A Century Ago: The First Films of Mary Pickford
Hosted by Christel Schmidt of the Library of Congress.
Presented on a 1909 hand-cranked Power’s Model 6 Cameragraph motion picture machine restored and cranked by Joe Rinaudo.
Featuring live musical accompaniment by Michael Mortilla.
It was one hundred years ago that a young Broadway actress from Canada would hesitantly accept work in “the flickers” at the Biograph Studios in New York in an effort to make ends meet. Within weeks of her appearances in D.W. Griffith’s stock company she was already being singled out by audiences. Eventually to become known as “America’s Sweetheart,” Mary Pickford would emerge as one of motion pictures’ earliest and most enduring stars and a seminal force in early Hollywood filmmaking.
The Academy, which Pickford helped found, celebrates her filmmaking centennial with a selection of films from her first year including “They Would Elope,” “The Trick That Failed,” “A Midnight Adventure,” “The Mountaineer’s Honor” and “To Save Her Soul.”
All prints will be in 35mm, some newly restored, and are drawn from the collection of the Library of Congress.
