Run Time: 85 minutes. Studio: Mary Pickford Company. Director: Marshall Neilan. Writer: Agnes Christine Johnston. Based on a novel by Jean Webster. Producer: Mary Pickford. Main Cast: Mary Pickford, Milla Davenport, Percy Haswell, Fay Lemport, Mahlon Hamilton. Cinematographer: Charles Rosher.
It may be strange to say but I feel that Mary Pickford is often overlooked today. Despite being one of the seminal figures of silent film and the immense popularity she enjoyed (as well as how many still know her name today), her works often don't receive the same attention today as do other major figures of the silent era. Her films screen less in theatrical settings and are not discussed as often as the works of some of her peers. This is a shame as her movies are just as delightful, charming and fun today as they were back in the 1910's and 20's.
In this film, young orphan Judy (Mary Pickford) receives educational funding from a wealthy benefactor (Mahlon Hamilton). However, the benefactor insists that the two never contact in person. Despite this she gets a glimpse of him and writes him letters calling him "Daddy Long Legs."
This is a pure delight of a film, featuring all the charm of Mary's best work of this era. Like some of Mary's best work, this may not be a full comedy, but it does keep a delightfully light comic touch throughout. It is during the more comedic scenes that Mary Pickford's charm truly shines best. During these scenes she conveys such an effortless charm that it is simply hard not to enjoy watching her. Mary Pickford also shines incredibly well during the more dramatic scenes making this film a perfect showcase for her range. The writing by Agnes Johnston (who would later be a writer on many of the Andy Hardy movies with Mickey Rooney and the Harold Lloyd talkie feature Movie Crazy (1932)), also makes it so that we are always sympathetic to and on the side of our young hero. While the romance may be creepy to some because of the age difference, the romantic scenes are often quite lovely. The story moves by at a fast pace and is never once boring. Every second of this film is at least fun to watch. The story may be predictable, but it is fun with some quite good emotional moments thrown in as well. This movie is also quite well shot (due to the work of Charles Rosher, Mary Pickford's favorite cinematographer) and often visually appealing. The artwork on some of the intertitles is also often lovely. There is simply very little to this film not to like.
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| Picture-Play Magazine, 1919 |
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| Wid's Filmdom, 1919 |
After working for Adolph Zukor's Famous Players for five and a half years, Daddy Long Legs marked the first movie Mary Pickford made as an independent producer (the film was distributed by First National). It is said that as well as producing the film, she also helped credited writer Agnes Johnston with the script. Some sources even claim that she directed part of the movie when director Marshall Neilan was too drunk to (Neilan was known around Hollywood for having a drinking problem). Adolph Zukor predicted that Mary's goal to self-produce her own films would end in failure couldn't have been more wrong. Daddy Long Legs grossed $1.3 million at the box office and was a great critical hit as well.
At the same time Mary Pickford's mother Charolette bought the rights to Jean Webster's 1912 book, she also bought the rights to another 1912 book, Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna (which the next year would also be adapted into a delightful Mary Pickford movie).
Much of this movie used location shooting and much was done throughout Los Angles. The building used for the orphanage was the former Occidental College Hall of Letters (in the neighborhood of Eagle Rock). This college was built in 1904. By the time this movie was shot had been abandoned making it perfect to use for the orphanage. Mary Pickford was not the only major silent movie star to use this location for shooting. It would later be used multiple times by Charlie Chaplin. It appeared as a maternity hospital at the start of Chaplin's The Kid (1921) and a sanitarium in Chaplin's Modern Times (1936). By the time Modern Times was created the college was up and running again and that was filmed at their new physicality. A shot of a real orphanage does appear in the film, however. There is a brief scene where a comparison is made between the kids at an orphanage and prisoners on a chain gang and to make this point a shot of a real orphanage was used Known as Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (and located at 917 S. Boyle Avenue near Hollenbeck Park), this orphanage opened in 1890 and remained open until 1953. The same orphanage was used earlier in another Mary Pickford movie Stella Maris (1918).
Parts of this movie were also filmed in Malibu. In one scene wealthy trustees and their spoiled daughter visit the orphanage. Later when they return home it is at a mansion at 450 S. Lucerne in Windsor Square. This mansion was built in 1915 and amazingly still exists today. Mary leased the property in August of 1918 and moved out a few months after Daddy Long Legs had its premiere. In another scene where Judy leaves for college, we get a glimpse of the Southern Pacific Depot. Having opened in late 1914, this station was located in Central Avenue at 5th. On may notice in this scene that someone in the background is wearing a face mask. This scene was shot during the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918 and 1919. Similar to when Covid was at its height, many were wearing masks at this time. The Southern Pacific Depot can also be seen in a lengthy sequence in Rupert Hughes' Souls for Sale (1923). The romantic scene by the rock pool was filmed at Malibu State Park (at the time called Crags Country Club). The graduation ceremony was filmed at Busch Gardens; a location used quite often in Stella Maris. The benefactor's home was really the home of Colonel John Eldredge Stearns (who was quite a local character as you can read here), which is still standing and located at 27 St. James Park.
The New York Times stated, "Jean Webster's familiar and widely loved 'Daddy Long Legs' has come to the screen to give Mary Pickford one of the best parts she has had for a long time. Spectators who filled all the seats and standing room of the Strand for every showing of the picture yesterday and waited packed in the lobby for their turn to go in, testified to the popularity of the story and of the star. Marshall Neilan, who directed the production, has employed his usual skill and taste in setting forth Miss Webster's story with all possible pictorial charm. In fact, considering the work of the director 'Daddy Long Legs' rates high. Mr. Neilan is one who appreciates the essentially pictorial character of a true photoplay, and he has the ability to show this appreciation in reels of film. In addition, he gives his pictures an individual stamp, especially when touches of humor are permitted, that makes them distinct creations. The chief criticism that might be found of 'Daddy Long Legs' as a photoplay is that some one thought it necessary to pile superfluous words on some of Mr. Neilan's eloquently descriptive pictures."
You can watch this delightful movie below on YouTube.
Resources Used
https://silentlocations.com/2019/08/31/how-mary-pickford-filmed-daddy-long-legs-part-one/
https://silentlocations.com/2019/11/06/how-mary-pickford-filmed-daddy-long-legs-part-two/
https://mediahistoryproject.org/
https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/335337/daddy-long-legs#articles-reviews?articleId=25816
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