The Washington times., 1929-04-06
GLEANINGS'
AND
SCREENINGS
BY ANDREW r. KELLEY


word Comeback" advisedly be-
cause the honest motion picture
exhibitor will tell you-if you
know him we'll enough-that the
girl popularity called "America's
Sweetheart" was fast becoming
an inferior boxoffice magnet
with silent features.
Consequently it is not surpris-
ing to read that Miss Pickford
has broadcast her future screen
appearances will be exclusively
in the all-talking films. The
Pickford voice, appraised at its
full value, is expected to rekindle
the interest of the movie public.
1t was my pleasure in pre-
Volstead days in the land of
the Sacred Cod to know a hand
some young blade who was one
of the original Pickford fans.
Occasionally he would get
pleasantly jingled and then the
student of Freud had he been
eavesdropping might have
learned the boy had three am
bitions in life. When he had
reached that stage of mellow
ness in congenial company
where his tongue found diff
Guilty in keeping pace with his
thoughts it was his custom to
express his secret desires in
the order of their relative i'm
portance as follows:
l. To have enough money to
buy all of the apple pie he de-
sired to eat, whenever he felt
an appetite for apple pie, which
was always.
2. To achieve a prominence
that would insure him an an
nual pass for the American
League baseball games.
3. To marry Mary Pickford.
The first two longings of his
heart he was able to CRAFTY,
although he never achieved the
Fenway Park privilege until he
occupied one of the Joe Lannin
apartments at Forest Hills. Mr..
Jannin at the time owned the
Red Sox team and gave all of
his good tenants a season pass
for the games.
His repressed affection for
the Pickford charms made him
one of the best customers Of
the Bijou Dream Theater. 1t
was one of the first of the
Keith theaters to surrender to
the cinema and showed the Bio
graph program which regularly
featured the curly-h headed Mary,
then in the full bloom of allur-
ing youth. Each new picture
of his film heroine was viewed
again and again.
Presumably he never per-
severed in his romance with
shadow sweetheart for just be-
fore the war his father died
and left him a great fortuOe
accumulated in the wool husi-
ness. Then he married
Follies girl. Later he was di-
vorced and then remarked
These chapters of his life were
CLEANED from newspaper head.
lines. | never heard of his be-
coming an active competitor of
Douglas Fairbanks.
Men were that way about
Mary PickfOrd in the hevday
of her distinguished cellu!oid
career. Not all so violently
smitten as the admirer de-
scribed but a great army of
noble followers was marching
regularly to the boxoffice.
When Mary Pickford attained
the princely salary of $4,000 a
week staid old Boston was
shaken as newspapers featured
the story on the front page. 1t
was the first time in the Hubs
journalistic history that press
agents blurb on a stars salary
attained the eminence of a two
column headline on Page One.
Editors justified the type promi-
rence by the explanation Mary
was national figure and any
thing she did had news value.
Besides it was the greatest
wage ever attained by woman
solely on her own talents.
Since then have come Rudolph
Valentino, Clara Bow, John Gil
bert, and scores of others flash
ing their way to Hollywood
fame and fortune. Still, | doubt
if any of them ever closely ap-
preached the Pickford popu-
larity at its peak. Certainly
none Of them has surpassed
Mary in earning capacity, and
Mary never found it necessary
to undress to attract the male
eye.
The tide began tn turn when
the Plckford charms matured
and her early audiences grew
up with her. A new type Of
audience came along with the
advent of the modern cinema
cathedrals, and a new type of
story, too. Miss Pickford las
been compelled to sacrifice the
curls and the Saccharine char
acters also to keep pace with
the competition.
AS Norma Besant in "Co-
quette" you will see her as
lOvable and appealing charac-