Amarilly of Clothesline Alley (Silent)

Amarilly of Clothesline Alley (Silent)
The heart of this spunky, sweetly beautiful film is lovely, feisty Mary Pickford, of the baby face, lush curls, and sturdy little body. Pickford is Amarilly Jenkins, a poor lass from San Francisco's Clothes-Line Alley, hard by Chinatown. She's proud of her heritage, a long line of Irish washerwomen: "I likes scrubbin'!" She's content in her poverty, sharing "Irish turkey" (meatloaf?) dinners with her roly-poly ma, played by Kate Price--one can hear her infectious laughter even though the film is silent--and her five rambunctious baby brothers. Young bartender Terry McGowen (William Scott), with whom Amarilly keeps company, has waited three years for a good-night kiss. Then fate sweeps Amarilly into an entanglement with handsome, upper-crust artist Gordon Phillips (Norman Kerry). It's clear that this won't last. As Amarilly tells Gordon, "You can't mix ice cream and pickles!" But Amarilly and her family have to learn this the hard way, deliberately humiliated by Gordon's snooty aunt (Ida Waterman, as the film's requisite battle-ax).

The picture effortlessly mixes comedy, social commentary, drama, and melodrama. The legacy of the literature of American social realism can be felt here in the business about haves and have-nots. But there is none of the grim tragedy of, say, Stephen Crane's novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Although effectively emotional, the film has an appealing lightness, deriving from the simplicity of its shots and acting style. This edition has been masterfully restored from the original negative, with gorgeous atmospheric tinting (indigo for exterior night scenes, golden for day, etc.) and an affecting new score by the Mont Alto Orchestra. Also included on the tape is a bonus short film, The Dream, from 1911, in which a drunk, philandering husband dreams of his wife's revenge. (Note the beautiful Arts and Crafts period décor in the couple's home.) --Laura Mirsky
Customer Review: A wonderful Mary Pickford vehicle--as if she needed one !!!
Amarilly of Clothes Line-Alley takes place in San Francisco. Amarilly Jenkins (Mary Pickford) comes from a long line of blue collar workers who don't have much money--ever. Her mother, Mrs. Jenkins, does the clothes washing for anyone who can pay for it as she scrambles to get enough business to make a living for her family. Amarilly pitches in, too, trying to get more work for herself and her family and enjoying her romance with Terry the bartender (William Scott). One day the theater where Mary cleans burns in a horrible fire; and Terry gets Amarilly a much needed replacement job in a much fancier club. It is here that Amarilly meets Gordon, a very wealthy young artist. Gordon notices Amarilly and even offers $150 for the chance to kiss her in a playful bidding match! Amarilly is struck by Gordon's sophistication, good looks and money--but Gordon's stuffy old aunt may spell trouble when she coldly decides to "experiment" with Amarilly when she teaches her about "the better things in life" for Amarilly's "psychological" benefit. Will Amarilly remain in love with Gordon, who falls in love with her because of the person she truly is? Will Amarilly instead return to Terry and her life in Clothes-Line Alley? What might happen if Gordon's aunt and Amarilly's mother met each other at a social gathering? I'm sorry, folks; you'll just have to watch it for yourself to find out! Look also for a fine performance by Kate Price as Amarilly's mother who does indeed have an infectious laugh that you can hear even though this is a silent film; and both William Scott and Norman Kerry turn in great performances as Terry the bartender and the young wealthy artist Gordon Phillips. The quality of the image is excellent; the restoration process worked wonders! The choreography shines best in crowd scenes including the scene in the posh club in which Gordon pays $150 for the privilege of giving Amarilly a kiss. The cinematography shows good judgment as the camera picks up everything it needs to in order to help tell the story well. Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley is an excellent Mary Pickford film; she deserves to be remembered much, much more than she is remembered. Mary Pickford pours her heart and soul out to give a terrific portrayal of Amarilly Jenkins. The DVD offers only one extra which is a short film entitled The Dream. This film depicts the plight of an unhappily married couple; and when one of them has a dream that dream just may have an effect on the marriage. I highly recommend this film for silent film fans and people who enjoy Mary Pickford's wonderful work will be delighted with this film. Great job, everyone--and thank you forever and ever, Mary Pickford!!!
Customer Review: Cute and charming
This film might not be exactly at the same level as something like 'Tess of the Storm Country' or 'Sparrows,' but it is a really fun movie, with all of the usual cuteness and charm in many of Mary's movies. It does start out a little bit slow (this was after all 1918, when most movies weren't quite yet at the same level they were even a few years later, when the silent drama began getting more complex and mature), but once the plot does become established and we really get to know the characters, it starts rolling along very smoothly, really drawing the viewer in. This movie doesn't even really seem all that dated; sure the settings may be different today, far from the world of 1918 with its rigidly-defined social classes, the tenement in San Francisco where Amarilly lives with her mother and five younger brothers, and the wealthy people like Mrs. Phillips and her nephew Gordon (the handsome Norman Kerry) in their posh fancy mansions and lavish parties and social events, but overall the theme has stayed the same. Many upper-class people still unfairly judge the proletariat and the poor, feeling them to be inferior or deserving of being publicly humiliated, the way Mrs. Phillips does to Amarilly's mother and brothers in an attempt to nip Gordon and Amarilly's romance in the bud. People are still debating if heredity or environment is the deciding factor in one's intelligence and character. There's still a huge gulf between the haves and have-nots, with people like the Phillipses who only feel that the have-nots are worthy of their attention, respect, and love if they become "educated" and leave their people and roots behind so they can become one of them. Ultimately Amarilly has to choose between Gordon, who might be handsome and able to offer her a better life but places conditions on the continuation of their romance, and her boyfriend of three years, Terry, who might not be as handsome as Gordon and not have as much to offer but who has a more sincere heart and loves Amarilly just the way she is. There's also a nothing one-reeler from 1911, 'The Dream,' made by the IMP Company. This isn't a terribly memorable film; while it's not horrible, it's also not one of the greatest one-reelers from the early Teens I've seen. Of the few films Mary made with the IMP which are still known to survive, none of them are widely considered to be among her best work. The studio itself also wasn't nearly at the same professional or quality level as the likes of MGM or even Biograph. Mary herself was also never really satisfied with this studio or the work she did there, and when she was trying to leave the company brrought up evidence such as being forced to have a darkroom boy, not a professional actor, as her leading man. Overall, this is a thoroughly worthwhile disc, even though it might not be up at the same level as some of Mary's more classic pictures. It's solid cute fun entertainment from the late Teens, the era when feature films were really starting to come into their own and become more mature and complex.