Tweet New Mary Pickford Foundation website

I see the Mary Pickford Foundation have just launched a nice-looking new website at http://marypickford.org/. If you go to the Archives section there are quite a few items of interest, including complete details of all their film holdings, a preliminary list of Pickford films held in other archives, and some ephemera, including glass slides, production photos, some interviews, and pages from a 1916 scrapbook owned by a Mary fan.

They are looking to digitise more items from the Margaret Herrick Library's Pickford collection in the future, so this site could prove quite a treasure trove.

I just took a glance at the website and I enjoyed watching the viewable clip of Rags(1915) in their filmography section. Maybe someday that film will be screened for all the public to see.

I also liked their introductory video on Pickford on the home page.

I do wish the Foundation luck for the sake of Mary Pickford's legacy despite the bad taste it left in many people's mouths including mine these past few years when they decided to defund The Mary Pickford Institute for Education.

Now maybe next year, their "Mary Pickford Film Event" at the Pickford Center in Los Angeles will include an actual Mary Pickford Film instead of one of her husband's films...

If were still here next year, let's hope that it is a restored LITTLE ANNIE ROONEY.

Any one of her feature films would be fine with me as long as the public gets to see them on the big screen finally.

If it were a perfect ideal world I would want a restored version of Rosita(1923) and have that screen at one of the Mary Pickford Foundation events but that film isn't on any investor's top priority list it seems. I guess Pickford's detesting of the film in later years have convinced people it's truly a bad film.

If anybody has actually seen the film, they would wonder why she didn't like it. It's a pretty amazing film.
I'm hopeful they will restore it and screen it one of these years...

I mean seriously, it's Ernst Lubitsch American debut! That fact alone should warrant a grant to restore it.

At the screening last night, a little Mary Pickford Foundation logo opened proceedings. Cari Beauchamp, scholar of the foundation, spoke about the new website, how they intend to make this an annual event, and how they hope to digitize much of the Mary Pickford Collection at the Margaret Herrick Library. There was a small sampling of clippings, behind the scenes photos, and the like out in the lobby. Tracy Goessel's poster of THE MARK OF ZORRO was also on display in the lobby.

I found the ARCHIVE section of the Pickford Foundation very interesting. There I discovered my own work--grids of Pickford Film Holdings at GEH, ULCA, & LC--published without credit or permission. Very curious. Information on Pickford holdings at these and other FIAF archives around the world can be found at http://pickfordfilmlegacy.tripod.com/.

An article I wrote about the Pickford Collection at the Library of Congress can be found here.

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mov/summar ... hmidt.html

Best,

Christel Schmidt

oh wow, I know I have your article bookmarked on my internet browser the past few years for future reference because it was so extensive and a wonderful resource on Pickford. I sure hope that the Mary Pickford Foundation gives you the credit that you deserve for all that work.

I usually lurk but this has brought me out. This is not good behavior for a foundation that claims it loves scholarship. Like everyone here, I’ve read more books etc. about the silents than I can count. I also care about close paraphrasing and plagiarism in nonfiction – even more upsetting when it happens in work about the silents. I checked Ms. Schmidt’s website and the copyright is clear. This is more than unkind. It’s a theft, and it’s illegal. They must give credit.

If it was me, at THIS point, I'd be fuming so much I wouldn't even let them use it if they put my name on it.

I appreciate the supportive comments of Bank, Sara & Doug. I must admit I was stunned that the Pickford Foundation would use my work without credit or permission. It is unacceptable and I have notified one of the Foundation board members, who is also a lawyer, that they have to remove this material immediately.

I am a leading Pickford scholar who has been researching the actress's films and career for fourteen years. I have a book, MARY PICKFORD: QUEEN OF THE MOVIES, coming out on December 1st, and am currently producing a Pickford bibliography for the Oxford University Press. The grids the Foundation have published on their website are a part of a comprehensive study of Pickford holding I undertook in FIAF archives around the world. The bulk of this research was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (2000 & 2004).

I made my research publicly available through a website (http://pickfordfilmlegacy.tripod.com/) beginning in 2003, but that does not mean that it can be reproduced without credit or permission. If professional ethics do not deter someone from using my work without credit or permission then the copyright notification on the home page of my website should.

I hope this unfortunate incident will be resolved in the coming days.

Christel Schmidt

I hope this unfortunate incident will be resolved in the coming days.

Christel Schmidt

Inauspicious, to be sure.

MovieQueen, please us up to date with developments. This morning I was remembering the time my own work was plagiarized. It's a horrible thing on any level, but even more so if you have put years of scholarship, not to mention blood, sweat, dollars and tears, into your work. The scope of your investigations makes it pretty clear how much you put into those state-of-the-art reports. So let us know what happens.

The Foundation has added a much delayed credit to my work on the Archive Section of their website and also gave themselves credit for contributing to my fourteen years of mostly unpaid Pickford research. This is laughable and will not stand. I worked with them for a total of a few months in 1997. What a joke!

My website can be found at: http://pickfordfilmlegacy.tripod.com/

My upcoming book Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Pickford-Mov ... the+movies

Huffington Post put it on their 10 Must-Read Movie Books for Fall 2012. See the link below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gl ... 81477.html

The Foundation has added a much delayed credit to my work on the Archive Section of their website and also gave themselves credit for contributing to my fourteen years of mostly unpaid Pickford research. This is laughable and will not stand. I worked with them for a total of a few months in 1997. What a joke!

My website can be found at: http://pickfordfilmlegacy.tripod.com/" target="_blank

My upcoming book Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies can be found on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Pickford-Mov ... the+movies" target="_blank

Huffington Post put it on their 10 Must-Read Movie Books for Fall 2012. See the link below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-gl ... 81477.html" target="_blank

Shame to hear about your issues with the Foundation. Aside of that, what a loving, time consuming research/study you did on her. Kudos to you Movie Queen. I will be ordering the book soon.

Thank you ILoveMary68. Its truly been a labor of love. I'm very proud of the book! I hope you will love it too!

Best,

Christel

I was told today that the website was corrected and in fact, it now reads:

This material is adapted from data compiled by Christel Schmidt under grants and funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mary Pickford Foundation and others.

Let me be clear about this. The MP Foundation does not have my permission to reproduce my work on their website. A work that has been published for 9 years and is copyright protected. If MPF wants a battle over this I am ready. I can't wait to hear how they explain taking any part of an established Pickford scholar's multi-year study of Pickford films and putting it on their website as if it was their own. The truth is the Foundation could have promoted my research by simply providing a link to my website. And if their intentions were good why not contact me in advance or credit me until after receiving fall out from the archives.

The best part is the MPF website promotes their desire to help researchers and scholars. By taking their hard won research without permission and claiming they have some right to it? Is the next thing going to be them taking credit for my book?

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Pickford-Mov ... 0813136474" target="_blank

As Mary Pickford once said "I don't want to fly on anyone else's kite and I'm not gonna have them on mine."

Christel Schmidt

They sure as heck don't have permission to post your work on their website. I hope this Foundation figures out what the right thing to do is because right now all their decisions have been borderline bizarre. In the meantime, I'm excited for the book and will make a point to pre-order it sometime in Oct when I finally get my paycheck!

Honestly, they take Mary Pickford's name and pretty much do everything she wouldn't have wanted, drop funding for education and workshops, taking hard-working scholars work that took blood, sweat, and tears and display it as if it were their own without permission, and this "annual Pickford" academy screening, show a Douglas Fairbanks movie(no offense to the Doug man btw). This is not how she wanted her money spent.

Jeez, the MPF has rectified the error on their website, hopefully more to your satisfaction soon. Maybe this was a miscommunication in getting things up on the website?

They're providing us with DVDs, they're partnering with the Herrick Library, the wonderful Cari Beauchamp is involved and she is aces to me. I hope the relationship with Milestone will continue.

We all know of the executive decision to defund the likewise excellent MPI and how sad it has made many of us. It was an unhappy turn of events to be sure. In the end and speaking for myself, I'm simply grateful for the continued efforts to keep one of the great film pioneers and her achievements relevant and robust for future scholars, filmmakers and film buffs, like me.
Hopefully the MPF will also work with Ms. Schmidt in promoting her book, I know I'm looking forward to it.

They're on a new path and I'm looking forward to see where it will go.

This was not a miscommunication and the error has not been rectified. But I can guarantee you that it will be and soon.

The truth is the Foundation could have promoted my research by simply providing a link to my website. And if their intentions were good why not contact me in advance or credit me until after receiving fall out from the archives.

The best part is the MPF website promotes their desire to help researchers and scholars. By taking their hard won research without permission and claiming they have some right to it?

Given that the MPF is entrusted with preserving and promoting the Pickford legacy, and that without her films that legacy withers and dies, I would expect the opposite of the actions we've seen here. If I were a director or board member of the Foundation, you, Christel, would be damn near the top of my short list of people who are most important to seeing that the preservation of the films of Mary Pickford is carried out in the most effective, orderly and, yes, financially prudent manner possible. The work you have done with the various Pickford film archives is phenomenal. I certainly hope someone in a position to do so is paying attention to it, and making it part of their "game plan" to preserve Pickford's film legacy. But not without first bringing you back into the loop, so to speak, rather than ignoring or giving belated credit for your efforts thusfar.

Having said all that, I personally would like to thank you for your work, and for providing the link to it here. In an hour or so the other night, reading your material, I learned more about the state and whereabouts of the Pickford archives, as well as the state of the Biograph material, both specifically and generally, than from any other source over the past five years of my own informal research and study. I hope that your work on these matters is ongoing and that you get the support and encouragement that you deserve.

Bravo! Gene Zonarich nailed it.

Christel, just to let you know that I've pre-ordered your book because of this thread.

Rick

I really appreciate the support I have received on this thread. It means more than I can say.

Best,

Christel Schmidt

The work you have done with the various Pickford film archives is phenomenal. I certainly hope someone in a position to do so is paying attention to it, and making it part of their "game plan" to preserve Pickford's film legacy. But not without first bringing you back into the loop, so to speak, rather than ignoring or giving belated credit for your efforts thusfar.

Hi Gene,

I am currently working on three Pickford related projects. First, there is the promotion of my book Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies.

http://www.amazon.com/Mary-Pickford-Mov ... the+movies" target="_blank" target="_blank

You can LIKE us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/MaryPickfordQueenOfTheMovies" target="_blank" target="_blank or FOLLOW us on Twitter @MovieQueen2012.

I am also working on a Pickford bibliography for Oxford University Press. See http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank

And finally, in a project that might interest you most, I have been hired to assist the Library of Congress on a project involving the preservation and restoration of the Pickford Biograph films. These shorts, mostly directed by D.W. Griffith, are of course very important in the history of early American cinema. The Library, thanks to Mary Pickford, has numerous camera negatives and early generation prints in their collections so they are able to make the highest quality restorations possible. I am happy to assist the Library in their endeavors with this material. This project allows me to revisit Pickford's work from 1909-1912, which is one of my favorite periods of her career. And it offers me a chance to pick up and see completed work started by Pickford scholar Robert Cushman in 1970. He is a man I admire greatly and his efforts to save the Pickford legacy are unmatched.

There is so much good happening for Mary Pickford right now that I try to stay focused on that. Its best, when you can, to leave the rest.

Best,

Christel

Christel,
I am so glad you will be completing Robert's work. He loved his Mary P. and made sure to promote her memory and talent to the world. He was so talented and made the Academy's photo department into the great repository of photos it is. His intelligence, talent, and kindness are greatly missed.

Christel,
I am so glad you will be completing Robert's work. He loved his Mary P. and made sure to promote her memory and talent to the world. He was so talented and made the Academy's photo department into the great repository of photos it is. His intelligence, talent, and kindness are greatly missed.

No kidding. He was very generous in helping with my book.

Robert Cushman wrote a Pickford book. He never sought to have it published. I'm now developing it into a comprehensive book study, augmenting his work with my own research/interviews.

Imagine my surprise to find the original audio tapes of Robert's interviews with Hal Mohr, Karl Struss, and George Cukor discussing Pickford. No one close to him thought he had saved the audio after the interviews had been transcribed. He also conducted Mae Marsh's last interview. Only a small portion of the Marsh interview was published.

A pity Robert didn't live to see all the current Mary Pickford projects/interest.

Jeffrey Vance

Robert Cushman was a class act. He was a kind and gentle soul who was modest, to a fault in my opinion, about his accomplishments as a curator and a historian. I have missed him very much on my recent journeys with Pickford.

Christel

Hi Gene,

I am currently working on three Pickford related projects. preservation and restoration of the Pickford Biograph films. These shorts, mostly directed by D.W. Griffith, are of course very important in the history of early American cinema. The Library, thanks to Mary Pickford, has numerous camera negatives and early generation prints in their collections so they are able to make the highest quality restorations possible. I am happy to assist the Library in their endeavors with this material. This project allows me to revisit Pickford's work from 1909-1912, which is one of my favorite periods of her career. And it offers me a chance to pick up and see completed work started by Pickford scholar Robert Cushman in 1970. He is a man I admire greatly and his efforts to save the Pickford legacy are unmatched.

There is so much good happening for Mary Pickford right now that I try to stay focused on that. Its best, when you can, to leave the rest.

Best,

Christel

I'm very happy to hear that -- that there is so much good work in progress on important projects involving Pickford, who may well have been the least understood and least appreciated great artist of the 20th century. But rather than blame the short sightedness of at least two generations who followed in her footsteps without realizing it, I'm encouraged that people like you, and also Jeffrey Vance, are doing the work to actually restore Pickford's legacy, and to make her work as real and alive as it was during her career.

I'm also excited to know someone who is directly involved in the restoration of the Biograph material. Every time I read of the latest Chaplin or Arbuckle restoration projects coming to fruition, as worthy and as important as they are, I wish we could see some progress on the most important single body of work in American cinema, the Griffith Biograph films from 1908-1913 -- one that has yet to see anything approaching a comprehensive restoration (understandably for many reasons, but still frustrating), and that also includes the first several years of Pickford's career in which she laid the foundation for motion picture acting. It helps to know there is progress being made on that front, finally.
Best wishes,
Gene