Mary Pickford was everything they said she was. I knew very little about her before embarking upon this project, but she has not disappointed me one bit so far. From her bit part in The Country Doctor, to starring roles in My Baby, Tess of the Storm Country and Cinderella, and now as Fanchon, the Cricket, she brings a personality and brightness to the screen every time she shows up. I’m not even a tiny bit surprised she became the famous star she did. I’ve read that she is to this day the most popular female movie star of all time, and I don’t doubt it. No one will ever dethrone America’s Sweetheart as the undisputed queen of the silver screen.
Fanchon is a poor girl, who wears tattered clothes and lives in a shack in the woods with her eccentric grandmother. Townsfolk refer to the grandmother as a witch, and Fanchon is like a little cricket, chirping about the forest, living the life of a woodland sprite. She loves her life of freedom, but begins to feel lonely when she encounters a group of friends out playing and picnicking, and generally making merry. She plays some practical jokes on them as a sort of ice-breaker, but they backfire, and only serve to alienate Fanchon more. Worse, she’s developed a crush on Landry, one of the men in the group, played by Jack Standing, but he’s engaged to Madelon, played by Lottie Pickford, Mary’s real-life sister. Of course, after all is said and done, Fanchon and Landry end up together. Or do they? The film has a somewhat vague ending. Landry is near death, and Fanchon is at his bedside comforting him, hoping he gets better. We then cut to a scene of Fanchon happily frolicking in some weeds. Clearly some time has passed, but what has happened? Is she happy because Landry recovered, or did he die, and we see that her indomitable spirit allows her to be happy despite that tragedy. Who’s to say?
Besides Mary and Lottie Pickford, this film also features their younger brother Jack Pickford in a minor role, and is the only film in which all three siblings acted together. For years, this film was considered lost, a fact that saddened Mary Pickford deeply, as she often wanted to watch the one film she made with both siblings. It was only rediscovered after her death, in two pieces. Though each of the surviving copies that were discovered were incomplete, together the contained the entire film, and a restoration was undertaken. The film looks quite great, and is available both on blu-ray and on Amazon Prime. You can click the picture of the blu-ray below if you’d like to buy a copy of your own.
For what it’s worth, not only do I consider this to be a downright excellent film, but my 6-year-old son has also become enamored with both this film, and Mary Pickford in general. He enjoys watching silent films with me, and suggests all the time that we either rewatch Fanchon, the Cricket, or watch something else starring Mary Pickford.
Next I’m watching: The Ruse [1915], directed by William H. Clifford and William S. Hart.
Fanchon, the Cricket (May 10, 1915)