''The Biograph Girl'' is a musical with a book by Warner Brown, lyrics by Brown and

David Heneker David William Heneker (31 March 1906 – 30 January 2001) was a writer and composer of British popular music and musicals, best known for creating the music and lyrics for ''Half a Sixpence''. Life and career Heneker was born in Southsea, Engl ...

, and music by Heneker. Its plot focuses on the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

era and five pioneers of American cinema - actresses

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

and Lillian Gish,

directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

D. W. Griffith and

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

, and Paramount Pictures founder Adolph Zukor.

Plot

When Mary Gish and her daughters Lillian and Dorothy recognize their friend Gladys Smith in a film made by the

American Mutoscope and Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition ...

, they search for her at the studio headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. There they discover she has been rechristened Mary Pickford and is known as the Biograph Girl. Before long Lillian and Dorothy are acting in films directed by D.W. Griffith, and when he decides to relocate to Hollywood, he brings the girls and their mother with him. Lillian is cast in ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Clan ...

'', while Mary decides to leave Griffith in order to work for Adolph Zukor at a substantially higher salary. Eventually she finds herself forced to suppress her growing sophistication in order to maintain the image of innocence her fans have embraced. Shocked by the negative public and industry reaction to ''The Birth of a Nation'', Griffith vows to make an epic film advocating peace and tolerance. ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usual ...

'' proves to be an artistic success but a commercial flop. Griffith's financial woes threaten to end his career until Mary joins him,

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

, and

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

to form

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. When Griffith's monetary situation fails to improve, he urges Lillian to accept an offer from another studio, and she reluctantly does. With the arrival of

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

s in 1927, the industry's pioneers are forced to re-evaluate their careers and make plans for the future.

Production

Produced by

Harold Fielding Harold Lewis Fielding (4 December 1916 - 27 September 2003) was an English theatre producer. Fielding was one of Britain's foremost theatrical producers who produced several musicals, including ''Mame'', '' Charlie Girl'', ''Half a Sixpence'', ...

, directed by

Victor Spinetti Vittorio Giorgio Andre "Victor" Spinetti (2 September 1929 – 19 June 2012) was a Welsh actor, author, poet, and raconteur. He appeared in dozens of films and stage plays throughout his 50-year career, including the three 1960s Beatles films ...

, and choreographed by

Irving Davies Irving Davies (26 April 1926 – 14 October 2002) was a Welsh dancer and choreographer. Born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales,Brian McFarlane, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of British Film'' (4th edition, 2016), p. 1905 Davies's screen work included ...

, the musical premiered at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End on 19 November 1980 and closed after 57 performances.''The Biograph Girl'' at Guide to Musical Theatre
/ref> The cast included Sheila White as Mary Pickford, Bruce Barry as D.W. Griffith, Kate Revill as Lillian Gish,

Guy Siner Guy Domville Siner (born 16 October 1947) is an American-born English actor best known for his role as Oberleutnant Hubert Gruber in the British television series Allo 'Allo!'' and Dr. Mittenhand in '' Leprechaun 4: In Space''. Early life ...

as Mack Sennett, and Ron Berglas as Adolph Zukor.''The Biograph Girl'' at Musical-Theatre.net
/ref>

Critical reception

Veteran theatre critic

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...

found it to be "a most excellent, delicate and perceptive entertainment, with young players of talent so outstanding that after fifty years of play going I was taken by delighted surprise" and concluded, "I would ask all London to go and see it." Francis King of the '' Sunday Telegraph'' said the score "is always tuneful, witty and sophisticated." In his review in the '' International Herald Tribune'',

Sheridan Morley Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, includin ...

described it as "a joyous celebration of the silent screen ... a delight. It captures moments of sheer exuberant nostalgia."

Musical numbers

; Act I * "The Moving Picture Show" – Company * "Working in Flickers" – Mary Pickford * "That's What I Get All Day" – Wally and Company * "The Moment I Close My Eyes" – D.W. Griffith * "Diggin' Gold Dust" – Company * "Every Lady Needs a Master" – Lillian Gish * "I Just Wanted to Make Him Laugh" – Mack Sennett and Lillian Gish * "I Like to Be the Way I Am in My Own Front Parlour" – Mary Pickford and Company * "Beyond Babel" – D.W. Griffith and Company ; Act II * "A David Griffith Show" – Company * "More Than a Man" – Lillian Gish * "The Industry" – Adolph Zukor, Mary Pickford, Wally and Company * "Gentle Fade" – D.W. Griffith * "Nineteen Twenty-Five" – Company * "The Biograph Girl" – Mary Pickford and Company * "One of the Pioneers" – D.W. Griffith * "Put It in the Tissue Paper" – Mack Sennett, Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish * "Finale (Working in Flickers)" – Company

References

External links

''The Biograph Girl'' at Guide to Musical Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biograph Girl, The 1980 musicals Musicals inspired by real-life events West End musicals Lillian Gish Mary Pickford British musicals Musicals set in New York City