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Kiki (1931)

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Mary Pickford 1

Mary Pickford Season: FD Cinematheque

Kiki (1931)

Director: Sam Taylor

Cast: Mary Pickford, Reginald Denny, Joseph Cawthorn, Margaret Livingston, Phil Tead, Fred Walton, Edwin Maxwell, George Davis, Betty Grable (uncredited), Edmund Mortimer, Fred Warren, Blue Washington

87 min

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Kiki is a 1931 American Pre-Code romantic comedy, starring Mary Pickford and Reginald Denny, which was directed by Sam Taylor. The film is a remake of the 1926 version starring Norma Talmadge.

Plot

Kiki (Mary Pickford) is a hapless French chorus girl who has just been fired from her job. She doesn’t accept it and goes to see producer Victor Randall (Reginald Denny). He, however, is really busy and is annoyed by her presence. To get her out of his office, he promises her job back. Before she leaves, she drops her purse and clippings of Victor shaped in hearts fall out. It becomes clear Kiki is secretly in love with him.

When the next show becomes a disaster because of Kiki, she is again fired. She goes complaining at Victor Randall’s office for the second time. He is now charmed by her and invites Kiki to his apartment. There, she notices a photo of his ex-wife Paulette Vaile (Margaret Livingston). He kisses her, but she is insulted and slaps him. She hides in another room and makes clear she feels used and thinks Victor is still not over Paulette.

She eventually falls asleep in the room and finds a letter from Paulette the next morning. Although it’s for Victor, she reads it. It says she is sorry about last night and wants to make up with Victor. Kiki becomes jealous and ruins the letter. Meanwhile, the servants are irritated by Kiki and try to get her out of Victor’s apartment. Victor confronts her when the servants inform him Kiki has stolen a few of Paulette’s letters. He eventtually finds the letters and reads them.

Victor and Kiki have a conversation and flirt for the first time. Kiki becomes angry when Victor receives a phone call from Paulette and answers it. Paulette later visits Victor’s apartment. Kiki is outraged and tells Paulette she is in love with Victor and intends to marry him. Victor catches Kiki intimidating and scaring Paulette and orders her to get out.

Victor and Paulette fall in love with each other again, but they find out Kiki hasn’t left the apartment. Kiki pretends to be unconscious. Victor puts her in bed to rest and Kiki kisses him. He tells Paulette he can’t leave Kiki alone. Paulette feels betrayed and leaves him. Victor and Kiki finally fall in love and kiss.

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Cast

Release

The film was released in 1931. New York Times film critic Mordaunt Hall credited the film for its comedy and characterizations of the stars in the movie; however longtime Pickford fans were not used to the loose adult role that the star traded for her earlier ingenuousness and it eventually flopped at the box office.[2]

A copy of the film still exists at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. However, it has not been released on home video or DVD, the only Mary Pickford talkie not to be released.

It was the first Mary Pickford film since the formation of United Artists to lose money.[1]

References

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3. p93
  2. Jump up^ The New York Times Review

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Taming of the Shrew, The (1929)

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Taming of the Shrew, The (1929)

Director: Sam Taylor

Cast: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Edwin Maxwell, Joseph Cawthorn, Clyde Cook, Geoffrey Wardwell, Dorothy Jordan, Frankie Genardi, Charles Stevens

63 min

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Douglas Fairbanks 1929 – The Taming of the Shrew. Restored by jane for Dr. Macro’s High Quality Movie Scans website: http://www.doctormacro.com/index.html. Enjoy!

 

 

The Taming of the Shrew (1929) is the first sound film adaptation of the Shakespearean play of the same name. The movie was directed by Sam Taylor, adapted by Taylor from William Shakespeare‘s play, and stars Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks.

Douglas Fairbanks 1929 - The Taming of the Shrew

Cast

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Production

The first sound version of the play on film, this version was planned as a sound film from the start. Pickford had already made her sound film debut in Coquette (1929) so The Taming of the Shrew marked her second talkie. [1] This version of the film is primarily known for how Pickford delivers Katherina’s last speech. As she moves though the litany of reasons why a woman should obey her husband, she winks toward Bianca, unseen by Petruchio. Bianca smiles in silent communication with Katherina, thus acknowledging that Katherina has not been tamed at all. Pickford and Fairbanks’ marriage was breaking down even before filming began, and animosity between the couple increased during filming. In later years, Pickford stated that working on the film was the worst experience of her life, although she also acknowledged that Fairbanks’ performance was one of his best.

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Reception

Fairbanks biographer Jeffrey Vance, writing in 2008, believes “Taming of the Shrew has never received the recognition it deserves as the first talking film of a Shakespeare play. It was not only technically superior to the majority of talking pictures in 1929 but would unquestionably be the finest translation onto film of Shakespeare for some time to come.” Vance also sees the film as a window into the Pickford-Fairbanks marriage: “As a reenactment of the Pickford-Fairbanks marriage, Taming of the Shrew continues to fascinate as a rather grim comedy. The two willful, larger-than-life personalities working at cross-purposes and conveying their resentment and frustration to each other through blatant one-upmanship and harsh wounds is both the movie and the marital union.” [2]

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Home media

After many years out of circulation, the film was re-released in 1966 in a new cut supervised by Pickford herself. New sound effects and music were added throughout, much of the voice dubbing was enhanced with newly available technology, and seven minutes were cut from the initial print. This re-released version is the only version now available on DVD or VHS.[3]

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References

  1. Jump up^ John C. Tibbetts; James M. Welsh. Douglas Fairbanks and the American Century. Books.google.com. p. 225. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  2. Jump up^ Vance, Jeffrey. Douglas Fairbanks (Berkeley, 2008), 280.ISBN 978-0-520-25667-5.
  3. Jump up^ Aikman Archive DVD booklet

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