After a number of DVD releases in the first years of this century, the number of Mary Pickford films now being released has come to a virtual standstill while those early offerings are now either out-of-print or outrageously priced. As a result of that, this Blu-Ray release is most welcome not only for being Mary’s first Blu-Ray appaearance but for allowing us to see two films never before released in a quality transfer and for upgrading SPARROWS, one of her finest late films. Now it’s time for the Mary Pickford Foundation to cut a deal with someone and get more of her films out there in the new format which allows for lots of extras as well as a quality visual experience compared to what has gone before.
The major virtue of this set is that we get to see Mary at 3 stages in the history of her little girl character. THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (1917) the film that started it all, THE HOODLUM (1919) in which she exercised complete creative control and was at the height of her popularity and finally SPARROWS (1926), the last time she would play the character. THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL and THE HOODLUM are making their home video debuts. SPARROWS has been refurbished with a new orchestral score replacing the old Gaylord Carter organ score on the previous DVD. If you’ve never seen a Mary Pickford feature before than this is a good place to start but it certainly doesn’t represent a complete picture of Pickford. Check out STELLA MARIS and THE LOVE LIGHT to see what she could do with adult roles.
THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL was originally a play and was more serious in tone than this picture makes it. Pickford and director Maurice Tourneur clashed over adding the humorous bits and when first screened for the Paramount brass, they hated it. They quickly changed their tune when audiences embraced it and Pickford was on her way to becoming a cinematic icon. THE HOODLUM, made 2 years later, is a lavish production and deals with some social concerns but it feels much more calculated to giving the audience what they want. Director Sidney Franklin who would later win an Oscar for THE GOOD EARTH, stayed out of Pickford’s way here. SPARROWS (1926) is more Dickensian than Dickens himself and is a truly remarkable achievement. Director William Beaudine would go on to Hollywood’s Poverty Row studios before ending his career directing episodes of the LASSIE TV shows in the 1950s and 60s. Rounding out the set is the 1910 Biograph short RAMONA.
All 3 movies look as good as can be expected short of a full scale restoration and this set includes a number of special features designed to make it kid friendly. The reading of the subtitles is OK (but it’s better if a family member does it) but the filmed introductions and epilogues seemed forced and artificial. Each movie has a new orchestral score. GIRL and SPARROWS are appropriate and effective but I found THE HOODLUM to be borderline cute and annoying. In the end it’s all a matter of personal taste. Thanks to everyone involved from The Mary Pickford Foundation to Milestones Films for making this Blu-Ray available. Now it’s time to give the adult Mary Pickford her due.
The Capsule Critic 