Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman5/30/2023 ![]() ![]() Melanie Benjamin, who has built an entire oeuvre out of dramatizing the lives of real historical heroines, delivers what in Variety lingo would be termed a boffo production with The Girls in the Picture, the saga of Pickford and Marion from the first flush of their friendship to its ignominious end. Crucial in transforming mere human flesh into cinematic icon was writer Frances Marion, who chanced onto a film set, met Pickford, and devoted herself to "America's sweetheart" for decades, eventually becoming one of the highest-paid screenwriters in Hollywood. action! A century ago, in the days when Hollywood was still Hollywoodland, audiences sat in darkened theaters to watch silent "flickers" featuring anonymous actresses and actors who were called "movies," their roles written by "scenarists." The whole idea of a movie star had yet to be invented, until a Canadian-born gamine named Mary Pickford charmed her way into the public's consciousness. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. ![]() Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Girls in the Picture Author Melanie Benjamin ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |