M'Liss (1918)

M'Liss is the quintessential feisty, self-sufficient adolescent girl, that Mary Pickford naturally played the best. This story is about a bold and sassy girl, more mother than daughter to her alcoholic father, who is killed leaving the girl to fend for herself. M'Liss is also an amusing parody on Westerns, with the brazen girl holding up stagecoaches with a slingshot and romping around the countryside like a wildcat. Theodore Roberts is adorable as her drunken father , with his sole asset Hidegarde, the chicken he guards so lovingly as her eggs are traded for whiskey. All the supporting actors are very good in their roles. I especially enjoyed Charles Ogle, as Yuba Bill who cares for M'Liss in a fatherly fashion. Mary plays M'Liss with her usual combination of charm and pluckiness. There is a scene in the film in which M'Liss carries a snake into a classroom, causing some turmoil. Pickford found out later that the scene, which was not in the script, was a result of a bet between director Mickey Neilan and the crew. Neilan came up with the idea of working a snake into the story and the crew told him Mary would never agree. He laid a bet, and he won. All the exterior scenes were filmed very artistically on location, near Boulder Creek in Northern California, by the outstanding cinematographer Walter Stradling. Though not considered one of Pickford's best films, M'Liss is still very enjoyable to watch.

This is a little fun piece by Mary and it allows her to let go to a chirpy carefree girl. Pickford always seems to leave a few precious moments in all her movies and you always get the feeling they are spontaneous and, there are a number of them here as well.Her climbing on table to give a hug to big grown men showing just how small she is, but so cute and fun. There is a point where Mary stalks the teacher just prior to trying to hopelessly hide behind a very small tree. The long shot of the teacher in front and Mary stalking behind is just so Monty Python - and is just one of those small pieces that builds the overall feeling of this little movie.There are few points where you can read Mary's lips very clearly and it was intended which gives momentary intimate feeling with her.The support cast were just great especially the old man who almost up-stages Mary.The plot line doesn't kick in until well into the movie and so you get the feeling of just floating around having some fun until the movie 'starts'. Not a great story line or plot development however the performance of all the characters are in fact the movie.There is always something to see in a Pickford movie.

This adaptation of the Bret Harte story is a ready-made vehicle for Mary Pickford, with a blend of comedy and melodrama that allows her to perform a lot of different material. Although there are some serious story developments, the tone is usually kept rather light, and Pickford is as engaging as ever.The story has her playing a wild daughter of a now-destitute miner, meeting the town's new schoolteacher, and contending with a plot to deprive her father of an inheritance. Actually, some of the incidental sequences are the best, and give her the best opportunities to develop her character while entertaining the audience.Theodore Roberts is sympathetic as the father, Thomas Meighan is solid as the schoolteacher, and some of the other cast members get an occasional good moment. The story largely follows a familiar formula, but it works, and it provides good entertainment with a great leading actress.

It may not be Pickford's best movie, but it's definitely her cutest. I can't help but be a little biased, however: I always felt that her melodramas were a little too dated, and the ones that really last are these scantily plotted, silly comedies that don't take themselves too seriously.It's priceless to see her "hold up" a stagecoach with a sling shot, or wonder what "-??-" means when put between "none of your" and "business." (They already showed a willingness to print "damn," so that narrows it down.)The inter titles are funny, although in a silent film they don't have to be, and the supporting characters are just as fun to watch as Mary. It's on the "Heart o' the Hills" DVD that came out in '05 as only a special feature, but it's the more enjoyable of the two.