My Best Girl

Pickford more than sweetheart in film

VIDEO VIPER for May 15, 2009
CHARLES ROGERS and Mary Pickford in "My Best Girl."

I discovered a gem of a movie the other day.
It has first-rate acting, a sweet story, wonderful cinematography and good-looking actors to boot.
It only took 82 years to discover it.
Well, maybe a few people have seen this film before I stumbled over it and added it to my Netflix collection.
The movie is “My Best Girl,” starring America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford. OK, she isn't America's sweetheart any more. She's been dead 30 years.
But in the Roaring 20s she was the nation's sweetheart and after seeing this film, I understand why.
As a romantic comedy, this 1927 film certainly doesn't break new frontier, at least to the modern viewer.
But when you consider how old the film is and how much has changed, it certainly has a modern flair to it.
Maybe that can be credited to director Sam Taylor. It was written by a woman, Kathleen Norris, which probably wasn't as common as it is today.
Dashing Charles "Buddy" Rogers, plays Joe Merrill, whose wealthy family owns a chain of five-and-dime stores. The film actually opens with a well-done montage mixing coinage and merchandise, letting you know early on what type of store we are dealing with.
Anyway, Joe decides to pose as a lowly stockboy, Joe Grant, to spy on employees and get a better look at how a store functions.
Pickford plays Maggie Johnson, a witty, engaging young lady who has dedicated her life to her work and caring for her mal-adjusted family. Her father is clueless (Lucien Littlefield), her mother (Sunshine Hart) is perpetually crying and her sister (Carmelita Geraghty) keeps getting in trouble with the law. She must solve their problems, cook dinner nightly and work at her modest job. Who has time for romance, especially with the son of the owner of the store chain?
The story was probably built around Pickford's status in the film industry at the time, but this movie is much more.
We see Pickford and Rogers walking through rain-soaked downtown streets in a long, tracking shot which must have been pretty amazing in 1927.
I thought Hobart Bosworth did a fine job in a supporting role as rich Joe Merrill's father. He plays a firm, interested but eventually understanding father in what must have been a difficult role.
There are plenty of memorable scenes and like today's romantic comedies, you know how it will end.
As a side note, Pickford married Rogers for real nine years later in a Hollywood wedding. Except this marriage lasted until Pickford's death in 1979.
The quality of this DVD is especially good, although I yearned for more extras.
If you ever wonder why Pickford was called America's sweetheart, check out this movie. It will give you a real good idea.

MY BEST GIRL
• Directed by Samuel Taylor
• Written by Kathleen Norris and Hope Loring
• Silent with titles
• Runtime: 80 minutes
• Not rated but fine for all audiences
• 4 stars out of 5