Mary Pickford

Just saw a very interesting documentary about Mary Pickford, who was one of the first true movie stars at the very dawn of the cinema.

I am not 100% sure that I am actually familiar with her work, though I certainly know her name, however I know Lillian Gish so they probably belong to the same category of pioneers of the media. Documentary is fascinating because it explains how it came to be that girl actually entered than-unrespectable business of movies which were considered even worse than theatre. If theatre was just slightly above prostitution (in the eyes of middle-class audience striving towards upward mobility), movies were bottom of the bottom. But crushing poverty left no other option to a girl who was raised by impoverished single mother so little Gladys Smith learnt how to use her pretty looks very early in life in order to provide for a family - she was a cutie pie of her day and quickly learnt her way around theatre stages, in fact the whole family lived nomadic life constantly on the road in search of new engagement. This also means Gladys had no education worth mentioning and no childhood either - all her energy was focused on work, salaries and money to feed the mother, sister and brother. On the other hand, the child grew up to be self-assured, energetic and go-getter who was a completely self-made success. 

The move into new media - motion pictures - was at first just an experiment and another job, but her pretty features and those legendary long locks quickly made her prominent. She also had natural acting talent and used far less of big, dramatic poses that other actors used back than - she expressed it all with her face and the eyes. In the pre-1920s she became world's biggest female movie star and her fame was such that millions around the world adored "American sweetheart" who in their eyes embodied virginal purity and innocence. That in reality she was a shrewd businesswoman who provided for alcoholic siblings and envious husband was beside the point. Such was her power that in 1919 she became one of the cornerstones of new company "United Artists" along with Charlie Chaplin, D.W.Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks - four of them created this in order to promote their own work and to have total control over production. So much about long locks and pretty face.

She had also divorced her first husband and married charismatic Douglas Fairbanks who was big star himself and knew how to handle the media frenzy that made them into Hollywood royalty. But the arrival of sound movies also signalled the new era where Pickford didn't fare so well. Not that she had ugly voice, far from it, but in a desperate attempts to change with times (and understanding that she can't go on forever playing children and teenage girls) she perhaps went a little bit too far - she cut those legendary locks and emerged in fashionable "bob", even worse she tried more mature roles that audience simply wasn't buying into. Even though she was awarded with one of the very first "Oscars", new generation of movie stars slowly replaced Pickford who turned into real-life Norma Desmond and after a while refused to leave her mansion. I became so bad that husband nr.3 simply played the tape with her welcome message to visitors.When in 1976 she was awarded another "Oscar" for lifetime achievement, camera men had to visit this frail and elderly lady in her home and TV audiences were shocked to see "American sweetheart" as aged and obviously ill shell of her former self.