BRANDON— She was known as ‘America’s Sweetheart,’ but often played assertive take-charge characters that made her a role model to movie-goers around the world.
She was Mary Pickford, who ruled the entertainment industry as the Queen of Hollywood during the silent era.
See for yourself with a screening of ‘My Best Girl’ (1927), one of Pickford’s landmark feature films, on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt.
All are welcome to this family-friendly movie. Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations.
The screening, the latest in the venue’s silent film series, will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent films.
The show is the latest in Brandon Town Hall’s silent film series, which gives audiences the opportunity to experience early cinema as it was intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience.
Set in a big city department store, ‘My Best Girl’ explores what happens when romance blossoms between a humble clerk and the wealthy store owner’s son.
The result is a sparkling “rich man, poor girl” romantic comedy from 1927 starring Pickford alongside leading man Charles ‘Buddy Rogers,’ who would later become Pickford’s real-life husband.
An industry pioneer who became Hollywood’s first movie star, Pickford enjoyed a cult-like popularity throughout the silent era that made her a national icon and an international celebrity.
Pickford also possessed a business savvy that gave her nearly total control of her creative output, with her own production company and a partnership in a major film distribution company, all before she was 30 years old.
Dubbed “America’s Sweetheart” early in her screen career, the nickname was misleading, as Pickford’s popularity was rooted in her portrayal of assertive women often forced to battle for justice in a male-dominated world.
After starring in hundreds of short dramas from 1910 to 1915, Pickford’s popularity led to starring roles in feature films starting in the mid-1910s.
In 1919, she joined industry icons D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in creating the United Artists studio. In 1920, she married Fairbanks, with the pair reigning as Hollywood’s royal couple for the remainder of the silent era.
In the 1920s, Pickford reduced her output to one picture per year. ‘My Best Girl’ was her last silent feature before the industry switched to talking pictures.
Pickford made several successful talking pictures, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ‘Coquette’ in 1929.
Pickford, however, chose to retire in 1933. She lived in semi-seclusion until her death in 1979.
Accompanist Jeff Rapsis will improvise an original musical score for ‘My Best Girl’ live as the movie is shown, as was done during the silent film era.
“When the score gets made up on the spot, it creates a special energy that’s an important part of the silent film experience,” said Rapsis, who uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of a full orchestra for the accompaniment.
With the Brandon Town Hall’s screening of ‘My Best Girl,’ audiences will get a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—in a high quality print, on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.
“All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience,” Rapsis said. “Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today.”
The Brandon Town Hall screening of ‘My Best Girl’ is sponsored by Harold and Jean Somerset; Fyles Brothers, Inc.; and Jeanette Devino.
Upcoming programs in the Brandon Town Hall’s silent film series include:
• Friday, Oct. 27, 7 p.m.: ‘The Cat and the Canary‘ (1927). Can a group of distant relatives survive the night in a haunted house to learn the secret of a madman’s will? Find out in the original Gothic thriller from silent film director Paul Leni. Just in time for Halloween, a movie filled with deep shadows, dark secrets, and a surprisingly timeless mix of humor and horror that will keep you guessing. Sponsored by Pam and Steve Douglass.
• Saturday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.: ‘The Big Parade‘ (1925) starring John Gilbert. We salute Veterans Day with this sweeping saga about U.S. doughboys signing up and shipping off to France in 1917, where they face experiences that will change their lives forever—if they return. MGM blockbuster directed by King Vidor; one of the biggest box office triumphs of the silent era. Sponsored by Donald and Dolores Furnari; Jeanette Devino; and Lorrie Byrom.
‘My Best Girl’ (1927) starring Mary Pickford and Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers will be shown with live music by Jeff Rapsis on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Town Hall and Community Center, Route 7, in Brandon, Vt.
Admission is free, with free will donations accepted in support of ongoing Town Hall renovations. For more info, visit www.brandontownhall.com.
For more about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.
