During the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020, Hollywood was forced to drastically trim its production pipeline because of restrictions. One hundred years before, the Pandemic of 1918 more or less had the same effect on the film industry. The Spanish Flu had caused major disruptions in the output of feature films, despite some shorts, such as the vast quantity of Harold Lloyd's productions, from being released.
A Bayside, Long Island, New York theater owner, desperate for movies to show over the summer of 1918, contacted producer Mack Sennett, who had an inventory of movies he made during his days with Triangle Pictures. The theater owner asked if there were any little seen motion pictures laying around Sennett could provide him. The former Keystone Studio owner, caught in the middle of Triangle's breakup, remembered a Mabel Normand feature film two years before which he unsuccessfully peddled. He shipped a print to the theater. Word of mouth quickly spread in the New York area how surprisingly good "Mickey' was, and before long other movie houses clamored for prints.
In the end, Adolph Zukor's Paramount Pictures was able to scoop up the remnants of Triangle's films, which included "Mickey." His company made some edits and widely distributed the movie, which became the box office hit of 1918, making $8 million (over $200 million in 2020 inflationary figures). Paramount continued to re-release the film annually for the next three years, raking in the dough each time.
Despite the film being silent, August 1918's nationwide re-release of "Mickey" became so popular songwriter Harry Williams composed "Mickey," a song where he had based his lyrics on the film. Some cite this as the first tie-in song to a film, assuring a best-selling status for the record and furthered the publicity of the the movie even more .
For Normand, the immense success of "Mickey" came a bit late to secure a very lucrative contract. She had left Sennett, both romantically as well as businesswise and signed with the newly formed Goldwyn Pictures for $3,500 a week. Samuel Goldfish, former chairman of the Board with Famous Players-Lasky Company, had left the corporation in a dispute, and with two Broadway producers formed Goldwyn Pictures. Goldfish legally changed his name in December 1918 to Goldwyn, and became romantically involved with Normand, who allegedly had a miscarriage with his baby.
During the earlier production of "Mickey," Normand was going through a pretty rough time. Her romance with Sennett was drawing to a close when she discovered he was having an affair with actress Mae Busch. Legend has it Normand confronted the fiery Busch, who, during the argument, threw a vase right at her head. She was rushed to the hospital and major surgery was able to save her. Normand never quite recovered from her injuries, suffering much pain the rest of her life, which kicked off her rumored cocaine addiction.
Singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks, in her "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault," included her 1985 song on the actress, heavily relying on the age-old accusation of Normand's drug use. The actress herself, in a later interview, denied such stories and her addiction to the drug.
A Bayside, Long Island, New York theater owner, desperate for movies to show over the summer of 1918, contacted producer Mack Sennett, who had an inventory of movies he made during his days with Triangle Pictures. The theater owner asked if there were any little seen motion pictures laying around Sennett could provide him. The former Keystone Studio owner, caught in the middle of Triangle's breakup, remembered a Mabel Normand feature film two years before which he unsuccessfully peddled. He shipped a print to the theater. Word of mouth quickly spread in the New York area how surprisingly good "Mickey' was, and before long other movie houses clamored for prints.
In the end, Adolph Zukor's Paramount Pictures was able to scoop up the remnants of Triangle's films, which included "Mickey." His company made some edits and widely distributed the movie, which became the box office hit of 1918, making $8 million (over $200 million in 2020 inflationary figures). Paramount continued to re-release the film annually for the next three years, raking in the dough each time.
Despite the film being silent, August 1918's nationwide re-release of "Mickey" became so popular songwriter Harry Williams composed "Mickey," a song where he had based his lyrics on the film. Some cite this as the first tie-in song to a film, assuring a best-selling status for the record and furthered the publicity of the the movie even more .
For Normand, the immense success of "Mickey" came a bit late to secure a very lucrative contract. She had left Sennett, both romantically as well as businesswise and signed with the newly formed Goldwyn Pictures for $3,500 a week. Samuel Goldfish, former chairman of the Board with Famous Players-Lasky Company, had left the corporation in a dispute, and with two Broadway producers formed Goldwyn Pictures. Goldfish legally changed his name in December 1918 to Goldwyn, and became romantically involved with Normand, who allegedly had a miscarriage with his baby.
During the earlier production of "Mickey," Normand was going through a pretty rough time. Her romance with Sennett was drawing to a close when she discovered he was having an affair with actress Mae Busch. Legend has it Normand confronted the fiery Busch, who, during the argument, threw a vase right at her head. She was rushed to the hospital and major surgery was able to save her. Normand never quite recovered from her injuries, suffering much pain the rest of her life, which kicked off her rumored cocaine addiction.
Singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks, in her "24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault," included her 1985 song on the actress, heavily relying on the age-old accusation of Normand's drug use. The actress herself, in a later interview, denied such stories and her addiction to the drug.