{"id":24631,"date":"2012-03-13T23:21:47","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T06:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24631"},"modified":"2020-12-27T15:15:34","modified_gmt":"2020-12-27T22:15:34","slug":"poor-little-rich-girl-the-1917","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24631","title":{"rendered":"Poor Little Rich Girl, The (1917)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[<strong>Note:<\/strong> The following review is of a non-Peary title; click <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=4388\">here<\/a> to read more.]<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Mother promised to see me, just one little minute to-day.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Poster-190x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"190\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-24633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Poster-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Poster-81x128.jpg 81w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Poster.jpg 203w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe lonely daughter (Mary Pickford) of a hardworking businessman (Charles Wellesley) and a socially conscientious mother (Madlaine Traverse) is placed in harm&#8217;s way when abusive servants mistreat her.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heiresses<\/li>\n<li>Mary Pickford Films<\/li>\n<li>Silent Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nMary Pickford &#8212; a.k.a. &#8220;America&#8217;s Sweetheart&#8221; &#8212; remains an iconic star of early cinema, both for her enormous popularity as an actress, and for her admirable business acumen at a time when film actors were just beginning to be acknowledged for their box office potential. It&#8217;s therefore interesting that Peary only lists two of Pickford&#8217;s many films &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24726\"><em>Sparrows<\/em> (1926)<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24663\"><em>My Best Girl<\/em> (1927)<\/a> &#8212; in his <em>GFTFF<\/em>, given that both these titles were made near the end of her career, and thus don&#8217;t represent her at the true height of her fame. For this reason, I&#8217;m recommending <em>The Poor Little Rich Girl<\/em> as a &#8220;missing title&#8221;, simply so that film fanatics will have a chance to see Pickford in one of her earlier successes &#8212; and, more specifically, to see one of her infamous portrayals as a much younger girl. <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the cliched storyline for <em>TPLRG<\/em> (scripted by Frances Marion, and based on a play by Eleanor Gates) isn&#8217;t all that interesting or well-told; indeed, at times it almost seems like a parody of itself, given that Pickford&#8217;s supporting cast members were intentionally chosen for their extreme height, and certain sets were built to provide a skewed vision of Pickford&#8217;s stature. Yet director Maurice Tourneur (father of Jacques Tourner) manages to turn the final third of the film &#8212; as a drugged Pickford translates some of the little-understood metaphors she&#8217;s heard into literal imagery &#8212; into a uniquely surreal Wonderland dreamscape. This section alone at least partially redeems the movie, helping to justify my claim that it&#8217;s &#8220;must-see&#8221;; however, it&#8217;s likely that any of Pickford&#8217;s other popular child-role titles &#8212; such as <em>Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm<\/em> (1917), <em>Pollyanna<\/em> (1920), or <em>Little Lord Fauntleroy<\/em> (1921) &#8212; might suffice just as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> The 1997 documentary <em>Mary Pickford: A Life on Film<\/em> (scripted by Rita Mae Brown and narrated by Whoopi Goldberg) is highly recommended as an insightful overview of Pickford&#8217;s life and career, one which places special emphasis on her role as a pioneering female businesswoman in Hollywood. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mary Pickford as Gwendolyn<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Pickford.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Pickford.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Pickford.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Pickford-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Pickford-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The inventively surreal hallucination scenes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24636\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream2.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Dream2-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Snake.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Snake.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"432\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24634\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Snake.png 576w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Snake-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Poor-Little-Rich-Girl-Snake-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply to see Pickford in one of her popular &#8220;child&#8221; roles. Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1991. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0008443\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.allmovie.com\/movie\/the-poor-little-rich-girl-v38654\/review\">All Movie Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/silent-volume.blogspot.com\/2011\/01\/poor-little-rich-girl-1917.html\">Silent Volume Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/499041\/the-poor-little-rich-girl#articles-reviews?articleId=345147\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.] &#8220;Mother promised to see me, just one little minute to-day.&#8221; Synopsis: The lonely daughter (Mary Pickford) of a hardworking businessman (Charles Wellesley) and a socially conscientious mother (Madlaine Traverse) is placed in harm&#8217;s way when abusive servants mistreat her. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Heiresses Mary Pickford Films Silent Films Review: Mary Pickford &#8212; a.k.a. &#8220;America&#8217;s Sweetheart&#8221; &#8212; remains an iconic star of early cinema, both&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24631\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24631"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60016,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24631\/revisions\/60016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}