M'Liss

This sound version of M'liss is a decent adaption of the Bret Harte novel. A bit old fashioned for 1936. But both RKO and Fox Studios specialized in those films that appealed to a rural audience.

Anne Shirley is in the title role and her part is a somewhat softer version of what Katharine Hepburn did with Spitfire. M'liss is a tomboy without much etiquette training. But her etiquette is refined under the patient tutelage of schoolteacher John Beal.

Both Beal and Shirley are the subject of a lot of malicious gossip from some of the old crones in the town. The place seems to have been cursed with more than its share.

A nice familiar group of characte3r players put some body into this rustic drama. It's surely was old fashioned, but I'm betting M'liss did well enough in the red states.

With a very young Anne Shirley and John Beal in the lead the real weight of keeping this film going rests on the supporting cast.In particular Guy Kibee who does his usual bumbling drunk role with effortless ease.Then there is Douglas Dumbrille cast this time in a more sympathetic role than his subsequent dyed in the wool villains.He to me is in fact the real star with his rather warm characterisation.Anne Shirley was only 18 when she made this film and yet it was her 37th!It was the sort of role that she seemed to get stuck in till she grew up.John Beal is fairly annonymous in the lead juvenile role.The film is fairly unmemorable and of no particular merit.

M'liss Smith (Anne Shirley) is the rambunctious daughter of drunken Washoe Smith. He founded the town Smith's Pocket, but has fallen upon hard times. They are forced to leave their home after Mayor Morpher takes it to form the new school. She falls for the sensitive new school teacher Stephen Thorne. Her father is killed in after a bar fight which leaves her an orphan.

This definitely has a similar sense as Anne of Green Gables especially the classroom scenes. The issue is that Anne always looked a little older than she is and this is two years after that movie. She looks like she's in her late twenties. It's the same field and it's growing fallow. There is too much that is the same old.

This Bret Harte story was filmed in 1915 and 1918. While this sort of tale played reasonably well back in the day, by 1936 this sort of thing most likely was perceived as very old fashioned. On top of this, the 1918 version (with Mary Pickford) is one of her more disappointing films. So why did they bother remaking it? Perhaps the studio just wanted to capitalize on their latest find, Anne Shirley.

M'Liss is short for Melissa. She is daughter of the town drunk (Guy Kibbee)--a man who drank up his fortune and this has resulted in the family being tossed out of their nice home. But M'Liss is ever faithful to her no account dad because she's so gosh-darn sweet. In fact, she's so sweet everyone loves her except for a few jerk-faces in town--especially snotty Clytie (Barbara Pepper--Mrs. Ziffel from "Green Acres") and her nasty parents. So what's next for this sweet thing?

If you like saccharine films, then perhaps you'll like this one. But I felt that the script is dated, a bit heavy-handed and the romance was odd to say the least. You could easily find a better way to spend 90 minutes of your life.