A Little Princess

This simple but pleasant story is mostly worthwhile as a vehicle for Mary Pickford to play the kind of role that made her popular. Here, she is a young heiress trying to get used to her new surroundings at a school for girls, when a sudden tragedy changes everything. There isn't a lot to the plot, and so much of the screen time is simply used to show how charming young Sara (Pickford) can be. Pickford, of course, knows just how to make her character sympathetic. Most of the other characters are simply stock figures, except for a young Zasu Pitts, who gets a lot of screen time as Sara's friend. It's not one of Pickford's more memorable films, but it's a pleasant way to pass an hour.

When Adolph Zukor and Jessy Lasky merged their movie production companies into one, the Famous Players-Lasky, they eyed their partner in its Paramount Pictures distribution branch, William Hodkinson, to squeeze him out with an involuntary buyout. Once they did in the summer of 1916, Zukor and Lasky dropped their Famous Players' name and called their combined production and distribution company Paramount Pictures.

Zukor believed in signing the top movie stars in the business. One of his first contracts was with Hollywood's most popular actress, Mary Pickford. Her signature on the dotted line on June 24, 1916, was the first million dollar pact for an female performer. Zukor was willing to pay her $10,000 a week and to give her half the profits for each film she made. He guaranteed over one million dollars (about $20 million in today's inflationary dollars) for the year with her full control of each of her film's production, an unprecedented contract at that time.

Pickford's third film in 1917 in which she played a little girl was a Francis Marion script, this one adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett 1905's novel, "The Little Princess." The actress again reverts to childhood-mode, playing a rich British officer's daughter who is placed in a boarding school in England after relocating from India. The school's adults are jealous of her wealth while her school chums, initially picking on her, become intrigued with her exotic imagination. Her fortunes turn when her father dies in battle, leaving her with no inheritance.

Pickford's Sara Crewe is forced by the school's matrons to work as a "slave" with actress SaZu Pitts. The pair's existence is pure misery, given little food and working long hours. But SaZu, who excels in the 1924 memorable "Greed," will prove to be a comfort and friend to Sarah, who discovers a surprise in the twist ending.

During the mid-1930's, 20th Century-Fox president Darryl F. Zanuck took these three movies and cast his child star Shirley Temple to play the Pickford lead. Zanuck appreciated Pickford's persona playing young girls, and he transferred some of the silent movie star's traits onto Temple in preparation for these films.

This version of A Little Princess has some very fine moments, particularly when little Sarah is saying goodbye to her beloved father, but it would have been much better with a tighter script and more character development among the children at the school.

There is a story dream sequence in India which takes up a big chunk of this movie which I considered superfluous and unnecessary. That time would have been much better utilized showing more in-depth interaction between Sarah and her special friends at the school, and her relationship with her adversaries, and the maid, Becky. The ending also comes upon the film too quickly, with hardly any time devoted to showing the real suffering that the character of Sarah Crewe endured.

The DVD version has a pleasant piano score that complements the film very well. All in all a nice film, but the later versions of this story on film, even Shirley Temple's, which took quite a few liberties with the original story, are more enjoyable, especially the most faithful adaptation, the 1986 Wonderworks version starring lovely Amelia Shankley.

The favoured status of the daughter of a wealthy widowed soldier at a school for girls is abruptly withdrawn upon his death, and she is reduced to working as a scullery maid in the school. An entertaining enough tale if you can get beyond a 25-year-old woman playing a ten-year-old child, and the way that director Marshall Neilan constantly focuses on the wonderful wonderfulness of Mary Pickford. The main story, based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is easily outshone by a fun Arabian Nights fantasy sequence.

This was two movies slashed together.

One is the much adapted "A Little Princess"(most famously by Cuaron in the 90s and Shirley Temple's 30's version) , which is about heiress Sarah and her stay within Miss Minchin's boarding school before and after his father's death AND a weird 20 min sequence of Arabian Nights, added as a midnight 'story' subplot - which might had been another movie/short that they felt needed to add an element of 'adventure' to the film. It literally is a different film that captured ~20% of the film.

Firstly, both Zazu Pitts and Mary Pickford looks old old for their parts. They were practically in their 20s playing ten year old but to their credit, they acted WELL for whatever that script was. You kind of see why Pickford played this juvenile roles to death. She has that youthful persona that really glisten on the screen.

Again, the script is so weird. It practically stops midway to add an irrelevant subplot AND the filmmaking does not really help. So its not really anything to write about. Its stagy, and pretty much standard of the film of the time. Very large sets and ungodly large props which seems to cater the larger actress lol. Then the ending just drops.

Let's just say 1hr is not enough for the film's material.

Not recommended.