Oh! Marquise

Colleen Moore has been running a lunch wagon for five years when wealthy Larry Kent shows up. She doesn't know he's got money; he's just been robbed, and borrowed clothes and a dime from sewer workers. He gets a cup of coffee, realizes he's lost the dime, and spends some time breaking her dishes under the guise of washing them. Of course they like each other.

Fed up with the grind, Miss Moore takes the advice of questionable girl Gwen Lee and takes a trip to a resort. Her gauche manners and florid dress puts off the other guests, but she is rescued by Hallam Cooley, a pal who eats at her wagon. He's a scoiety reporter, so he makes her over as a princess, and everyone is enchanted. Particularly Kent, who shows up with the story that she's actually the stepmother his father just wrote him about.

The copy I looked at had English titles that looked like they were translated from the Czech copy I looked at; they were stiff, and non-idiomatic. Still, one looks at a silent movie like this for Miss Moore's wry expressions, her flashing eyes, and the gags she was so willing to have go on around her, which are very good indeed. Another plus for me was that I was able to spot Loretta Young in a brief role before she became a leading player. Usually I am oblivious to such opportunities.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first trip to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. And I particularly enjoyed this film. It was by far my favorite. Ms. Moore was at her working-girl-smitten-by-the-rich-kid best and the supporting cast was by and large superb.

The 1920s inside-jokes were entertaining (especially for us liberal arts graduates). For example, there was a reference to waiting for the "new model" Ford which everyone was doing in 1927 when Model T production halted and the Model A was as yet unreleased and the object of much speculation. Also, you don't hear a lot of William Jennings Bryan or Paul Revere gags nowadays! And as always I enjoyed the "slice of 1920s life" that so many of these films reveal: the clothing, the appliances, product displays, autos, and so forth.

The exterior shots in and around San Diego were hard to imagine as a swanky Rhode Island resort (with palm trees, no less) and when Mary Lou is rousted by the house dick (there's a term you don't hear often anymore) his badge clearly displays the Great Seal of the State of California. These little things don't really distract. In fact, spotting them is half the fun, just as it is with current releases. The print was excellent and the commentary on the restoration was informative, bordering on fascinating. I hope to own a copy of this film on DVD someday. It is worth watching over and over. If you've never attended the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, you're missing out on a premier event. It is well organized, well run, and a truly splendid festival.