While there was no more excitement pervading the studio than there had been the year before, a more general willingness was noticed among the leading people and more tears and anguish on the part of the beseeching extras. Jeanie Macpherson sat on the steps leading to the basement of the studio, and cried, until Mr. Griffith felt remorseful and took her.
But such conduct hadn’t availed pink-cheeked lanky “Beau,” the year before, when he was the one property boy left behind. Then that unhappy youth’s tearful parting shot, “All I ask, Mr. Griffith, is that some day you take me to California,” kept intruding and spoiling the complete satisfaction of our days. Another year Mr. Griffith harkened to his pleading. For nearly ten years now “Beau” as William Beaudine has been directing pictures in Los Angeles.
And so, while some of the old guard would not be with us, a goodly number would.
To the “Imp” had gone Mary and Owen; and while Ma fussed terribly about it, there was nothing for her and Lottie and Jack to do but follow suit.
David Miles and Anita Hendry, his wife, were already with “Imp”; and they, with King Baggott and George Loane Tucker, Joe Smiley, Tom Ince, Hayward Mack, and Isabel Rae, made a fair number of capable people. But even so, Mary’s “Imp” pictures fell far short of her Biograph pictures, and she wasn’t very happy and she didn’t stay so very long.
As a member of the “Imp” Company, the silence and mystery that had surrounded her when with Biograph instantly vanished. She now received whole pages of advertising, for that was how the “Imp” would put the pictures over. One of her first Independent pictures was “The Dream” of which a reviewer said: “The picture got over on account of Miss Pickford. Our feelings were somewhat sentimental when we saw ‘Our Mary’ as a wife arrayed in evening gown and dining with swells. In other words, we have always considered Mary a child. It never occurred to us she might grow up and be a woman some day.”
Marion Leonard and Stanner E. V. Taylor had taken their departure. I believe it was Reliance-ward they went, as did Mr. Walthall, Mr. Kirkwood, and Arthur Johnson. Arthur had become not so dependable, and Mr. Griffith being unable to stand the worry of uncertain appearances, reluctantly parted with his most popular actor, and his first leading man. He never found any one to take his place exactly. For even so long ago, before he and Mr. Griffith parted, ’twas said of Arthur Johnson, “His face is better known than John Drew’s.”
Mary gone, Mr. Griffith located Blanche Sweet somewhere on the road and telegraphed an offer of forty dollars weekly to come with us to California, which Miss Sweet accepted. He was willing to take a chance on Blanche, being in need of a girl of her type. If she didn’t work out right (he hardly expected her to set the world a-fire) the loss would be small, as he was getting her so cheaply.
Wilfred Lucas also received a telegram; but his tenderly implored him to come for one hundred and fifty dollars—a staggering offer—the biggest to date. He also accepted.
Dell Henderson had been commissioned by Mr. Griffith to dispatch the Lucas-one-hundred-and-fifty-dollar telegram, and the high salary made him so sore that he promptly told it everywhere, causing jealous fits to break out all over the studio.