Mary Pickford: The Muse of the Movies
Narrated by Michael York, MARY PICKFORD THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES can only be described as a loving account of Mary’s life, (born Gladys Marie Smith in the same year that Edison invented the first motion picture camera) as “America’s Sweetheart”. This documentary chronicles her time as part of United Artists alongside film legends Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, and Douglas Fairbanks, and her vast career as an actress, writer, director, producer, and studio head. One unique quality to this film, and something that really helps you appreciate Mary as a person and not just a subject, is that you get to hear her voice. You really get to know her as a strong, and intelligent force to be reckoned with in the nascent days of the film industry. Mary was able to overcome social stereotypes of the day and rise above just being a pretty face in front of the camera to becoming one of the most powerful women in cinema (she was also the first actress to ever be paid over one million dollars). The evolution of Mary Pickford is the evolution of the film industry.
Not only is this film an intimate look into the life of a screen icon, but it is also an important look at the evolution of an entertainment format and business that is in a huge state of flux currently. Seeing the passion and heart that went into making movies in the 1920′s makes you appreciate filmmaking on one hand and despise the commercialization of the industry on the other. It’s interesting to note that Mary herself was not a fan of the early “flickers” and found contempt with how they were made and the people who made them. Her attitude changed when she met D.W. Griffith and signed to work with him. One can only imagine what a forward-thinking Mary would think about that state of the film industry today.
With interviews from a who’s who of old Hollywood, MARY PICKFORD THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES is a time capsule of historic Hollywood. Legends like Lillian Gish and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. speak warmly about working with Mary, even when she was being contentious and critical. An impetuous fifteen-year-old Mary back in the 1920′s is still deserving of more reverence and respect than most girls of the same age today. She speaks with poise, wisdom, and prowess of her craft that few people are able to imitate.
The film also gets into how the industry has always tried to control actors salaries, film distribution, and even how people were credited back in the 1920′s. Mary was at the forefront of each of these battles, and the running theme seemed to be that if someone got in her way, she went around them and did it herself, or found a way to get people to come around to her way of thinking. When the studios at the time tried to pull the reigns too tight on how her films were being made, she teamed up with Griffith, Fairbanks, and Chaplin and founded the United Artists Corporation. This was a company that would allow them to act, produce, and distribute their own movies without the interference of the mainstream studio system.
This documentary goes to great lengths to get the viewer to fall in love with Mary as a strong businesswoman, actress, and all-around lady in every sense of the word, and pulls it off in the first ten minutes. It runs a bit long at an hour and forty minutes, but there is a lot of story that needs to be covered with this woman’s life. With great footage from the first few decades of the film industry, compelling interviews, and a charming score, MARY PICKFORD THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES is a fitting addition to any cinephile’s collection.
