Gladys Marie Smith, known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian actress resident in the U.S., and also producer, screenwriter and film studio founder, who was a pioneer in the US film industry with a Hollywood career that spanned five decades.
Adolph Zukor was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures. He produced one of America's first feature-length films, The Prisoner of Zenda, in 1913.
The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre owners and producers.
The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.
Ladies of the Mob (1928) is a 1928 American silent crime drama film directed by William A. Wellman, produced by Jesse L. Lasky and Adolph Zukor for Famous Players–Lasky, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on a story by Ernest Booth. This gangster-themed romantic thriller about a criminal's daughter who tries to reform a petty crook whom she loves featured Clara Bow, Richard Arlen, Mary Alden and Helen Lynch.
Block booking is a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice in the Hollywood studio system from the turn of the 1930s until it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. (1948). Under block booking, "independent ('unaffiliated') theater owners were forced to take large numbers of a studio's pictures without knowing much about them. Those studios could then parcel out B movies along with A-class features and star vehicles, which made both production and distribution operations more economical." The element of the system involving the purchase of unseen pictures is known as blind bidding.
Mary Pickford (1892–1979) was a Canadian-American motion picture actress, producer, and writer. During the silent film era she became one of the first great celebrities of the cinema and a popular icon known to the public as "America's Sweetheart".
The Biograph Girl is a musical with a book by Warner Brown, lyrics by Brown and David Heneker, and music by Heneker. Its plot focuses on the silent film era and five pioneers of American cinema - actresses Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, directors D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett, and Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor.
The Pretty Sister of Jose is an American play. It was featured on Broadway in 1903 and starred Maude Adams. It was made into a 1914 silent film by Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures and starred Marguerite Clark and Jack Pickford, brother of Clark rival Mary Pickford. The film of Pretty Sister of Jose appears to be lost.
A Good Little Devil is a 1914 silent film starring Mary Pickford, produced by Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman, and distributed on a 'State's Rights' basis. It was Pickford's first feature-length film.
Mistress Nell is a 1915 American silent historical adventure film starring Mary Pickford. It is yet another story about Nell Gwyn taken from a Broadway play Mistress Nell that was very successful for stage actress Henrietta Crosman from 1900 to 1902. This production was produced by Adolph Zukor's production company Famous Players Film Company and released through Paramount Pictures. The film is extant.
Esmeralda is a 1915 silent film starring Mary Pickford, directed by James Kirkwood, and produced by Adolph Zukor and stage impresario Daniel Frohman.
In the Bishop's Carriage is a 1913 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company film company and starring Mary Pickford. It is based on the novel of the same name by Miriam Michelson. This film is lost.
Less than the Dust is a 1916 American silent feature film produced by and starring Mary Pickford with a release by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount Pictures. John Emerson directed and Eric von Stroheim was one of the assistant directors. There is a 35mm copy of this film that still survives.
Behind the Scenes is a 1914 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players–Lasky, released by Paramount Pictures, based on the play Behind the Scenes by Margaret Mayo, and starring Mary Pickford as a struggling young actress. James Kirkwood directed and co-starred.
Rags is a 1915 silent film produced by Famous Players Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Kirkwood and starring Mary Pickford. It survives in various prints between the Library of Congress, the George Eastman House and Cinematheque Francaise. It's available to watch on YouTube from 2022
Johanna Enlists is a 1918 silent film comedy drama produced by and starring Mary Pickford with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by William Desmond Taylor from a short story by Rupert Hughes, The Mobilization of Johanna. Frances Marion, a frequent Pickford collaborator, wrote the scenario. The film was made at a time during World War I when sentimental or patriotic films were immensely popular. It was an early starring vehicle for Monte Blue, the male lead opposite Pickford. The film survives in several prints, including one at the Library of Congress.
Fanchon the Cricket is a 1915 American silent drama film produced by Famous Players Film Company and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is based on a novel, La Petite Fadette by George Sand. It was directed by James Kirkwood and stars Mary Pickford, at the time working for Adolph Zukor and Daniel Frohman. A previous film version of the story was released in 1912 by IMP and directed by Herbert Brenon.
Jesse James is a 1927 American silent Western film produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky and released through Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Lloyd Ingraham and starred cowboy star Fred Thomson whose wife Frances Marion wrote the scenario under the nom de plume Frank M. Clifton.
Loves of an Actress is a lost 1928 American synchronized sound romantic drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Pola Negri. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the sound-on-film Western Electric Sound System process. The film was produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky with the distribution through Paramount Pictures.
