My Best Girl

Amazon.com

In My Best Girl, Mary Pickford demonstrates the winsome charm that won her the title "America's Sweetheart." She plays Maggie Johnson, a sensible stockroom girl at Merrill's, a five-and-ten-cent store. This is the heyday of the big five-and-dimes and Robert Merrill (Hobart Bosworth), the store's wealthy owner, is clearly a stand-in for F.W. Woolworth. The opening shot of Maggie displays Pickford's prodigious gift for physical comedy. She stumbles onto the selling floor laden with pots and pans, kicking them out of her way and wearing them like shoes. Then, when a salesgirl takes a break, Maggie is given the chance to be a salesgirl herself for a fateful few moments.

Maggie's first and only customer is the owner's son, Joe Merrill, (fresh-faced and sunny Charles "Buddy" Rogers). Maggie has no clue of the young man's pedigree, as he is slumming as "Joe Grant." His father has insisted that he work his way up as a humble store clerk without benefit of his famous name. The chemistry between Joe and Maggie is instantly apparent. Maggie takes him down to the stockroom, where he's helpless with the simplest tasks. "You know, you're awfully dumb," she tells him. But thanks to her patient training, he's eventually promoted to the position of her boss. (It's an appealing role reversal of the principals in the "Pygmalion"/"My Fair Lady" tale.) In the meantime, of course, they fall in love.

The moment when Maggie realizes Joe's true identity is stunning. She runs back to her humble family on "Goat Hill": fumbling father, (Lucien Littlefield), lachrymose mother (Sunshine Hart), and reprobate sister (Carmelita Geraghty). Is Maggie and Joe's love affair doomed? Or will they sail away to paradise together? Only those who see My Best Girl can learn the answers to these burning questions. --Laura Mirsky

Description

Pickford's finest romantic comedy.--Village Voice. Maggie (Mary Pickford), a shop girl in a five-and-dime store, falls in love with the owner's son Joe (Charles "Buddy" Rogers), who is working incognito as a clerk to prove himself to his father. A timeless Cinderella tale set in the roaring twenties, "My Best Girl" is one of Hollywood's greatest romantic comedies. Also included is newsreel footage of the marriage of Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford, as well as home movies of their life together.

Customer Reviews:

When You Gotta Pick a Pickford Flick..........2005-06-18

This is the Pickford Flick to Pick!

You simply can't go wrong with MY BEST GIRL. The plot is one you've seen a million times, but it just doesn't matter. This film is so engrossing and transporting that you'll swear it's all brand new. The performances, direction, settings, music, humor, you name it -- all are pitch perfect.

If you've never seen a silent film, this is the one to see. If you know someone who thinks silents aren't worth seeing, show them this one. If you'd like to see a silent film that really holds up in the 21st century, search no further. If you're feeling down or depressed, see this film. If you need a date movie in a pinch, grab this one. If you'd just like to sit back, relax and watch a DVD that's fun, entertaining and top-notch in virtually every way... well, you know the answer.

If there is a flaw -- and this is nitpicking -- it would be an extended sequence toward the end that veers dangerously close to going over the top. Otherwise, it's sweet, charming, romantic and old-fashioned in the best possible sense, but never cloying or saccharine. It's simple, straightforward, predictable... and perfect. MY BEST GIRL is one of the very few films, silent or otherwise, that I can't imagine anyone disliking. And it has tremendous rewatchability -- an important factor when considering a purchase.

A word about the new musical score: David Michael Frank NAILS this movie. This is, hands down, one of the best silent film scores I've heard. It adds major impact to an already strong film, and don't be surprised if the breezy themes bounce around your head for weeks after viewing.

Am I gushing? You better believe it! After writing all of this, I just can't help myself... I gotta go watch MY BEST GIRL!

Pickford's best film.......2004-11-14

There are those films that I would recommend to people who like that genre (EG "for those who like silent films, they would like this one"), but on a rare occasion I will recommend one to anyone.

Mary Pickford plays the archetype of her former Little Mary roles. She is Maggie, a stock girl at a fictional five-and-dime store... if you read Amazon's review you know the basic plot, which probably isn't the most original. Here's why you should see it:

Unlike too many of her vehicular films, Mary Pickford isn't the only reason to see "My Best Girl." About every character is a delight to see, and Maggie's parents deliver some of the best laughs, although Pickford holds her own at some very funny moments. Try not to smile at the scene when she first appears. The goofy melodrama with Liz and her beaux could make another feature comedy by itself, but here it adds to the richness of the film. The blase look on Millicent's face when Joe runs off to find Maggie is priceless. For that matter, so is the subtle look on Maggie's face after she tells Joe about the "Dramatic club" her sister belongs to. The soundtrack undermines some of the comedy at times, but that's no reason to turn the volume off. You'll find yourself humming the catchy jazz theme that plays when Nick Powell is present.

So, "for those who like silent films," this is one of the most harmlessly enjoyable, and for those who don't -- well, this is one you should see. It might change your mind.

For Pickford fans especially.......2004-11-11

Mind you, I like silent films, but---if you are not particularly clued-in herein---you should be aware that many silents have a reputation that just cannot be second-guessed. Almost all, if not all, reviews of silents deemed to be classics are raved about. I'm inclined to this view owing to the fact that it appears only silent film fans remain interested in this genre. If you have seen at least a dozen such films you are in a minority. Most folks, I'd reckon, have either seen dozens, zero, or but a handful. It's rather understandable, consequently, who would be inclined to take the time to write a review & this goes a long way in explaining the almost universially positive responses. My Best Girl, staring Mary Pickford, is not one of the greatest films you're likely to come across. Neither is it one of the great romantic comedies of all time. Rather, it is an amusing film generally, with a few stand-out scenes. For its time it can be a host of things, but viewed non-historically, it's a simple film. Pickford meets a guy in her place of work. She takes a liking to him as she tries to show him the ropes of her department. Little does she know that he is simply trying to prove something to his father by working---under an assumed name, of course---in his father's store. He is already engaged to a ritzy gal, but nevertheless begins to fall for Pickford. The two gals bump into one another; Pickford runs off in a huff. He chases after her. Her employer/the man's father then attempts to bribe her with $10,000 if she'll turn her back on the supposed man of her dreams. Then follows the worst scene in this film as she marquerades in her kitchen, trying to make her guy believe her affections were all a put-on; ie., that she knew all along who he really was & that she was, and remains, a gold-digger. Then she collapses into his arms from exhaustion, not being able to effect this lie with any success. End of story for Cinderella and her prince. That's what many say about this film---that it's a wonderful Cinderella story. You would, however, be much better served---and entertained---were you simply to watch the real Cinderella; or so would be my advice. Long live the silents, I say. But let's be realistic too---not every effort by Pickford, Chaplin, Lillian Gish, Harold Lloyd, Keaton, Gilbert, et al can stand the test of time...even though I would term them artistic geniuses, generally. Cheers!

Sweet and Important.......2003-07-07

This is the story of a girl destined to become an old maid; she feels she has to take care of her crazy family. She is sweet and sane. She works at a five and dime store where she meets a man named Joe. Joe is rich but was forced by his father to prove himself outside of his wealth. Joe must work in a regular job and receive a raise. In the process, he meets Mary Pickford's character and falls in love.

This movie is interesting to watch because ten years after it was made, Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford were married. Their chemistry is obvious. It is also a wonder that Mary was around the top of the hill when she made this and yet she still looked so young and beautiful. Emotions soar out of this film that are felt in movies of today. One never notices that it is silent; it simply isn't an issue.

One of my favorite scenes is when Mary deliberately pushes her belongings off of the car she is riding on so that she can see Buddy for just a little longer.

This silent was made when sound took the world by storm. Sadly, it was Mary Pickford's last. Because of the time period it was made in, it is more advanced than a film from the 1910s. The score is very good and the story holds up.

The Most Charming Silent I've seen Yet!.......2003-06-04

I'm just sobbing like a baby!

My husband just surprised me for my birthday with 'My Best Girl'. I have been building my silent movie collection for almost 2 years, and not one actress has ever moved me so much as Mary Pickford!

I adore her in every film I've seen thus far, and all the others are DEFINITELY worth buying--bad prints or no, but this...this film is now my favorite Pickford film and in my Top 10 for all silents.

I am not a sappy girl, nor do I fall for romance-type films, but 'My Best Girl' is SO winsome, and SO charming! Please go off and read at least one Pickford biography and then rewatch 'My Best Girl'. I was so skeptical, b/c I'm not a big girly movie fan, but this is one you HAVE to own if you love Pickford! Her leading man in the film is Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, the man she married 10 years after this film was made. At the time, her idyllic marriage to Douglas Fairbanks was just beginning to falter. They divorced in 1935, and two years later, she became Mrs. Buddy Rogers. Buddy is so smitten (in a tastefully restrained way) in every scene, in real life, and it's so lovely to watch him falling nutty-head-over-heels for Mary. It's anyone's guess if Mary felt the same--a tribute to her gifts as an actress--but it was pure bliss trying to guess if she had been!

Funny, smart and BEAUTIFULLY shot (if you've seen a lot of silents, you can tell that this one was made toward the end of the era. You're in for SUCH a treat--the shots are nothing like any in other silents of the same age.) I laughed out loud, and shed big ol' 'I'm not a girly movie fan' tears!

Treat yourself, and buy the Milestone copy. An excellent, clean print, with wonderful sharpness and great picture quality. The few and far between muddy spots go away SO quickly. And the score is so thoughtful, and complements the action and the period impeccably. Buy it up, and send a message to the Pickford Foundation that we want more of these DVDs QUICK!

There are a few home movies & newsreel clips from the Pickford Foundation collection included on the MILESTONE DVD, and watching them just tickled me to no end. All of them were private reels of Mary and Buddy at their wedding, their honeymoon, and later. Again, being not a terribly romantic girl, I sure surprised the heck outta myself by sobbing out loud after reading that "Buddy was always fond of saying that he'd married his 'best girl.'"

A sap I was not, until now!

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