Sparrows (United Artists) (1926)

Exceptional^ Special^ Feature^ Stories, MARY PICKFORD TALKS FACTORS OF SUCCESS OF CHILDREN IN MOVIES FOR SCREEN WRITING Pretty Women Dislike Mirrors By Grace Gray Says Hollywood Studio Young¬ sters Actually Are Safe¬ guarded More Than In The Home. Winifred Dunn Tells How She Wrote “Sparrows” Story For Mary Pickford. By Winifred Dunn “The lovelier one is the less often her glance seeks a mirror.” So says an ancient philosopher who probably knew Mary Pickford in some previous incarnation. For certainly with her marvelous golden curls and radiant smile, none is lovelier than the “World’s Sweetheart.” By Mary Pickford A widespread belief seems to prevail tthat the atmosphere of the motion pic¬ ture world is an unhealthy one for children. We are all familiar with the old philosophy that perhaps environment means more than heredity, and with this I am prone to agree but I must, nevertheless, take issue with those who maintain that the studio is an evil in¬ fluence. At the studio children are safe¬ guarded more than would be possible or practicable in the average home, for their mental and physical well-being are both looked after by experts. We keep a physician and a nurse on the “lot” We maintain a school under the di¬ rection of experienced teachers and their work is not allowed to interfere with their educational progress. It. is interesting to note in this connection that during the filming of my latest picture, “Sparrows,” all the eight chil¬ dren of school age who worked with me in the cast “skipped a grade.” Contrary to general opinion, I don’t feel that “movie children” are pathetic examples. Everything possible is done for their welfare. They are under the watchful eyes of their mothers more than children usually are for the mother of every, child is present at all times on the set, and hs a consequence most of those I have known have been charm¬ ing, well-mannered and far above the average in intelligence. FIELD KITCHEN ON MARY PICKFORD LOT From It Hot Cocoa Was Fed To Youngsters Playing In “Sparrows,” New Film. During the filming of “Sparrows,” Mary Pickford’s newest picture now at .. the Pickford lot boasted a soup kitchen or rather a cocoa dispensary. It was Miss Pickford’s idea and was established for the comfort of the children who were in the cast. The kitchen was a helter-skelter sort of affair, shielded from the cool breezes of sunny California by means of heavy canvas. Not at all artistic but it served its purpose well. The nine small youngsters in the picture were called upon to spend hours in the cold waters of the swamp for days at a time. So to counteract the bad effects of chill and exposure Miss Pickford halted production several times a day long enough to permit the children to have a drink of hot cocoa and get thoroughly warmed at the big charcoal stoves that glowed invitingly. The wetter the child the more cocoa he got so a keen rivalry developed which made the cold water easy to bear and greatly helped the realism of the picture. (Miss Dunn has been recog¬ nized as one of the leading sce¬ narists in filmdom. She is one of the youngest scenarists in the industry, and yet, notwithstand¬ ing this she has a tong list of successes to her credit. She made the adaptation of “Little Annie Rooney” and wrote the original story, “Sparrows,” Mary Pick¬ ford’s latest production.) Clear characterization is of the great¬ est importance in writing for the screen. It is essential to the producer, the di¬ rector and the aator to join with the film author in the appreciation of this importance and to work together to make these characterizations vital. Only thus will the finished film carry the convincingness of story and the humanness of personality, which are es¬ sential not merely to artistic excellence, but also to box office success. The first' responsibility rests, of course, with the scenarist. He has lived with his characters for weeks, or perhaps months, during the process of adaptation or the writing of the orig¬ inal story and’then during the work of preparing the continuity. He knows these people—his is the first contact, the first viewpoint on them. He con¬ ceived them as living, breathing persons, just as they will be considered later, by the audience, when the film is screened. After the scenarist has developed his characters in dear cut fashion, the sec¬ ond responsibility falls to the director. It is absolutely necessary that he get the same reaction to the characters that the author has had in order to develop their personalities pictorially. The third determining factor in re¬ gard to clear characterization is the ac- tor. It is necessary for him to study the characterization so thoroughly that his own personal emotional reactions will become entirely submerged in those of the character. Sometimes his is a conscious process, sometimes it is un- :onscious; but in any event it must be actually achieved or the picture will fail. “Sparrows.” Mary Pickford’s latest dory was written expressly for this particular star, and the leading role pos¬ sesses many of Miss Pickford’s physi¬ cal and spiritual characteristics. The dramatic menace of the story comes from a trio of characters, expressive of the fact that evil knows no age and revealed in the personages of a cruel man, a sullen woman and a brutal boy. The hero, in sharp contrast to these, is a man of great tenderness and strength. In “Sparrows,” the directors, the stars and the supporting players collaborated with me at all times to work out clear- cut characterizations which would, carry on he story convincingly and make he movie audience feel that it was looking at the lives of real human beings. Even in the ragged costume of “Sparrows,” her latest picture, with smudged face and tousled head she is beautiful, but, nevertheless, I can attest that she has almost a distaste for mirrors. Except in her boudoir or dressing rooms where there are, to be sure, plenty of them set in the strongest and most unflattering lights, the tiny star will not tolerate their presence. Neither at her Beverly Hills home nor yet again at her bungalow dressing room on the Pickford-Fairbanks movie lot are mirrors used for decorative effect. “Stray mirrors make me self conscious,” says Miss Pickford. “It embarrasses me to catch a glimpse of myself unexpectedly and then, too, I think it destroys poise, for unconsciously one begins to adjust hat or hair or reach for a powder puff. There are times when a woman should look long and earnestly into them, of course,” she continued, “but that should be in the privacy of her boudoir and under the most revealing and unflattering conditions.” Surprisingly, a quaint old chap, who owns a mirror shop in Holly¬ wood and who is also something of a philosopher, maintains that Mary Pickford’s attitude is typical of the pretty woman. It is the ugly woman, he says, who glances into each mirror she passes constantly trying to reassure herself that things are not so bad as they seem. The truly lovely one passes them by unseeing, content in the knowledge that all is well with her world. I wonder! But at any rate it might be an interesting experiment to watch your acquaintances and test out the theory. Mary and Doug Won Fame and Wealth by Hard, Consistent and Continuous Clean Work—Miss Pickford’s “Sparrows” Her Latest By W. G. Sibley No names in Hollywood stand higher than those of Maty Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Both have won admiration, fame and wealth in moving pictures, not as a result of chance or fortunate circumstances, but by natural gifts plus hard, consistent, continuous and clean work. Both occupy premier positions in a great industry in which vast sums are invested, and are in more public favor, perhaps, than any two movie stars in the world. Their work is wholesome and clean, and the fact that it has brought them larger financial rewards, and has delighted more people the world over than the productions of'any other pair in their profession, is not with¬ out significance and suggestion to other talented artists and producers who have chosen to work on a lower plane. This is written after three hours with Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks at their work in Hollywood. He was a pirate bold in his new screen play, “The Black Pirate,” his costume all that it should be in historic harmony with the period of the play. Mary was a fourteen-year-old girl in “Sparrows,” her yellow hair hanging in two long, thick braids down her back, and in a tattered gown with her elbow showing through a hole in her sleeve, and her girlish leg» brown and bare to the knees. Their personal greetings had the warmth of their cordial natures, their handclasps were firm and friendly, their voices soft and musical. Neither required any explanation of their remarkable popularity on the screen. The appeal of Mary is both womanly and childlike. Her fine eyes, set wide apart, are sincere and steady, her manner dignified and demure, her con¬ versation is without a vestige of frivolity or affectation. Real, regular people, both Mary and Doug. Of their personal hospitality and its more intimate revelations of the character of the pair, nothing properly can be said publicly, further than that those favored by a seat at their table are fortunate, and cannot fail to understand why they compel the love and respect of all with whom they come in contact.