1909-1933

Mary on home video

My Best Girl Mary's final silent film serves as her finest romantic comedy-drama. As shop girl Maggie Johnson, she meets the handsome Joe Grant who is actually the store owner's sun working incognito. Mary simply glows as her feelings for Joe sparkles into romance. If you have never seen a Pickford film before, this is the one to start with. DVD

Tess of the Storm Country A remake of the 1914 film, Mary is Tess Skinner, a squatters daughter who struggles to fight for survival against landowner Elias Graves who schemes to remove Tess and the squatters from his land. A very touching drama from 1922. DVD

Daddy Long Legs As an orphan, Jerusha Abbot is sponsored by a mysterious benefactor she comes to call her "Daddy Long Legs". Along the way Jerusha writes a novel and graduates from college. Will she meet her mysterious benefactor? A very charming film released in may of 1919. DVD

Stella Maris Critics raved when Mary played the dual roles of Stella Maris and Unity Blake. Its absolutely stunning to see Mary as the lovely but disabled Stella Maris and the neglected and abused maidservant, Untiy Blake. Such very touching scenes of Unity showing her true feelings for her guardian, the very same man with whom Stella Maris has fallen in love with. DVD

Amarilly of Clothesline Alley Released in 1918, this is one every Pickford fan should have in their collection. Mary plays Amarilly, a woman who befriends an upperclassman after a brawl in a nightclub where she works. She takes him in and cares for him and in the process her boyfriend becomes jealous. All in all, a hilarious look at some lower to high class fun. DVD

Sparrows As mama Mollie, Mary plays the oldest of a group of child laborers held in the swampland of the deep south. Operated by the cruel Mr. Grimes who pays kidnappers to supply him with the child labor. When Mollie and the kids escape their captivity, its edge of your seat drama as Mollie leads them to safety through the perilous, alligator infested swamps. DVD

The Love Light Written and directed by her friend and frequent collaborator Frances Marion, Mary plays a woman haunted by a child who has been taken away from her and has lost family in the great war. As she strives to keep her sanity amidst the madness of war and the loss of her child, Mary displays her full range of acting. DVD

Coquette iIn 1929 Mary introduced sound into her movies and for the first time Pickford fans the world over heard her voice in a theater for the very first time. For her performance, Mary was awarded the first oscar for best actress in a sound film. As the flirty socialite Norma Besant, she falls in love with a man on a much lower social scale than her proud sourthern father allows and tragedy follows. VHS

The Female of the Species Some of Mary's earliest works with the great film director D.W. Griffith. From 1912, this shows Mary as a young actress proving her craft and Griffith as the great experimenter. VHS

Taming of the Shrew The only film in which they appear together. Douglas Fairbanks as Petruchio is challenged to tame the man-hating Katherina played by Mary, in this 1929 adaptation of Shakespeare's play. Directed by Sam Taylor. VHS

Pickford Documentaries

Mary Pickford - A Life on Film The most definitive, in depth look at the life and career of Mary Pickford. A must have for any Pickford fan. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, the viewer is taken back to Mary's humble poverty stricken beginings in Toronto Canada, her stage debut in the theater as "Baby Gladys" to her days as silent movie queen "America's Sweetheart", and the most powerful woman in motion picture history. Interviews with friends and family include Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Janet Leigh, Roddy McDowall, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., film historian and reviewer Leonard Maltin. DVD

Star Power: The Creation of United Artists The story behind the founding of United Artists. In 1919, Mary along with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith began their own distribution company in order to sell their own films. As a founding member, Mary would stay with United Artists until 1951 not only as an actor but as a producer. VHS

Without Lying Down Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood When Frances Marion met Mary Pickford in 1915, the two women shook hands and Mary, smiling sweetly said, "I think we are going to be friends." Frances, whom Mary called, "the pillar of my career", was the most successful screenwriter of her day. Frances earned her reputation as the most prolific screenwrite in hollywood and this film should on any silent movie lover's list. Bonus footage includes rarely seen video of Mary's 1917 classic "A Little Princess." narrated by Kathy Bates. From Milestone.VHS

In Mary's Shadow: The Story of Jack Pickford Produced, written and directed by Elaina Archer, this film documents the brief and tragic life of Mary's younger brother Jack Pickford. A gifted actor himself, Jack appeared in many early silent movie classics, most notably as 1917's "Tom Sawyer", which is considered his best performance. As a young man in hollywood's early days, Jack became seduced by fame and all of its trappings, gaining a reputation as one of hollywood's bad boy's. Married three times, his first love was ziegfield follies dancer Olive Thomas. Her mysteriouis death in 1920 remains unresolved and more than anything else, left an indelible scar on Jack's spirit and life from which he would never recover. Featured are rare home movies, film clips and two short audio clips of Mary talking about the kind of actor her beloved brother was. Runs 45 minutes and is available fromMonument Video.VHS