Run Time: 75 minutes. Studio: United Artists. Director: John Francis Dillon. Writer: Waldemar Young. Based on a play by Frederick Fenn and Richard Pryce. Producer: Mary Pickford. Main Cast: Mary Pickford, Albert Austin, Harold Goodwin, Rosa Dione, Nadine Montgomery. Cinematographers: Charles Rosher, L.W. O’Connell.
I always feel it is a good idea to start a new year off with something that will make you smile, and Mary Pickford never fails to make me smile. There are movie stars that have an incredible amount of talent and who I always enjoy watching, but then there are movie stars who have that little extra something. This something is a certain unexplainable presence that sets them apart from any of their contemporaries. These are the stars that are truly one of a kind. Mary is certainly one of these. There is something about Mary that defies description, yet makes me light up every time I see her on screen.
This movie presents us with a Cinderella type of story. Amanda (Mary Pickford) is a poor woman working as a laundry woman. Like Cinderella's step sisters, her co-workers make fun of her and pick on her. She has a crush on a customer (Albert Austin) who hardly knows she exists. Tired of constantly being picked on, she lies to her co-workers that she and Horace are lovers that have been forcibly separated and that one day he will come back for her.
There is no better word to describe Suds, than charming. This movie is oozing with an easy going but irresistible charm from the second it starts to the second it ends. Though she is rarely mentioned with the great silent comics, comedy remained an important part of much of Mary's work and was something she completely excelled at. This movie gives her plenty of great comic set pieces in which she plays to perfection. Yet these comedic moments are balanced with an equal amount of sentimentality. These two elements which could easily work against each other instead come together perfectly with both elements serving the story first and foremost, making it so instead of conflicting they help each other out making the other work all the better. This is only helped out by the instant likability of the main character. Of course having Mary Pickford in this role didn't hurt, and Waldemar Young's (who also served as a writer on such Lon Chaney vehicles as The Unknown (1927), The Unholy Three (1925), West of Zanzibar (1928) and London After Midnight (1927)) screenplay also does a fantastic job at this.
During this era, it was common for movie stars to have a favorite cinematographer and Charles Rosher (who worked on this film) was Mary Pickford's. He had worked with Mary on many of her best movies and watching any of them it is hard to not see why Mary loved his work so much. This film is no exception. This film has a very unique look that is extremely appealing. To fit the setting of the film, this movie must look like it takes place in a run down poor area, yet the story has a fairytale like quality and the look should also reflect that. This movie somehow perfectly captures both at the same time. While I do not give all the credit for this to one man, there is no doubt that Charles Rosher played a major role in making this work. Charles Rosher's non-Mary Pickford work was equally impressive. His other work included Sunrise (1927) (he and Karl Struss won the first Oscar for cinematography for their work in that film), The Yearling (1946), Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Show Boat (1951) and Hollywood Hotel (1937).
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