Mary Pickford, 1915. Fanchon the Cricket. A movie made over a hundred years ago. I had avoided silent movies when seeing one pop up on TCM from time to time. I had settled for the preconceived assumption that all silent movies were lady-tied-to-the-train tracks overly dramatic poorly acted crap, interrupted with even crappier dialogue. Nothing that would interest me.
I happened to catch Fanchon the Cricket right as the movie started and was intrigued. It didn’t feel over-acted. There was very little dialogue interspersed between scenes, very unexpected. I'[d always assumed that half of the movie would be those black old-timey print screens rudely interrupting the action every minute or so.
I’ve done enough wiki-holing to know that the actors in silent movies and early talkies were often stage actors, many of them vaudeville. Their body movements needed to communicate the story to a crowd, and were often exaggerated for that effort. No microphones in widespread use just yet and vaudeville events weren’t always performed in amphitheaters. Silent movies were a natural fit for that type of acting.
Mary Pickford, the lead actress, was absolutely lovely in this movie, Fanchon the Cricket. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, even though I don’t find her particularly beautiful. She sold the story, and with almost no dialogue, as the intertitles were few. Credit must go to the set and costume designers of course, but all the accoutrements came alive under her care for the story.
Fanchon, the Cricket was a charming movie and a worthy introduction to silent film. And to Mary Pickford!
You should wiki her sometime; utterly fascinating.
Grateful for:
1. Successive weblogging! Dr. LePera would be so proud of my follow-thru and keeping promises to myself.
2. A light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccine is rolling out fairly smoothly and it looks like I will eventually be able to get vaccinated through the VA. For those of you reading who are taxpayers or have supported the United States military in any way, THANK YOU! I will continue to advocate for you the have the same access to low cost healthcare that I do. If you are European or of another one of the many countries that helps its citizens with a robust healthcare system that cares for everyone…thank you for setting a kind example.
3. South Park making me laugh my ass off. Christian Rock Hard is one of my sixty-five favorite episodes.
Godspeed Y’all!