Coquette (United Artists Pressbook) (1929)

(6 Coquette” Important Advance Stories "Coquette” Rehearsals Like Old Stage Days Mary Pickford returned to the days of rehearsals and the learning of lines during the production of ‘‘Coquette,” which is coming to the . Theatre . On the bare sound stages, with only skeleton sets for a background, Miss Pickford and her company re¬ hearsed the scenes of her first all- talking picture, an adaptation of the Broadway success, “Coquette.”. “I can imagine that I am back in the old stage days,” Miss Pick¬ ford said, and she paced the uncar¬ peted boards, studying her lines. “But it is all so new and different. It forms an entirely new technique, this adding of screen mechanics to the ordinary business and action of the stage.” MARY HAD TEARS TO SHED-AND DID! No consideration for Mary Pick- ford’s tears was shown by the sound equipment used in making her new, all-talking picture “Coquette,” which will open at the. Theatre . It was necessary for Miss Pick¬ ford, in the role of the little co¬ quette, to sob bitterly during the scenes in the mountain cabin of her lover. In order to work her¬ self into the tensity of the episodes, she commenced crying fifteen min¬ utes before Director Sam Taylor started the film and sound record¬ ing of the scene. Walking" about the sound stage, while her own victrola played her favorite preliminary' “crying” melo¬ dies, Miss Pickford cried and sobbed until her cheeks were wet with tears, and her eyes were swol¬ len and red. At the end of the scene she was practically exhausted from the strain of the emotional out¬ burst. Then in the midst of the action one of the sound tracks of the re¬ cording devices broke, and the rec¬ ord was ruined. It was necessary to repeat the entire scene. Once again Miss Pickford was forced to produce the hysteria of sobs and tears for the cameras and micro-r phones. JOHNNY MACK BROWN Johnny Mack Brown, brought under an enviable spotlight as Michael in Mary Pickford’s forth¬ coming all-talking motion picture of the stage play, “Coquette,” came to the films with no experience as an actor save in amateur theatricals at the University of Alabama. In “Coquette,” young Brown is given the prize role of his brilliant and rapid screen career,, that of the rough, handsome lad of the hills who has fascinated the coquette, Norma Besant, and whose capture of her heart produces an electrify¬ ing "social dilemma. Dr. Besant, Norma’s father, dis¬ approves of the association qf his daughter with a man socially and financially an inferior, one who is “not a gentleman, sir.” The catastrophe which follows upon the indiscretions of these two young lovers crowns the absorbing course of their half gay, half an¬ guished' and always suspenseful drama. For two seasons before the movies found him, Brown was one of the most sensational football players on the American gridiron. He played in the backfield for Ala¬ bama, and with the University team toured the South and West. He was credited with winning the East- West game for his team when Washington University’s eleven practically had the game cinched at Pasadena Rose Bowl, New Year’s Day, 1925. The following year Brown was coach for the freshman football team at Alabama, but was per¬ suaded to enter films when he went to California to attend the Ala- bama-Stanford game, New Year’s Day, 1926. The new player was coached through supernumary and bit film roles, and was finally permitted to play a cavalry officer in Jackie Coo- gan’s “The Bugle Call.” His work in this led Marion Davies to choose him as her lead¬ ing man in “The Fair Co-Ed.” Other Johnny Mack Brown appear¬ ances were in “The Divine Worn- LIGHTS REPLACE DIRECTOR’S VOICE The “talkies” have silenced the megaphoned voices of screen direc¬ tors and their assistants. The hundreds of extras in the country club and courtroom scenes of Mary Pickford’s all-talking pic¬ ture, “Coquette,” were given their voice and action directions by means of a series of light signals. 1 The system of lights was con¬ nected with a tiny switchboard in the hand of Bruce Humberstone, first assistant to Director Sam Tay¬ lor. By a series of flashes, the ac¬ tions of both principals and extras were silently controlled. Small, yellow electric bulbs were placed where they were visible to the eyes of the players but unseen by the battery of cameras . From the moment that the elec¬ trically controlled cameras were in¬ terlocked and the sound tracks opened, no directorial voice was heard on the “Coquette” set. The famed starting signal of the silent pictures, the word “Camera!” was replaced by the brisk hand clap of an assistant cameraman, standing before the cameras and in range of the microphones. From that time to the end of the scene, the only directions given the actors and the technical crews were by the flash¬ ing lights. Miss Pickford’s production -of “Coquette,” adapted for the screen from the Broadway stage success, is coming to the . Theatre next week. Miss Pickford, as the little southern flirt of the story, has surrounded herself with a brilliant company of players, vet¬ erans of both the footlights and the cameras. Black smocks were worn by the four camera men and their assist¬ ants during the production of Mary Pickford’s all-talking picture, “Co¬ quette,” in order to prevent the re¬ flection of their light clothing in the glass windows of the inclosed camera cages. an,” “Our Dancing Daughters,” “A Woman of Affairs” and “A Lady of Chance.” Brown is six feet tall, weighs 165 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, and a fine physique. He was born at Dothan, Ala¬ bama, and attended the public schools of that town before enter¬ ing Alabama University. Witcher usual careful attention to the smallest detail, one of Mary Pickfprd’s gowns, which she wears as the little, southern flirt, Norma Besant, in her new, all-talking pic¬ ture, “Coquette,” was mono- grammed on cuffs, pocket and tie with a quaintly designed “N.B.” 6 — One-Col. Scene (Mat 5 c, Cut 30 c) MARY PICKFORD iki Coquette” PICKFORD "BOB” A MASTERPIECE Attention, girls! The “Coquette” bob is here. Mary Pickford has a new haircut, designed especially for her role as the belle of a little southern town in her picture version 6f the Broad¬ way success, “Coquette,” which opens next week at the .. Theatre. The bob is close fitting and hel¬ met-like in its adherence to the con¬ tour of Miss Pickford’s head. Its soft, wide waves end in tiny “beau catcher” curls. The hair is parted on the left side and waved softly in wide finger waves. The ends of the hair are shredded so that they will curl naturally into close lying tendrils. The neck line is indefinite and the hair is brushed upward to form soft curls at the nape of Miss Pick¬ ford’s neck. The hair falls in na¬ tural waves to frame her face with an occasional “beau catcher” curl to add a dash of piquancy. When Miss Pickford first cut her hair she decided upon a medium long bob which did not entirely abolish her famous curls. Then she decided to put into talking pic¬ tures the dramatic story of the lit¬ tle flirt who danced into tragedy. For the role of the gay little co¬ quette, she needed an ultra modern and vivacious bob. With the aid of Nina Roberts, chief hairdresser at the United Artists studio, Miss Pickford evolved the “Coquette” bob. The world famed Pickford curls are gone, but in their place is a smart, chic, and girlish haircut, which is serving as a model for the bobs of the girls and young women in all the cities where “Coquette” is being played. ‘Coquette” with Mary Pickford Speaking Heralded as a Modern Film Sensation Broadway Success Transferred to Screen as "Sound” Production Making New Entertainment Era A new Mary Pickford in a power¬ ful story directed by Sam Taylor is coming to the.The¬ atre when “Coquette,” Miss Pick¬ ford’s all-talking version of the Broadway stage success, opens next 9 — Two-Col. Scene (Mat 10c, Cut 50c) MARY PICKFORD in'Ccquette’.’ This combination of star, direc¬ tor and story has made “Coquette” the sensation of the cinema world. In this picture Miss Pickford is re¬ vealing to the world an entirely new and changed personality in a story replete with comedy and pathos, laughter and drama. The voices of Miss Pickford and her players have been reproduced with a clarity and naturalness new to the sound pictures. The charming Mary, who will be seen in this story of a gay, little flirt, modern daughter of an old- fashioned father, whose dancing feet led her 'into grim complica¬ tions, will make a new place for herself in the heart of the world. Gone are the famous Pickford curls. Gone are the childish pout and lit¬ tle girl mannerisms of America’s Sweetheart. In their place is a smartly-bobbed, chic, ultra modern young woman, the epitome of to¬ day’s spirit of youth, culture and the sheer joy of living. As Norma Besant in “Coquette,” Miss Pickford plays the role of the belle of a little Southern town, who laughed her merry way in and out of countless love affairs and thrill¬ ing flirtations. With a youthful zest for life and the sheer living of it, she played in the moonlight, se¬ cure in the safety of her little world. Always beside her stood Stanley Wentworth, son of her father’s at¬ torney and best friend. Stanley loved her with an unexciting and steadfast devotion which could smile with understanding at her co¬ quetries. So life moved on for Norma in a gay whirl of kisses, dances and conquests. From the moment the life of the little southern girl was beset with a heartbreak which makes the story of “Coquette” the most powerful drama of the modern stage and screen. The happy girl, who had lived only for excitement and ro¬ mance of the moment, was gripped by emotions stronger than pride, family or friends. She no longer danced on the brink of life’s real¬ ities. . She plunged gladly into the maelstrom. Her story is the story of young love, unbridled and glori¬ ous. The little coquette will live in the memory of all who see her as a gallant, little figure, fighting bravely for her love against over- .whelming odds. Then came the day when Norma stepped outside the pale of her own social world and met Michael Jeff¬ rey, carefree, hotheaded adventurer from the hills. With a determined sincerity Michael refused to be¬ come another victim of her wiles, refused to play with her the game of make-believe. Suddenly, for the first time in her life, Norma real¬ ized that she was truly in love. Overnight she was transformed from a smiling, whimsical girl into a woman, ready to face her father’s anger and to risk her entire world for the sake of.the man she loved. With the exception of John Mack Brown, who plays Michael, the ar¬ dent, headstrong lover from the hills, all the players selected by Miss Pickford are the possessors of a background of stage as well as screen experience. The sound ver¬ sion of “Coquette” was Johnny’s first experience with spoken lines, and his soft, southern drawl, rem¬ iniscent of his Alabama birthplace, admirably fitted him for the part of the young roisterer from the mountain country. Matt Moore plays Stanley, the quiet, ever-faithful lover of the lit¬ tle cocfuette, and John Sainpolis is Dr. Besiant, Norma’s father, a stern southern eentleman in whose code of life chivalry and time-bound con¬ ventions were the masters. George Irving plays his friend and coun¬ sellor, Robert Wentworth. Wiliiam Janney as the younger brother, Louise Beavers as Norma’s colored mammy, and Phyllis Crane and Joe Depew as two young friends of the little coquette, complete the cast of brilliant and capable players with whom Miss Pickford has sur¬ rounded herself. MARY PICKFORD FIRST BIG SCREEN STAR IN "ALL TALKIE” Mary Pickford, by virtue of the fact that she is the first outstand¬ ing screen stkr to take a definite plunge into an all-talking motion picture, has marked . her brilliant career with another of the many pioneering efforts which have char¬ acterized this ambitious star. Her effort is the more significant when one realizes that her oral screen debut in this city will be as the heroine of “Coquette,” Broadway’s most electrifying dramatic success of the past season. Miss Pickford turned from the stage to the screen in its precarious beginnings, when one reel melo¬ dramas were the limit of its achievement, and when actors of the legitimate drama refused to have their names identified on the programs for fear of hurting their prestige. Miss Pickford had been playing a heroine of most tender age in the David Belasco stage production “The Warrens of Virginia.” Fol¬ lowing a road tour in this piece Miss Pickford presented herself at the Biograph studios on East 14th Street, New York City, where D. W. Griffith cast her for the child role in “The Lonely Villa.” Marion Leonard and James Kirkwood, the latter hiding behind a false beard so that his stage following would not recognize him, were the leading players. Still a child, Miss Pickford re¬ turned to the stage for a time, p’ay- ing the role of Juliet in “A Good Little Devil” under the Belasco banner. At the close of this pro¬ duction, Adolph Zukor, then head of Daniel Frohman’s subsidiary of Famous Players Company, engaged Miss Pickford at a salary of $1,000 a week to be starred in pictures for In 1916 the Mary Pickford Film Company was formed as a strictly independent venture, with Miss Pickford as president. She was guaranteed $10,000 weekly and a share in the profits, he r produc- tions being released by A 11 ,mm% division of Famous Playj pany. On January 7, 1919 a G. McAdoo’s bungalow Barbara, Miss Pickford ^ mmm Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks ani W. Griffith met and talked over plans for forming a new company to distribute their own productions. On April 17, 1919, United Artists Corporation was formed with these four as charter members. ■ his exnanded organization, and her first production was a screen ver¬ sion of “The Good Little Devil.” “Pollyanna” was Miss Pickford’s first production for this new com¬ pany. It was followed by “Suds” (a film version . of, “ ’Op o’ me Thumb”) “The Love Light,” “Through the Back Door,” “Little Lord Fauntleroy,” “Tess of the Storm Country,” (new version di¬ rected by John Robertson) “Rosi- ta,” (directed by Ernst Lubitsch as his first American made picture) “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall,” “Little Annie Rooney,” “Sparrows,” “My Best Girl” and now with “Co¬ quette.” “Coquette” was directed by Sam Taylor, who also directed Miss Pickford’s previous production, “My Best Girl.” Miss Pickford will play the role of a laughing, yet heart winning small town coquette in this famously emotional drama. Johnny Mack Brown will play op¬ posite her in the picture, which opens at the.Theatre next.