Tess of the Storm Country (Silent)

Tess of the Storm Country (Silent)
Tess of the Storm Country might be seen as the archetypal Mary Pickford film. Pickford plays Tessibel Skinner, a dirt-poor fisherman's daughter living with a community of squatters in ramshackle huts by the water's edge. Tess was reportedly one of Pickford's favorite roles (both in this 1922 version and in an earlier one, shot in 1914), and it shows. She brings a sparkling energy to her performance. Dressed in rags, her hair a frazzled mop, she creates an indelible character. ("The more ragged and dirty I look, the better I can play," declared Pickford in a 1914 Photoplay Magazine interview.)

Every man in squatter town has eyes for the beautiful, fearless Tess, from brutish Ben Letts (Jean Hersholt) to pathetic Ezra Longman (Danny Hoy). But Tess's heart belongs to her sweet daddy (Forrest Robinson). High on a hill above these indigent folk dwells the wealthy Graves family. Father Elias (David Torrence) considers the squatters a stench in his nostrils and tries to evict them; son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) sympathizes with them and falls in love with Tess; daughter Teola (Gloria Hope) finds her life becoming inextricably bound with Tess's, in ways neither girl could have imagined.

Like so many films in which Mary Pickford appears, Tess of the Storm Country pits rich against poor. In the microcosm of this movie, the rich are steeped in moral turpitude; it takes poor, pure-hearted Tess to, in the words of a chastened Elias Graves, teach them the true "meaning of Christianity." This densely plotted picture also takes on such weighty themes as murder, perjury, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, suicide, and attempted rape. A rousing melodrama, the film draws the viewer right in and doesn't let go until its riveting climax. --Laura Mirsky
Customer Review: An American Masterpiece without doubt
The 1922 remake of "Tess of the Storm Country" is one of the best surprises of the silent film era. In fact, for me, it has been a surprise twice in my life. The first time was at the age of 16, in 1960, in that little silent movie theater on Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood, where I was spending many solitary afternoons after having happily discovered the little place during one of my many, many adventures through the Hollywood landscape. Inside that scrawny little theater I got to see an amazing art that nobody had ever told me about, movie after movie after movie, often tinted, and toned - sometimes both, and always completely unexpected to my eyes because I didn't understand why I was watching "silent" motion pictures - or more accurately, why I was so mesmerized and compelled by such an experience. The second time I saw "Tess of the Storm Country" was yesterday, when I viewed this DVD version (produced by the Mary Pickford foundation). Up until then I thought I had seen this film; but I really had not. This DVD contains what seems to be a full and complete version, replete with all the damage one would sadly expect from years of what appears to me to be complete neglect, but intact with its original shape, its ambitious print coloring, its fully mature pace, and the thoroughly engaging performance of Mary Pickford and the entire cast. Although it's a modern addition, Jeffrey Mark Silverman's music score for this film is a real gem - fully in sync with the drama on screen and consistently adding understanding to the scenes. In fact, I watched the film twice in a row, back-to-back, "listening" to this silent masterpiece and its glorious sound. For me the triumph of Mary Pickford's remake of "Tess of the Storm Country" is the completeness of its timeless, agrarian prayer - as sweet as you will ever experience. It is one of the greatest films ever made. It is absolutely an American masterpiece.
Customer Review: fine Mary Pickford vehicle
Mary Pickford stars in one of her greatest films ever, Tess Of the Storm Country. The plot moves along at a good pace even though the movie is two hours long; and the convincing acting impressed me every step of the way. When the movie begins, we see the wealthy Elias Graves (David Torrence) who is aggravated, to say the least, by the poor squatters living on the shore of his land. One squatter who is particularly colorful is Tess Skinner (Mary Pickford), who loves her father who fishes in the sea. When Elias Graves cannot evict Tess and the rest of the squatters he tries to catch them breaking the law by fishing on the shore. Along the way we also meet Elias's daughter Teola (Gloria Hope) who plays a woman who is pregnant with her boyfriend Daniel 'Dan' Jordan's (Robert Russell) child. Just as Teola and Dan are about to be married, one of the squatters, Ben Letts (Jean Hersholt) kills Dan Jordan and frames Tess's father (Forrest Robinson) for the murder of Dan Jordan. Well, suffice it to say that the plot gets fairly complicated; there are several subplots along the way. There is the issue of Teola's baby born out of wedlock; we see an innocent man framed for murder; and we see the tug of war between the squatters and Elias Graves. When Elias's son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) falls in love with Tess, things get only more complicated when Tess eventually returns his love. Despite it all, however, the movie never gets too hard to follow; and many topics are dealt with in very different ways than they would be today. For example, we see a slender Teola who is supposedly nine months pregnant flinging herself into the river rather than be caught bearing a child without a father. They didn't even show Teola with a pillow under her blouse to make it seem she was pregnant! My, those were different times. But more than anything else, this is a strong Mary Pickford vehicle. We see Mary as Tess playing with Teola's baby, fighting physically against Ben Letts when he tries to molest her, and we see Tess sweeping the house to make it clean as she prays for her father to return from being in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Mary shines throughout this fine picture! The DVD doesn't come with much in the way of extras; we get a scene selection feature and there is a filmography for Mary Pickford. I wish the print had been clearer, especially in the first 30 minutes or so of the film; but this is an old film and it's quite a good one at that so I can forgive it. Overall, Tess Of The Storm Country is a fine Mary Pickford vehicle that also deals with many social issues of the day with grace and well crafted artistry. I highly recommend this film for Mary Pickford fans; and people who enjoy high quality silent films should be pleased as well. Great job, everyone! Thank you, Mary Pickford--we will never forget you!