Doce Amargura

I loved the ended of this movie.

Beatrice Lilly had such a screen presence, her eyes seem to jump off the screen. It's easy to see why Rudolph Valentino had a romantic interest in her. It's a shame she only made 8 movies in her career. TCM said that it was because movie making lacked the audience interaction she so much loved. And didn't care to make movies with out knowing instantly how the audience was reacting.

Sure the ended may have shocked some audience goers and it wasn't what they wanted but, I kinda liked that. It was in the times with today to have twist and turns in the plot.

The updated musical score probably adds more to this movie than we'll ever know without hearing the original. It was simply suburb!!

I would imagine with a few edits and very little re-write this movie would have moderate success today.

"Smile tho' your heart is breaking"--that's the motto of the theatre, where on-stage appearances and illusions are essential to creating the audience's experienced reality. Sam Taylor's "Exit Smiling" is an insightful commentary on the theatrical life, behind the make-up and costumes and between the grueling roadshow performances. It fittingly features Beatrice Lillie, renowned as a Broadway performer, in her first film role, alongside a supporting cast of colorful, but certainly less than marquee-status players. The very fact that MGM did not employ its bevy of famous names in this picture seems a testament to the overall sense of *ordinariness* that "Exit Smiling" conveys. For the world of this traveling theatrical troupe is not one of glamour and glitz with elaborate sets and costumes, but rather one of cramped dressing rooms and boxcars, lonely train depots, and rural barnyards.

In this midst of all this stands Lillie herself, who, as Violet, the drudge of the troupe, responsible for every menial task, spends her spare moments dreaming of the roles she could play if only given the chance. Lillie has a physical presence that is mesmerizing; her face is not traditionally beautiful, or even traditionally feminine (an aspect which is exploited in the story)--yet she is all the more striking as a result. Her reactions to the goings-on around her are quite subtle--you need to watch closely in order to pick up on her considerable abilities as a comedienne.

If, however, you come to this film (as I did) expecting a rip-roaring comedy (whether of the slapstick or the screwball variety), you may be disappointed. For me at least, this film rises above the ordinary not as a comedy, but as a reflection on the kinds of people in society it portrays through Lillie's character. For Violet toils away behind-the-scenes, both in her job and in her intervention on others' behalf, yet never receives the credit or rewards she deserves. Such is the nature of life, and Taylor seems to suggest that we might do well to transfer the empathy we feel by the end of the film for Violet to those other "Violets" in our own lives--to those who make things happen, who make the performances seem effortless.

Beatrice Lillie is eminently likeable as the plain actress in a traveling theater troupe who plays the maid and is a servant to the others off the stage, but dreams of being a star. Jack Pickford plays a bank clerk on the run after being framed for embezzlement, and naturally he falls in with the company, and Lillie falls for him. There is a real sweetness to this film, and Lillie's comic moments are a clear forerunner to those of Carol Burnett, especially in the wonderful final 15 minutes where she assumes the role of vamp (seriously, watch those and tell me you don't see Burnett). Pickford holds up his end despite the wild life he was leading off the screen, and it's interesting seeing him in his penultimate film, seven years before his early death. The ending is quite touching and very well done too.

Despite everything the film had going for it, the reason I didn't rate it higher was the first half of the film, where the humor was cute but rather dated, e.g. Whacking ketchup out of a bottle all over a guy, or leaving an iron on a shirt too long and burning it. Offsetting some of that was Franklin Pangborn in his feature film debut, in an effeminate character type he made a career out of, even if it is stereotypical. Anyway, if you're struggling to enjoy the film as much as you like Lillie, I suggest sticking with it, as it finishes strongly.

In her only silent film and only one of 7 or 8 films, Lillie is wonderful as the lousy actress in a travelling troupe playing "Flaming Women." She gets involved with a runaway bank employee (Jack Pickford) who joins the company as the leading man. Subtle little comedy about the theatre and young love, Lillie could have had a major career in films but never felt comfortable in from of a camera. A consummate stage actress, Lillie worked for decades with an occasional film appearance, and like pal Gertrude Lawrence, never quite got the hang of film acting. Exit Smiling is not a major film but it is interesting to see the young Lillie at her prime. Billed as the "funniest woman in the world," Lillie enchanted generations of theatre goers. Jack Pickford seems a little pale and shaky, Doris Lloyd is good as the vamp, and Franklin Pangborn is fun as the swishy actor. Lillie is best remembered for her 40s film, On Approval, and her 60s hit, Thoroughly Modern Millie (as Mrs. Meers). Exit Smiling is certainly worth seeing.

Greatly enjoyed this great classic 1926 silent film comedy and was amazed at the great performance that Beatrice Lillie portrayed on the screen as Violet. Violet worked as a stage hand for a theatrical company that traveled by railroad all through the small towns of America. Violet would serve meals, clean up, mend clothing, iron and washed the actors and actresses clothes, besides, acting a small role in their play as a maid. Violet meets up with a young man named Jimmy Marsh (Jack Pickford) who needs a job and she manages to get him into this theatrical group and falls in love with him. However, Jimmy Marsh is suspected of stealing money in his home town and has some dark secrets he is hiding from everyone. There is plenty of comedy performed by Franklin Pangborn,(Cecil Lovelace) who plays a big sissy and has people laughing in stitches. Jack Picford is the brother to Mary Pickford who found a career in Hollywood, but had a very short life. Great Classic Silent film. Enjoy