Coquette (film)
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| Coquette | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film |
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| Directed by | Sam Taylor |
| Produced by | Sam Taylor Mary Pickford |
| Written by | George Abbott (play) Ann Preston Bridgers (play) John Grey |
| Starring | Mary Pickford Johnny Mack Brown Matt Moore |
| Release date(s) | 1929 |
| Running time | 76 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Coquette is a 1929 film which tells the story of a flirtatious young woman whose father warns off her honorable boyfriend, only to cause tragedy. It stars Mary Pickford, Johnny Mack Brown, John St. Polis, Matt Moore, and Louise Beavers.
The film was adapted for the screen by John Grey, Allen McNeil, and Sam Taylor from the play by George Abbott and Ann Preston Bridgers. It was directed by Sam Taylor.
Mary Pickford won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role.
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[edit] Background
Pickford was among the big stars that everyone was paying close attention to when she planned to make her debut in talkies. She bought the rights to Coquette, a play that Helen Hayes had made popular on the stage. Coquette was the story of a flirtatious southern girl, who chooses to stand behind her father after he kills the man that she loves. Mary was determined to make this project a success, and was quite vocal about her intentions of garnering the second Best Actress Oscar for it.
On the set of the picture, she fired her director 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, she wrote him a letter saying, "I am determined to give a performance, and I have to cry a lot," she said. "Tragedy is an ugly mask; I don't care how I look. I'm going after the Oscar."[1]
[edit] Win at the Academy Awards
Mary Pickford won the Oscar for Coquette, her first talking picture, that some critics said it proved, if anything, that she was much better in silent films. Pickford's main competition that year was Ruth Chatterton, expected to win the award for her role in Madame X, but it was rumored that Pickford had it worked into her contract for Coquette that she would take home the big prize. After a huge success in films over the past fifteen years, the only female founding member of the Academy, earned what her biographer, Scott Eyman called 'the first lifetime achievement award'[1]
Despite the criticism, and despite grumbling from the audience who had seen it coming, Pickford took to the podium in tears, claiming, amidst her excitement, that she had forgotten her prepared speech.[1]
[edit] Plot
Norma Besant, daughter of a Southern doctor, is an incorrigible flirt and has many boys on her string. She begins to favor Michael Jeffrey, who, shiftless and hot-tempered but fundamentally honorable, is warned off by her father. When Michael returns after a long absence, the pair are innocently compromised, and Dr. Besant's old-South paternal rage brings tragedy.[2]
[edit] Cast
- Mary Pickford: Norma Besant
- Johnny Mack Brown: Michael Jeffery (as John Mack Brown)
- Matt Moore: Stanley 'Stan' Wentworth
- John St. Polis: Dr. John M. Besant
- William Janney: James 'Jimmy' Besant
- Henry Kolker: Dist. Atty. Jasper Carter
- George Irving: Robert 'Bob' Wentworth[3]
[edit] Trivia
- The play originally opened in New York on 8 November, 1927 with Helen Hayes in the title role.
- Mary Pickford's first talkie.[4]
