Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918)

"Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley" is a somewhat interesting film technically and is rather representative of its times. Francis Marion and Mary Pickford departed from Pickford's persona as a child character for this one, which I consider a good thing. And, Marion's scenario involving two characters from opposing social classes, two story-lines that begin separately but are destined to collide, is something that was becoming more common in cinema as a means of making social commentary. The rapid crosscutting, in addition to the extensive scene dissection (changes of camera placement within a scene), was also cutting edge.The print quality isn't the best now, the look of the images (the tinting and such) probably alters too frequently, and the editing and construction seems rather unpolished at times, but the film does remain fresh today compared to the slower films from around this time and before. This film isn't especially innovative in any of this, as D.W. Griffith probably deserves the most credit, but it is representative of the way Hollywood films were going. Future films would be less hasty in their montage, creating images that are more lasting.The social commentary isn't particularly enlightening: the rich ones come off badly, and the film mostly explores contrasts. Much in the intertitles is vernacular, too. Nevertheless, "Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley" is entertaining enough, although the film's conclusion is odd, including Marion drawing attention to herself as the film's author. That was more up fellow screenwriter Anita Loos's alley; she unraveled Douglas Fairbanks's (soon to be Pickford's husband) comedies in clever, self-referential ways. Anyhow, Pickford is fun to watch as a lower-class hoyden in her lighter vehicles, and Kate Price is especially amusing in the supporting role of her mother in this one.

This is a great silent film and I very much liked Mary Pickford in it. Its basically about a working girl with a widowed mother and her siblings, she works as a cigarette girl at a bar and meets a wealthy guy. When he gets in a fight she takes care of him.This upsets her boyfriend, and she begins to fall in love with the wealthy guy. However things turn sour when he takes her home to his socialite aunt, who wants to "improve" her. This movie is also a satire of wealthy people and makes fun of them.Things go terribly wrong and she must then decided if its the trouble going through all this just for a guy.This would've been different had it been in present day America, but this was the 1920's and I think that the film was smartly written.

This is a charming old-fashioned story, featuring a delightful performance by Mary Pickford, two good male leads, and a plot that includes a good variety of material. The lead character makes it a perfect star vehicle for Pickford, and the rest of the film also complements her talents nicely.The story is about Amarilly, a girl from a working-class Irish family. She has a boyfriend, Terry, who works at a cafe, but she also meets a sculptor from a rich family and becomes involved with his circle. There are some very funny moments, some (melo)dramatic parts, and some thoughtful social commentary as well. All of these come together nicely in a key scene when Amarilly's family mingles with the upper crust.Besides Pickford, charming as always, the two make leads (William Scott and Norman Kerry) are very good, presenting believable and interesting characters who form a nice contrast with each other and a good complement to Amarilly. They all help a fairly simple story come to life. This is the kind of old-fashioned film that unfortunately does not get a lot of attention today, but it's a real pleasure for those who enjoy the silent classics.

In this 1918 film, Mary Pickford plays a down-to-earth Irish working class girl, complete with her washer-woman ma and 5 rambunctious brothers. The plot is perfunctory: she has an equally down-to-earth bartender boyfriend, but gets involved with dashing upper-crust sculptor Norman Kerry (who's handsome even to modern eyes!) until used as a "social experiment" by Kerry's socialite aunt, which she justifiably resents.No big surprises, but a wealth of small, charming moments. The film is undeniably creaky (it is 82 years old!), but actually flows together quite well. Its age is also, undeniably, part of its charm - it fascinates me to see these products of another era. There is a melodramatic turn at the end that seems to come out of the blue, but perhaps it was a nod to the fact that Amarilly's neighbourhood was undoubtedly a dangerous environment to live in.Its not difficult at all to see why Mary Pickford was "America's Sweetheart". This was the first complete movie of hers that I've watched, and I hope to see more. She's delightful - warm and sweet, and blessed with a heart-melting smile.