Mary Rider (sometimes credited as Mary Rider Mechtold) was an American screenwriter, playwright, and short story writer active primarily during the 1910s.

Biography

Mary was born in Illinois to judge George Rider and his wife, Elizabeth Prettyman, in Pekin, Illinois. Later on, she attended the Chicago University. She began to write plays as well as short stories during the 1910s that appeared in publications like ''

Sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

'', ''

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

'', and '' Munsey's Magazine''. She also wrote for vaudeville before writing stories for the screen during Hollywood's

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. One of her earliest stories to hit the screen was 1914's ''

The Mountain Rat ''The Mountain Rat'' is a 1914 silent four-reel film directed by James Kirkwood for Biograph. The film—described as "a drama of daring and romance in the Western wilds"—is notable for being one of the biggest early screen appearances of act ...

''. Over the next few years, she would go on to write a dozen or so shorts and features. She married Reuben Maynard in New York City in 1916. The couple had no children.

Selected filmography

* ''

Sunshine Alley ''Sunshine Alley'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by John W. Noble and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It was written by screenwriter Mary Rider specifically as a vehicle for actress Mae Marsh. Plot The film—which was lauded for ...

'' (1917) * '' Behind the Lines'' (1916) * '' The Snowbird'' (1916) * '' Gladiola'' (1915) * '' The Way Back'' (1915) * ''

The Mountain Girl ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1915) (short) * '' Indiscretion'' (1915) (short) * '' At the Stroke of the Angelus'' (1915) (short) * ''

Killed Against Orders Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

'' (1915) (short) * ''

Ashes of the Past Ashes may refer to: *Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), a ...

'' (1914) (short) * ''

The Temple of Moloch ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1914) (short) * ''

The Old Derelict ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (1914) (short) * ''

'' (1914) (short)

References

American screenwriters Year of death missing American women screenwriters {{DEFAULTSORT:Rider, Mary Screenwriters from Illinois 1876 births People from Pekin, Illinois