Stella Maris

This is a lovely little film, another Mary Pickford film that has been long available to cherish as an artifact from a long forgotten era beautifully preserved by the Mary Pickford Institute. Most silent fans would perhaps think of Pollyanna, Rebecca or Sparrows as being her best work but I would put this one in there too, not only for her acting but also the production.

She plays Stella Maris - a cripple who has been completely and tenderly shielded from The World by her Uncle and Aunt, so has a few shocks when she's finally able to walk and process information for herself. She convincingly plays Stella Maris complete with pretty curls glistening in soft focus and dripping elegance. She also convincingly plays orphan girl Unity Blake adopted by the man she loves, the more elderly looking and well-chiselled John Risco (Conway Tearle). The problem was of course that rich Risco had previously married a "commoner" with a drink problem – like many in the original cinema audiences perhaps – one of the peripheral familiar messages here being that when the working class is teetotal they're likely to be as faithful as dogs to their masters and mistresses. Even to the death. For the plain girl Unity she plastered her hair with Vaseline and walked lopsided as though she had had to carry children for years – so well that her mother visiting the film set was worried that she was turning into Unity, and also had to tell a worried Adolph Zukor that the character died early in the picture. In fact, these are 2 of Mary's finest performances ever, and in the one film. There's some nice languid photography, sometimes pretty inventive with great tinting throughout, overall engrossing stuff for 1917, and augmented in the Milestone Films release with a fantastic orchestral music score by Phillip Carli.

The 84 minutes are well plotted (even with a couple of large implausibilities, the largest being just how fast and hard the Law dealt with Mrs Risco for her violence) never drag and are additionally clean and decent – would that it could still be the same for these speedier earthier techno times! If you really like silent melodrama you must see this fine romance.

Lovely, crippled STELLA MARIS lives like a princess, sheltered from all of the world's unpleasantness. Orphan Unity Blake, on the other hand, suffers under life's harsh hand. These two young women are fated to be brought together with tragic, unforeseen consequences...

America's Sweetheart, Mary Pickford, even though a tremendous movie star, had always been bothered by the fact that show business had kept her from acquiring a normal education. She asked her dear friend, screenwriter Frances Marion, to tutor her. One of the books they read together was "Stella Maris" by William J. Locke. Mary quickly saw the novel's cinematic possibilities.

What startled the studio bosses was Mary's determination to play the parts of both Stella and Unity. She was sure this could be achieved convincingly. For the role of Unity, Pickford wore makeup that negated her pretty features, learned to stand & walk awkwardly & even insisted that she be photographed mostly using her right, less photogenic, profile. The effect was most believable.

The result was a triumph, professionally, artistically & at the box office. Mary tugged at the viewer's heartstrings, but never crossed the line into cheap mugging or maudlin histrionics. She earned her accolades with genuine, sincere emotion & pathos.

Frances Marion's screenplay allowed both of Mary's characters to share some screen time. Double exposure would produce a special effect that puzzled & delighted contemporary audiences.

Although Mary dominates the film, mention should be made of Conway Tearle who ably plays the strong, sensitive man who loves Stella; Marcia Manon is very effective as his brutal, alcoholic wife; and Josephine Crowell scores in another of her matronly roles.

After years of neglect, STELLA MARIS is available on video to enchant whole new generations of Pickford fans.

If you have never seen a Pickford film, this Artcraft Production is a perfect introduction to the star's versatile talents. In her dual roles as Stella and Unity she displays a range and depth of emotions hardly seen in films of this era.

Pickford was drawn to this story immediately after screenwriter Frances Marion suggested she read the novel. Pickford's labor of love in getting this book to the screen is evident in every scene. Art Direction and sets are superb--subtle yet surprising and stylish, even smartly humorous at times. It's a fine production throughout and, astonishingly, even the special effects hold up well today.

STELLA MARIS has got to be one of the great silent films. Superstar Mary Pickford plays two roles in this seemingly sentimental tale (but it's not). She plays the lovely but crippled Stella Maris, whose family works hard to hide the ugliness of life from. She is shielded from the world because she is crippled. But of course her family doesn't do her any real favors. Eventually Stella is able to walk, and she discovers the horrors of war and crime and poverty by herself.

Pickford also plays Unity Blake, a homely and misshapen orphan who is taken from the orphanage by a cruel and drunken woman (Marcia Manon) who eventually beats her and goes to jail. Sent back to the orphanage, Unity is "hired" by the cruel woman's husband (Conway Tearle), but he is enamored of beautiful Stella Maris.

Pickford is just plain brilliant in playing these two women (and yes they share a few scenes together). Stella is pretty much standard fare for Pickford: golden curls, white frilly dresses, etc. Unity is a marvel of invention with her crooked body, crooked smile, and long dark hair. It's hard to believe this is Mary Pickford.

The film itself uses the iris shot beautifully to show what characters are thinking. The fade outs are well done. The scenes where the two Pickford characters appear together are flawless. Of special note is a gorgeous shot of Unity approaching the camera for a closeup, but in the end only her eyes show up in a deep purple tinted scene.

The ending is haunting. Superb work.

The early silent film "Stella Maris" provides a double dose of Mary Pickford for her fans as she plays both the title role of Stella Maris and that of another young girl, Unity. Ms. Pickford skillfully differentiates the two characters and is convincing as both young women. Stella Maris is a rich, bedridden young woman who has been shielded from the reality of life by her parents, and Mary Pickford plays her as the quintessential Pickford heroine in lacy frills, long curls, and winsome glances. However, Mary loses herself in the part of Unity, who is an orphan that has been buffeted by events and hardened by life. In this second role, Pickford appears without makeup, with her hair straight and tightly pulled back, and dressed in plain cotton dresses, and she excels in creating a character that is entirely different from her usual screen image. In fact, if the viewer were not told in the inter-titles who was playing the role, she would be nearly unrecognizable. The film cuts between the lives of the two girls until they intersect, and the few shots that show Mary playing a scene with herself are quite effective when the age of the film is considered. Production values throughout are at a high standard for the time as befitting a Mary Pickford vehicle, and the acting for the most part is more naturalistic than many silents of that era, although at least one actress does emote in the grand style. Conway Tearle, however, appears too old and stodgy for modern tastes to be a convincing object of young women's affections, although 90 years ago he may have been a matinée idol since tastes do change over time. "Stella Maris" is a sentimental tale and seems targeted at a young female audience in a simpler, more naive period. However, film history buffs will enjoy what is an excellent Mary Pickford showcase and a fine example of first-class film-making from the post World War I era.