Mary Pickford Season: FD Cinematheque
Johanna Enlists (1918)
Director: William Desmond Taylor
Cast: Mary Pickford, Anne Schaefer, Fred Huntley, Monte Blue, Douglas MacLean, Emory Johnson, John Steppling, Wallace Beery, Wesley Barry, June Prentis, Jean Prentis, Joan Marsh (uncredited), Bull Montana (uncredited)
72 min
Mary Pickford with Frances Marion – Female Hollywood Pioneers
Mary Pickford with Frances Marion – Female Hollywood Pioneers
Mary Pickford in Johanna Enlists
Mary Pickford behind the camera
Mary Pickford taking a picture of Douglas Fairbanks
Johanna Enlists is a 1918 silent film comedy-drama produced by and starring Mary Pickford with distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by William Desmond Taylor from a short story by Rupert Hughes, The Mobilization of Johanna. Frances Marion, a frequent Pickford collaborator, wrote the scenario. The film was made at a time during World War I when sentimental or patriotic films were immensely popular. It was an early starring vehicle for Monte Blue, the male lead opposite Pickford. The film survives in several prints, including one at the Library of Congress.[1][2][3]
Plot
As described in a film magazine,[4] Johanna Renssaller (Pickford), an uncouth, freckled country lass, works from dawn until late at night. Her only love affairs were with the hired man and a “beautiful brakeman” on the railroad. The hired man proved to be married and the brakeman proved impossible. She prayed for a beau, and then a whole regiment of soldiers came along and camped on the farm. Everyone from Captain Archie van Renssaller (MacLean) down to Prvate Vibbard (Blue) fell in love with her, ate her pies, and sat in her hammock. She took milk baths and tried Isadora Duncan style calisthenics and finally fell in love with Captain van Renssaller. When the troops moved on, she rode at the head of the officer staff.
Cast
- Mary Pickford as Johanna Renssaller
- Anne Schaefer as Ma Renssaller
- Fred Huntley as Pa Renssaller
- Monte Blue as Prvate Vibbard
- Douglas MacLean as Captain Archie van Renssaller
- Emory Johnson as Lt. Frank Le Roy
Reception
Like many American films of the time, Johanna Enlists was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut, in Reel 4, of views of a nude figure in a book.[5]
References
- Jump up^ The American Film Institute Catalog Feature films: 1911–20 published by The American Film Institute, c. 1988
- Jump up^ Progressive Silent Film List: Johanna Enlists at silentera.com
- Jump up^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress, p. 93 by The American Film Institute, c. 1978
- Jump up^ “Reviews: Johanna Enlists“. Exhibitors Herald. New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company. 7 (14): 28. September 28, 1918.
- Jump up^ “Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors”. Exhibitors Herald. New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company. 7 (17): 43. October 19, 1918.
Film Dialogue 