A Good Little Devil - Scrapbook Page w/ Ticket Stubs, Program Newspaper Magazine Clippings, etc. - 1913

A nice assortment of David Belasco's A Good Little Devil ephemera. These pieces -- including two ticket stubs and program/newspaper/magazine clippings that feature many photos by White NY -- are affixed to both sides of a giant page extracted from an old scrapbook. They were compiled by an unknown theatregoer who was lucky enough to attend the Broadway opening of the play with their mother at the Republic Theatre on Wednesday, January 8, 1913.

Written in ink, among other words, "Mary Pickford (my movie idol) was wonderful." The photographer of this early portrait of Mary is unknown at this time.

Orchestra seat tickets for the Wednesday, January 8, 1913 Broadway opening of Belasco's A Good Little Devil.

The Warrens of Virginia - West End Theatre Program - 1908

After David Belasco's The Warrens of Virginia closed on Broadway at the Stuyvesant Theatre on May 16, 1908*, and after the summer months off, Mary and troupe bounced around from theater to theater touring well into 1909. For the week of October 12, 1908,  The Warrens... was back in NYC, with Mary as Betty Warren, at the West End Theatre in Harlem. The program, with only the cover and one page being shown here, is typical of the time being somewhat plain and consisting mainly of advertising, but as can be seen, Gladys Smith was now officially Mary Pickford.

*Most sources claim The Warrens of Virginia closed on Broadway in October of 1908, however contemporary periodicals indicate its final week was in May. NY newspaper reports about rehearsals picked up in late August,  but then there seems to be silence until late September when the troupe began touring (seemingly starting in Boston in late September.) Until proven otherwise, I believe it closed on Broadway on May 16, 1908.

It is also worth noting that there also seems to be some confusion surrounding the Belasco Theatre. The Warrens of Virginia opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre and subsequently moved to the Stuyvesant Theatre. Complicating matters, the Stuyvesant is today known as the Belasco Theatre.

Belasco's A Good Little Devil (1913) Republic Theatre Postcards

Postcard for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. On stage photographs by White Studio. "An interesting scene from David Belasco’s great production of the Rostand fairy play at the Republic Theatre, New York, with Ernest Truex, Mary Pickford and Henry Stanford. Arthur Hill impersonates Rab, the dog."

Postcard for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. On stage photographs by White Studio. "Juliet sits by the wishing-well in her wonderful garden and makes her wish: 'I want to be Charle's wife.' The fairies hear it and smile their approval." --From David Belasco's fairy play triumph at the Republic Theatre, New York." The victorian figures flanking the photo are illustrations by Kate Greenaway. Pictured are Lillian Gish, Wilda Bennett, Claire Burke, Mary Pickford, Peggie Wallace, Georgia Fursman and Edna Griffin.

Postcard for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. On stage photographs by White Studio. "Charles, poor little devil, who is starved and beaten by his wicked old aunt. is visited at night by his friends, the fairies -- Queen Mab, together with Viviane. Morganie, Titania, Dewbright and little Thought-from-After. --One of the most beautiful episodes in David Belasco's remarkable fairy play for children and grown-us, the greatest of popular hits at his Republic Theatre, New York."

Postcard for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. On stage photographs by White Studio. "The fairies laugh with delight as Charles, good little devil, and Juliet, his little blind sweetheart, exchange their betrothal kiss. -- Scene from the most beautiful and successful of all fairy plays, produced by David Belasco at the Republic Theatre, New York." Pictured are Lillian Gish, Claire Burke, Mary Pickford, Ernest Truex, Peggie Wallace, Georgia Fursman, Edna Griffin, Wilda Bennett.

Postcard for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil (1913) at the Republic Theatre in New York. "Ernest Truex who plays the boy, Charles MacLance, in David Belasco's remarkable produciton of the Rostand fairy play for grown-ups, 'A Good Little Devil.' --Charles Darnton in the N. Y. Evening World declares it 'the greatest of all fairy plays.'"

I assume these postcards were issued by the Republic Theatre, as evidenced by the theatre being explicitly noted on one of the designs, however I have seen at least one case where they were given away at the performance at a different theatre in a different city -- perhaps simply overstock left to dispense elsewhere.

Belasco's A Good Little Devil - Republic Theatre Program - March 1913

Republic Theatre program for the week of Monday, March 17, 1913, with only the cover and one page being shown here, for David Belasco's stage production of A Good Little Devil featuring Mary in the role of blind Juliet. Worth noting, by this time Mary's friend Lillian Gish had already left the production and was replaced with Vida Talbot. A program page from the January 3, 1913 Broadway opening (which did feature Gish) can be found here. 

A Good Little Devil - Oversized Photo by White Studio - ca. 1912

An extremely sharp 11"x14" oversized photograph by White Studio depicting a scene from Mary's theatrical performance of David Belasco's A Good Little Devil circa 1912. Pictured are Lillian Gish, Wilda Bennett, Claire Burke, Mary Pickford, Peggie Wallace, Georgia Fursman, Edna Griffin, Sam Goldstein, and Pat Walshe.

[Not] Mary Pickford and David Belasco in A Good Little Devil

[Not] Mary Pickford and David Belasco in A Good Little Devil. (Courtesy of NYPL)

There are several nice photographs—technically frame enlargements—of Mary Pickford and David Belasco together in an office. Most sources on the internet at large (and beyond) often erroneously describe them as pertaining to the Famous Players Film Company production of A Good Little Devil and often note them as being taken from the film's prologue. I believe this to be incorrect and as such, I am presenting the evidence here to set the record straight.

Because the high demand for David Belasco's theatrical performance of A Good Little Devil could not be met—the obvious reason being that the troupe could only be in one place at any given time—he came up with the idea of creating a motion picture of the story that could be shown around the country at any time. He met with his friend Daniel Frohman of the Famous Players Film Company and soon after, Mary Pickford's first feature film and her time with Famous Players was born. As for the film itself, Mary, not surprisingly, didn't particularly like it, noting that it was "not a good picture largely because the stage technic was followed too closely. The stage manager held the book of the play, and we all went through the lines just as on the stage." (The Ladies' Home Journal, August 1923.) 

First, let's clear up the film's actual prologue. While the film is considered lost, portions of it do remain. Unfortunately, I have never seen them but via other means, it's easy enough to describe the prologue. The May 31, 1913 issue of Moving Picture News states, "It all came about when, one day last week, David Belasco visited the studio of the Famous Players Film Company, where motion pictures were being produced of 'A Good Little Devil.' He became so interested that, after watching the rehearsal for a few minutes, he found himself running up to William Norris, Mary Pickford, Ernest Truex and the other actors, correcting or polishing some bit of stage business. Though Belasco was unmindful of his surroundings, Director Ed Porter was not. The reel continue to wind, the rapid click of the machine went on, and when Mr. Belasco and the others were ready to stop for luncheon he was courteously informed that a motion picture had been made that would be called 'David Belasco conducting a rehearsal of one of his companies.' Several sources note that this event became the prologue, though, as amusing as that would be, that seems highly unlikely. Most sources from the time noted that the film opens with Belasco seated at a fireplace in deep thought when the characters from the play, including Mary, appear around him. Indeed, publicity stills depict this scene.

This postcard features a publicity still, utilizing a bit of trick photography, showing the film's prologue. 

So what do these Pickford-Belasco photos in question show? Part of the answer can be found in the December 1915 issue of Photoplay, where Belasco himself says, "I remember once Mary asked David W. Griffith, who was her first motion picture director, if she could do a picture with me. And one of the things that I value very highly is a reel, the only one which I possess, and which I have in my studio and treasure greatly. We did the picture, along with Mr. Griffith and the late William J. Dean, who was my general stage director at the time." A photo caption in the same article reads "Reproduction from the Belasco-Pickford film, no part of which has ever been seen."

Mary also recalled the same meeting on several occasions. In her 1923 autobiographical series, "My Own Story," published in the Ladies' Home Journal, she succinctly noted,"Mr. Belasco came to the Biograph studio to see Lena and the Geese, and we took a picture of him, Mr. Dean, and the rest of us. Everyone was much impressed by the visit of this great man from the theatre."

Considering this short film is in all probability lost, Mary thankfully shares more details in the June 20, 1916 Daily Talks by Mary Pickford, where she (via Frances Marion) writes, "Mr. Belasco wanted to see me in some of my pictures so Mr. Griffith arranges it and Mr. Belasco came down. I think it was the proudest moment of my life when I took this great genius into the Biograph studio. 

"Mr Belasco was persuaded to pose in a picture and we took several hundred feet of film. it was a comedy satire on the signing of my contract. Mr. Griffith had the camera swung on Mr. Belasco and himself for a few amusing scenes, where Mr. Griffith pretended to be the poor, trembling author and presented Mr. Belasco with one of his plays. As soon as he departed, Mr. Belasco looked at the script, read a few pages of it, almost collapses, and pitched it headlong into the waste basket. 

"Then I came on as a nervous ingenue and played the scene for the pictures just as I had done it in life the first day I met Mr. Belasco. 

"Mr. Dean has since died and as he had been with Mr. Belasco for fifteen years, that piece of film is monumental to the happy days when those two great friends were together."

And so, these photos do not come from A Good Little Devil but from that fun little film taken at the Biograph Studio.

For good measure, there is additional evidence also worth noting. In the Pickford-Belasco photos, the AB (American Biograph) logo—which D.W. Griffith added to his Biograph sets as an anti-piracy measure—is clearly visible on the wall in the background (though its admittedly not so clear on the photos included here.) Furthermore, the single sprocket hole created by Biograph's cameras is visible in the film frames, which would not be present had this been taken at the Famous Players studio. Lastly, additional photographs from the same scene show D.W. Griffith and, presumably, Belasco stage director William J. Dean, which corroborates both Belasco's and Mary's recollections of the event.

Note the "AB" logo as well as the Biograph camera sprocket hole. (Courtesy of NYPL.)

This similar frame comes from the December 1915 issue of Photoplay. Unfortunately, the AB logo was cleverly "photoshopped" out of the frame. (Courtesy of MHDL.)