A movie essentially in three acts, and one that I wanted to like more, but which just doesn't hold together as a cohesive whole as well as it should have. In the first act, a clerk (Leslie Howard) woos his wealthy boss's daughter (Mary Pickford), and when it's discovered to the man's consternation, elopes with her. In the second, the pair are in the old West, and after being set upon by a gang of bandits, have to shoot it out with them. In the third, many years have passed and Howard's now running for governor, but we find out he's been cheating on Pickford, creating a marital crisis. In the epilogue, the pair are older, and looking forward to moving away from their grown children to rekindle their own lives.
This was Mary Pickford's final film as an actress, and she has her moments. It's amazing to me that at age 41, early on she easily plays the role of a girl more than two decades younger. It's funny to hear her mother say "There's nothing quite so alluring to a man, as a wee bit of ankle," poking fun at the 19th century, and to see Howard undressing her by removing a string of giant hooplike garments, one after another. In the second act she has scenes when she's severely distraught, and pulls them off very well - they should be considered essential viewing for a Pickford fan. There is also something quite poignant when she quietly tells Howard just how much she knows about his philandering, knowing that in real life she was struggling with the infidelity of her husband Douglas Fairbanks, though I cringed at just how easy that whole scene was for Howard's character.
Unfortunately, Leslie Howard shows much less range, and it's hard to believe him in the second and third acts. In theory the film should play as showing the moments of truth in this couple's relationship over their lives, of how they persevered through each, even when things got difficult. There is something too disjoint about it though, as if it tried to do too much in each of its very different individual acts. The dramatic scenes in the West are the film's best, but they seem unbelievable for the character's lives. It's a shame this was Pickford's last film as an actress; her career was extraordinary, and there is enough here to watch if you're a fan of hers.
This was Mary Pickford's final film as an actress, and she has her moments. It's amazing to me that at age 41, early on she easily plays the role of a girl more than two decades younger. It's funny to hear her mother say "There's nothing quite so alluring to a man, as a wee bit of ankle," poking fun at the 19th century, and to see Howard undressing her by removing a string of giant hooplike garments, one after another. In the second act she has scenes when she's severely distraught, and pulls them off very well - they should be considered essential viewing for a Pickford fan. There is also something quite poignant when she quietly tells Howard just how much she knows about his philandering, knowing that in real life she was struggling with the infidelity of her husband Douglas Fairbanks, though I cringed at just how easy that whole scene was for Howard's character.
Unfortunately, Leslie Howard shows much less range, and it's hard to believe him in the second and third acts. In theory the film should play as showing the moments of truth in this couple's relationship over their lives, of how they persevered through each, even when things got difficult. There is something too disjoint about it though, as if it tried to do too much in each of its very different individual acts. The dramatic scenes in the West are the film's best, but they seem unbelievable for the character's lives. It's a shame this was Pickford's last film as an actress; her career was extraordinary, and there is enough here to watch if you're a fan of hers.