Robert Harron Movies
Teenaged New Yorker Robert Harron escaped the bleak poverty of his Irish-immigrant neighborhood by taking a messenger job at the American Biograph film studios in the Bronx. When director D. W. Griffith arrived at Biograph in 1908, he took a liking to Harron and decided to take advantage of the boy's photogenic qualities. Before he was 20 years old, Harron was one of the busiest and most popular players at Biograph, acting opposite such "youngsters" as the Gish Sisters and Mary Pickford and playing an exhausting variety of characters, from country bumpkins to hollow-eyed drug addicts. He played one large role and several smaller ones in Griffith's groundbreaking Birth of a Nation (1915), and was prominently featured as the young man unjustly sentenced to hang in the director's follow-up epic Intolerance (1916). He remained with Griffith in 1920, then broke off to form his own production company. Unfortunately, Harron never realized his goal. In September of 1920, Harron died when he was fatally wounded by a gunshot to the left lung in what was officially ruled an accident. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1910
Peggy (Mary Pickford) is a strong-willed young woman who lives during the 18th century. She is not attracted to any of her suitors, but an English Lord becomes intrigued with her and convinces Peggy to marry him. However, Peggy's earthy manner doesn't blend well with the cultured nobility, and she is embarrassed at a party. She flees the party with the Lord's cousin, but the Lord is worried that the cousin will make advances to her, so he follows them. When the cousin does make a pass at Peggy, she loses her temper and throws things at him, and the Lord is reassured that she loves him after all. While Peggy does submit to a man long enough to get married, she does as she pleases for most of the film. Mary Pickford gives another strong performance as an independent woman. ~ Bruce Calvert, All Movie Guide
- 1910
This 989-foot D.W. Griffith production was advertised by its home studio of Biograph as a "contemporary melodrama." Most of the story takes place at night, as three bold burglars attempt to rob the home of a wealthy banker. The crooks are foiled by the resourcefulness of the banker's courageous daughters, who not only prevent the theft but also manage to hold the villains at bay until the cops arrive. The trade magazine Variety noted that the story was "far-fetched," a common failing of the Biographs of this period. But with D.W. Griffith at the helm, The Banker's Daughters could not be accused of being dull. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1910
The New Jersey communities of Paterson and Westfield were used as exterior "backdrops" in this Biograph comedy. W. Christie Miller plays a kindly schoolmaster who finds himself the butt of innumerable practical jokes. Apparently unable to control his charges, the old man is dismissed by the school board. But the kids rally in support of the teacher, proving at examination time how much he's taught them over the past year. Although Biograph's director-general D. W. Griffith usually assigned such assistants as Mack Sennett and Dell Henderson to direct the studio's comedies, Griffith chose to call the shots on Examination Day at School himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1909
Running 211 feet (approximately 4 minutes), Little Darling was filmed right after the more ambitious D. W. Griffith production 1776: or, The Hessian Renegades. Appearing in both films as the heroine was 16-year-old Mary Pickford. A country couple receives a letter announcing that their city relatives are sending their "little darling" for a visit. Having never met the "darling," the couple sets about to create a nursery, filling the room with all sorts of baby toys. Imagine their surprise when the Little Darling turns out to be a rambunctious teenager (played, of course, by Pickford). Most of the film was shot on the premises of the Caudebac Inn, D.W. Griffith's Upstate New York headquarters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
