Trivia / Peter Pan (1924)

• Acting for Two: Averted with Mr. Darling and Captain Hook who are, in defiance of the stage tradition, played by different actors. However, George Ali plays both Nana and the crocodile.
• Approval of God: A contracted example. JM Barrie's contract stated he had to approve the actress playing Peter. They couldn't find one he did approve of until they tested the unknown Betty Bronson.
• Dawson Casting: As is customary, Peter is played by a young woman. Betty Bronson was seventeen at the time. Additionally, Wendy is generally understood to be about twelve or so, but actress Mary Brian was eighteen. The studio was worried that audiences would think Brian was too old for the part, so they claimed her age was sixteen. Downplayed with Anna May Wong, who was nineteen playing the teenage Tiger Lily.
• Fake Nationality: Chinese-American Anna May Wong as the Native American princess Tiger Lily.
• Self-Adaptation: JM Barrie wrote additional scenes for the film himself. These include Nana pouring Michael's medicine and the dog later interrupting Mr and Mrs Darling at a party to warn them that the children are leaving.
• Shoot the Money: Tinker Bell was portrayed as a tiny human for the first time (on the stage, she's traditionally represented by a ball of light) because they wanted to show off the visual effects.
• Underage Casting: Mrs Darling was played by Esther Ralston, who was only twenty-two at the time and thus only three years older than the actress playing Wendy. Word of God is that a younger actress was cast because children saw their mothers as younger than they were.
• What Could Have Been:
  • J. M. Barrie came up with some new scenes just for the film, but the director, Herbert Brenon, ignored them and mostly adhered to the original play.
  • The role of Peter Pan was sought by such stars as Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, and Lillian Gish.