When a schoolgirl’s crush on Maurice Costello interferes with her education, her parents take the drastic step of inviting the picture idol to come to tea and shatter their daughter’s fanciful image.
Home Media Availability: Stream courtesy of EYE.
Never meet your heroes
According to history books, the film star system kicked off in 1910 when IMP (proto-Universal) planted a story claiming that Florence Lawrence, the top star they had wooed away from Biograph, had been killed in an accident—oh, wait, that was planted by enemies of IMP and, oh by the way, remember the name Florence Lawrence and she is appearing in our new pictures.
American film studios hesitated to identify stars by name in order to keep salaries low and costs down but audiences were attached to their favorites anyway, so the star system was inevitable. France was already ahead of the game with film posters featuring star Max Linder by name as far back as 1909. In the U.S.A., Essanay’s Martha Russell was mentioned by name in a trade press review in January of 1910, before the March 1910 IMP publicity stunt. Pilar Morin received trade publicity by name in late 1909.
Still, Lawrence’s splashy identification and its success helped spur on a movement that was already gaining steam. Industry publications that had previously featured photos of studio heads and projectors shifted to showcasing film stars. Fan magazines popped up like mushrooms and the focus turned more and more to the people in front of the camera. Fan clubs were in full force and studios that refused to identify their stars were being left in the dust.
And with this context in mind, The Picture Idol was released almost exactly two years into the American star system and it aimed to satirize the fanatic devotion bestowed on the new film royalty.
The picture opens with Beth (Clara Kimball Young) persuading her friend to go with her to see her true love on the silver screen. Vintage synopses give this film star the name Howard Hanson but the posters, sandwich boards and other marketing materials all have Maurice Costello’s real name emblazoned on them. Likely, the Vitagraph studios decided that some distance was needed between their biggest star and his fictional counterpart, and so the character was renamed after the picture had been shot.
Beth is smitten. She tosses away her boyfriend’s (Tom Powers) picture and replaces it with a fan magazine still of Howard. Soon, her bedroom is a shrine to her hero. She neglects her schoolwork so that she can daydream about becoming Mrs. Howard Hanson in class. Things really take a turn for the serious when Beth happens upon Hanson on the street and follows him home. She scoops up his abandoned cigar butt, makes note of his address and scurries home.
Armed with this information, Beth begins to send love letters to Howard and then progresses to flowers. Howard is flustered by these attentions and his roommate (George Cooper) mockingly reads Beth’s effusive letters out loud. Meanwhile, Beth’s parents (Charles Eldrige and Mary Maurice) see that she is on the outs with her boyfriend and are informed that she is failing her classes. Something must be done!
The parents call on Howard, who is only too happy to help them in killing this crush. They invite him to tea and Howard puts on the performance of a lifetime, eating peas with a knife and loudly clearing the table of dishes. Beth is horrified but her crush is too strong to be defeated by bad manners. She can fix him when they’re married, right?
Stronger measures needed, Howard persuades his roommate to dress in drag and pose as his wife. He even brings in neighborhood children to pose as his large brood of offspring. This does the trick. Beth comes to call, meets the family and immediately runs home and tears up her Howard photos. Peace returns to the two households.
This is a zippy little comedy under the direction of James Young (Mr. Clara Kimball) and the light touch of the actors helps keep things fun and airy. While fan behavior had been ribbed in every form of entertainment from stage plays to opera, the motion picture fanatic was a new variation on the theme and the meta commentary is extremely amusing. Seeing poor Beth’s crush backfire on her is humorous and satisfying since we’ve all been young and silly.
Regarding the meta aspects of the picture, Maurice Costello was married to Mae Costello and was the father of Helene and Dolores, all of whom shared in the family trade and appeared in Vitagraph films. Costello’s marriage was known to the general public of 1912 as fan magazines tracked such matters and archly shot down the hopes of moviegoers who became too wrapped up in their fantasies.
Motion Picture Story Magazine replied to a 1912 letter from a certain H.C.G. with: “The handsome man is Maurice Costello, and as there is a Mrs. Costello, he probably would not be interested in “an heiress of millions” who breathes her love on post cards.” Such missives were likely arriving at Vitagraph too, which likely inspired The Picture Idol’s creation.
Film credits were still seen as optional at this time and, in any case, since the players were identified in the opening titles, if at all, it was difficult to remember who was who. So, the magazine also offered identification services and would state when Mrs. Costello or “the daughters of Maurice Costello” appeared in films. Further, Costello enthusiastically professed love for his children in interviews.
However, while throwing cold water on the fantasies of overzealous fans, both magazines and studios simultaneously fed their obsession. All studios sold photos of their stars for the admiration of fans and magazines encouraged readers to submit their own tributes. For example, Motion Picture Story published an ode to Costello penned by one C.B.S.:
A TOAST TO MY FAVORITE
Here's to two eyes that sparkle with glee,
Here's to two eyes that would make scoundrels flee;
Two charming dimples, one in each cheek,
Give us a clue that his temper is sweet.
Who can he be, this handsome Debonair,
With fine chiseled nose and black wavy hair?
I'll give you three guesses to mention at random,
The name of this hero, this modernized Samson.
Who else can he be, this artistic fellow? —
Three cheers! and let's shout — Maurice Costello.
This was not the last of such poems to be published either and not a single amateur poet could resist rhyming “fellow” with “Costello.” One poem even acknowledged the wife and daughters and still proclaimed him their favorite. The conclusion of The Picture Idol was hopelessly optimistic, it seems.
In fact, the perception of obsessive fan behavior as generally harmless was prevalent in American film culture. Actors and directors would recount tales of break-ins, stalking and even attacks as quirky anecdotes. Not to suggest that Beth’s behavior was causing more harm than bad grades and an annoyed boyfriend, it’s just that film folk seemed to view obsessed fans as Beths by default.
Erotomania was only starting to be identified in psychological literature when The Picture Idol was made but obsessive behavior toward a romantic target was known. For example, Adèle Hugo’s obsession with a British officer and subsequent stalking of his movements were documented and received mainstream attention in the Anglosphere due to interest in her famous father, Victor Hugo. However, the stories aimed at laymen generally focused on the tragedy of mental illness in general and the caddish behavior of her target in refusing her advances, with the implication that he caused the problem by rejecting her.
Beth’s obsession also puts her at risk of being taken advantage of by a less honorable actor. Costello’s fictionalized self has no interest in gifts from a schoolgirl nearly young enough to be a third daughter but others in the profession were less upstanding. This kind of thing actually was addressed in pictures of the time and such a relationship was the centerpiece of A Girl’s Folly (1917).
However, even in the context of the time, The Picture Idol is remarkably unsophisticated in its portrayal of the story’s solution. After all, Maurice Costello cannot really be expected to dash out and have tea with every family that has a starstruck child. I understand that the film uses hyperbole to get its point across but the national and international reach of the film star system seems to be enormously underestimated and young Beth is treated more like a fanatical devotee of live theater.
That said, The Picture Idol’s biggest assets are, well, the picture idols. Maurice Costello seems to be having the time of his life eating peas with a knife and cutting up with his “wife.” Clara Kimball Young has, unfortunately, fallen into obscurity compared to other 1910s stars like Mary Pickford and Mabel Normand but her performance as the ridiculous Beth is a good example of why she was so beloved by audiences, enough to start her own production company.
The Picture Idol is a fascinating snapshot from the dawn of the star system. Its view of film star fanaticism is remarkably innocent but the picture is still quite amusing, thanks to the enthusiasm of its stars and their penchant for comedy, as well as the film’s rapid pace. It’s both amusing and historically important, which is always a winning combination.
Where can I see it?
Stream for free with English subtitles courtesy of EYE.
☙❦❧
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