Top 50 Actresses, #32 - Mary Pickford: "Stella Maris" (1918)

Movie Stats:
Released 1918 (USA)
American, in English (film is silent but scene cards are in English)
Director - Marshall A. Neilan
Stars - Mary Pickford, Conway Tearle

Plot Summary:
Two women from completely opposite sides of the tracks—Stella Maris & Unity Blake (both played by Pickford)—fall in love with the same man, John Risca (Tearle).

Warnings:
Violence.

Bad Stuff:
I find John’s portrayal problematic. He supposed to be a “good guy” and yet [SPOILER] he romances Stella while still married to Louise (Marcia Manon) AND he lies about it. Yes, Louise is awful in every way imaginable. And yes, he only lies because Stella’s guardians ask him to. But he could grow a spine and tell her guardians no. He could also get Louise help for her alcoholism. Or he could divorce her. I know it’s 1918, but people could and did get divorced back then. It was simply rare. I didn’t think he was a good match for either Stella or Unity. [SPOILER]

The scene cards that are written in vernacular are extremely distracting. It’s weird, because if this was a talkie and Unity & the other “lower class” characters simply spoke that way, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. But seeing it written out made it seem kind of dumb.

The cutesy stuff with the two dogs is utterly silly & seems out of place.

Good Stuff:
Manon is terrifying as abusive, alcoholic Louise. She made my skin crawl.

I like that it explores the folly of trying to shield people from the world. The attitude of Stella’s guardians, who try to keep her from finding out that bad things happen, isn’t portrayed with sympathy. In fact, they cause her more pain in the end. The fatalistic attitude is very of its time.

[SPOILER]
Its rare to see a love triangle where the two people vying for the third’s attention aren’t at each other’s throats. While I found the conclusion disturbing—Unity kills Louise and herself in order to free John to be with the person he loves, Stella—I also found it touching. Additionally, I appreciated Unity’s realism in recognizing that John would never return her love.
[SPOILER]

About the Performance:
I was going to watch “Coquette,” Pickford’s first “talkie,” for which she won an Oscar, but I had trouble finding a copy of it. I stumbled across several of her movies on YouTube, available for free (I believe many of her films are past copyright considerations, being more than 100 years old). I chose this one based on my interest in the story/its rating on IMDB. Of course, after finishing it, I then found “Coquette” on YouTube, but there’s only so much time in a day, so I’m sticking with this one.

I thought Pickford was fantastic. She was so good, in fact, that I didn’t realize she played both characters until several minutes into the film (I guess I didn’t pay very close attention during the opening credits). Everything, from the way she carries herself to her facial expressions, is completely different between Stella and Unity. I was impressed. With so many of her films available on YouTube, I think I’ll be watching more.

Other performances of Pickford’s I’ve reviewed: none.

The Verdict:
I liked this film a lot. In many ways, it’s a tale as old as time (love triangle). And yet, it approaches that same old story in a different way, or at the very least, not in the same way that it’s approached in modern film. Its attitude definitely feels timely: sentimental, fatalistic, selfless. I like that. It makes me think, a hundred years from now, what will people see in film that makes them say, “That’s such an early 21st century attitude!” Pickford is very good, and so is Manon. I never heard of this movie before, but now I’m glad that I happened upon it!

I give it 4.25 stars.