...and only one makes it. I won't dwell on the plot, as it's known by 99 44/100% of the world's population. I just felt I had to put in my two cents and defend Mary Pickford. I was very eager to see her in a talkie, and this DVD turned up in my local video store. I immediately snatched it up with my little hands and dashed up to the register. "Am I dreaming?" I thought. "Have a finally gotten a Mary Pickford talkie?!?" I wasn't dreaming, fortunately, and I made it home with my purchase. My opinion, for what it's worth, follows below.
I knew that this film's reputation hasn't quite survived the passing years; neither has Mary Pickford's, for that matter. So few of Mary's films are available and this one does bring down the average a bit. Getting down to brass tacks--Mary Pickford is pretty awful in this picture, but I do think it's helpful to put her performance in perspective. While I did enjoy the film, and I always enjoy Mary's performances, the one word that kept coming to mind while I watched this is UNCOMFORTABLE. She seemed incredibly apprehensive, as though she'd never seen the script. (That might be due to improvising, though...she could have known Doug was going to give her a hard time!) Her marriage to Doug was steadily heading towards the rocks, and it does show. Mary seems aware that Doug has the picture in both hands and is running away with it, but she doesn't seem to know what to do about it. The bigger, louder and bolder he gets the more tight and restrained she becomes.
All this is unfortunate, because Mary could play a hellcat, and did on several occasions. Check out her performance in "M'Liss," when she, armed with a slingshot, addresses Thomas Meighan with "I'll pump ya full of rocks" and you don't doubt for one minute that she will. The main difference between Mary's previous good little devils (like M'Liss, "Little Annie Rooney," and Mavis in "Heart O' The Hills") and Katherine is of course sound. Stage training or no, Mary's voice isn't cut out for constant screeching. To add to the problem, Mary interestingly enough sounds like a little boy. Jarring? Absolutely. Not such a major issue though, because Doug has practically all of the lines in the movie. That is a relief of sorts, because while he's going through the required histrionics Mary is free to use body language, with which she was undoubtedly more comfortable. A good example of this would be the scene in which the smug, praying Petrucio prevents a weary Kate from eating. No one could call Mary's comedic timing in that scene inadequate. Silent yes, but never inadequate.
Mary's performance aside, this is a great Shakespeare movie for people who don't like Shakespeare (like me). There are so many silent-era gags in it that there isn't room for the Bard. Witness the wedding scene, which revolves around a man trying to dispose of an apple core. I imagine this movie gives English teachers fits.
Granted, this movie has shortcomings, but it will entertain you, and isn't that what movies are for?
I knew that this film's reputation hasn't quite survived the passing years; neither has Mary Pickford's, for that matter. So few of Mary's films are available and this one does bring down the average a bit. Getting down to brass tacks--Mary Pickford is pretty awful in this picture, but I do think it's helpful to put her performance in perspective. While I did enjoy the film, and I always enjoy Mary's performances, the one word that kept coming to mind while I watched this is UNCOMFORTABLE. She seemed incredibly apprehensive, as though she'd never seen the script. (That might be due to improvising, though...she could have known Doug was going to give her a hard time!) Her marriage to Doug was steadily heading towards the rocks, and it does show. Mary seems aware that Doug has the picture in both hands and is running away with it, but she doesn't seem to know what to do about it. The bigger, louder and bolder he gets the more tight and restrained she becomes.
All this is unfortunate, because Mary could play a hellcat, and did on several occasions. Check out her performance in "M'Liss," when she, armed with a slingshot, addresses Thomas Meighan with "I'll pump ya full of rocks" and you don't doubt for one minute that she will. The main difference between Mary's previous good little devils (like M'Liss, "Little Annie Rooney," and Mavis in "Heart O' The Hills") and Katherine is of course sound. Stage training or no, Mary's voice isn't cut out for constant screeching. To add to the problem, Mary interestingly enough sounds like a little boy. Jarring? Absolutely. Not such a major issue though, because Doug has practically all of the lines in the movie. That is a relief of sorts, because while he's going through the required histrionics Mary is free to use body language, with which she was undoubtedly more comfortable. A good example of this would be the scene in which the smug, praying Petrucio prevents a weary Kate from eating. No one could call Mary's comedic timing in that scene inadequate. Silent yes, but never inadequate.
Mary's performance aside, this is a great Shakespeare movie for people who don't like Shakespeare (like me). There are so many silent-era gags in it that there isn't room for the Bard. Witness the wedding scene, which revolves around a man trying to dispose of an apple core. I imagine this movie gives English teachers fits.
Granted, this movie has shortcomings, but it will entertain you, and isn't that what movies are for?