May and December
{{Short description|1910 short film}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = May and December
| image =
| caption =
| director = Frank Powell
| producer = D. W. Griffith
| writer = Mary Pickford
| story = Frank Powell
| starring = Mary Pickford
| cinematography = Arthur Marvin
| editing =
| studio = Biograph Company
| distributor = Biograph Company
| released = {{film date|1910|6|20|ref1={{cite web |url=https://marypickford.org/filmography/may-and-december/ |title=May and December |publisher=Mary Pickford Foundation |access-date=June 9, 2025}}}}
| runtime = 7 minutes
| country = United States
| language = Silent (English intertitles)
| budget =
| gross =
}}
May and December is a 1910 American short romance film starring Mary Pickford and directed by Frank Powell.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2015600168/ |title=May and December |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=June 9, 2025}}
Plot
Penniless young man June reluctantly proposes to the wealthy, older October and is accepted, much to his disgust. Meanwhile, rich, elderly December proposes to poor, young May; she agrees, though reluctantly. The two couples meet, and it becomes clear that December and October know each other. May and June are immediately attracted to each other. On a second encounter, May and June are left alone together. Each confides to the other that they are marrying for money, but decide the price is too high. When December and October return, May and June inform them that the marriages are off. May returns December's engagement ring, and the young couple depart. October faints into December's arms. When she recovers, she takes the ring and puts it on her finger, to December's dismay.
Cast
{{cast listing|
- Mary Pickford as May
- Billy Quirk as June
- Kate Bruce as October
- W. Chrystie Miller as December
- Charles Hill Mailes
}}
Production
Pickford sold the story to Griffith for $15. She later recalled:
{{blockquote|Mr. Griffith announced he needed a split or half-reel. "Anybody got a story in mind?" he asked. Three or four of us dashed for paper and pencil and were scribbling like mad. During my first weeks at Biograph I had quite unashamedly sold Mr. Griffith an outline of the opera 'Thais' for $10. This time I ventured a plot of my own, and to the great annoyance of the men, he bought it.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/dwgriffithyearsa0000unse_p5u3/page/90/mode/2up |title=D. W. Griffith: The Years at Biograph |first=Robert M. |last=Henderson |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |location=New York |year=1970 |page=91}}}}
Preservation status
Home media
It was included in the 2017 DVD collection Mary Pickford Rare Shorts III.{{cite web |url=https://www.silentera.com/video/collPickfordRareShorts3HV.html |title=Silent Hall of Fame Enterprises / 2017 DVD edition |publisher=silentera.com |access-date=June 9, 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0001310}}
- {{TCMDb title|510066}}
Category:1910s romantic comedy-drama films
Category:American black-and-white films
Category:American romance films
Category:Silent American comedy-drama short films