Film Preservation

Fanchon the Cricket (1915) was restored through a unique partnership between the Pickford Foundation and the Cinematheque Francaise who held a nitrate dupe of the film. An incomplete nitrate print was preserved at the British Film Institute and, with their cooperation, L’ Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory in Italy photochemically and digitally restored the film, using the highest quality available elements, scanning the film onto 4K high definition. The missing English intertitles were reconstructed by translating from the French on the dupe negative. The Mary Pickford Foundation commissioned a new score by Julian Ducatenzeiler and Andy Gladbach. Digital mastering was completed at Roundabout Entertainment in Los Angeles. The restored film elements are housed at the Library of Congress and in the MPF collection at UCLA Film & Television Archive at the Packard Center in Santa Clarita. The French version is housed at the Cinematheque Francaise’.

Little Annie Rooney: (1925) The process of restoring and scoring Little Annie Rooney took several years. The original tinted nitrate print in Mary Pickford’s personal collection at the Library of Congress, made from the camera negative in 1925, was brought to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences archive in Los Angeles. The Academy Film Archive preserved the film photochemically, creating new 35mm preservation duplicate negatives and tinted prints. All photochemical work was completed at YCM Laboratory.

The preservation master was then scanned at 4K resolution so that the MPF, in cooperation with AMPAS, could create a digital version, evaluating the film frame by frame, removing dirt and other signs of deterioration to perfectly match the original nitrate tints and tones.

Then, through the MPF Composition Program at Pepperdine University, an extremely gifted young composer, Andy Gladbach, was chosen to create a new sound track for the film. Mentored by professionals, Gladbach was joined by a 16 piece orchestra that included three percussionists, as well as a conductor and engineers, to record his original music. The film was digitally mastered at Modern VideoFilm. The end result combines and showcases the finest work of artists, craftspeople and musicians from this century and from 1925. The restored film elements are housed at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences Film Archive.

Sparrows was reconstructed by the Library of Congress from the best quality film elements, a 35MM nitrate print and a 35MM safety dupe negative. Additional lab work was performed by Colorlab.

The Mary Pickford Foundation scanned the preservation elements in 4K, and worked closely with Roundabout Entertainment, Inc. to complete all digital work, addressing imperfections to ensure that Sparrows is presented in its best possible form for a modern audience. Since this film is known for its stunning visuals, we worked hard to ensure that audiences today can enjoy it in all its splendor.

The Mary Pickford Company commissioned a new, original, orchestral score by the Graves Brothers, which was produced and recorded at the Savannah Studios in Los Angeles.