Sparrows (United Artists) (1926)

MARY PICKFORD HAS A STRENUOUS WEEK The Kind of Stories Newspapers Want Noted Writer thinks Famous Cinema Star A1 ways Costumed So She “Looks As If She Were SEES MOVIE PROGRESS FROM INSIDE INDUSTRY Struggles Through Deep Swamp Mud With 30-Pound Baby On Her Back. Dressed To Mind Her Own Business.” By Grace Gray Mary Pickford, Famous Cinema Star, .Gives Views On Future Development. According to Corra Harris, the well known writer, Mary Pickford, whose newest picture, “Sparrows,” a United Artists Corporation release, is coming soon to.. is the best dressed woman in Hollywood, for as Mrs. Harris whimsically adds, “she always looks as if she were dressed to mind her own business.” Clothes do not particularly intrigue the fancy of “Our Mary,” I found upon attempting to interview her concerning the latest fashions. Simplicity is the keynote of her liking. Extremes of style never tempt her as she feels that usually they bespeak errors of taste. A skirt too short or too long, a gown too narrow or too wide are equally inartistic from her point of view. If a style is ugly she will have none of it. The present vogue for masculinity does not appeal to her in the least—and thank heaven for that! She much prefers soft fabrics and charming accessories. Daintiness is her outstanding characteristic. Girlishness her type. To the details of her costume she pays exquisite attention. Her bag, her handkerchief, her hose and such, always give the final perfect touch. Mary loves the quiet colors, choosing most often those pastel in tone. She is charming in all white and equally charming in soft sage green or misty blues. Thrice fortunate Mary—there are no colors she’ has to avoid! Lingerie frocks and garden hats make her a picture of loveliness that is unforgettable. And speaking of hats, the tiny felt in vogue at present has found a staunch ally in her. These she owns in a variety of colors but the most attractive of all is blue. With it crushed adorably over her mass of golden curls she is completely irresistible. Mary Pickford has little clothes consciousness. Probably less than any star in the film world. She received Vice President and Mrs. Dawes at luncheon on the occasion of a visit to the Pickford lot, clad in the rags and tatters of Molly, her role in her most recent production, “Sparrows,” and on which she was working at the time. She was bare-legged and her lovely hair hung in braids bound with shoe strings. There were suspicious carbon smudges on her face reminiscent of soot but she was as well poised as if her’s were the conventional costume and quite captivated both Mr. Dawes and his wife. The “World’s Sweetheart” might be the arbiter of fashions if she but chose, but such a role does not interest her. However, her perfect taste, despite the unobtrusiveness of her apparel, makes her loom large by con¬ trast midst the garish crowd of Hollywood. Mary Pickford experienced the most strenuous week of her entire picture career while making “Sparrows” the United Artist Corporation picture now at ... For days she was buried deep in a swamp, working in mud up to her knees, climbing trees with a baby weigh¬ ing thirty pounds on her back, and lifting heavy children over treacherous bogs. During all this time Misis Pickford was carrying one third of her own weight t»n her back. Many times she fell into the swamp with the baby on her back and had to be rescued by workmen. The scenes were taken during chilly weather, and with rain falling part of the time. After each scene it was neces¬ sary to wrap Miss Pickford and the nine children in blankets and carry them to a steam room ready to “thaw” them out. Dry clothing was then don¬ ned and they hurried back to their work, before the light had gone. An infected foot, which followed an injury to the member, did not deter Miss Pickford who gamely completed the picture. Probably few women in films would have attempted such a picture. “I’ll soon have muscles as hard as those of Douglas Fairbanks,” said Miss Pickford when the last difficult scene had been made. MARY PICKFORD NEVER “TRAINS;’ OR DIETS “My Work Keeps Me Fit,” Says Famous Screen Star And Producer Of “Sparrows.” How does Mary Pickford keep in “fighting trim?” How does she exercise, and does she ever diet? The answer is “No”. She doesn’t have to. The petite star who comes to . in her newest United Artists Corporation release, “Sparrows” is often asked how she “trains”, and what she does to keep fit. Miss Pickford swims a great deal, and enjoys it, but she does not do it to keep fit. Her work keeps her in trim She works so hard in pictures that she does not have to worry about surplus flesh. Miss Pickford usually weighs 1 around ninety-eight pounds. She does not vary two pounds from that weight at any time. Even while making “Sparrows”, when she was packing a baby on her back for days and working in sticky mud in a bog, she did not lose weight. “My work keeps me in trim,” Miss Pickford said. “I have never had to resort to systematic exercise or dieting to keep thin. “Even when I am away from Holly¬ wood for a long time it is no problem for then I am traveling with Douglas Fairbanks, my husband, and that’s when I really lose weight for it’s hard work.” On their last European trip Miss Pickford found herself losing weight for the first time, and the journey was curtailed because of it. But ordinarily she tips the beam at nirtety-eight pounds, and she eats what and when she pleases without a thought of calories. THRILLING CHASE IN MARY PICKFORD FILM Spectacular Water Scenes In “Sparrows” Made Audiences Gasp For Breath. Spectacular water scenes, where a police boat chases a small motor launch firing shots with a one-pounder, fea¬ ture Mary Pickford’s new picture, “Sparrows” which is now showing at These scenes we|re made at San Pedro, California, after night. Miss Pickford, with nine little children, was on the motor launch. The police boat is in pursuit. The police believe the boat is driven by a band of criminals and they open fire when the launch continues to speed ahead. One shot crashed through the cabin of the launch. . Others land nearby in the water. The most careful plans were made to prevent injury to Miss Pickford and the little children, but the scenes are thrilling and provide one of the many big moments of the picture. “Sparrows” is a melodramatic story of the children on a baby farm. They are'“mothered” by a girl of twelve they know as “Mama Mollie.” Miss Pick¬ ford, of course, is seen in this role, which is one of the best she has ever portrayed. Patrons of the ......theatre who have seen “Sparrows” are unani¬ mous in their praise of the petite star and her capable company, and have voted “Sparrows” one of the best vehi¬ cles she has ever made. LOCATION WORK IS HARDESTTOR MARY Crowds Swarm Around To See Famous Screen Star And Interfere With Work. The hardest work Mary Pickford does is “going on location” with her motion picture company. The reason is because the curious public swarms about and just won’t let Mary work. During the making of “Sparrows” Miss Pickford’s United Artists Cor¬ poration release now at.a great deal of location work was done. Many of the swamp sequences were taken in a real swamp, and here the difficulty of a curious public was solved. But when Miss Pickford went to Pasadena where she worked on the grounds of a beautiful estate, and to San Pedro, where the boat sequences were made, slow progress was recorded. All of the Pickford equipment, such is lights, cameras, etc., bears the name ‘Mary Pickford Co.” This instantly ittracts attention, and the crowds fol¬ low. Making pictures in such circumstances is difficult, but Miss Pickford’s eternal ••?ood nature helps a lot, and the scenes ire finally made, somehow. Because Spanish moss, used to drape the trees on the swamp built for Mary Pickford’s new picture “Sparrows” burns, easily, no smoking was permitted ‘n tlhe set while the picture was being made. Smokers were compelled to cross a bridge onto a little isolated island, known as the “smoking room” before they could enjoy the fragrant weed. Moving pictures will improve as the result of the efforts of those now in the industry, and not those on the outside who come in. This is the assertion of Mary Pick¬ ford, petite star in “Sparrows,” which is now playing at . In a discussion of the trend of af¬ fairs and the benefits to mankind in the last quarter of a century, Miss Pickford told of the influence of mo¬ tion pictures and other agencies. “It would seem to me,” Miss Pick¬ ford said, “that mankind has benefited most in the last twenty-five years through increased education and appre¬ ciation (which is education.) “This is the result of modern inven¬ tions, new means of rapid travel and speedy interchange of news and ideas. “The fast train, automobile and air¬ planes have all played their parts in bringing about a new mode of life. The newspaper, radio, phonograph and the moving picture are* all contributing their quota to this benefit. “Naturally, the working class has profited most of all, for they have gained many comforts and pleasures. “Whether the motion picture will show the same progress in the next twenty-five years that it has in the last quarter of a century still is prob¬ lematical. Unquestionably, we are be¬ coming more stabilized. We have also lacked writers and inspiration, to a great extent. “I believe this will be developed, but it will be from within the industry and not from without. The property boys, film cutters, and extras of today will be our actors, writers and directors to¬ morrow. it is up to the youth of our industry, how much we progress. “I do not believe we are going to advance through the efforts of those who have attained fame in other lines, coming into the industry from now on. “Yet it will continue to be a mighty business, and an influential factor in the life of the world.” MARY’S AGILITY WAS TESTEDJN ONE LEAP Daring Leap Down Flight Of Stairs A Scene In “Sparrows,” Her New Movie. Did you ever try running across a slick hardwood floor in your bare feet, leaping down a flight of slippery stairs and landing upright at the bottom? It’s not so easy as it might seem. Mary Pickford learned this in one of the scenes in “Sparrows” her United Artists Corporation release coming to Miss Pickford, clad in a ragged dress, a-policeman’s coat, and without shoes or stockings, dashes into a big man¬ sion, eludes the butler, runs across the slippery floor and jumps down the stairs, three steps at a time. Although the scene was made over and over, Miss Pickford did not once lose her balance, and the members of her company fairly held their breath every time she made the flying leap. “Sparrows” is a drama of the South, the story of a group of unfortunate children on a baby farm. It is an ideal vehicle for Miss Pickford, and there ' are laughs and thrills galore.