the night. A ROMANCE OF THE REDWOODS (1917) was made by acclaimed director Cecil B. de Mille and starred America's Sweetheart Mary Pickford. In the film Pickford portrays Jenny Lawrence, who travels out west to live with her uncle. However, her uncle is killed by Indians and his identity is stolen by a stage robber named "Black" Brown (Elliot Dexter). As with all his films, de Mille lays in on the moral lesson. Pickford is amazing and beautiful in the film. Her acting was marvelous!

Some interesting facts about the film. It was shot at Boulder Creek in  in Santa Cruz County, and filmed on the sets built by the California Motion Picture Company for their film SALOMY JANE in 1914. Also, most of the film's $135,000 budget went to pay Pickford's salary: $96,666.67! Fortunately, the film went on to gross $424,719. Two years later, she along with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chapli, and D.W. Griffith would form United Artists. The film was released by Artcraft Pictures (which was owned by Paramount Pictures) on May 14, 1917.

A great night at the museum! If you want to learn how to become a member or to view their film schedule, visit the museum's website at http://www.nilesfilmmuseum.org/

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!