Past Screenings

December 12th, 2015 at 2 pm

Presented by The Silent Treatment at the Cinefamily

Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles

The earliest surviving Mary Pickford feature, Tess of the Storm Country (1914) catapulted Pickford from popular performer to motion picture megastar, inspired exhibitors to crown Pickford “America’s Sweetheart,” and spurred studio head Adolph Zukor to raise her salary, making her the world’s highest paid actress.

In the film, Pickford stars as Tessibel Skinner, a poor but feisty squatter on the blustery shores of New York’s Cayuga Lake who rises to heroism when her father (David Hartford) is falsely imprisoned for murder. When Tess agrees to care for the illegitimate baby of a wealthy friend (Olive Golden), she risks losing the love of Frederick (Harold Lockwood) and is condemned by his father, the unforgiving minister Elias Graves (W.R. Walters).

This groundbreaking melodrama was recently preserved by the Paramount Archives in cooperation with the Mary Pickford Foundation. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, written by B.P. Schulberg and based on the 1909 novel by Grace Miller White. 80 min.

Live accompaniment from Cliff Retallick

$12/free for members of Cinefamily

See more here.

On Saturday, March 21st, the annual classic film event Cinefest will screen Tess of the Storm Country (1914), the earliest surviving feature starring Mary Pickford. Recently preserved by the Paramount Archives and including some elements provided by the Mary Pickford Foundation, Tess was the breakout role for a young Pickford, who shot to international stardom due to the film’s success. Cinefest is held in Syracuse, New York and is presented by the Syracuse Cinephile Society. Visit the Cinefest site for more details.

November 3, 2014

The third Annual Mary Pickford Celebration of Silent Film, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in partnership with the Mary Pickford Foundation, will host the world premiere of the Academy Film Archive’s restoration of Little Annie Rooney (1925) from Mary Pickford’s own 35mm nitrate print held in the Mary Pickford Collection at the Library of Congress.

Read more about the restoration »

The Mary Pickford Foundation and the Silent Clowns Film Series presents MARY PICKFORD: SWEETHEART – SUPERSTAR!, a special series featuring four of Mary Pickford’s most popular comedy and drama features this summer in New York City. Catch Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) on May 10th, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918) along with the shorts Their First Misunderstanding (1911) and They Would Elope (1909) on June 14th, A Little Princess along with the shorts The School Teacher and the Waif (1912) and Love Among the Roses (1910) on July 12th, and Stella Maris (1918) along with the shorts The Englishman and the Girl (1910) and The Dream (1911) on August 2nd. Films are screened at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the back of Lincoln Center and will feature live accompaniment by Ben Model. Visit the SCFS site for tickets and details.

April 12th, 2014

Join the Mary Pickford Foundation and Pepperdine University in Malibu for the world premiere of three original music scores for Mary Pickford films. Student composers Matthew Aune, Andy Gladbach and Thomas B. Yee have scored the 1912 Biographs A Lodging for the Night, The School Teacher and the Waif, and So Near, Yet So Far. Admission is free. Click here for more details.

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

The Mary Pickford Foundation and the Hollywood Heritage Museum present an Evening at the Barn with two early Pickford performances, Rags (1915) and the Biograph short A Lodging for the Night (1912), featuring original accompaniment by Andrew Manley. Join us for these rarely-screened gems at 7:30 pm at the Barn on Highland. To reserve a seat, visit Brown Paper Tickets.

October 22nd and 24th, 2013

Join the Mary Pickford Foundation and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as we present two classics of silent cinema as part of the Mary Pickford Celebration of Silent Film. King Vidor’s acclaimed drama The Crowd (1928), starring James Murray and Eleanor Boardman, screens October 22nd. On the 24th, Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer team up for the romance The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1928), directed by Mary Pickford’s discovery Ernst Lubitsch. Both films feature an original score by Carl Davis and will be introduced by historian and preservationist Kevin Brownlow. Visit Oscars.org for tickets and details.

October 11th, 2013

The Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College in New Hampshire will host the world re-premiere of the recently discovered Mary Pickford short Their First Misunderstanding. Long believed lost, this 1911 film stars Pickford along with her first husband Owen Moore. Also showing is The Dream, another 1911 short with Pickford and Moore, and the 1926 feature Sparrows. Click here for tickets and details.

October 6th, 2013

The historic 1929 Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, N.J. presents Mary Pickford’s final silent My Best Girl, co-starring Charles “Buddy” Rogers and directed by Sam Taylor, along with Charley Chase’s final silent short Movie Night (1929). Both films will be screened in 35 mm and accompanied by Bernie Anderson, Jr on the Wonder Morton Theatre Pipe Organ. Click here for tickets and details.

Friday, August 30th, 2013

Join the Mary Pickford Foundation and the 2013 Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood for a special screening of two Mary Pickford films, The Pride of the Clan (1917) and The School Teacher and the Waif (1912). Co-starring Matt Moore and directed by Maurice Tourneur, The Pride of the Clan features Pickford on the cusp of her worldwide stardom, while D.W. Griffith’s Biograph short The School Teacher and the Waif stars Mary in her first ‘waif’ role. For more details visit the Cinecon website here.

August 30th & 31st, 2013

The 14th annual Forssa Silent Film Festival in Finland will pay tribute to ‘Divine Ladies of the Silent Film Era’ this August as they screen the films of Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Louise Brooks and others. The festival kicks off on August 30th with The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917), Mary’s star vehicle written by Frances Marion and directed by Maurice Tourneur, and on August 31st Mary stars in Sparrows, the 1926 classic directed by William Beaudine. All films are screened at a 1906 movie house, the oldest functioning movie theater in Europe. Visit the website here, or here for an English translation.

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

Join the Omaha Conservatory of Music as they premiere composer Maria Newman’s new score for the 1914 Mary Pickford silent Cinderella, co-starring Pickford’s then-husband Owen Moore. Newman’s score will be performed by the Summer Institute Cinema Orchestra at the Westside Middle School Performing Arts Center in Omaha, NE. Click here for tickets and more details.

May 26th, 2013

Mary Pickford’s 1918 dramatic masterpiece Stella Maris will be screened as part of this year’s Cinevent festival in Columbus, OH. Featuring a dual role by Pickford and co-starring Conway Tearle and Ida Waterman, this Marshall Neilan-directed classic will feature live accompaniment. Visit Cinevent for more details.

April 8th, 2013

Join the Toronto Silent Film Festival and the Toronto Theatre Organ Society as they celebrate Mary Pickford’s birthday with a screening of My Best Girl (1927), the Toronto native’s final silent film, accompanied by Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer. Visit the TSFF site for details.

May 11th, 2013

Catch Mary Pickford’s silent swan song My Best Girl (1927) at the Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, featuring live organ accompaniment by Russ Peck. The classic romantic comedy also stars Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers and is directed by Sam Taylor. Visit the San Diego Symphony’s website for details.

April 03 2013

Join the Mary Pickford Foundation and The Silent Treatment as we celebrate Mary Pickford’s birthday with a special event at the historic Silent Movie Theatre at 611 N. Fairfax in Hollywood. Experience two classic Pickford comedies, Little Annie Rooney (1925) and Suds (1920), along with birthday cake, prizes and special guests Elaina Friedrichsen, MPF Director of Archive and Legacy, and Cari Beauchamp, author and MPF Resident Scholar. Visit the Cinefamily website for showtimes and tickets.

March 14 2013 – March 17 2013

Join the Syracuse Cinephile Society at their annual Cinefest, a festival of all things classic film in Syracuse, N.Y. March 14th through 17th. This year’s screenings include Mary Pickford in The Foundling (1915), one of her earliest orphan roles, the 1912 Biograph short So Near Yet So Far, and the 1932 Charles “Buddy” Rogers rarity This Reckless Age. Check the Cinefest site for details and more titles.

March 03 2013

Experience silent film the Texas way with a screening of the 1926 Mary Pickford classic Sparrows at Austin’s historic Alamo Drafthouse on Sunday, March 3rd. A live DJ will provide period musical accompaniment on two handcranked turn-of-the-century phonographs. Visit the Alamo blog for tickets and details.

February 16 2013

This February the San Francisco Silent Film Festival will screen My Best Girl, one of Mary Pickford’s most popular comedies and her final silent. Directed by Sam Taylor and also starring Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Sunshine Hart and Lucien Littlefield, the film will be accompanied by Donald Sosin on grand piano. Click here for tickets and details.

February 16 2013

Join the Mary Pickford Foundation and Pepperdine University for a special screening of Heart o’ the Hills on February 16th at 7:00 pm. A 1919 drama produced by and starring Mary Pickford, Heart o’ the Hills also features Allan Sears and a young John Gilbert. Resident Scholar Cari Beauchamp will introduce the film, and Maria Newman’s original score will be performed live by the Collegium Musicum. The free event will take place at Pepperdine’s Stauffer Chapel in Malibu.

February 14 2013

Join the UCLA Film & Television Archive for a rare screening of Pickford’s final film, 1933’s Secrets. Co-starring Leslie Howard, Secrets has been preserved by the American Film Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts and will be presented as part of a tribute to director Frank Borzage. Click here for tickets and more details.

February 09 2013 

The historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood will screen the 1929 all-talking version of Taming of the Shrew starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Click here for tickets and event information.

February 07 2013 

Join the Alex Film Society as they present a restored 35mm print of Mary Pickford’s 1924 silent Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall at the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale.

 

February 02 2013

On February 2nd, the Niles Essanay Film Museum in Fremont, Calif. will host an evening devoted to Mary Pickford’s Biograph and IMP short films. Don’t miss your chance to see rarities such as They Would Elope (1909), Simple Charity (1910), The School Teacher and the Waif (1912) and others, accompanied by Bruce Loeb on piano. Click here for tickets and details.

November 29 2012

Join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as they screen The Ring, a rarely-seen 1927 silent drama from director Alfred Hitchcock. Recently restored by the British Film Institute, The Ringfeatures a new score by Soweto Kinch and the Soweto Kinch Septet. More details and tickets are available here.

November 11 2012

A screening event focusing on the Biograph short films D.W. Griffith and company made in Fort Lee, N.J. in 1912. Two shorts starring Mary Pickford, The Narrow Road and The New York Hat, will be screened along with An Unseen Enemy, The Painted Lady, The Musketeers of Pig Alley and The Burglar’s Dilemma, all featuring live music and an introduction by film historian Richard Koszarski. For details visit movingimage.us.

 

November 06 2012

On DVD and BluRay: Milestone Film Releases »

September 10 2012 – September 11 2012

The Mary Pickford Foundation and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be hosting their first annual celebration of silent films at the Mary Pickford Study Center on Vine Street. Douglas Fairbanks’ The Mark of Zorro will be preceded by New York Hat, the final film Mary Pickford made with D.W. Griffith and the first film written by Anita Loos. The evening includes a tour of the Academy’s film archives.  Tickets are on sale to the public for the September 11 evening for $5 at Oscars.org