What Happened to Mary
| What Happened to Mary | |
|---|---|
Film still with (from left) Miriam Nesbitt, Mary Fuller, and Marc McDermott | |
| Directed by | Ashley Miller Charles Brabin |
| Screenplay by | Bannister Merwin |
| Story by | Edwin Bliss |
| Starring | Mary Fuller Marc McDermott |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 1-reel episodes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
What Happened to Mary (sometimes erroneously referred to as What Happened to Mary?) is the first serial film made in the United States. Produced by Edison Studios, with screenplays by Horace G. Plympton, and directed by Charles Brabin, the action films starred Mary Fuller.
Twelve one-reel episodes were released monthly beginning July 1912, coinciding with the literary serial of the same name published in McClure's The Ladies' World magazine. In addition to the motion pictures and regular magazine installments, What Happened to Mary was also adapted as a stage play, followed by a novelization, making it an early example of the multimedia franchise.