Wilful Peggy

A young Mary Pickford has a fun role in this short feature, as a pretty but strong-willed peasant woman who attracts the attention of a rich nobleman. There isn't much plot, just a few humorous situations, but her spirited performance as "Wilful Peggy" makes it worth watching all in itself. It's not nearly so refined, of course, as the many great performances she would give in the future, but she is funny and lively, and anyone who likes Pickford should enjoy this short romantic comedy.

This is really an hilarious movie, whether by the standards of 1910 or the present.Of course it is not intended to be taken seriously.Like the Three Stooges shorts, you are supposed to "check your brain at the door" and just enjoy the madness.What makes this so funny is not the plot but the outrageous nature of Mary Pickford's character as an uncompromising spitfire who will not be tamed by anyone.Like the Three Stooges, it is the characters, not the absurd plot, that makes this so funny. The frantic pacing hardly allows you time to notice the absurdity of it all,and moves along so rapidly it seems shorter than it really is. It is actually set in 18th century Ireland, not colonial America,though of course filmed in New York State.It was based on an old play called"The Country Cousin".

Actors and actresses in early cinema never made any suggestions or demands to the director on the movie set. Directors were to never be questioned, and scripts were to be followed to the letter.

However, in Biograph Studio's August 1910 movie "Wilful Peggy," actress Mary Pickford, in her second year with Biograph, read the scene where her character, a rambunctious, high-spirited daughter of a peasant woman, was willing to docilely marry an older aristocrat. Pickford told the film's director, D. W. Griffith, that in no way would the daughter, who had exhibited a uncontrollable independent streak that attracted the aristocrat, would so meekly obey her mother to such a momentous demand. The actress asked Griffith to insert a scene where the mother chases her daughter around a tree trying to corral the hesitant Pickford. Griffith listened and was persuaded to film the scene just as Pickford had described. What is seen on film is the first documented suggestion of an actress made to a director which was accepted.

"Wilful Peggy" is also the picture that established Pickford's on-screen persona. Her rebellious spirit, her comedic skills, her versatility and her long-haired curls, which earned her the nickname "The Girl With The Golden Curls" long before the public knew her name, all came into the fore in this film. Pickford would temporarily leave Biograph Studios and Griffith's direction for Carl Laemmle's IMP Studios in December 1910. But the actress had yet reached her pinnacle of stardom.

Mary Pickford is wonderful in this! Yes! Enjoyed it very much.

Mary Pickford got her start in pictures in 1909 at the Biograph studio, where she worked for legendary director D.W. Griffith in dozens of short films, in all kinds of roles. When this comedy 'Wilful Peggy' was made in 1910, Pickford's name was still unknown to the general public. She was just another up-and-coming actress, not a star, and had not yet developed a familiar screen persona or settled on favorite themes for her vehicles. And yet, looking back with hindsight, we can find in this short some of the key ingredients that would contribute to Mary's phenomenal popularity, and become familiar motifs in her great feature-length vehicles.

Wilful Peggy is set in 18th century Ireland, and from the first scene it is plain that this was a place and time when social distinctions were of crucial importance. Henry Walthall is the Lord of the Manor, a middle-aged and unmarried aristocrat, perhaps a widower. He finds Peggy (Mary Pickford), a lower-class barmaid, asleep before the tavern where she works, awakens her gruffly and demands service. But instead of deferring to him she is angry and uncooperative, that is, until he doffs his hat and is polite to her. After that she's all smiles, and the Lord is plainly smitten with this attractive "rough diamond." Later, when a young man from the village tries to kiss Peggy, she gives him a brisk beating. The Lord witnesses this from a concealed place, and is thoroughly won over. He proposes marriage. Peggy's mother is delighted, but her daughter is startled and dismayed by this turn of events, in part because of the age difference between herself and her suitor, but more importantly because of their sharply dissimilar social status. Nonetheless she gives in, and they are wed.

Soon we find that "the peasant bride" must struggle to adjust to her new position in society. She's uncomfortable wearing finery, and when the Lord's servants bow to her she's embarrassed. Peggy's unhappiness reaches a peak at a posh garden party when she falls over while attempting to curtsy, provoking mean-spirited laughter from her husband's friends. She stomps out in a huff. At this point she's approached by the Lord's nephew, who fancies her. He proposes that she don male attire and accompany him to an inn for some carousing, and, "in the spirit of deviltry," she agrees to go. Once they're alone at the inn, he attacks her. Her husband, meanwhile, rides to the rescue, but arrives to find that Peggy can take care of herself; in fact, she has given his lecherous nephew a furious thrashing!

As the plot summary may suggest, Wilful Peggy is a light-hearted comedy, and yet in the course of its brief running time it touches upon some serious themes. From Peggy's point of view, acute discomfort with her new husband's exalted station in life is no laughing matter, nor is her humiliation at the garden party. The Lord is amused at her audacity and finds the trait attractive, but his attitude is somewhat patronizing, and we have to wonder how happy or healthy such a marriage could ever be. However, this short was created only to entertain, not to provoke any troubling thoughts about class distinctions. Mary is adorable, and it's easy to see why she quickly became an audience favorite. Like the Lord of the Manor, we admire her for her pluck, and for the fact that she does not kowtow to her social superiors. In the prime of her career Pickford would explore culture clash issues in several of her great feature films, such as Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, Stella Maris, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. This short comedy plays like an early, abbreviated edition of the material she would develop to perfection in later years. It also serves as a reminder of how succinctly and clearly director D. W. Griffith and his crew at Biograph could tell their stories, as they adeptly convey a great deal of information in a few quick shots. Wilful Peggy is miles ahead of most other films of its period, and still entertaining today.