Daddy-Long-Legs

Mary Pickford shines in this silent 1919 adaptation of Jean Webster's novel about a poor orphan girl who is rescued by a mysterious benefactor, sent to a good boarding school, and--upon graduation--finds herself courted by two suitors (all the while wondering about the identity of her sugar Daddy-Long-Legs). The first half is pure Dickens, as the children in the John Grier Home cower under the menacing governess-ship of Mrs. Lippett, who regularly assures the orphans that they are going to hell. Still, there are moments of great humor, both in Pickford's spirited performance and in the much better than usual title card writing; in one scene, we learn that "three times a day the orphans faced their common enemy, the prune" and watch as Pickford (foreshadowing Sally Field in Norma Rae) jumps on top of a table and leads her fellow orphans in a Great Prune Strike. In the second half, when the adult Judy is more romantic than rambunctious, her love odyssey is marred only by the unbelievable age disparity between her and her beau (a common fault in Hollywood features today). Beautifully restored and backed by a fine new musical score, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. [Note: Four other Pickford titles are also new to video from Milestone: Amarilly of Clothes-line Alley, My Best Girl, Stella Maris and Tess of the Storm Country.]