Don't Change Your Husband (1919)

Well, couldn't make it through the 'teens without at least one all-out morality play, could we?  In Don't Change Your Husband, Gloria Swanson (in her star-making role) does exactly that and learns to regret it.  The movie is equal-opportunity however - her husband (the first one) is in many ways the real main character as he must learn to improve his ways in order to win her back.  Perhaps the overall thesis is that all men are scum, but some men are scum down to the soul, while others do genuinely care, and can, to a reasonable extent, be made presentable.  Pretty close to the mark, I have to admit.  This is a morality play, but one that gets considerable mileage - and humor - from modest expectations.

Bonus movie - Sunset Boulevard (1950)

This week we actually watched two movies.  "Don't Change Your Husband" was the official 4th pick for the project, but we decided to throw in "Sunset Boulevard" as a bonus since it ties in so nicely.  It's another Gloria Swanson movie, about an aging silent film star who didn't survive the transition to talkies and has gone insane in her dilapidated Hollywood mansion.

The truly interesting bit about this movie is how many references to real silent film are in it.  Had I seen this movie by itself without the background I've had these past few weeks I don't think I'd have enjoyed it as much.  But since I do have that background, every time some little reference was made I felt like I was privy to a hidden gem of knowledge.  One of my favorite references was a cool prop telephone that we had literally just seen in "Don't Change Your Husband"!  We commented on the phone while watching that movie, so to see it pop up again in this one was just a gleeful little nod to Gloria Swanson's own silent film past.

Don't Change Your Husband (1919)

This was another charming movie; a comedy about the trials and tribulations of married life.  This movie was chosen because it's the first pairing of Gloria Swanson and Cecil B. DeMille, who went on to do at least five movies together during their respective careers.  In this movie, Swanson plays an unhappy wife named Leila.  She's married to a slob (James Porter) who's addicted to onions and goes to sleep each night with a lit cigar in his hand.  She grows increasingly annoyed with his slovenly ways but never says anything about it except in snide little complaints.

Mickey (1918)

'Til now this list has felt very much about The Forward March of Progress, cinematically speaking.  But Mickey is not so concerned with pushing boundaries of any kind, and in fact it felt significantly cruder than Stella Maris.  I chose it for the list because it was the highest grossing film of the teens (at least as far as I can tell - these things are murky for the first few decades).  It wasn't a Great Work of Art.  It was a crowd-pleaser - also very important to film history.  And I'd have to say, overall, it still is.

Mickey (1918)

"Mickey" was a charming little film.  It was the highest grossing of the 1910s, and I can see why.  It's short, often funny, and has a feel-good story.  It's possibly the earliest Cinderella story on film, and just about everyone loves a Cinderella story.

Mabel Normand plays the main character of Mickey, and I really liked her.  I'm beginning to think I was born in the wrong era - all the movies we've watched so far have featured very ordinary women in the leading roles.  Mary Pickford was pretty, but not in an unreal, intimidating way.  Mabel Normand, while adorable, is not what I would call beautiful.  None of the women were stick figure skinny like actresses today.  These women look like me.  I don't feel bad about myself or my appearance when I'm watching them.  It would be nice if Hollywood would go back to that kind of casting; casting based on talent rather than looks.

Stella Maris (1918)

Almost as soon as there were movies there were movie stars.  Curiosity, humor, and spectacle made movies a viable business, but stars made them the powerhouse industry they are today.  And the biggest star of them all - certainly of the day, and arguably of all time - was Mary Pickford, the original America's Sweetheart (born Toronto, 1892).

I'd never seen a Pickford film before, so I was eager to size her up as an actress, not merely a celebrity, and Stella Maris provided a good opportunity to do so thanks to Pickford's double roles: as the titular Stella, a paraplegic sheltered all her life from the injustice of the outside world, and as Unity Blake, a homely orphan who's known nothing else.

Stella Maris (1918)

This week's film was a little bit confusing.  The main actress, Mary Pickford, played both the title role of Stella Maris and the role of the homely orphan girl Unity.  I'm not quite sure why she played both roles actually.  At first I thought maybe it would turn out to be a "twins separated at birth and joyously reunited at the end" type of story, or perhaps something along the lines of "The Prince and the Pauper".  But this movie is neither.  The two characters are only connected through a shared relationship with one John Riska.  This part was slightly confusing, as I think I missed the explanatory title plate.  For most of the movie I was under the impression that they were cousins, but by the end I knew that was not the case.  Apparently he was the cousin of Lady Blount, the woman taking care of Stella Maris, though why she was being cared for by people unrelated to herself is still a mystery.  There was always a great affection between Stella Maris and John however, as Stella Maris always referred to him as the Great High Belovedest - a title which Robin now wishes to be known as by me.

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Soo.... yeah.  You know, in film school they talk about this movie.  About its significance in film history, and to the craft.  But they don't actually show it.  They show Intolerance, or Broken Blossoms, the films Griffith made by way of apology.  But one of the things that initially inspired this project was my desire to finally take the plunge, and deal with this monster once and for all.  THE movie. THAT movie.  The bush everyone's always beating around.  So, here goes.