Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

MartinHafer A few years back, I started to watch this film and stopped. What bothered me was that Mary Pickford near the beginning of the film playing a 12 year-old and that just seemed so silly I switched it off! However, after recently having forced myself to actually watch it all, it turned out to me amazingly good. Now this isn't to say this is a perfect film--the whole 12 year-old aspect is pretty tough to believe AND the time-line of the film is a real mess (if you pay attention, it seems that Mary goes to college and falls in love at age 12!)--they really needed to explain that a lot of time lapses between the opening scene of 12 year-old Mary and the closing scenes. However, if you ignore this, the rest of the film is very worth seeing.The first part of the film is mostly light comedy with Mary playing a plucky trouble-maker with a heart of gold at the orphanage. Some of the stuff she gets into is pretty funny and she is about the most unwanted orphan in the film. However, about halfway through the movie, it abruptly changes to a romance. Mary is sent to college by an anonymous benefactor who does not want to be known to her, and so she labels him "Daddy Long Legs" and sends update letters to him telling him her progress--never knowing exactly who it is. Both parts of the film work very well, but some might be bothered by it being almost like two totally different films--since the tone is so different in each. However, both elements DO work and work well. While this isn't my favorite Pickford film (I liked SUDS better and I still have a lot more of her films to see), this is among the better silent films I've seen (and I've seen a lot). A good story, excellent acting and a general likability of Pickford's character make this a good example of the genre.

mlevans I caught about 1/3 (in the middle) of Daddy Long-Legs on AMC and remarked to myself what a good actress the girl playing Judy was. It was only after my curiosity was piqued that I found out the title and that this was none other than the renowned Mary Pickford. It was my first date with America's Sweetheart.Since then I have bought three films over the Internet, Croquette, Daddy Long-Legs and Stella Maris. I have yet to see the third of these. I just watched Daddy Long-Legs in its entirety (tinted VHS version) and was most impressed. I also ordered and read a biography of Ms. Pickford during the interim.Have no doubt: this lady could act. While she showed in Croquette that she would probably have adjusted well to sound and mature roles, had her public been willing to accept this, we see her in her true element in Daddy Long-Legs.Hollywood silents were entering their maturity in 1919 and this was a solid one. I'm not sure if the tinting was original (as in the case of Nosferatu, which Kino lovingly restored) or added. If it IS original, it is marvelous. I wonder how close the orchestra score is to the tunes audiences would have heard performed during the film at theatres.The cast is solid and Pickford is brilliant. I have to defend a couple of criticisms of the screenplay. I don't feel Miss Pritchett is inconsistent in trying to help Judy catch the train. After all, SHE would look bad if her charge missed the train after the rich new director had gone to the trouble of making these arrangements. Plus, her relationship to Judy changes somewhat at that point. While Judy had always been a thorn in her side, she suddenly becomes someone who can make HER look good if she succeeds in college – sort of like a pro athlete making his/her high school coach look good. Obviously, had Judy been kicked out of college, she would have had nothing more to do with her and would have felt justified in her earlier harsh treatment of her.The question about her increase in scholarship is a legitimate one. It troubles me a tad. Yet it appears that at least a couple – and probably four – of years go by between her arrival at and graduation from college. Since she has no boyfriend to start with, no parents to miss, etc., it stands to reason that she would likely have poured herself into diligent study, as she had to her work at the orphanage. She may well have been exceptionally bright, but merely lacking much "book learning." Is this a stretch? Maybe. Maybe not. I would say getting a novel published on the second try at that age is a bigger stretch … but, still, with a story like the one she would have had to tell, it seems feasible, too.I wish we had a version restored to the 16 apertures per second, or whatever the silent film era speed was. Nosferatu is glorious with remastered and restored sound and speed. This version is still a tad faster than normal … but it still flows very well.It is easy to see why Mary Pickford was America's Sweetheart. Watch Daddy Long-Legs and fall in love with her, yourself!

pamelaowen One evening my daughter and I were at home - I was cleaning in another room, but after a time, I realized the program my daughter was watching had no words. So I went into the living room and promptly was entranced. It was our first silent film (thanks A&E for showing it) - we were hooked. I didn't find myself treating it like a film with subtitles...reading and missing the scenes - instead it was appropriately sub'd prior to a scene, then the silent film told the story all on it's own. It was a great plot of an orphan (back then, that was a social climbing status killer) who broke the ranks and found herself. She had a bit of fun along the way (the scene in the garden when she was young was hilarious!) and eased past the social-highlife land mines. A great family movie for sure.

Ron Oliver An irrepressible orphan girl, living in the appalling conditions of a large asylum, is rescued by a mysterious benefactor and sent to college. Affectionately referring to him as DADDY-LONG-LEGS, she strives to make him proud of her. But when unexpected love comes her way, will she follow her heart or the wishes of her patron?Mary Pickford was the greatest movie star of the 20th Century. No one else even came close to inspiring the love & devotion of the millions of fans who flocked to see her silent films. In our jaded age it is difficult to understand why a diminutive little lady could engender such ardor right around the world. For answers, one need look no further than DADDY-LONG-LEGS.Expertly blending joy & pathos, Mary makes us instantly feel the emotions her character is living through. Whether it's stealing a doll for a dying child, dunking a bully in a well, listening to her dead mother being insulted in the worst way, or feeling the pangs & delights of a first love, Pickford tugs at our heart strings, our tear ducts, our funny bones. To watch this film is to get a glimpse as to why America's Sweetheart stands absolutely unique in her legendary status.Although this is Mary's show all the way, in the supporting cast Milla Davenport should be noted for her vivid portrayal of the vile asylum warden. The film's director, Marshall A. Neilan, appears as a hapless young Lothario.It was the success of this film at the box office which inspired Pickford to form a studio & become her own distributor. So it was that United Artists was born, with partners Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin & D. W. Griffith.The film has been beautifully restored, with a fine musical score. Notice the original `art titles,' the evocative paintings which enrich the captions.