Run Time: 58 minutes. Studio: Mary Pickford Company. Director: Paul Powell. Writer: Frances Marion. Based on the book by Eleanor H. Porter and the play by Catherine Chisholm Cushing. Producer: Mary Pickford. Main Cast: Mary Pickford, Wharton James, Katherine Griffith, Helen Jerome Eddy, George Berrell, Howard Ralston, William Courtleigh, Herbert Prior. Cinematographer: Charles Rosher. Art Director: Max Parker.
While this film may be far from obscure, Pollyanna is a movie you rarely hear silent film buffs talk about. However, it is one of the purest examples of the type of picture that made Mary Pickford such a major movie star. This is "the little girl with the curls" that would become "America's sweetheart."
In this film, Mary plays Pollyanna, a little girl who has been orphaned and sent to live with her Aunt Polly (Katherine Griffith). Aunt Polly cannot understand her niece's relentless optimism as she has become a very jaded person. However, Pollyanna helps inspire the townspeople around her by finding the good in all of them.
While the 1960 Disney version may be my favorite adaptation of Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel, this 1920 movie is very charming. This is an extremely sentimental movie but it so unashamed of its sentimentality that it works. There is not one ounce of cynicism in the whole film. While some might find it sickeningly sweet for the right audience, it is a complete charming. Mary Pickford hated making this film (screenwriter Francis Marion felt the same way). However, this does not show on screen at all. She is downright wonderful in this role. Some may argue that she is too old (she was 27 and the character as 12) but if you are a fan of Mary (as I am), you are used to this. Still even with the age difference between the actress and the character, she is utterly convincing in the role and makes scenes that would otherwise be too saccharine work. The sweetness of the story is also helped by being balanced with some genuinely funny humor. The runtime is a little less than an hour making this a breezy watch that is never anything less than completely entertaining.
Pollyanna marked Mary's first film for United Artists. United Artists as formed by four of the biggest names in American cinema at the time, Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (herself). The idea behind this studio was to give filmmakers a greater amount of control of their pictures, outside of the already rigid Hollywood studio system. Here the great filmmakers of the time (Mary included) would be able to produce their own pictures. Because of this, with the making of Pollyanna, Mary Pickford worked with some of her favorite collaborators. This included her favorite cinematographer Charles Rosher and writer Francis Marion, who wrote many of her most popular films (she would later direct the Mary Pickford movie, The Love Light (1921)). As for the director, Paul Powell, Pollyanna remains his biggest claim to fame. However, he had worked with another United Artist founder. His movie The Wood Nymph (1916) had a story by D.W. Griffith and Griffith produced the Powell directed feature, Hell-to-Pay Austin (1916). Powell had directed such stars as Bessie Love, Colleen Moore and Rudolph Valentino as well.
For anyone wanting to watch this delightful film, you can watch below.
While this film may be far from obscure, Pollyanna is a movie you rarely hear silent film buffs talk about. However, it is one of the purest examples of the type of picture that made Mary Pickford such a major movie star. This is "the little girl with the curls" that would become "America's sweetheart."
In this film, Mary plays Pollyanna, a little girl who has been orphaned and sent to live with her Aunt Polly (Katherine Griffith). Aunt Polly cannot understand her niece's relentless optimism as she has become a very jaded person. However, Pollyanna helps inspire the townspeople around her by finding the good in all of them.
While the 1960 Disney version may be my favorite adaptation of Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel, this 1920 movie is very charming. This is an extremely sentimental movie but it so unashamed of its sentimentality that it works. There is not one ounce of cynicism in the whole film. While some might find it sickeningly sweet for the right audience, it is a complete charming. Mary Pickford hated making this film (screenwriter Francis Marion felt the same way). However, this does not show on screen at all. She is downright wonderful in this role. Some may argue that she is too old (she was 27 and the character as 12) but if you are a fan of Mary (as I am), you are used to this. Still even with the age difference between the actress and the character, she is utterly convincing in the role and makes scenes that would otherwise be too saccharine work. The sweetness of the story is also helped by being balanced with some genuinely funny humor. The runtime is a little less than an hour making this a breezy watch that is never anything less than completely entertaining.
Pollyanna marked Mary's first film for United Artists. United Artists as formed by four of the biggest names in American cinema at the time, Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (herself). The idea behind this studio was to give filmmakers a greater amount of control of their pictures, outside of the already rigid Hollywood studio system. Here the great filmmakers of the time (Mary included) would be able to produce their own pictures. Because of this, with the making of Pollyanna, Mary Pickford worked with some of her favorite collaborators. This included her favorite cinematographer Charles Rosher and writer Francis Marion, who wrote many of her most popular films (she would later direct the Mary Pickford movie, The Love Light (1921)). As for the director, Paul Powell, Pollyanna remains his biggest claim to fame. However, he had worked with another United Artist founder. His movie The Wood Nymph (1916) had a story by D.W. Griffith and Griffith produced the Powell directed feature, Hell-to-Pay Austin (1916). Powell had directed such stars as Bessie Love, Colleen Moore and Rudolph Valentino as well.
For anyone wanting to watch this delightful film, you can watch below.
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