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Abele | Shrewd Box-Office Icon Elizabeth Abele Tempie University Eabele@astro.ocis.temple.edu Shrewd BoxOffice Icon Eileen Whitfield. Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. (1997. 441 pages) A great historical novel evokes a period through the experiences of a dynamic, central character. Ellen Whitfield provides a compelling study ofearly twentieth century American theatre and film through a heroine with requisite determination and charm. Mary Pickford's life story is a rare combination of the plucky orphan's rags-to-riches tale, the rise and fall of a beauty queen, and the instinctual business genius of the self-made mogul—making her the perfect figure to follow through the creation of Hollywood. Whitfield's title is particularly apt: though Hollywood can be said to have "made" many actresses, Pickford molded Hollywood more than it molded her. It was Pickford who created and perpetuated "Little Mary" and demanded the projects, directors, and control that she saw as necessary to make her career. Educated only through theater tours as a child actress, Pickford became a successful hyphenate, actorproducer -studio founder, long before the contemporary practice of actor production companies. The contracts negotiated by Pickford and her mother became the industry model for box office stars. Her sharp financial instincts and tough negotiations were seen then as in marked contrast to her little girl film image: Chaplin nicknamed her the "Bank of America's Sweetheart." Whitfield weaves together the facts and various accounts of Pickford's life, noting where she may not be the most reliable source. With Mary's personal story in the background, Whitfield provides a thorough and fascinating history ofher career, as well of Hollywood's creation. To help support her family, Mary began acting with her siblings in Toronto when she was 7. After years of theatrical touring, Pickford finally caught the attention ofthe Broadway impresario David Belasco. While waiting for her next acting job, she decided to "lower herself and work temporarily for Biograph Pictures and D.W. Griffith. As she negotiated herselfcontinually stronger in the young company, the prestige of the stage could no longer compete with the creative and financial satisfaction that film gave her. Pickford's need to control her projects and to receive the full share ofthe profits that her popularity generated finally led to the founding of United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith. But Whitfield sees Pickford as more than a shrewd, boxoffice icon: Pickford's artistry is also at issue. Though Chaplin's silent films have continually been celebrated, Pickford's are just beginning to be re-examined. Pickford lived to see her own obsolescence, to recognize that her films represented a lost language that modern audiences could not comprehend. Though few film silent film actors managed the transition to sound well, "Little Mary" was particularly misunderstood, with her portrayal of children equated with Shirley Temple, who even remade several of Pickford's classic roles. This common reading of her works overlooks the complexity that she brought to her ingenues. As part ofher narrative, Whitfield provides critiques of Pickford's motion pictures that still exist, showing her artistic development as an actress and producer. While chronicling the rise of Pickford's career, Whitfield also does an excellent job of providing solid background on the supporting cast: Chaplin, Griffith, Lillian Gish, Cecil B. DeMiIIe, Ernest Lubitsch, David Belasco, and Samuel Goldwyn. She describes not merely their impact on Pickford's life, but their role in the rise of Hollywood—and how the continuing development ofHollywood affected them, frequently leaving behind the innovators that created it. Pickford's story does lose steam with the advent of sound—while the focus until then is on Pickford's professional life, as her acting career disintegrated, her personal problems with alcohol, Fairbanks, and her family seem to take over. The ever-resourceful Pickford is seen unable to redefine her role in the new film industry; even her continued role with United Artists did not display her previous business talents. Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood is an excellent resource on the early film industry and Mary Pickford in particular, presenting her as a filmmaker and entrepreneur of amazing...