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The Movie Girls: Lillian and Dorothy
Paperback
Entertainment & Performing ArtsBiographies GeneralFilm Studies
Publisher: BearManor Media
Published: Aug 15 2025
Pages: 60
Weight: 0.35
Height: 0.12 Width: 8.25 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
There were two great loves in Jan Wahl's life: writing books for children and silent screen star Lillian Gish. With The Movie Girls: Lillian and Dorothy, he manages to combine both of these interests - and for good luck he also includes Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith. This may be intended primarily for children, but it has an almost naïve charm which makes it of appeal to adults as much as youngsters. As someone familiar with the Gish story, I was fascinated by the manner in which Jan Wahl has captured the early years of Lillian and Dorothy before they entered films. These years are little known and yet Jan Wahl has brought them to life. We meet not only the Gish sisters but also Mary Pickford as they start out on the road to becoming legendary stars of the silent screen. A charming volume - and one for any and all ages.
- Anthony Slide, Film Scholar and Writer, Hailed by Lillian Gish as Our preeminent historian of the silent film.
Jan Wahl knew early cinema as well as anybody. Rick Geary's drawings bring the past to life as well as anybody can. The result is a sweet and charming book about two sisters, that invites readers into their half-forgotten world, casts the spell of early cinema and makes you want to experience the beginning of the movies.
-Michael Gebert, NitrateVille
The Movie Girls: Lillian and Dorothy tells the story of the early days of sisters Dorothy and Lillian Gish. Following in their mother's footsteps they become actresses on the stage where they meet fellow child actress Gladys Smith. Movies are a new thing and Gladys, now acting in films and known as Mary Pickford, introduces them to the director D.W. Griffith. He puts them into the movies, and they become important performers in the new medium, helping to change it from a novelty into an enduring popular art form.
Noted author and film historian Jan Wahl crafts a fresh and engaging account of the Gish sisters and the early days of cinema in the USA. Award-winning illustrator Rick Geary captures the excitement and joy as the sisters help create a new type of storytelling and art.
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