I'm sorry, but, I just don't see it.
This is now the 3rd "Mary Pickford" silent film that I've recently watched and I find that I'm not at all impressed with this woman as an actress.
Don't get me wrong, this woman did have a semblance of some genuine charm, but, now, 90 years later, whatever it was that made her so popular in those days of yesteryear has been significantly diminished over time.
In 1926's "Sparrows", Mary Pickford (now 34) played (for the last time) a young girl (a role that she had been constantly playing for close to 20 years). In this particular story Mary plays Molly, the heroine to 7 orphaned children.
The setting for Sparrows takes place in the thick of the Louisiana swamplands where the wicked (and physically bent) Mr. Grimes (along with his homely, do-nothing wife) run a "baby" farm of lost, displaced and abducted children who are treated very badly and worked like dogs in order to tend Grimes' crops and maintain his property.
More than anything else Sparrows was nothing but a deceitful, little "god-works-in-mysterious-ways" Bible story. Molly repeatedly made references to this religious book and reassured the little ones that "The Lord" would, indeed, see them all safely through these hard times (even though his tactics weren't always clear to even the most simple-minded fool imaginable).
Besides the irritating emphasis that was placed on Molly's religious beliefs, I also found that the basic essence of Sparrows' story to be very-very disturbing.
This was a cruel-minded, sinister, and depressing story. It hinted at the possibilities that these abducted children were very likely being sexually abused by not only Mr. Grimes, but, by the men whom Grimes (in order to make a quick buck) sold them over to.
Even though I'm trying very hard to view this picture strictly from a nostalgic point of view, I find that it just doesn't wash quite that easily and, with that, I can only give it a low, 4-star rating.
From my point of view, I think that it was a real shame that Mary Pickford was forever type-cast into these "Molly" roles. To me, she looked mighty foolish and unconvincing at 34 trying to pass herself off as a sweet and innocent 14-year-old - But, hey, back then, the audiences loved her to pieces that way.
This is now the 3rd "Mary Pickford" silent film that I've recently watched and I find that I'm not at all impressed with this woman as an actress.
Don't get me wrong, this woman did have a semblance of some genuine charm, but, now, 90 years later, whatever it was that made her so popular in those days of yesteryear has been significantly diminished over time.
In 1926's "Sparrows", Mary Pickford (now 34) played (for the last time) a young girl (a role that she had been constantly playing for close to 20 years). In this particular story Mary plays Molly, the heroine to 7 orphaned children.
The setting for Sparrows takes place in the thick of the Louisiana swamplands where the wicked (and physically bent) Mr. Grimes (along with his homely, do-nothing wife) run a "baby" farm of lost, displaced and abducted children who are treated very badly and worked like dogs in order to tend Grimes' crops and maintain his property.
More than anything else Sparrows was nothing but a deceitful, little "god-works-in-mysterious-ways" Bible story. Molly repeatedly made references to this religious book and reassured the little ones that "The Lord" would, indeed, see them all safely through these hard times (even though his tactics weren't always clear to even the most simple-minded fool imaginable).
Besides the irritating emphasis that was placed on Molly's religious beliefs, I also found that the basic essence of Sparrows' story to be very-very disturbing.
This was a cruel-minded, sinister, and depressing story. It hinted at the possibilities that these abducted children were very likely being sexually abused by not only Mr. Grimes, but, by the men whom Grimes (in order to make a quick buck) sold them over to.
Even though I'm trying very hard to view this picture strictly from a nostalgic point of view, I find that it just doesn't wash quite that easily and, with that, I can only give it a low, 4-star rating.
From my point of view, I think that it was a real shame that Mary Pickford was forever type-cast into these "Molly" roles. To me, she looked mighty foolish and unconvincing at 34 trying to pass herself off as a sweet and innocent 14-year-old - But, hey, back then, the audiences loved her to pieces that way.