Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies

American Idol: Mary Pickford, World War I, and the Making of a National Icon

AMERICAN IDOL 145 A tinted 35mm frame from the prologue of The Little American (1917). AMERICAN IDOL Mary Pickford,WorldWar I, and the Making of a National Icon Christel Schmidt I I n April 1918 Mary Pickford stood on an outdoor stage surrounded by American flags, soldiers, and a military band. She faced an audience of thousands that, in trying to get closer to her, almost pushed through the railing between them. Using a megaphone, Pickford began a rousingly patriotic speech about the American e∑ort in the FirstWorldWar. As she spoke of Germany’s military aggression, her rage spilled over. Stamping her feet and pounding her fists, she told of Germans who had crucified Belgian babies and bludgeoned Allied soldiers to death. She recounted her meeting with a brave young army man who had lost his legs to an enemy shell in France. The experience had made her want to “take a gun and go abroad [myself].”⁄ The crowd responded with shrieks of approval and applause. This was not a theatrical performance. The United States had been a combatant inWorldWar I for a full year, and Pickford was on a mission to sell war bonds for the government. As the nation’s favorite movie star, she was central to the motion picture industry’s e∑orts to support the war and lift morale on the home front through speeches, fund-raising appeals, and propaganda films. Her onscreen persona, which linked her strongly to the national image of youth, optimism, resilience, and fair play, was easily co-opted for the cause. Now her tireless e∑orts on behalf of the war would transform her from film star to national symbol, representing not just the ideal woman but America itself. In 1914, as the war engulfed Europe, the American public was engaged in a happier pursuit—a love a∑air with Pickford. The actress, like the movies, was a growing phenomenon. She began her film career in 1909, making one-reelers for D.W . Gri≈th at Biograph, when the industry was young. Her natural performance style and charisma quickly won cinemagoers’ hearts, and for the next few years, both Pickford and her art form flourished. By 1914, short films had given way to new multireel features, and Pickford, who starred in two of the year’s biggest blockbusters (Hearts Adrift and Tess of the Storm Country), became the focus of a fan craze that swept the country. A 1914 magazine advertisement for the Mary Pickford cap. Christel Schmidt 146 Sitting in darkened movie theaters, viewers forged a unique and intimate bond with the larger-than-life images of the stars. Silent actors, communicating heightened emotions in close-up, stirred an equally heightened devotion from fans. Pickford, the first player in the movies to ignite such unbridled passion, was loved with an intensity that was unprecedented in any medium. Her fame drove the marketing of movie fan magazines, postcards, posters, trading cards, buttons, and photographs, as well as other random items (such as a cap and a pillow) that bore her name. Songs struggled to capture her appeal, and one, a composition entitled “Sweet Little Mary Pickford ,” succeeded: There’s something ’bout her that warms your heart You’re captivated right from the start She’s like a sun beam a breath of spring This maid alluring with charms enduring I’ve never met her and yet somehow it seems I’ve known her for a long time now I’m in ecstasy when she smiles at me. D. J. “Pop” Grauman, a San Francisco film exhibitor, dubbed Pickford “America’s Sweetheart,” and fans not only embraced the name but also wanted to know what their sweetheart thought on a range of subjects.¤ Magazine and newspaper writers obliged and tried to detail every aspect of her life. This seemingly bottomless interest led to “Daily Talks,” Pickford’s nationally syndicated newspaper column.‹ Published every day but Sunday, it covered far more than the conventional range of women’s subjects. Although some columns did deal with the domestic realm—household economy, beauty tips, clothing, and family—there were also stories about Pickford’s professional life and art. She answered readers’ questions, o∑ering a space where a twentieth-century girl could find “perfect sympathy.”› On rare occasions she used her column to promote cultural diversity and racial understanding. Within a month of its launch, Pickford also wrote about the GreatWar...