The Film Daily (1918)

Tuesday, September 3, 1918 »M DAILY Slender Story Made Delightful by Star and Artistic Atmosphere Mary Pickford in "JOHANNA ENLISTS" Artcraft DIRECTOR William Desmond Taylor AUTHOR Rupert Hughes SCENARIO BY Francis Marion CAMERAMAN Charles Rosher ART DIRECTOR WilfreJ Buckland AS A WHOLE A series of situations which serve as a foil for star's cute tricks, made de= lightful by human touches, artistry and some corking titles. STORY Very little of it, but won't worry you DIRECTOR Provided excellent atmosphere and great human touches with little Mary register= ing all the way. PHOTOGRAPHY Superb LIGHTINGS Very artistic CAMERA WORK Excellent STAR A positive delight; without her this wouldn't have been anything. SUPPORT All very good; little kid will get many laughs and introduction of Mary's own regi= ment at finish is sure=fire stuff. EXTERIORS Well selected and exceedingly well photographed. INTERIORS Very good DETAIL Many excellent touches CHARACTER OF STORY. Wholesome and entertaining LENGTH OF PRODUCTION 4,388 feet SINCE Rupert Hughes is credited with the authorship of this, I presume that they must have had a story to begin with, but whatever plot may have existed is lost in the production as we get it, being centered entirely around little Mary, but the result is entirely satisfactory because her cute tricks command your attention all through this, and I am sure that any audience is going to figure the offering delightful entertainment. Miss Pickford has a role in this similar to her characterizations in "Amarilly" and "How Could You, Jean?" and I don't have to tell you how she can put these slavey parts over. Mary appears in this as a little farmer girl who Longed for romance and when a regiment of U. S. troops pass by the farm on their way to the next town, they decide to camp there for two weeks, during which time the entire regiment falls in love with little Mary. An officer has taken sick, which gives Mary a chance to nurse him and their little romance is just getting nicely started when the other members of the regiment begin to fall for Mary's charms with the result that she soon finds herself possessed of an army of suitors. They pull a bear of a title here, when Mary, in her quandary, says "Oh, Lordy, when I prayed for a man, why did you send me a thousand?" We have a lot of incidental business which provides laughs, the little freckle-faced wonder who appeared in previous Pickford pictures coming in for a good share. We get some sure-fire audience stuff where Mary, overwhelmed by the admiration of so many nice looking suitors, decides to beautify her appearance, and while she is taking a milk bath, Emory Johnson, the Lieutenant whom she had nursed, unwittingly comes into the room. Mary screams upon being discovered in "the altogether" by a man and Monte Blue, a private, comes to the rescue. In an argument between the rival suitors that follows, Monte calls his superior "a piece of cheese" and is court martialed the next day. Mary is called in as a witness, with the result that the charge is dismissed and later, when the regiment gets orders to leave, we see both Monte Blue and Emory Johnson sneaking away from the camp separately to say good-bye to Mary, and they meet near the old trysting place to find that Douglas McLean has preceded them, he and Mary being too busily engaged in enjoying each other's company to notice that they are being watched. From here we fade into a title announcing that the regiment that figured in this is now in France and we get a flash of Miss Pickford and Col. Ralph J. Taneuf, of the 143rd Field Artillery, of which Miss Pickford is the official godmother. Miss Pickford's cute tricks and the many delightful human touches all through this make it register with a bang despite the frail plot, and the finish will get a hand, because it is unexpected and has been effectively introduced. Others in the cast were: Ann Schaefer, Fred Huntley, John Steppling, Wallace Beery, Wesley Barry and June and Jean Prontis. Mary's Own Regiment As Supporting Cast Ought to Start Something The Box Office Analysis for the Exhibitor I am sure that any audience is going to consider this delightful on account of the individual bits and the human characterization of the star. I am going to leave it to your judgment as to whether it is best to comment on the fact that Miss Pickford's own regiment appears in this in your advertising or let it come as a distinct surprise when they see the film. Although to mention the fact may take a little of the kick out of the finish of this, the idea offers several opportunities for exploitation which should pull business on account of its timeliness. Of course all the folks who read the motion picture "fan" publications know that Miss Pickford has adopted a regiment and keeps them supplied with cigarettes and other luxuries regularly, and the fact that the entire regiment figures all through this production should be of interest. California cities could create local interest by getting a copy of the regiment roster and listing the entire personnel in a good size ad as "Mary Pickford's supporting cast in her latest propaganda, 'Johanna Enlists'." You can promise them that this is a delightful, human film, entirely devoid of melodrama or battle stuff and offering Miss Pickford a role that will win the hearts of everyone who sees her in this production. With her name and the regiment idea to work on, you should clean up at this time especially.