"I'll do anything you ask of me."
"Then, kiss me!"
It's sad to learn that Pickford died thinking this film was lost, heartbroken because it was the only one in which she appeared with both her sister Lottie and brother Jack. It's heartwarming to see her playing the young waif, reaching across the years with her larger than life screen presence, and I could watch her cavort about and cause mischief for hours. What an amazing woman she was, to have the magnetism she did on the screen, and the business savvy off of it.
She has many wonderful moments in this film:
- Pretending to run away from leading man (Jack Standing) so that he can catch her.
- Dancing in the moonlight and watching her shadow, with the camera angled down on her marvelously.
- Facing away with outstretched arms at the water's edge, and then lying down on the rocky shore.
- Her expression and little squeezing of the eyelids when he kisses her hand near the end.
- Emerging from the waving field of grain to say hello and goodbye to the audience at the very end.
Such a list doesn't really do her playful energy and the feelings she conveyed justice, but suffice it to say she's impossibly cute and every bit as captivating today as she was then. It's a shame the story is kind of simple and not much is made of the fact that her old grandma is reputed to be a witch, but the film is well-paced and the scenes have a lot of life to them, thanks mostly to Pickford. The modern score from Julian Ducatenzeiler and Andy Gladbach is a little controversial but I thought it pretty nice, fitting the tone of the scenes and making me feel the link between the ages all the more; in 2021 watching a film from 1915 based on a novel from 1849. Then again, Pickford transcends time very well, all by herself.
