"Rags" (1915) with Mary Pickford, J. Farrell MacDonald, Marshall Neilan, Joseph Manning, and others is a very typical Pickford vehicle of her early features, showcasing Pickford's ability to portray rich and poor, and going from one to another, and possibly back again, with a delightful dexterity. Pickford to watch on screen is a viewer's delight anyway. She's a work of art! This James Kirkwood directed film shows a lack of directorial creativity, but Pickford more than takes up the slack. She also plays two parts here, both mother and daughter. First we see the mother, wooed by two men, the president of the bank and one of his major assistants. The assistant wins her hand, J. Farrell MacDonald, but he's caught embezzling even before he marries Pickford, is fired, and is told to marry Pickford and quickly get out of town. He ends up being a horrific drunk, is very poor, living in a shack, but soon to be a father to a youngster. Pickford, as the mom, dies after giving birth, but before she dies she names her baby Glory. The baby's father, MacDonald, says the baby should be called Rags because that's all she'll ever know. Well, if you've ever seen a Pickford film, you know Rags will be anything by the end of the film besides a - Rags!
Wonderful to watch. Certainly not the finest of Pickford, but a lovely film, and most fun to watch. Will not be lost on anyone who is able to view it. Predictable, implausible (from the beginning!), and impossibly gratifying whether you think it will be or not or want it to be. You'll definitely see why Mary Pickford became "America's Sweetheart".
