The Hoodlum

THE HOODLUM is perhaps one of Mary Pickford's lesser known silent films, but it's a total delight. And she does not play "little Mary," in this one, but plays an older version of her famous and beloved character.

We first see Pickford as Amy Burke, a rich little terror who throws hysterical fits when she can't have her way. She's maybe 16-ish, in school, but she drives a car (a "white racer"). Her grandfather (Ralph Lewis) is planning a trip to Europe but she pitches a fit for some reason and decides to go live with her father on Craigen Street in New York City while he finishes up his sociological study for his book. Snooty Amy has a major culture shock as she adjusts to life in the slums.

So Pickford becomes one of the "gang," learns to fit in, and also learns through a neighbor (Kenneth Harlan) that her grandfather framed him and sent him to jail. Of course all wrongs are righted by the end of the film.

Pickford is hilarious as she shoots craps with loaded dice, runs from the police, dances a wild tango in an alley, and eventually settles the score between the wronged man (whom she marries) and her grandfather.

The film is great looking with a terrific "Craigen Street" set that includes tenement hallways and stairs, fire escapes, and alleys. The film is briskly directed by Sidney Franklin and boasts some beautiful title cards by Ferdinand Pinney Earle, who was the major title card artist of his time, and whose art sometimes resembles that of Edward Hopper.

But Mary Pickford is center stage here whether she's trashing her mansion bedroom, driving wildly down country roads, or dancing in an alley. Aggie Herring, Melvin Messinger, and Max Davidson (as Isaacs) co-star.

Bratty young Mary Pickford (as Amy Burke) lives a life filled with tantrums in her fancy Fifth Avenue mansion, while wealthy grandfather Ralph Lewis (as Alexander Guthrie) wheels and deals. At first, Ms. Pickford is thrilled when Mr. Lewis announces a trip to Europe. She wants to go shopping. For no particular reason, Pickford decides she doesn't want to travel. It could be a woman's prerogative, or Pickford may be missing writer daddy Dwight Crittendon (as John Burke), an apparent sociologist. When her father suddenly returns, Pickford moves with him to slummy Craigen Street, where he plans to work on a book.

So, Pickford goes from pampered rich girl to street hoodlum - it's a struggle, but Pickford's plucky.

Previously, one of Mr. Lewis' business endeavors required the jailing of an innocent man, arousing bachelor Kenneth Harlan (as John Graham). Mr. Harlan turns out to be one of Pickford's ghetto neighbors. Pickford thinks Harlan might make good husband material, unaware he is plotting against her grandfather, who canceled his trip to Europe and has also moved into the area. "The Hoodlum" is hospitable Pickford fare. Her "little girl" character is broadly played, and provides salvation. Some of the early sequences are not pieced together well; for example, Pickford's father should have returned before she declined the European trip.

And, the early running time plays more painful than funny (especially for animals), and out of place.

But, once the story moves to an artificially created poor side of town, the film becomes quite visually strong. Scene-stealing street kid Melvin "Buddie" Messinger (as Dish Lowry) looks like the template for an early Mickey Rooney. Pickford's director Sidney Franklin, photographer Charles Rosher, and editor Edward McDermott combine camera shots and coordinate personnel to marvelous effect; their screen is incredibly alive. Though this is not one of Pickford's strongest overall characterizations, she excels in several sequences; a highlight features her lost in a bluesy-tinted New York City rainstorm, without an umbrella.

******* The Hoodlum (8/31/19) Sidney Franklin ~ Mary Pickford, Ralph Lewis, Kenneth Harlan, Buddy Messinger

Despite the rather reckless-sounding title, the Mary Pickford feature "The Hoodlum" is actually an entertaining and thoughtful movie that resembles many of her other films, with a few touches that make it different and worthwhile. The story-line is a bit too far-fetched on some occasions, but otherwise the movie works very well.

Pickford gets to play the kind of high-spirited but innocent character at which she excels, and she makes full use of the material. After her character moves in with her father, some of the scenes of her transformation are quite amusing. Pickford had the rare ability to bring out a character's yearning for change and desire for experimentation without making the character come across as self-righteous or rebellious.

The production and the rest of the cast are solid, but it's mostly Mary's show, and she pulls everything together. Her interactions with her grandfather are nicely done on both ends, and add some real substance to a movie that was already entertaining. The settings are believable, and especially so in the slum neighborhood. The story is relatively simple (if implausible at times), but it is thoughtful and worthwhile.

It remains true that some of the greatest films ever made hail from the silent era; proliferate icon that she was, many of Mary Pickford's many films remain esteemed classics. Not all works of the time are equal, though, be it a matter of emphasis on outdated social values, different sensibilities of film-making or storytelling, or possibly just weak writing or direction generally, so even where Pickford is concerned one must sit to watch with high expectations while being prepared for a lesser experience. With all this in mind, I do think that 1919's 'The hoodlum' may be a title that doesn't perfectly hold up: in early scenes alone, some of the humor suggests cruelty to animals, and I earnestly question how some animals on set were treated; even for a flick in which a mean, haughty person will have a change of heart, there is initially a level of wickedness on display, that of the wealthy and powerful selfishly operating at will without care for anyone else, that is extra off-putting. Additional smidgens of those outdated social values, such as passing sexist remarks about women, don't specifically help to curry favor, and more substantively, there are points where the writing seems to take shortcuts that we can only take at face value, such as that early beat when protagonist Amy abruptly decides to change her plans, upsetting her grandfather.

Still, though there are odds and ends that don't come off so well in retrospect, there is much to appreciate in these eighty minutes. Even if the treatment and the scene writing can be rough, there is a sincere narrative with meaningful themes at the core as a pointedly unsympathetic person learns what's important in life and changes their ways. (And some scenes actually are very well done, moreover a credit to editor Edward McDermott.) The humor is often mild, and some scenes are all but cartoonish, with some tidbits that may even raise a skeptical eyebrow, but there is definitely fun to be had along the way, and this is a piece with heart that also happens to be reasonably entertaining. The acting and Sidney Franklin's direction may fall on the more forthright side of the spectrum - reflecting not the more subtle, natural performances that modern audiences are used to, and which would develop over time in the silent era, but the more exaggerated facial expressions and body language that were ported from the stage to compensate for lack of sound and verbal dialogue - but even at that the cast give spirited, capable performances, and Franklin ably keeps the proceedings fresh with just the right measure of pep and vitality. There are sure highlights throughout, such as a sequence in which Amy is caught in a rainstorm.

And when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the feature this is as well made as most any of its contemporaries. The costume design, hair, makeup, and especially the sets give us big eyefuls to take in, and they all look fantastic; where stunts, effects, and otherwise action come into play they are excellent. I admire the intertitles both for their writing - in particular, the lingo of one hundred years ago is itself a blast - and for the little artistic flourishes that often characterize them. The tinting that is exercised to help flavor scenes is as welcomingly sharp as McDermott's editing that shapes the picture. Nitpick some minutiae as we may, 'The hoodlum' is rather well-rounded overall, offering both amusement and rewarding thoughtfulness; though the sum total is no revelation, it's certainly far better than not. It's unlikely that this will do anything to change the minds of anyone who isn't already enamored of the silent era, but for those who enjoy what the early years of cinema have to offer, there's not truly any going wrong here. I might even say that while the pacing is a tad lethargic, the title picks up strength as it goes along, and the impression we're left with is stronger than the one we're first given; one can see, after all, the kinship that this shares with comedies from the likes of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, and that's high praise indeed. If early scenes left a bit to be desired, it was perhaps only in an effort to move more quickly to the best parts to come, and when all is said and done I can't really fault anyone for that.

So yes, the movie may have its issues. Yet ultimately it provides a good time while serving lessons about learning compassion and empathy - desperately needed one hundred years later - and discovering real community despite superficial differences, a notion which these days feels like a relic of the past, while imparting a complete, duly compelling story. Even at its best I wouldn't say that this demands to be seen, but warts and all, I'm very pleased with just how good 'The hoodlum' is, and I'm happy to give it my warm recommendation.

Mary Pickford fails to convince as a spoiled rich girl forced to live àmongst slum-dwellers with her sociologist father (who more or less disappears from the movie once they are camped amongst the rough-but-noble poor) after falling out with her wealthy Grandfather. Sidney Franklyn does a good job of capturing the flavour of an early 20th Century slum, however.