Daddy Long Legs

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Nick M Another collaboration between Mary Pickford and Marshall Neilan, Daddy-Long-Legs is a good picture, but not a great one by my estimation. The initial half is an introduction of Pickford's character, Judy, and her rearing in an orphan's asylum (home) where she develops a strong character despite an environment of compassionless charity. It's a familiar comedic angle for Pickford, and she does well as always, but it suffers from a trifle too much padding. The second half evolves into a romance as we watch Judy blossoming into a successful young woman who must come to terms with her upbringing if she wants to establish herself in society. The direction is sound, as one would expect from the man behind Stella Maris, but once the film matures along with its protagonist the pathos never feels fully realized. This is perhaps because of the method of adaptation from the successful book of the same name. The novel begins with Judy going off to college after leaving the orphanage, while the film truncates the original narrative to fit into just its second half. Moreover, modern sensibilities make it difficult to not feel squeamish about the developing romance. Judy's paramour is twice her age, and what's more, turns out to be the benefactor that paid her way to college and to whom she's been writing ever since. He knew all about her as he was courting her under a different name and never said a word until she figured it out herself. The reveal sees her become uncomfortable, and then angry, but her emotions are treated as girlishly silly, and she is expected to get over them and succumb to the more "mature" romantic feelings she felt for him before she discovered that she was being hoodwinked all these years. It's worth watching for Mary Pickford fans, but probably shouldn't be anyone's introduction to her work. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/14/24 Full Review Audience Member The best romance movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Jon J There are some aspects of the film that don't age well, including the age difference between Judy and one of her suitors who seems old enough to be her actual father, but that is to be expected with a movie that is almost 100 years old. Overall, while Pickford was excellent, I feel Nielan would be better suited to making a film for the likes of Keaton or the other slapstick kings of the era rather than the "girl with the curls" Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/01/18 Full Review Audience Member pickford plays yet another orphan Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The film was funny and a sweet love story, only it got a little boring sometimes and the two halves of the story (at the orphanage, then at college) seemed quite different to me. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member This was my first Fred Astaire movie I remember seeing. It was this movie that I fell in love with Fred and his dancing. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Daddy Long Legs

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