La petite vendeuse

This along with Stella Maris are my two most favourite Pickford films. I've seen this film about 4 times as issued by Image Entertainment. The Image Entertainment version has a beautiful and uplifting musical score that matches the movie perfectly.

Mary and Buddy are perfect together and theirs is the romance that all of us wish to have at least once in our lifetime. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry.

I also loved the performances of Lucien Littlefield who plays Mary's father, Sunshine Hart who plays her mother and the fiery and exotic Carmelita Geraghty who plays her jazz-loving, hot-tempered flapper sister.

The ending is funny. We see Mary's rag-tag family ready to make the boat on time where she will be married to her sweetheart.

One of the best and funniest silents ever! Also, check out Harold Lloyd's Girl Shy (1924). That's another funny romantic film too.

Wow, what a wonderful little film! While I have a VERY hard time giving movies a rating of 10, this one sure came close. No, on second thought, it is about the best example of the genre in silent form, so it merits a 10. For its day, it's an absolutely great romantic comedy that is sure to even get the curmudgeons out there to smile! And, the best part about it is that film is not overly sentimental or sappy--it just exudes quality and craftsmanship.

Mary Pickford stars as a sweet and simple girl who works as a stock girl for a 5 and 10 cent store. A new employee (Buddy Rogers--the future husband of Ms. Pickford in real life) is hired and it's her job to train him. Unknown to her and the other employees, the young man is actually the son of the owner of this large chain of stores--in other words, he's loaded! But, his father is a practical man and wants him to try to work his way up the company ladder and find out about it from the inside.

At the same time, the boy is already engaged to a rich society girl that the boy's mom has picked out for him. However, over time, Mary's sweetness wins him over--all during which she has no idea who he really is.

Instead of telling you more (and thus spoiling the film), I want to point out just why the film excels. While very romantic and even a tad melodramatic at times, the film keeps a pretty light mood as well--striking a wonderful balance. The production values are absolutely top-notch--excellent direction, acting and cinematography--with the exception of one small scene in the end as the car races to the ship--it did look pretty cheesy. But this can certainly be forgiven because the film is also written so well and really draws you in to caring about the young couple. This film is about as good as it gets for a Mary Pickford film, though I also greatly enjoyed her films DADDY LONG LEGS and SUDS.

PS--The video by Milestone was great. The print was nearly perfect, the music excellent and after the movie was over, they included home movies of Mary's real-life marriage to Buddy Rogers in 1937--a wonderful addition to this great film.

A spunky stock girl in a large department store falls in love with the handsome son of the owner, who is working there incognito. Their ripening romance is threatened, however, by the antics of their two families.

Wonderfully warm & witty, MY BEST GIRL was Mary Pickford's last silent film. In it she bids farewell to the flickering shadows which made her the world's most famous celebrity. Fortunately, as her silent swan song, it is a very good picture, with excellent production values and equal dollops of comedy & heartbreak. Mary's face, and especially her eyes, express her every mood. This was the face of the shrewd & powerful woman who in a significant measure had created the motion picture industry - and who so soon would be leaving it.

Her co-star is young Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, who would score a huge success this same year of 1927 as the star of the epic WINGS, winner of the first Oscar for Best Picture. Here he displays the charm for which he became famous. Although 12 years younger than Mary in real life, he was a good knight to her lady in distress, protecting & loving her through her final silent film.

The rest of the cast is also very good: Lucian Littlefield as Pickford's tiny, ineffectual father; Sunshine Hart as her massive, emotional mother, a woman whose greatest delight is going to strangers' funerals; and Carmelita Geraghty as her flapper sister. Hobart Bosworth gives dignity to the role of Rogers' father. Comic Mack Swain appears as a harried judge. Movie mavens will recognize Nigel De Brulier in a poignant role as a crippled match seller.

The film has been restored and given an evocative new score. It will delight fans of Pickford & the silent cinema for years to come.

After MY BEST GIRL, Pickford made four talkies and even won an Academy Award, but she retired from the screen in 1933, very wealthy, her legend intact, and involved herself in various good works. Her divorce from Douglas Fairbanks came in 1936 and she married 'Buddy' Rogers in 1937, becoming, in truth, his best girl. For the next 42 years he cared for her, as age and alcohol took their toll on Little Mary. Pickford became increasingly secluded in Pickfair, rarely leaving the upper floors of her fabled mansion in her last years. She did not want her fans to see the old woman she had become. Surprisingly, she did make a TV appearance for a few moments in 1976 when she accepted an Honorary Oscar. Then it was back into the shadows. America's Sweetheart died in May of 1979 at the age of 87.

Never a great movie star, but a very well-loved gentleman, 'Buddy' Rogers involved himself with charities & various humanitarian causes. He died in 1999, at the age of 94.

"My Best Girl" is the downright American love story, with Mary Pickford (the America's Sweetheart) and Charles 'Buddy' Rogers (the America's Boyfriend) wooing each other on screen in 1927, and ten years after, they were married to each other - a union lasted 42 years for the rest of Pickford's lifetime through 1979. An enviable love story.

The (silent) film is directed by Sam Taylor (who collaborated on many a Harold Lloyd hilarious fun capers). On the DVD case, it has "Script: Hope Loring, with Mary Pickford and Charles "Buddy" Rogers." Charles Rogers, so handsome, young and charming, and quite an athletic runner. Director Taylor included familiar treatment with main characters standing in the stream of traffic, cars swishing by near-miss, not lacking in car chase or chasing after car scenario - but done in a most endearing way, especially the sequence between Pickford's Maggie Johnson riding at the back of a truck, while Rogers' Joe Grant repeatedly trying to catch up with her. Clearly two persons quite smitten with each other - so lovely together without a care in the world.

The DVD restored version (supervised by Keith Lawrence, 1999 Milestone Film & Video) has an outstanding symphonic score by David Michael Frank, performed by the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Zlin (Czechoslovakia), conducted by Bill Motzing. Simply love the music! It is so appealing and perfectly fitting to the fairy tale tempo of "My Best Girl": love at first sight, rags to riches, family strife and love obstacles, humor and dramatics, tears and joy all rolled into one. Mary Pickford is THE quintessential star, queen of the silent film era. She's so good at what she does, romantic comedy or tough drama (as in "Sparrows" 1926), and adept in physical moves, too. The introduction of the Shop Girl in the beginning: the juggling of the pots, that foot in the pan 'gag', the slips a-slipping thing, all delivered with such impeccable timing. Storyline progression played on mistaken assumptions, with timely humor and sweetness of the heart.

Don't let 'silent film' deter you: it's a lively piece, with lots of plot turns and dramatics, and the cast, besides the adorable pairing of Pickford and Rogers, the supporting roles from Pa Johnson and Ma Johnson, sister Liz and sleazy John Junior, down to the sidewalk 'crippled Pencil Peddler' (actually a critical small part in the love story of Maggie and Joe), are engaging as any talking pictures, maybe more so. The "Breaking Joe's Heart" segment - just watching how Mary Pickford played her scenes, running the gamut of emotions, is satisfying by itself.

Everything about this film is quality: the cinematography (the montage composition and angles following the couple, the multiple street scenes - sweet rainy or sad rainy), set design (that crate of a box where Joe and Maggie had their lunch seemed like Paradise till the camera pulled back and revealed wide) and sound (the punctuated cash registry bell, the entry of door bell rings matching pauses in the music) all contributed to "My Best Girl" being a not to be missed cinematic experience. Have a dose of fairy tale now and then. Check out the DVD, relax and enjoy it!

Mary Pickford is as charming and funny as ever in this one. Her role gives her a chance to do what she did best, and it's a lot of fun to watch. 'Buddy' Rogers also makes his character likable and sympathetic, and the combination works very well. While the story is nothing really new - a poor girl working in a store falls in love with the rich owner's son - it's filmed with thoughtfulness, creativity, and plenty of humor.

Even if you don't like romantic comedies, it would be hard not to enjoy the scenes with Pickford and Rogers together. They are winsome, but usually avoid becoming overly cute. The scenario gives them just enough material to work with, and the settings and props are made to fit right in with the engaging characters. Their respective families - sources of difficulty and complications for them both, although ultimately they too are mostly sympathetic - are also nicely worked into the picture.

Pickford certainly had more challenging roles, but "My Best Girl" is one of her most enjoyable films to watch. It is (seemingly) effortlessly entertaining while also letting you into the lives of its characters, with a perfect balance of romance and comedy. Highly recommended.