Coquette

Based on an original play by George Abbott and Ann Preston, which they wrote for Helen Hayes, COQUETTE is a creaky drama that served to introduce the previously silent Pickford to the talkies. Surprisingly, she beat out Jeanne Eagels for the Best Actress Oscar in this role, and it was a wonderment. She had a lovely voice (something in short supply among many of the silent stars) and she looked marvelous, but the minute movies began to speak, Mary began to fade, and no one could understand why. She made KIKI in 1931 and SECRETS in 1933 and, of course, her one appearance with husband, Doug Fairbanks, in THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, but this was the start of the end for P...