Let's be realistic.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

A few years back, I started to watch this film and stopped. What bothered me was that Mary Pickford near the beginning of the film playing a 12 year-old and that just seemed so silly I switched it off! However, after recently having forced myself to actually watch it all, it turned out to me amazingly good. Now this isn't to say this is a perfect film--the whole 12 year-old aspect is pretty tough to believe AND the time-line of the film is a real mess (if you pay attention, it seems that Mary goes to college and falls in love at age 12!)--they really needed to explain that a lot of time lapses between the opening scene of 12 year-old Mary and the closing scenes. However, if you ignore this, the rest of the film is very worth seeing.The first part of the film is mostly light comedy with Mary playing a plucky trouble-maker with a heart of gold at the orphanage. Some of the stuff she gets into is pretty funny and she is about the most unwanted orphan in the film. However, about halfway through the movie, it abruptly changes to a romance. Mary is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor who does not want to be known to her, and so she labels him "Daddy Long Legs" and sends update letters to him telling him her progress--never knowing exactly who it is. Both parts of the film work very well, but some might be bothered by it being almost like two totally different films--since the tone is so different in each. However, both elements DO work and work well. While this isn't my favorite Pickford film (I liked SUDS better and I still have a lot more of her films to see), this is among the better silent films I've seen (and I've seen a lot). A good story, excellent acting and a general likability of Pickford's character make this a good example of the genre.

030: Daddy Long-Legs (1919); released 5/11/1919, viewed 1/19/2006.Moscow becomes the new capital of Soviet Russia. The Red Sox defeat the Cubs in the World Series. The Great War ends when Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies. New nations and republics are popping up all over Europe.BIRTHS: Spike Milligan, William Holden, Jack Paar, Mike Wallace, Ingmar Bergman, Nelson Mandela, Art Carney. DEATHS: The Royal Family of Russia.KEVIN: Of all the Mary Pickford movies we've viewed, I enjoyed Daddy Long Legs the most. The first half was better than the second half, however. Things were more interesting and energized when Judy was at the orphanage, (but I guess they couldn't drag that out for the whole movie) then things calmed down a lot when Judy gets sent to college. The almost slapstick feel of the orphanage scenes reminded me of Chaplin, and it was cool to see a woman at the center of the craziness. I wasn't too sure about the ending though, where Pendleton, the man who was pining after her, turns out to have been her benefactor all along. Overall, I'm very glad I watched this movie. It gave me a much better idea of what Mary Pickford was all about.DOUG: Our second Mary Pickford film in this set, and what would have been our third film overall is Daddy Long Legs. I enjoyed this movie more than Stella Maris. I was a little confused at the beginning about exactly how old Judy is supposed to be. I know that tiny Mary Pickford was playing little girls well into her thirties, and wasn't really sure if she was as old as the other kids or not. Apparently not, since she is quickly shipped over to college halfway into the film. I fell asleep through part of it and had to go back and watch it again, and I had some trouble remembering which of the two male leads (Jarvis and Jerry) was which. I never guessed that Jarvis was Daddy Long Legs all along, so that made an excellent ending to the movie.Last film: Stella Maris (1918). Next film viewed: Mark of Zorro (1920). Next film chronologically: Broken Blossoms (1919).The Movie Odyssey is an exhaustive, chronological project where we watch as many milestone films as possible, starting with D.W. Griffith's Intolerance in 1916 and working our way through, year by year, one film at a time. We also write a short review for each and every film. In this project, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of the time period, the films of the era, and each film in context, while at the same time just watching a lot of great movies, most of which we never would have watched otherwise.

Another terrific Mary Pickford performance and film. Daddy-Long-Legs is a familiar story, but the Pickford version accentuates the comedy and leaves the sappy romance to the horrid 50s version with Astaire and Caron. Sweet and innocent, this film has several memorable comic moments, including Mary getting drunk with a fellow orphan (Wesley Barry?) and leaving the jug for a dog. Very funny. A little tipsy, Mary also slides down banisters and accidentally knocks "Stink Weed" down a well. Oops! This film is a little unusual for a Pickford picture since it allows Mary to grow up. She gets to go to college and be wooed by her roommate's uncle (Mahlon Hamilton). She's also pursued by Jimmie (Marshall Neilan, who also directed the film). Milla Davenport is the orphanage director and Fay Lemport is the nasty Angelina.Nice comedic touches throughout to keep it all light and entertaining. The version I saw was clean, had beautiful title cards, and good (new) score my Maria Newman. All very impressive for a 1919 film. This film seems miles away from Pickford's 1917 Pride of the Clan, but she had been in over 200 films by the time she made this! Pickford was one of the greats, a true giant in Hollywood, and it's too bad she's so forgotten now. I've never seen a Pickford film I didn't like.

An irrepressible orphan girl, living in the appalling conditions of a large asylum, is rescued by a mysterious benefactor and sent to college. Affectionately referring to him as DADDY-LONG-LEGS, she strives to make him proud of her. But when unexpected love comes her way, will she follow her heart or the wishes of her patron?Mary Pickford was the greatest movie star of the 20th Century. No one else even came close to inspiring the love & devotion of the millions of fans who flocked to see her silent films. In our jaded age it is difficult to understand why a diminutive little lady could engender such ardor right around the world. For answers, one need look no further than DADDY-LONG-LEGS.Expertly blending joy & pathos, Mary makes us instantly feel the emotions her character is living through. Whether it's stealing a doll for a dying child, dunking a bully in a well, listening to her dead mother being insulted in the worst way, or feeling the pangs & delights of a first love, Pickford tugs at our heart strings, our tear ducts, our funny bones. To watch this film is to get a glimpse as to why America's Sweetheart stands absolutely unique in her legendary status.Although this is Mary's show all the way, in the supporting cast Milla Davenport should be noted for her vivid portrayal of the vile asylum warden. The film's director, Marshall A. Neilan, appears as a hapless young Lothario.It was the success of this film at the box office which inspired Pickford to form a studio & become her own distributor. So it was that United Artists was born, with partners Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin & D. W. Griffith.The film has been beautifully restored, with a fine musical score. Notice the original `art titles,' the evocative paintings which enrich the captions.