Kiki

Mary Pickford's "Kiki" (1931) is not generally considered one of her best films, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

An earlier comment here said that this film was Ms. Pickford's attempt to "sex up" her image. Long gone were the billowy curls of her early films, where she played young girls even after she was in her thirties. Here, she sports jazz-age bobbed hair, plays an audacious flirt, and is clearly a woman "on the make" -- though chastely -- for the character played by her costar, Reginald Denny.

I've said that in "Kiki," Ms. Pickford tries to "sex up" her image. Here, she shows us her legs (which were "not bad" for someone only 5 feet tall); she removes her brassiere from beneath her blouse while standing in front of Denny; and in a later scene, she sits in front of his male assistant in her lingerie and unconcernedly puts on her stockings, slowly, one leg at a time.

The film is lively and kinetic, almost a slapstick comedy. Ms. Pickford delivers kicks to various backsides, among them Reginald Denny's and Margaret Livingston's, and gets kicked herself. Twice, Ms. Pickford is seen falling on her rear end. She even tumbles off the stage and into the orchestra pit, landing seat first into a drum -- a stunt her friend Charles Chaplin would use, years later, in "Limelight" (1952). I thought everyone in "Kiki" was extraordinarily game. They were all obviously hoping to make this film hilarious.

Unfortunately, "Kiki" flopped at the box office, and Ms. Pickford would make only one more film -- "Secrets," another flop. The writing on the wall was now more legible than ever. Maybe the public felt that, at age 39, Ms. Pickford was reaching a little too hard for the youth serum. The era of "America's Sweetheart" was over.

But she left behind a legacy of great performances, and a great public enthusiasm for America's first major female movie star.

Dan Navarro (daneldorado93@yahoo.com)

The dance scene is what most people take away from this movie and that certainly was a 10 out of 10 moment. I have watched it many times and it is up on Youtube.

The rest of the movie suffers from direction and script and the need to make Mary over act to fit the part. This was a stage play not really suitable for film without a change. The stage productions earlier success was grounded on deliberate stage over acting. So it is not surprising it didn't suit film that well. The film without Pickford would have been irritating, it is Pickford that saves it and makes it watchable.

But we should also remember that at this time studios were still struggling with Sound and this made direction and acting quite difficult.

Mary could have easily taken this onto the stage and had a big hit with it, she was a veteran stage actor.

If anything this movies shows Pickford to be versatile and willing to step out of the box.

Iam not a Pickford fan,and i have only seen her sound films.So i came to this with no precoceived notions.I thought that the first half an hour was fairly entertaining particularly the musical number.However when the scene changed to Reginald Dennys flat the film eventually dissolved into a tedious bore.Wildy overacted by Pickford clearly in a failed attempt to give herself a new screen image.Denny must have been chosen as a leading man as he would provide no competition in the acting stakes.After all who would want to fight over his affections.I see that 54 viewers out of 73 have given this film a score of 10.Well all i can say is that you must have been watching a different film.All i will say is if this film is so good why has it remain largely unseen.Even Halliwells description is "long unseen musical".I have given it a rating of 3 because of the first half hour.Otherwise it would have been a single digit!

Having been aware of Mary Pickford only by reputation up to this point, it is kind of a shame that I chose this to be the first film of hers I watched. But to be fair, I didn't watch it for her. Busby Berkeley choreographed a number early on, and that madcap farce ended up being the best thing about this. As for Pickford, let's just say she, along with practically the rest of the film, is a hot mess. Everything about her performance, from the exaggerated gestures to the atrocious French accent, screams trainwreck. As the quote I chose headline with might indicate, the best parts of this, few as they are, happen when she isn't talking. Beyond that, the source quality on YouTube was barely watchable. I don't see myself sitting through this again, but it was fun enough this once.

In spite of its notoriety amongst Mary Pickford fans, "Kiki" is far from the disaster it is reputed to be.

Legend has it that this film was an attempt to sex up the Pickford image, with results so catastrophic that she appeared in only one more film. That "Kiki" was a resounding box office flop is irrefutable. But it proves to be an entertaining, fast moving comedy with a dazzling tour de force from its star.

There is nothing at all embarrassing about Pickford's performance. She may not be at her most subtle, and there is notable absence of pathos, but she gives a credible performance and seems much younger than her 39 years. Her French accent may not be all that authentic, but it is consistent.

And she has clearly not lost her knack for physical comedy. Indeed her entrance - being hurled into a room flat on her posterior - is as memorable as anything in the Pickford body of work.

The supporting cast is not up to much, and the direction flags at the mid point - though Sam Taylor does offer a fine opening backstage sequence. "Kiki" may not be the best comedy of its type, but its very far from a write off.

As we are now removed from the Pickford mystique, its much easier to see her performance for what it is, rather than as a violation of a hallowed image. Its far too late for "Kiki" to find a popular audience, of course, but it is certainly due for a reevaluation.