Saturday’s silent was Little Lord Fauntleroy, starring Mary Pickford and Mary Pickford. (Come again, ’Meister?) Yes, in this 1921 ten-reeler—pretty much the equivalent of a full feature—Miss Pickford played Cedric Errol (who becomes Little Lord Fauntleroy) and also plays Widow Errol (Dearest, Cedric’s mother).
Cedric’s late father was a son of the Earl of Dorincourt. The Earl did not approve of the marriage and has little to do with the wife or young Cedric. Cedric’s fortunes change upon the death of the Earl’s sole surviving son. Not only does Miss Pickford win over the old codger as Little Lord Fauntleroy (“LFF”), the Earl and LLF’s mother also make amends.
The real genius of the film is that Miss Pickford seems to be shorter as LLF and taller as the mother. And the scenes where she appears as both, together, are so seamless that I wasn’t giving the least thought to how difficult that was to pull off in 1921. While she was convincing as a boy, she wasn’t quite totally convincing—a close-up of Mary Pickford, without the trappings of an LLF suit, is just too darned pretty!
Toward the end of the story, a woman surfaces and says that her son is the real heir. By the time it’s proven that this is not true, LLF and the boy have a fight, with LLF ending up with a black eye.
There were gags in this comedy-drama but not as much slapstick as in some of the other films I’ve seen in The Silent Clowns Film Series. This series will continue with three more Mary Pickford films; each program will also show shorts along with the feature. Little Lord Fauntleroy, at ten reels, was presented on its own, and Ben Model, piano accompanist, got a well-deserved ovation at the end. He was tickling those ivories non-stop for quite a chunk of time.
The other three are from 1918, 1917, and 1918, respectively, with the shorts dating from 1910, 1911, and 1912. It will be interesting to see how they compare with this more mature work. Also of note is that these films are being shown in collaboration with the Mary Pickford Foundation. In addition to being a Sweetheart and a Superstar, she was also a quite keen businesswoman and kept tight control of her productions and films.
ConcertMeister
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