This film defines Mary Pickford's stardom to me

Everyone knows the Mary Pickford persona America's sweetheart with her curls,to me she was always some over made up old woman in curls who couldn't act. But in Stella Maris she plays an UGLY teenage girl(Mary was 26). This film was made nearly 100 years ago with trick photography in in it's infancy.
Did she have a putty nose and chin? How does she look SO different? Where is her real hair and where is the wig(her curls were attached)? I love this film for the contrast between America's sweetheart and the real Mary Pickford who wanted to show how she could really act
I'm having a personal Pickford, Lillian Gish John and Lionel Barrymore, Harold Llyod and other silent great festival. Films which I've never seen but love the silent era and the stars. I'm really enjoying them and seeing what made these people into stars.
I want to see what made our grand and great-grandparents cry, laugh and gasp in surprise, terror and horror.
The spectacular films are amazing like D.W.Griffith's 'Intolerance', amazing sets and incredible film making(very slow and long) but all those set are awesome, the crowds(no cgi)
The 1931 'Last days of Pompeii' beats al the modern ones I've seen for acting, effects and direction, real emotion at the end and the author's message.