Place in Pickford's Career
Pickford had been one of the most popular stars in silent film. Her popularity had been steady since her debut in 1909. In 1916 she founded her own production company, taking control of every detail of her films. In 1919 along with Charlie Chaplin, her husband Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith she founded United Artists giving her complete control over her films.
Known for little girl type roles such as Pollyanna (one of her highest grossing films ever) Pickford had been trying to escape typecasting since 1923 taking on roles such as Rosita. However these films did not do as well as her children styled roles (though they were still successful at the box office) and Pickford had reverted making films like Little Annie Rooney in 1925 and Sparrows in 1926. She attempted tried an older role with her final silent film My Best Girl in 1927., and in 1928, following the death of her mother, cut off her world famous curls.
With the arrival of talkies Pickford immediately took to the new medium, being one of the first major stars to do so. At her Pickfair Studios she installed a sound stage in 1928, and began preparing for her first talkie. She bought the rights to Coquette, a play that Helen Hayes had made popular on the stage. Coquette is the story of a flirtatious southern girl, who chooses to stand behind her father after he kills the man that she loves. Much like My Best Girl the role was older skewing, with Pickford portraying a flapper type for the first time.
Sound technology was extremely touchy at the time, with jewelry or footsteps ruining takes. Cameras could barely move, and were hidden behind a clear glass so as to not interfere with the sound recording. Pickford employed the best technology possible, resulting in a film that had more natural movement and acting than other early talkies.
Despite Pickford's embrace of the new medium it seems she was as concerned as everyone else about how her voice would record, despite the fact she had a stage career before entering film. After reviewing her first sound test she reportedly remarked, "Why that sounds like a little pipsqueak voice!" She immediately began intensive vocal lessons, hoping to accomplish a realistic Southern accent for the role.
Pickford became nervous during preparation, firing her sound man when a take wasn't ready for her review on time. On set during an emotional scene, she notoriously fired her longtime cameraman and friend, Charles Rosher, when he yelled "Cut" in the middle of one of her lines. She didn't know at the time that a shadow had fallen across her face, as she was simply annoyed at being interrupted. Slightly embarrassed by her behavior and realizing she had been wrong, she wrote him a letter saying, "Tragedy is an ugly mask. I don't want to look like something on a candy box or a valentine."
Read more about this topic: Coquette (film)
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