The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)
Mary Pickford is a rich little girl whose family ignores her and servants mistreat her. If only she could go out and have some fun with the kids on the street! Directed by Maurice Tourneur.
This special presentation at the Dryden, part of the Film: Lost and Found conference in Rochester, was accompanied by a live orchestra performing Philip Carli's original score written for the film. As Carli mentioned in introducing the film, performing with an orchestra live to film is a lot more difficult than simply recording an orchestra in a studio for a film.
The film is very simple - Mary Pickford plays a little girl born to a rich family. They live in a large mansion, with a lot of servants around and many material goods. But unfortunately, no one cares for the little girl. Although she has every material comfort, she has no personal interaction. Her parents are too busy, and the servants don't like her and treat her badly. She enjoys looking out the window at the life she is forbidden to experience, with young children running around in the streets, and organ grinders playing music.
Eventually, her father loses his fortune (shades of current economic calamity!), and after a health scare (wherein she hallucinates in a manner very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz), her parents realize how important she is, and begin to finally give her the love she always wanted.
The film is exceedingly simple, but very well done. Pickford was actually 24 when the film was shot, but with a combination of her short stature (5 feet)and visual tricks, she convincingly plays a 10 year old girl.
This special presentation at the Dryden, part of the Film: Lost and Found conference in Rochester, was accompanied by a live orchestra performing Philip Carli's original score written for the film. As Carli mentioned in introducing the film, performing with an orchestra live to film is a lot more difficult than simply recording an orchestra in a studio for a film.
The film is very simple - Mary Pickford plays a little girl born to a rich family. They live in a large mansion, with a lot of servants around and many material goods. But unfortunately, no one cares for the little girl. Although she has every material comfort, she has no personal interaction. Her parents are too busy, and the servants don't like her and treat her badly. She enjoys looking out the window at the life she is forbidden to experience, with young children running around in the streets, and organ grinders playing music.
Eventually, her father loses his fortune (shades of current economic calamity!), and after a health scare (wherein she hallucinates in a manner very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz), her parents realize how important she is, and begin to finally give her the love she always wanted.
The film is exceedingly simple, but very well done. Pickford was actually 24 when the film was shot, but with a combination of her short stature (5 feet)and visual tricks, she convincingly plays a 10 year old girl.
posted by Mike at 11:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home