Das Waisenkind

This sweet and funny silent stars Mary Pickford as an orphan who, after much kindhearted mischief, goes to college and finds true love, thanks to her anonymous personal trustee, whom she dubs "Daddy-Long-Legs" after the seeing his legs in a shadow. It's a familiar story, since it was remade in 1931 (with Janet Gaynor), 1938 (as the Netherlands film Vadertje Langbeen), and 1955, with Leslie Caron and Fred Astaire.

There are quite a few memorable images in this lovely version: the drunk dog, the one-armed doll, and the scene with the baby cupids.

The recent score by Maria Newman complements the movie, unlike the wretched one she wrote for another Pickford film, The Love Light (1921).

A few years back, I started to watch this film and stopped. What bothered me was that Mary Pickford near the beginning of the film playing a 12 year-old and that just seemed so silly I switched it off! However, after recently having forced myself to actually watch it all, it turned out to me amazingly good. Now this isn't to say this is a perfect film--the whole 12 year-old aspect is pretty tough to believe AND the time-line of the film is a real mess (if you pay attention, it seems that Mary goes to college and falls in love at age 12!)--they really needed to explain that a lot of time lapses between the opening scene of 12 year-old Mary and the closing scenes. However, if you ignore this, the rest of the film is very worth seeing.

The first part of the film is mostly light comedy with Mary playing a plucky trouble-maker with a heart of gold at the orphanage. Some of the stuff she gets into is pretty funny and she is about the most unwanted orphan in the film. However, about halfway through the movie, it abruptly changes to a romance. Mary is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor who does not want to be known to her, and so she labels him "Daddy Long Legs" and sends update letters to him telling him her progress--never knowing exactly who it is.

Both parts of the film work very well, but some might be bothered by it being almost like two totally different films--since the tone is so different in each. However, both elements DO work and work well. While this isn't my favorite Pickford film (I liked SUDS better and I still have a lot more of her films to see), this is among the better silent films I've seen (and I've seen a lot). A good story, excellent acting and a general likability of Pickford's character make this a good example of the genre.

This film has all the elements of the quintessential Mary Pickford film. The little girl. Spunky. Full of love and against the odds. Willing to risk. From the "ash cans" and down to earth but capable of walking with high society with her head held high. Her profile shots by Charles Rosher are the ones we've learned to remember "Little Mary" by. The cupid scenes are incredible not so much for their content but their originality and sentiment in a film made in 1919.

Another terrific Mary Pickford performance and film. Daddy-Long-Legs is a familiar story, but the Pickford version accentuates the comedy and leaves the sappy romance to the horrid 50s version with Astaire and Caron. Sweet and innocent, this film has several memorable comic moments, including Mary getting drunk with a fellow orphan (Wesley Barry?) and leaving the jug for a dog. Very funny. A little tipsy, Mary also slides down banisters and accidentally knocks "Stink Weed" down a well. Oops! This film is a little unusual for a Pickford picture since it allows Mary to grow up. She gets to go to college and be wooed by her roommate's uncle (Mahlon Hamilton). She's also pursued by Jimmie (Marshall Neilan, who also directed the film). Milla Davenport is the orphanage director and Fay Lemport is the nasty Angelina.

Nice comedic touches throughout to keep it all light and entertaining. The version I saw was clean, had beautiful title cards, and good (new) score my Maria Newman. All very impressive for a 1919 film. This film seems miles away from Pickford's 1917 Pride of the Clan, but she had been in over 200 films by the time she made this! Pickford was one of the greats, a true giant in Hollywood, and it's too bad she's so forgotten now. I've never seen a Pickford film I didn't like.

A wonderful and multi-faceted performance by Mary Pickford turns a pleasant but somewhat routine story into a fine film that is very enjoyable to watch. The story gives her a chance to use a lot of different talents, and whenever she is on-screen, which is most of the time, there is something worth seeing.

Pickford is equally charming (it seems impossible to write about a Pickford film without using that word) and equally believable as a young orphan and as a college girl. And she is equally good at creating laughs, expressing feelings, and evoking sympathy - often all at the same time, especially in the orphanage scenes, which have some of this film's best material. There is some excellent comedy that keeps the story from becoming overly cute or sentimental, and she makes the most of all of it.

They put some real work into the title cards for this one, filling them with some good art work and also using them at times for some well-chosen commentary. A couple of the other cast members are pretty good, too, although it is definitely Pickford that makes this so worthwhile.

This is an engaging little gem from the silent era, and a great example of what it was that made "America's Sweetheart" so popular.