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A review by angela_amman
Luci della ribalta by Melanie Benjamin
5.0
Melanie Benjamin’s novel tells the story of the relationship between Mary Pickford and Frances Marion, two powerful women in the early days of film. I loved the introduction to Mary Pickford, one of the earliest “stars” of the silent film industry. We see her in her dressing room, editing film from a day of filming, a stark contrast to the glamour and glitz surrounding the movie industry.
The camera loved Mary Pickford, and she savvily conveyed that box office success into more money and more power until she truly became a version of royalty, working to create a studio owned by and ran by the actors in the films (Pickford, her future husband Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith). Frances Marion preferred to be on the other side of the camera, working as Mary’s “scenarist” (writer) until she became one of the most sought-after screenwriters in film.
Pickford and Marion’s friendship sprang to life quickly, two women more interested in the power of movies than the power of marriage—until they met men who would change that. Though they vow not to let men ever come between their personal or professional relationship, they find themselves divided by both men—though not in a love triangle kind of way—and their own jealousy and insecurities over their place in the burgeoning Hollywood social scene.
I loved the way Melanie Benjamin invokes the struggle of the women struggling against a system unable to truly accept women as equals, even as they continue to push an industry to unprecedented heights. Over a hundred years later, their struggles still feel relatable and timely, and I believe this book offers a lot to think about long after the reader closes it.
The camera loved Mary Pickford, and she savvily conveyed that box office success into more money and more power until she truly became a version of royalty, working to create a studio owned by and ran by the actors in the films (Pickford, her future husband Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith). Frances Marion preferred to be on the other side of the camera, working as Mary’s “scenarist” (writer) until she became one of the most sought-after screenwriters in film.
Pickford and Marion’s friendship sprang to life quickly, two women more interested in the power of movies than the power of marriage—until they met men who would change that. Though they vow not to let men ever come between their personal or professional relationship, they find themselves divided by both men—though not in a love triangle kind of way—and their own jealousy and insecurities over their place in the burgeoning Hollywood social scene.
I loved the way Melanie Benjamin invokes the struggle of the women struggling against a system unable to truly accept women as equals, even as they continue to push an industry to unprecedented heights. Over a hundred years later, their struggles still feel relatable and timely, and I believe this book offers a lot to think about long after the reader closes it.