As a self proclaimed authority on silent films and as a Mary Pickford enthusiast who has written reviews for several of her movies, I was beyond surprised to realize that I had not composed a review of one of her greatest accomplishments. STELLA MARIS, released in January of 1918, features Pickford in dual roles as two completely opposite characters. One is the classic Pickford persona, the little rich girl with the long, golden curls, who in this case happens to be partially paralyzed. The other is a homely Cockney orphan, straight out of Dickens, who has known nothing but abuse and neglect.
A journalist, John Risca, who is estranged from his alcoholic wife, continually visits the crippled niece of some old friends. They have kept Stella unaware of anything bad happening in the world. Stella hero worships Risca and views him as a knight in shining armor. His wife hires an orphan, Unity Blake, to be her household servant but then brutally beats her in a drunken rage. She is sentenced to prison for 3 years. Risca then adopts Unity to help her recover and she falls in love with him. However he is only interested in Stella and an operation that could make her walk again. When the wife is released, complications ensue.
The film is based on a 1913 novel by British author William J. Locke and is very much a product of its time. Differences in class are a key element to the story as Stella is the ward of a privileged couple, Unity comes from a Sister run orphanage, and well to do Risca’s wife is described as a commomer (which, the script says, is why she drinks to excess). The contrasts between the three women characters are the crux of the screenplay and when they meet each other at various times and under varying circumstances, things eventually take a tragic turn that is ultimately redeemed by one of the character’s actions.
Mary Pickford was already “America’s Sweetheart” when she came across STELLA MARIS and jumped at the chance of playing a part outside of her usual little girl character although here she gets to play her too. She was the second highest paid performer in cinema (after Chaplin), had her own studio, and produced all of her movies. This was in 1917 before there was a Hollywood and before she met Douglas Fairbanks. Mary enlisted her good friend Frances Marion to write the screenplay. Marion was then on her way to becoming one of Hollywood’s top screenwriters. The film was directed by her long time collaborator, Marshall Neilan.
The first quality release of STELLA MARIS was done by Milestone Films in 2000 which is how I first saw it. Later her movies were acquired by Flicker Alley and her films are now being released under the VCI banner. The visual quality is an improvement over the 2000 release but the real achievement here is in the fine score produced by the Graves Brothers. The Mary Pickford Foundation finally figured out that the weakest element of their past releases have been the commissioned soundtracks which have been, shall we say, inappropriate. Also included is the 1909 Biograph short THE MOUNTAINEER’S HONOR directed by D.W. Griffith.
The Capsule Critic 