Florence Crawford — The Personal Side of the Pictures (1915) 🇺🇸

Three years ago a very attractive girl of the gray-eyed, brown haired, fair-complexioned American type, called at the Reliance studio to see a friend, who was acting in pictures.

Immediately the director was struck with her svelte figure and the atmosphere of the out-of-doors which clung about her. It was obviously her first visit to a motion picture plant, and he let her wander about, observing and asking questions to her heart’s content, before he ventured to approach her with the inquiry which almost took Florence Crawford off her feet.

“How would you like to act for the camera yourself?”

She heard these words put to her coolly — evidently the man was in earnest. But they produced in her own ears a kind of confusion and buzzing for a moment. Only for a moment, however — for Miss Crawford is a self-possessed girl and by no means conceited. Then she answered, just as coolly, just as earnestly:

“Oh, very much, if you really think I could do it.”

For several months Miss Crawford served her apprenticeship with the Reliance company. Then she accepted an offer to join the Majestic in Los Angeles. Stepping immediately into dramatic leads, she was featured in “The Thief and the Book,” “The Heart of a Fool” and “Playmates.” When D. W. Griffith came to take command of the united Reliance and Majestic studios, Miss Crawford was one of the few actresses under the old regime, whom the director-in-chief retained.

Unusual aptitude for drama in the open distinguishes this talented young woman. And the roots of her love of out-of-doors and of athletic activity are embedded deep in her ancestral soil. She is a native of Franklin, Pennsylvania, in Crawford county. This district was settled by her forebears more than two hundred years ago and took the family name. Miss Crawford comes of fighting blood. Her great, great grandfather fought in the American Revolution. Her great grandfather was a veteran of the Mexican War. And her grandfather served throughout the Civil War. She herself is a superb horsewoman and a crack shot with either rifle or pistol.

The milder out-of-door sports also she heartily enjoys. She is an expert tennis player and a powerful swimmer. She loves camping, sailing, motoring and dancing. During her school life in Pittsburg and New York she was a leader in athletics and socially very popular.

Since the re-organization of the Reliance and Majestic, Miss Crawford has been appearing under the Reliance brand. She played in “Bad Man Mason,” “The Tardy Cannon Ball,” “A Lucky Disappointment,” and many other films. Though delightful in comedy-drama, she is capable of impersonating characters of great intensity. Her specialty, however, is strong Western work. Her natural love of the wilds, her fearlessness on horseback, her brilliant marksmanship, all qualify her highly for ranch and cowgirl roles. Constant exercise has made her figure strong and supple. She measures five feet, five inches, in her riding boots, weighs one hundred and thirty pounds, and is as wholesome and attractive as one’s ideal of western heroine could demand.

Recently she has been devoting her talents to films under the direction of “Sheriff” Arthur Mackley, who at last has found in her a star, who fits to perfection into his productions. She scores a big thrill in “The Deputy’s Chance That Won.” Bound and gagged and helpless, she struggles on the floor of a deserted shack, prolonging the dramatic suspense until the timely arrival of the sheriff.

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• This is said to be her favorite portrait
• Much of her best work has been done in Western “make-up”
• In classic roles she has registered some notable successes

Collection: Reel Life Magazine, February 1915

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