Coquette (1929)

Flirtatious southern flapper Norma Besant (Mary Pickford) falls in love with mountaineer Michael Jeffrey (John Mack Brown).  Her physician father's (John Sainpolis) disapproval triggers tragic consequences.

Interesting Note:
Mary Pickford won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance.

Thoughts:
Mary Pickford definitely took steps to distance herself from her silent film child roles!  This is such a different part for her -- and perhaps what's most surprising of all is her bobbed haircut.  Such a change from all those years of ringlets!  Unfortunately, most of her fans didn't take to her in more 'grown-up' roles, and Mary retired from films just a few years later.

I do like Mary's silent films best.  But she certainly didn't win the Academy Award for no reason!  Her performance is very good; she played the emotional range perfectly, and was still incredibly youthful-looking and beautiful.  It was a bit strange hearing her voice for the first time with a southern accent, though!

The story itself certainly set the stage for all those later talkies centered around willful Southern belles.  ; )  It's important to remember that Coquette was a very early talkie, and problems with dialogue and productions seeming too 'stage-y' were common.  But the film really did a good job of focusing on the characters in a time of Southern pride and honor -- traits which definitely were a huge deal then.  The ending scenes were excellent.

Definitely a must-see for fans of Mary Pickford and / or early talkies!  I really enjoyed seeing it.

Rating:
♥ ♥ ♥ ½