Most filmgoers remember her - if at all - as a saccharine waif in silent films; few now realize that Mary Pickford owned a major movie studio, was the highest paid actor in Hollywood and controlled the making of her own films, and all by the age of 30. T his film goes beyond the sweet smile and curls to study the woman who rose from a childhood of extreme poverty to become America’s Sweetheart and a founding member of the United Artists film studio. Director Hugh Munro Neely; narrated by Whoopi Gold berg. Timeline Films.