LUCKY STAR
Posted: January 7th, 2010, 4:05 pm
The last silent Borzage made, it was made as a silent version for the European market and as a part talkie for the American market, thankfully it is the silent version that has been rediscovered today, the sound version reducing the impact of the unspoken.
The film opens with Mary (Janet Gaynor) the eldest daughter of 5 children who helps her mother tend the farm. We see the children getting up and Ma getting them dressed. We see a gang of men go past on their way to work at a broken telegraph pole, the gaffer calls to Mary to bring them some milk, this she duly does (watered down of course). The boss, Martin (Guinn Williams) a braggart if ever there was one tosses her a coin onto the floor, she buries it in the dirt and tells him he hasn't paid her. Tim (Charles Farrell ) is working up the pole tells his boss to stop being mean and pay her. The boss climbs up and they fight on top of the telegraph pole, the phone rings telling them that war has been declared. All the men leave apart from Tim who is still mending the wire, he sees Mary uncover the coin and pocket it, it comes down and gives her a leathering.
Next we switch to the trenches, Mary is writing to both Martin and Tim, with spelling mistakes, hoping they haven't been shot and that she will 'nit' socks for them. Martin is a shirker interested in seeing the girls than doing his duty, he sends Tim and another man out to deliver the food, the job he should have been doing. We hear an explosion and see Tim trying to clamber out from under the upturned wagon, the other man is dead.
Tim is invalided home, he is paralysed from the waist down, Mary still not over the licking she got from Tim breaks a window in annoyance but Tim isn't annoyed, he beckons to her to come in, gradually she comes into his house. He gets around his house so quickly in his wheelchair and has fixed up many things so he can use them now he's disabled. He fixes things for a living now, he is lonely but not bitter. He befriends Mary, he makes her a handkerchief to pin onto her dress so she doesn't have to use her sleeve, she tries to sell him berries at a mark up, he knows what she's up to but gives her the extra money for confessing the truth. It's worth saying at this point that Mary is dirty and grubby and has been throughout the picture. Tim gains her confidence and gives her a phonograph he has fixed to keep, she's never been given anything before.
The next day Mary or Ba ba as he calls her is back, he wonders what colour her hair is and buys some eggs off her and washes her hair in a barrell, quite a few rinses later he discovers she's a blonde and a curly one too. Her hair might be clean but the rest of her body isn't, he begins to unfasten her dress to give her a good wash but asks how old she is, 18, he stops, gives her the soap and sends her off to a nearby waterfall to clean herself.
Next Mary goes to town, Martin has returned, blustering about his war record, a dance is to be held, mary buys a dress with money she has been hording from her mother. She takes the dress to Tim's house, he asks her where she got it, she tells him and he tells her she is dirty on the inside for getting it in that way. She changes at Tim's house for the dance and goes to hug Tim, it's a perfect Borzage moment, Tim realises in that moment what she is to him and how he can never declare his love because he's a cripple, Mary doesn't know and doesn't want to pull away. She wishes he was going with her. Agonisingly Tim tries to get his legs working but can't, I think this is a great peice of acting by Farrell. When she gets to the dance Martin deserts his gilr and spends the evening with Mary, spinning her tall tales, the townsfolk say how it is a disgrace that he is uniform since he left the army in disgrace. Mary leaves with Martin and stops at Tim's to change, the old buddies exchange heated words and Martin leaves with Mary to escort her home. Once their he sweet talks her mother with his tall tales and promises.
The next time Mary goes to Tim's her mother has told her that she can't go in, so Tim moves the table to the doorway so Mary can sit outside, they share a meal, something unspoken is between them and Tim agrees to speak to her mother. Martin at that time is telling mother how he will marry Mary in front of the general, mother is pleased, it's more than she'd ever expect for Mary.
Mary waits in vain for Tim to call on her mother, listening to the gramaphone Tim gave her, the weather is bad, he sets off but can't make it in his wheelchair. He tries again to walk, love makes the difference, gives him the power and determination to start taking steps, he takes all night. It's now early morning andit is a race against time as Martin goes to pick up Mary and whisk her off to another life. Tim struggles through the snowstorm and reaches Mary's house just as she is being driven off by Martin. Mary is dejected and has given up fighting, she has no life in her anymore. Tim struggles on to town, Martin is buying the tickets, in the lifting dark Mary glimpses Tim, echoing Diane in Seventh Heaven, she can't believe what she is seeing. She runs to him but Martin gets there, Tim and Martin fight, the townsfolk join in and pack Martin off on the train. Mary drops and grips Tim's legs, he told her he'd been waiting for a special occasion to use his legs again, this was it. He thought he'd been making her over (which he had) but she ended up making him over.
The role of mary is a departure for Janet Gaynor, although a waif, she isn't a helpless one, bullied and overworked but capable of holding her own. Charles Farrell again is an innocent, seeing the good and mending the broken (his job, himself and Mary) the power of love wins out in the end.
This is the last silent in the collection, for the most part they are a romantic bunch of films, each one of them worthy of more than one look. Thank you Fox for releasing them.
The film opens with Mary (Janet Gaynor) the eldest daughter of 5 children who helps her mother tend the farm. We see the children getting up and Ma getting them dressed. We see a gang of men go past on their way to work at a broken telegraph pole, the gaffer calls to Mary to bring them some milk, this she duly does (watered down of course). The boss, Martin (Guinn Williams) a braggart if ever there was one tosses her a coin onto the floor, she buries it in the dirt and tells him he hasn't paid her. Tim (Charles Farrell ) is working up the pole tells his boss to stop being mean and pay her. The boss climbs up and they fight on top of the telegraph pole, the phone rings telling them that war has been declared. All the men leave apart from Tim who is still mending the wire, he sees Mary uncover the coin and pocket it, it comes down and gives her a leathering.
Next we switch to the trenches, Mary is writing to both Martin and Tim, with spelling mistakes, hoping they haven't been shot and that she will 'nit' socks for them. Martin is a shirker interested in seeing the girls than doing his duty, he sends Tim and another man out to deliver the food, the job he should have been doing. We hear an explosion and see Tim trying to clamber out from under the upturned wagon, the other man is dead.
Tim is invalided home, he is paralysed from the waist down, Mary still not over the licking she got from Tim breaks a window in annoyance but Tim isn't annoyed, he beckons to her to come in, gradually she comes into his house. He gets around his house so quickly in his wheelchair and has fixed up many things so he can use them now he's disabled. He fixes things for a living now, he is lonely but not bitter. He befriends Mary, he makes her a handkerchief to pin onto her dress so she doesn't have to use her sleeve, she tries to sell him berries at a mark up, he knows what she's up to but gives her the extra money for confessing the truth. It's worth saying at this point that Mary is dirty and grubby and has been throughout the picture. Tim gains her confidence and gives her a phonograph he has fixed to keep, she's never been given anything before.
The next day Mary or Ba ba as he calls her is back, he wonders what colour her hair is and buys some eggs off her and washes her hair in a barrell, quite a few rinses later he discovers she's a blonde and a curly one too. Her hair might be clean but the rest of her body isn't, he begins to unfasten her dress to give her a good wash but asks how old she is, 18, he stops, gives her the soap and sends her off to a nearby waterfall to clean herself.
Next Mary goes to town, Martin has returned, blustering about his war record, a dance is to be held, mary buys a dress with money she has been hording from her mother. She takes the dress to Tim's house, he asks her where she got it, she tells him and he tells her she is dirty on the inside for getting it in that way. She changes at Tim's house for the dance and goes to hug Tim, it's a perfect Borzage moment, Tim realises in that moment what she is to him and how he can never declare his love because he's a cripple, Mary doesn't know and doesn't want to pull away. She wishes he was going with her. Agonisingly Tim tries to get his legs working but can't, I think this is a great peice of acting by Farrell. When she gets to the dance Martin deserts his gilr and spends the evening with Mary, spinning her tall tales, the townsfolk say how it is a disgrace that he is uniform since he left the army in disgrace. Mary leaves with Martin and stops at Tim's to change, the old buddies exchange heated words and Martin leaves with Mary to escort her home. Once their he sweet talks her mother with his tall tales and promises.
The next time Mary goes to Tim's her mother has told her that she can't go in, so Tim moves the table to the doorway so Mary can sit outside, they share a meal, something unspoken is between them and Tim agrees to speak to her mother. Martin at that time is telling mother how he will marry Mary in front of the general, mother is pleased, it's more than she'd ever expect for Mary.
Mary waits in vain for Tim to call on her mother, listening to the gramaphone Tim gave her, the weather is bad, he sets off but can't make it in his wheelchair. He tries again to walk, love makes the difference, gives him the power and determination to start taking steps, he takes all night. It's now early morning andit is a race against time as Martin goes to pick up Mary and whisk her off to another life. Tim struggles through the snowstorm and reaches Mary's house just as she is being driven off by Martin. Mary is dejected and has given up fighting, she has no life in her anymore. Tim struggles on to town, Martin is buying the tickets, in the lifting dark Mary glimpses Tim, echoing Diane in Seventh Heaven, she can't believe what she is seeing. She runs to him but Martin gets there, Tim and Martin fight, the townsfolk join in and pack Martin off on the train. Mary drops and grips Tim's legs, he told her he'd been waiting for a special occasion to use his legs again, this was it. He thought he'd been making her over (which he had) but she ended up making him over.
The role of mary is a departure for Janet Gaynor, although a waif, she isn't a helpless one, bullied and overworked but capable of holding her own. Charles Farrell again is an innocent, seeing the good and mending the broken (his job, himself and Mary) the power of love wins out in the end.
This is the last silent in the collection, for the most part they are a romantic bunch of films, each one of them worthy of more than one look. Thank you Fox for releasing them.