Florence Annie Bridgwood, usually known as “Flo” Lawrence, was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on January 2, 1886. Her mother, Charlotte Bridgwood, was a stage actress known professionally as Lotta Lawrence, and was the manager and leading lady of the Lawrence Dramatic Company (Holland 386). Flo’s childhood, consequently, was spent on the touring road and on the theatrical stage. She began her career in the motion picture industry with a role in an Edison Company short, Daniel Boone/Pioneer Days in America (1907), an account of which is given in her autobiography, Growing Up with the Movies, serialized by Photoplay in four parts. Both mother and daughter appeared in Daniel Boone as well as in Vitagraph’s adaptation of Irish playwright Dion Boucicault’s 1874 theatrical melodrama as The Shaughraun, an Irish Romance (1907), but Lotta soon returned to the stage. Flo’s motion picture career, in contrast, had just begun.
Florence Lawrence. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Television.
Lawrence found her next job at the Vitagraph Company of America, where she worked with the company cofounder J. Stuart Blackton and with the stage actor-turned-director Charles Kent (Brown 14–16). At the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, Lawrence appeared in most of the sixty short motion pictures that D.W. Griffith directed in 1908, his second year with the company (Holland 389). Lawrence became well known for her role in the Mr. and Mrs. Jones comedy shorts, and as her effect on audiences became measurable, she set herself apart by insisting on weekly and not daily wages, twice the normal salary, and her own makeup table, according to Karen Mahar (2006, 63). As many sources tell us, Florence Lawrence became famous, but not under her own name; rather, following the Biograph policy of player anonymity, she was known as “the Biograph girl.” The actor’s transition from anonymity to picture personality to the status of star is crucial to understanding the economics of the silent era, and although Florence Lawrence is a pivotal figure, important contemporary accounts demonstrate that she is not the entire story (deCordova 1990; Staiger 1985, 101; Slide 1978, 1).
Lawrence does, however, exemplify the important principle that public recognition of actors made it possible for popular players to begin to pressure early motion picture companies, but not all were willing to change the policy of actor anonymity. Due to her growing demands on the Biograph management—quite possibly encouraged by her then husband, Harry Solter—both Lawrence and Solter were fired in 1910 (Mahar 2006, 63). They were soon hired, however, by producer Carl Laemmle, who had just started the Independent Motion Picture Company, better known as IMP, and where Lawrence was the object of a notorious publicity stunt. Her “death” in a streetcar accident was widely announced, followed by her resurrection in the first publicity tour in film history, in St. Louis on March 25, 1910, a detailed account of which can be found in Brown (47-58). The stunt, which involved IMP’s circulation of the false news as well as the false “exposure” of their own story in the famous Moving Picture World “We Nail a Lie” advertisement, has been reconsidered in recent years by Eileen Bowser, who challenges Terry Ramsaye’s earlier account (Ramsaye 1986, 523-524). Bowser argues for seeing a gradual buildup rather than a single publicity coup as instrumental in making Florence Lawrence a “star” actress.
Florence Lawrence. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Television.
She further challenges the popular story that Florence Lawrence was the first motion picture star with the argument that the former “Biograph Girl,” now the “IMP girl,” was really “tied” for first with Florence Turner, the “Vitagraph Girl” (1990, 112-113). Now promoted as a picture personality with a name, Lawrence, along with Solter, worked at IMP for eleven months and made approximately fifty films (Holland 390). Lawrence then joined the Philadelphia Lubin Company in early 1911, taking her husband with her. Lawrence left Lubin within a year, however, and, with Solter, started one of the first US film companies to be headed by a woman: the Victor Company. In this undertaking, Mahar compares her with Marion Leonard, Gene Gauntier, and Helen Gardner, whose star-producer companies were also founded in the first wave of these companies around 1911 and 1912. With a company formed in 1912 with backing from Carl Laemmle, the first Victor studio then set up in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and salaries were raised to $500 a week for Lawrence and $200 a week for Solter, who was the director. Florence Lawrence’s stardom was used aggressively in the publicity for the company, but her star billing may not have translated into real power within the company. Kelly Brown says, interpreting Lawrence’s correspondence, “Florence always considered [Victor] to be hers even though it probably never was” (77).
As Karen Mahar analyzes the history of the Victor Company, the company’s fortune was tied to the problem of motion picture distribution in the 1910s. While they found enough financing to produce the first Victor film, Not Like Other Girls (1912), the title became stuck at the distribution stage, victim of wrangling within the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company formed by the “independent” companies in opposition to the Motion Picture Patents Company and their distributor, the General Film Company. Seeking another distribution arrangement, Lawrence and Solter then signed on with Carl Laemmle’s new Universal Film Manufacturing Company, where they were one of several semi-independent companies that enjoyed the advantage of the Universal distribution channels. While Victor was one of the smallest companies under the Universal umbrella at the time, according to Mahar it was also the only one to have a star in 1912, the year that they completed a one-reel film every week (2006, 64).
Biograph production filming at 14th Street studio area, 1905. Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.
Within this same year, however, Lawrence’s marriage to Solter began to fall apart, disrupting the company that they had started together. When Lawrence left him on August 6, 1912, Solter set sail for Europe. In his stream of letters to her, which alternate between threatening suicide and begging forgiveness, Solter provides a clue to the dynamics of their working relationship in the Victor Company. These letters, now housed in the Florence Lawrence Collection at the Seaver Center for Western History at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, are undated but numbered in sequence. In one of them Solter writes: “Shall I come to New York? Will you give me a job with the Victor? I will write you some beautiful stories, comedy or tragedy. You shall be Mamselle La Directress and I shall be Monsieur Le Property Man…You can get me very cheap. I will work for love, love.”
Florence Lawrence, The Zulu’s Heart (1908). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.
By late 1912, the two may have been reunited and working at Victor, but the company was in serious trouble, which Brown attributes in part to Universal’s status as an independent company, though it may also have had something to do with low production values. Distribution had continued to be a problem, and Solter would complain in a letter to Lotta Lawrence that “Here in New York it is impossible to find out where a Victor can be seen.” Even after fourteen US releases, they were yet to make any profits, and they had managed only one European release (Brown 82).
Florence Lawrence intended her last Victor photoplay to be her second two-reel film, The Lady Leone (1912), and after its completion, she and Solter retired to their home in River Vale, New Jersey. This was not the end of Lawrence’s career, however, and she decided to return to work at Victor, which had expanded to producing several releases per week. Her reappearance at Victor was with The Closed Door (1913), and the small studio made twenty-five two-reelers the next year. In Karen Mahar’s analysis, after 1916 Lawrence attempted more than once to become an independent producer again, but “nostalgia” for her fame was not enough (Mahar 64-65). The Victor name appears in credits up until 1917, after which it was absorbed completely into Universal.
Lawrence and Solter filed for divorce in 1916, and Billboard reports in April 1916 that she was weighing new offers and options, including vaudeville—and that Solter was not involved (52). In a letter to their mother four months later, her brother George writes: “So Flo is getting up another company of her own, is she, well I hope she does better than she did before. She did not seem to have had the right kind of stuff with that company she had. Of course that husband of hers may have had something to do with that part of it.” The new company, however, never materialized, and this was the beginning of Lawrence’s post-Victor career slide.
While Florence Lawrence attempted a return to the screen in 1921, she found it extremely difficult to find acting work—she even underwent plastic surgery on her nose in 1924, hoping to improve her luck (Brown 131). She opened a store, Hollywood Cosmetics, with her second husband, automobile salesman Charles B. Woodring, in the mid-1920s, which featured a line of makeup with her likeness on the cover (Brown 133). Lawrence was also involved in Lotta’s entrepreneurial ventures, becoming the president of her mother’s company, Bridgwood Manufacturing. Lotta Lawrence was a woman with business ideas and patent claims, inventing a windshield wiper patented in 1917, while Florence invented an “auto-signalling arm” for an automobile (Brown 115). Her mother used Florence Lawrence’s stardom in promotional materials, ironically, in Lotta’s idea for a home motion picture filming enterprise. When these ventures failed, the former star actress returned to work in vaudeville shows, but only because she could not find motion picture work (Holland 391).
Florence Lawrence. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Television.
In 1931 Lawrence divorced Woodring, and the next year married Henry Bolton, a marriage that ended within five months because he beat her severely. In the sound era, Lawrence, like many former stars, began around 1936 to get bit parts at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, earning $75 a week. On December 27, 1938, Lawrence was found unconscious in her West Hollywood apartment: she had killed herself by eating ant paste. In 1932, Lawrence donated many of her papers to what is now the Florence Lawrence Collection, and the remainder went to Daniel Blum, who used much of the material for his Pictorial History of the Silent Screen.
“Florence Lawrence out of Universal’s Employ.” Billboard (1 April 1916): 52.
Holland, Larry Lee. “Florence Lawrence.” Films in Review vol. 31, no. 7 (August/September 1980): 385-394.
Lawrence, Florence. “Growing Up with the Movies.” Photoplay (Nov. 1914): 28-41; (Dec.1914): 91-100; (Jan. 1915): 95-107; (Feb. 1915): 142-146.
Lawrence, George. Letter to Lotta Lawrence. 12 July 1916. Box 1, Folder 3. Florence Lawrence papers, 1904-1930. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Seaver Center for Western History Research.
Mahar, Karen Ward. Women Filmmakers in Early Hollywood. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Ramsaye, Terry. A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture. 1926. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986.
Solter, Harry to Lotta Lawrence. 27 September [1912]. Box 1, Folder 5. Florence Lawrence papers, 1904-1930. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Seaver Center for Western History Research.
“We Nail a Lie.” Advertisement. Moving Picture World (12 March 1910): 365.
Daniel Boone/Pioneer Days in America. Dir.: Edwin S. Porter (Edison Mfg. Co. US 1907) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mrs. Warver, si, b&w, 1,000 ft. Archive: Museum of Modern Art, BFI National Archive.
An Awful Moment. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 737 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Bandit’s Waterloo (The Outwitting of an Andalusian Brigand by a Pretty Senora). Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 839 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive.
The Barbarian, Ingomar. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Charles Inslee, si, b&w, 16mm, 806 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, Academy Film Archive.
Behind The Scenes: Where All Is Not Gold That Glitters. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Gladys Egan, si, b&w, 16mm, 530 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive.
Betrayed by a Handprint. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Harry Solter, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Call of the Wild. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Charles Inslee, si, b&w, 16mm, 988 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Christmas Burglars. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 35mm, 679 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Clubman and the Tramp. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, si, b&w, 16mm, 994 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Concealing a Burglar. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Arthur V. Johnson, Harry Solter, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive, Museum of Modern Art.
Father Gets in the Game. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mack Sennett, si, b&w, 16mm, 604 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Cineteca del Friuli.
The Feud and the Turkey. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 904 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Girl and The Outlaw. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Gene Gauntier, si, b&w, 16mm, 835 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Heart of O Yama. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, George Gebhardt, si, b&w, 16mm, 881 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive.
The Helping Hand. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 841 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Ingrate. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: S. E. V. Taylor (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Arthur Johnson, si, b&w, 16mm, 893 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Library and Archives Canada.
Money Mad. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, si, b&w, 35mm, 684 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. Jones at the Ball. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, John R. Cumpson, Mack Sennett, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Pirate’s Gold. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Stanner E. V. Taylor (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 966 ft. Archive.: Library of Congress.
The Planter’s Wife. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Claire McDowell, si, b&w, 35mm, 865 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Reckoning. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Harry Solter, si, b&w, 35mm, 462 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, George Eastman Museum.
The Red Girl. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith, Stanner E. V. Taylor (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm., 1,014 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Romance of a Jewess. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Gladys Egan, si, b&w, 16mm, 964 ft. Archive.: Library of Congress.
Romeo and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet, a Romantic Story of the Ancient Feud Between the Italian Houses of Montague and Capulet). Dir.: William V. Ranous (Vitagraph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Paul W. Panzer, si, b&w, 16mm, 915 ft. Archive: George Eastman Museum, Library of Congress.
Salome (The Dance of Seven Veils). Dir.: J. Stuart Blackton (Vitagraph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Maurice Costello, si, b&w, 710 ft. Archive: BFI National Archive.
The Smoked Husband. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, John Cumpson, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: BFI National Archive, Library of Congress.
The Stolen Jewels. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 630 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Taming of the Shrew. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith, Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 35mm, 1,048 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Test of Friendship. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, si, b&w, 16mm, 775 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Deutsche Kinemathek.
The Valet’s Wife (The Deceiving Uncle). Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Robert Harron, si, b&w, 35mm, 508 ft. Archive: George Eastman Museum, Library of Congress.
The Vaquero’s Vow. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Charles Inslee, si, b&w, 16 mm, 805 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Where the Breakers Roar. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Arthur V. Johnson, Linda Arvidson, Charles Inslee, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Zulu’s Heart. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1908) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Charles Inslee, si, b&w, 16mm, 776 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Honor of Thieves. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Harry Solter, Arthur Johnson, Owen Moore, si, b&w, 681 feet. Archive: Library of Congress.
At the Altar. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 972 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Awakening of Bess. Dir.: Harry Solter (Independent Moving Pictures Co. of America US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, King Baggot, George Loane Tucker, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: UCLA Film & Television Archive.
The Brahma Diamond. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Charles Inslee, si, b&w, 35mm, 1,036 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Cardinal’s Conspiracy. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, si, b&w, 16mm, 999 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Criminal Hypnotist. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 626 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Deception. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Adele De Garde, si, b&w, 16mm, 653 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Drive for a Life. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, Florence Lawrence, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
Eloping With Auntie. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Anita Hendrie, David Miles, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Eradicating Aunty. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Owen Moore, si, b&w, 16mm, 545 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Her First Biscuits. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 35mm, 514 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Library and Archives Canada.
His Ward’s Love. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 35mm, 235 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
His Wife’s Mother. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Biograph US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Dorothy West, si, b&w, 16mm, 623 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Jealousy and the Man. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Gladys Egan, si, b&w, 16mm, 418 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Jilt. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 997 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Jones and His New Neighbors. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 454 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Jones and the Lady Book Agent. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Flora Finch, si, b&w, 16mm, 585 or 589 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Jones’ Burglar (Mr.. Jones’ Burglar). Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, John R. Cumpson, si, b&w, 16mm, 388 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 400 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, Academy Film Archive.
Lady Helen’s Escapade. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Dorothy West, si, b&w, 16mm, 765 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Lucky Jim. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Patrick Campbell (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm., 35mm., 502 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Lure of the Gown. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 547 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Medicine Bottle. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 472 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Mr. Jones Has a Card Party. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Linda Arvidson, si, b&w, 16mm, 583 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Cineteca del Friuli.
Mrs. Jones Entertains. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, si, b&w, 16mm, Archive: Library of Congress, BFI National Archive.
Mrs. Jones’ Lover (I Want My Hat). Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, John R. Cumpson, si, b&w, 16mm, 467 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Note in the Shoe. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 711 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
One Touch of Nature. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Stanner E. V. Taylor (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 724 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Peachbasket Hat. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: Frank E. Woods (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 666 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Prussian Spy. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 465 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Road to the Heart. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Anita Hendrie, si, b&w, 16mm, 618 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Roue’s Heart. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 755 or 759 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Sacrifice. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, Arthur Johnson, si, b&w, 16mm, 438 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
The Salvation Army Lass. Dir.: D. W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, Anita Hendrie, si, b&w, 16mm., 926 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Schneider’s Anti-Noise Crusade. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Anita Hendrie, si, b&w, 16mm, 556 ft. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
The Slave. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, si, b&w, 16mm, 998 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Those Boys!. Dir.: D. W. Griffith (American Mutoscope Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Anita Hendrie, si, b&w, 16mm, 342 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
‘Tis an Ill Wind That Blows No Good. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 876 ft. 16mm, Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
A Troublesome Satchel. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mack Sennett, si, b&w, 212 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Trying to Get Arrested. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, si, b&w, 16mm, 344 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
Two Memories. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, Mary Pickford, si, b&w, 16mm, 318 ft. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
The Way of Man. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, si, b&w, 35mm, 986 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Winning Coat. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Owen Moore, Marion Leonard, Florence Lawrence, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
Wooden Leg. Dir.: D.W. Griffith (Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, David Miles, Arthur V. Johnson, si, b&w. Archive: Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art.
A Wreath in Time. Dir.: D.W. Griffith, sc.: D.W. Griffith (American Mutoscope and Biograph Co. US 1909) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Jeanie Macpherson, si, b&w, 16mm, 558 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens. Dir.: Harry Solter (Independent Moving Picture Co. US 1910) cas.: Florence Lawrence, King Baggot, si, b&w, 16mm, 975 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
Her Child’s Honor/De Eer Van Haar Kind. Dir.: Harry Solter (Lubin Mfg. Co. US 1911) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Arthur Johnson, si, b&w. Archive: EYE Filmmuseum.
The Little Rebel. Dir.: Harry Solter (Lubin Mfg. Co. US 1911) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Arthur Johnson, si, b&w. Archive: Museum of Modern Art.
The Two Fathers. Dir.: Harry Solter (Lubin Mfg Co. US 1911) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Arthur Johnson, si, b&w. Archive: BFI National Archive.
The Unfoldment. Dir.: George Kern, Murdock Macquarrie, sc.: James Couldwell, Reed Heustis (Producers Pictures Corp. US 1922) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Barbara Bedford, si, b&w, 35mm, 6 reels, 5,795 ft. Archive: Library of Congress.
2. Florence Lawrence as Actress and Producer (Victor Film Company)
Flo’s Discipline. Dir.: Joseph Smiley (Victor US 1912) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Owen Moore, si, b&w, 35mm. Archive: Library of Congress, Academy Film Archive.
Not Like Other Girls. (Victor US 1912) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Owen Moore, si, b&w, 16mm. Archive: Library of Congress.
Taking a Chance.Dir.: Harry Solter (Victor US 1912) cas.: Florence Lawrence, Owen Moore, si, b&w. 35mm. Archive: BFI National Archive.
B. Filmography: Non-Extant Film Titles:
1. Florence Lawrence as Actress
The Dispatch Bearer, or through Enemy Lines, 1907; The Shaughraun, an Irish Romance, 1907; Antony and Cleopatra, a Love Story of the Noblest Roman and the Most Beautiful Egyptian, 1908; The Dancer and the King, a Romantic Story of Spain,1908; Julius Caesar, an Historical Tragedy, 1908; Lady Jane’s Flight, a 17th Century Romance, 1908; Macbeth,Shakespeare’s Sublime Tragedy, 1908; Richard III, A Shakespearean Tragedy, 1908; The Viking’s Daughter, the Story of the Ancient Norseman, 1908; The Forest Ranger’s Daughter, 1909; Her Generous Way, 1909; Lest We Forget, 1909; Love’s Strategem, 1909; All the World’s a Stage, 1910; The Blind Man’s Tact, 1910; The Broken Oath, 1910; The Call of the Circus, 1910; The Count of Montebello, 1910; Debt, 1910; The Doctor’s Perfidy, 1910; The Eternal Triangle, 1910; A Game for Two, 1910; The Governor’s Pardon, 1910; His Second Wife, 1910; The Irony of Fate, 1910; Jane and the Stranger, 1910; Justice in the Far North, 1910; The Maelstrom, 1910; The Miser’s Daughter, 1910; The Mistake, 1910; Mother Love, 1910; The New Shawl, 1910; The Nichols on a Vacation, 1910; Old Heads and Young Hearts, 1910; Once Upon a Time, 1910; Pressed Roses, 1910; A Reno Romance, 1910; The Right Girl, 1910; The Right of Love, 1910; The Senator’s Double, 1910; The Stage Note, 1910; The Taming of Jane, 1910; The Tide of Fortune, 1910; Transfusion, 1910; Two Men, 1910; The Winning Punch, 1910; The Actress and the Singer, 1911; The Test, 1911;Age Versus Youth, 1911; Always a Way, 1911; Art Versus Music, 1911; Aunt Jane’s Legacy, 1911; Duke de Ribbon Counter, 1911; During Cherry Time, 1911; A Fascinating Bachelor, 1911; A Game of Deception, 1911; A Good Turn, 1911; A Head for Business, 1911; Her Artistic Temperament, 1911; Her Humble Ministry, 1911; Her Two Sons, 1911; Higgenses Versus Judsons, 1911; His Bogus Uncle, 1911; His Friend, the Burglar, 1911; His Chorus Girl Wife, 1911; A Girlish Impulse, 1911; The Hoyden, 1911; The Life Saver, 1911; The Maniac, 1911; The Matchmaker, 1911; Nan’s Diplomacy, 1911; One on Reno, 1911; Opportunity and the Man, 1911; The Professor’s Ward, 1911; A Rebellious Blossom, 1911; Romance of Pond Cove, 1911; A Rural Conqueror, 1911; The Sheriff and the Man, 1911; A Show Girl’s Strategem, 1911; The Snare of Society, 1911; The Slavey’s Affinity, 1911; The State Line, 1911; The Story of Rosie’s Rose, 1911; That Awful Brother, 1911; Through Jealous Eyes, 1911; Vanity and Its Cure, 1911; The Wife’s Awakening, 1911; The Surgeon’s Heroism, 1912; A Village Romance, 1912; Elusive Isabel, 1916; The Face on the Screen, 1917; The Love Craze, 1918; The Satin Girl, 1923; Gambling Wives, 1924.
2. Florence Lawrence as Actress and Producer (Victor Film Company)
The Advent of Jane, 1912; After All, 1912; All for Love, 1912; The Angel of the Studio, 1912; Betty’s Nightmare, 1912; The Chance Shot, 1912; Her Cousin Fred, 1912; In Swift Water, 1912; The Lady Leone, 1912; The Mill Buyers, 1912; The Players, 1912; The Redemption of Riverton, 1912; Sisters, 1912; Tangled Relations, 1912; The Winning Punch, 1912; The Closed Door, 1913; A Girl and Her Money, 1913; The Girl O’ the Woods, 1913; His Wife’s Child, 1913; Influence of Sympathy, 1913; The Spender, 1913; Suffragettes Parade in Washington, 1913; Unto the Third Generation, 1913; The Bribe, 1914; The Coryphee, 1914; Counterfeiters, 1914; Diplomatic Flo, 1914; The Disenchantment, 1914; The Doctor’s Testimony, 1914; The False Bride, 1914; The Great Universal Mystery, 1914; Her Ragged Knight, 1914;The Honeymooners, 1914; The Honor of the Humble, 1914; The Law’s Decree, 1914; The Little Mail Carrier, 1914; The Mad Man’s Ward, 1914; The Man Who Was Never Kissed, 1914; A Mysterious Mystery, 1914; The Pawns of Destiny, 1914; The Romance of the Photograph, 1914; A Singular Cynic, 1914; The Stepmother, 1914.
C. DVD Sources:
D.W. Griffith Director, vols. 1, 2, 3. DVD. (Grapevine Video US 2011)- contains numerous films featuring Lawrence. Check each volume for more details.
Florence Lawrence Rare Shorts (1908-1912). DVD. (Silent Film Hall of Fame Enterprises US 2017)
More Treasurers from the American Film Archives (1894-1931). DVD. (National Film Preservation Foundation US 2004) - contains The Country Doctor (1909)
Short Comedies(1904-1926). DVD. (Silent Film Hall of Fame Enterprises US 2016)
D. Streamed Media:
Her Child's Honor (1911) via the EYE Filmmuseum (Dutch intertitles)
Research Update
November 2020: The extant The Calamitous Elopement (1908) was removed from the filmography. Based on documentation in the FIAF Treasures database and the AFI Catalog as well as Paolo Cherchi Usai's book The Griffith Project: Vol. 1. and related Biograph company resources (e.g., the Biograph Project), we can confirm that Florence Lawrence did not appear in this film.
-The Editors.
Citation
Brown, Kelly. "Florence Lawrence." In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-2jnw-2x82>
