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Mary Pickford: Queen of the Movies editor Christel Schmidt will host a screening of Mary Pickford's 1924 feature Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall at the Portage Theater in Chicago on April 3, 2013 at 7:30pm. She will sign copies of her book after the program. The 35mm restoration print is courtesy of the Cinematheque Royale and the Library of Congress. For more information see the links below.

http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/855 ... -hall-1924" target="_blank
http://www.facebook.com/MaryPickfordQue ... ies/events" target="_blank

The screening of Dorothy at The Portage was a great success with Jay Warren's wonderful organ accompaniment. I'm looking forward to the annual Silent Film Society of Chicago summer program there. The big organ sound was perfect for a long, Fairbanks-scaled (BIG, technically perfect and no close-ups) historical drama. Beforehand, I got to meet Christel Schmidt and get a copy of her gorgeous book. We talked about The Foundling recently shown in Syracuse. She spoke before the film and mentioned while Dorothy was a departure for Pickford from her usual vehicles in terms of scale and costume, it's in many ways typical, with Mary as a rowdy, willful teenager. She said the average age of a Pickford character was 15-18. She also addressed Pickford's commitment to her films' preservation.
Thank you, Northwest Chicago Film Society, for your weekly mostly 35mm screenings of often archival prints at The Portage.