Fashion
The First ‘Peter Pan’ Blockbuster Turns 100 but Hasn’t Grown Up
The silent film debuted in 1924 to much fanfare but was later lost. Eventually rediscovered and restored, it has gone on to charm new generations of fans.
How many screen adaptations of “Peter Pan” can you name?
Just last year Disney+ released “Peter Pan & Wendy.” Mary Martin starred in the 1960 telecast of the Broadway musical version, and Allison Williams in a 2014 remake, “Peter Pan Live!” An adult Robin Williams took on the role in the unusual 1991 sequel “Hook.” And perhaps the most famous of all was the Disney animated feature from 1953.
But another version predates all of those: “Peter Pan,” a silent film released 100 years ago this month, becoming a blockbuster in its day.
The 1924 film, which The New York Times called “a pictorial masterpiece,” was considered a pioneer in selling movie-related merchandise. But it fell out of sight after talkies replaced silent films and Walt Disney bought the film rights to make his own “Peter Pan.” Many feared it lost until it was rediscovered in the 1940s by a film preservationist who found a copy at a theater in upstate New York that had trained organists to play along with silent movies.
Its centenary has been celebrated with screenings in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and in England.
One of the people finding joy in the revival of interest in the 1924 “Peter Pan” is Theresa Wiegmann, whose grandmother, Betty Bronson, played the title role.
Bronson was a 17-year-old ingénue originally from Trenton, N.J., when she was handpicked to play the role by J.M. Barrie, the creator of “Peter Pan.” Her casting was big news. The Times reported that Barrie was “said to have come to his conclusion after having viewed more than 100 tests of film actresses.” When Bronson visited New York 100 years ago this week to promote the film, photographers thronged her as she arrived in Grand Central on the Twentieth Century Limited.
