The Thousand Steps

Overview

Mary Pickford once said, "I never had sympathy for those who wanted to produce 'art' pictures and ignore the public. These weird ideas that appeal only to a minority--they're not for me." (Motion Picture Herald, February 17, 1940.) With that said, it's probable that Mary wouldn't exactly approve of The Thousand Steps, but this short silent horror film utilizes some of the very same locations seen in Pickford's earliest films and contains many little nods to her work. Stylistically influenced by the films of D.W. Griffith and European silent horror like Nosferatu and Destiny, The Thousand Steps makes use of period cinematography, editing, and effects and incorporates the dust and scratches need to create the feeling of a long-lost silent film of yesteryear.