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176 THE HOUSE THAT SHADOWS BUILT
headway in securing famous plays and players. Minnie Maddern Fiske does her own thinking. After she saw the studio at work and heard the plan, she agreed to be filmed in Tess of the D’Urbervilles^ probably her greatest popular success. At that period in his career, John Barrymore regarded the drama lightly; he was always on the point of packing up his costumes and taking to cartooning. A liberal offer brought him in. Lillie Langtry, being British, had no preconceived prejudices; she signed a contract.
Also, Zukor himself had secured Mary Bickford; and fortune so managed the affair that she, above all other actors, bridged for him the gulf between the “movies’* and the “legit.” When her engagement as Betty in The Warrens of Virginia drew to its close, Belasco told her that, while child actresses were but little in demand, she should have the next chance with him. Thereupon, as related, she became the “Girl with the Curls,” and “Little Mary” for Biograph. In 1911, Belasco, preparing The Good Little Devif wanted an emotional ingenue for the leading part of the blind girl. He had been watching Mary Bickford’s success in the films, noting how she had developed. He engaged her, and The Good Little Devil was a major hit of the season. The piece had closed now; and Mary Bickford was in process of deciding between the screen and the footlights when Zukor sent for her. She reports that as she entered the office she saw Al Kaufmann sitting in the comer.