Interesting Period Piece

Posted by Unknown on Apr 16th 2022

"Daddy Long Legs" (1931) was the first movie to star two Academy Award winners, namely, Janet Gaynor and Warner Baxter. Filmed previously as a silent movie with Mary Pickford, this was the first of many sound versions. Despite the considerable acting talents of its two stars, the movie never comes off as more than average. But I do think it is still worth a look. It also has Una Merkel in support.

The movie begins in an orphanage where Janet Gaynor is one of the orphans which is a bit of a stretch. Warner Baxter is one of the benefactors of the orphanage. Baxter takes a personal interest in Gaynor but she never knows that it is Baxter that puts her through school and provides for her until late in the film. That is the basic plot.

However, there are many reasons to watch old movies and one of them is to see a snapshot of a society that no longer exists. There is a particularly jolting scene at the beginning of the movie where the youngest boys and girls in the orphanage recite a version of "eenie, meenie, miney, mo" that you simply won't believe! I had to go back and play it again to make sure I had heard correctly. A society that no longer exists indeed!!That is all I will say on that score!

Old movies offer viewing pleasures on so many levels and there is no better library of these films out there than Zeus. And no, I don't get paid for saying so! So pick out a film or two from their vast library and give them a try. The movies aren't all four stars. They never were meant to be! But they all have something to offer!