It’s 1915 and we’re approaching peak Pickford in the second of eight feature films she made in the year of her old mucker DW’s Birth and one of six to be directed by James Kirkwood with scenarios from Mary’s pal Frances Marion also in the majority. Pickford was not yet in full command of the means of production as Cari Beauchamp notes in the Flicker Alley booklet, but she was fiercely protective of her career and determined to put in a typecast-proof performance as the wildcat “waif” that – now – we view as exemplary.
Fanchon provides an
abundance of opportunities for Mary to demonstrate her winning ways and to
explode out of the screen against the gorgeous backdrops of Delaware Gap,
Pennsylvania. Some have criticised Kirkwood’s pacing but he certainly knew how
to make the most out of his friend Mary; just pick the right location and let
her roll. So many times, Mary demonstrates her extraordinary energy with her
bodily ability to express emotion standing out amongst the dense woodland,
against river and lake and a cast who are quite unable to draw the eye away
from her.
 |
| Mary Pickford sits on the fence |
Beauchamp describes the waif
as an “inspirational” character in amongst a contemporary cinematic universe of
matrons, vamps and adventuresses; “… there is a modernity to the waif with her
backbone of steel as she stands up against hypocrisy, bullies and entitlement.”
Watching with my Gen-Z daughter she would agree and it’s striking that such
characters were on screen for the majority of cinema goers who were women yet
to gain the vote.
Mary’s Fanchon is girlish but
knowing and she knows what she wants in her man; someone who choses to love her
and who is steadfast; she takes charge of her romantic situation and having
worked her opportunity, expects the men to be honourable. If not… she’ll go her
own way. She, genuinely, does not need a man to define herself and – according
to our count – Fanchon passes the Bechdel test on a number of occasions.
 |
| Frank Standing and Lotte Pickford |
Set in Eighteenth Century
France and based on George Sand’s novel La Petite Fadette, the narrative
is fairly light for first half of the film before fitting in – some – of the
source material’s complexities. That strikes me as good work from Frances
Marion (and Kirkwood) which allows the focus to be on Fanchon the free spirit
and her pursuit of Jack Standing’s Landry Barbeau. Landry is from a family of
good standing while Fanchon lives in a woodland hut with her grandmother
(Gertrude Norman) who’s old and wizened enough to be regarded as a witch.
Fanchon’s problem – apart from
lack of contemporary fashions – is that Landry is seeing a more respectable
women called Madelon played by Lottie Pickford. Lottie was her sister’s junior
by one year and, on this display, not in the same league as an actress (who
was?) but she does a decent job as the spoilt brat determined to hold on to her
man as much for pride as anything else. There’s also a cameo from Jack Pickford
as a local bully who Mary has to fight in scenes that surely must have taken
place in the family home in Toronto.
 |
| Jack vs Mary |
Jack picks on Landry’s brother
Didier (Richard Lee) who is described as a “half-wit”. It is interesting to see
how films from this period treat mentally disabled characters and whilst Didier
is a sympathetic character, the only one who treats him as an equal is Fanchon
with the local youngsters tiring of him and chasing him away when it suits and
his father (Russell Bassett) pushes him around. Are we supposed to see Didier
and Fanchon as similarly outcast, he for neurodiversity and she for outrageous
independence and “poor” blood? That’s maybe a stretch but why not?
Cinematography is from Edward Wynard and there are
breath-taking shots of the locations – most of the action is outside adding a
string sense of place to the action – as well as the lead. Kevin Brownlow is
not the only one to have pointed to the visceral impact of Mary Pickford in
this film; her hair is as long as I’ve ever seen it and sometimes forms a sunlit
halo over her supercharged features and she’s definitely not the “the girl with
the curls” but someone wiser and more artful. Even with a dearth of clos-ups, the actress
conveys an emotional impact few could hope to match and here it’s so very
natural. How many scenes are just made up of her reacting to events off screen
in well-chosen locations or amusing herself by playing with her shadow or just
skipping with arms aloft, powerfully pantomiming joy and resilience.
 |
| The locals don't know what to make of Fanchon |
Gradually the story solidifies as Fanchon starts to
impress Landry, as someone with more spirit than Madelon but he must overcome
not just his own doubts but the approbation of their peers and his own father.
The gap between them seems too large to cross but Fanchon is nothing if not
irrepressible but she’s also totally honest; she wants happiness on her own
terms…
Fanchon is the only
film to feature all three siblings and it’s very sad that at the time of her
death, Mary thought it was lost. The Mary Pickford Foundation found a nitrate
duplicate at Le Cinémathèque Française and combining this with an incomplete
nitrate print at the BFI, a multi-national effort led to this crystal-clear
restoration.
The MPF commissioned a new
score in modern style from Julian Ducatenzeiler and Andy Gladbach which moves
along very well with the film if occasionally foreshadowing the emotional
journey. We enjoyed it, it’s upbeat and inventive and has the spirit of
Pickford’s character. Those looking for organ or piano traditionalism may not
agree but as a package this is a fun film and a side of Pickford we really need
to see more of.
The Flicker Alley set is available direct from their site and really does the MPF proud in making
available more of the work that explains her status as one of the founders of
cinematic acting and one of the first superstars.
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment