BEAST AT BAY (1912) - Staring Mary Pickford

If you appreciate early cinema this is a must see for several reasons.

In Beast at Bay, you will immediately be impressed with the fact that Mary Pickford is the one hops in the drivers seat of a car, while a man takes up the passage side. This happens TWICE in the span of just 13 minutes.

Pickford jumps in with her beau the first time and the second time she is forced to drive by a runaway criminal.

It’s nothing to see a woman behind the wheel of a car today, but at the time this was a BIG deal.

The norm on set for scenes like this would be anonymous chauffeurs hired to drive the actors around.

There are a few other moments of importance in this film that may be something to consider. Especially with the environment we live in today.

Mary Pickford’s character is intimidated and forced to comply by a runaway criminal with a rifle.

He makes her drive a car so he can get away from the coming police officers. Although he has a rifle he never points it at her.

However, part way through their drive he puts his hands around her neck and tries to strangle her if she doesn’t continue to drive. This seems a lot more personal somehow and definitely more invasive.

Something else to consider is that at one point Pickford tries to resist the criminal. He grabs her from behind and drags her in the direction he wants her to go.

That in itself is pretty standard stuff when you look at bad guys dragging off young ladies.

However, if you notice, he clearly grabs her right around the chest. It’s obvious his hand is directly on her breast.

Normally, that’s NOT how it goes.

Usually, the male actors are trained to grab the female actress around the shoulders so their forearm presses against her upper chest and their hand grabs the opposite arm or shoulder.

It still gets the young lady to what he wants and it’s a show of force, yet it’s not a violation to the actress.

I guess what I want to point out here is the seemingly reckless handling of a young woman – IN REAL LIFE.

Although they are shooting a movie, they are handling an actual human being in a disrespectful manner.

I don’t know how Mary Pickford felt about it at the time, but if she had serious thoughts, I’m sure she kept them to herself. What else could she do? Who would she tell? And what, if anything, would be done if she did talk?

This film takes place in what was would become the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

It was directed by the legendary D.W. Griffith.

It’s interesting to note that movie goers of 1912 watching Beast at Bay, complained that filming from speeding cars along bumpy roads was “an abominable practice.”