Stella Maris is one of those movies that left me deeply touched and troubled at the same time. It is amazing to see the heights that the silent cinema had reached by 1918.
I would never, ever, have recognized Mary Pickford as the disheveled Unity Blake. It just goes to show what body language, facial contortion, a little makeup and above all ACTING ability can do! Stella Maris certainly ranks as one of Ms. Pickford's finest works. She plays both Stella and Unity with equal aplomb. Marcia Manon is wonderfully devious as Conway Tearle's alcohol and drug-laden wife. One feels sorry for her early in the film, then comes to despise her later on. Her look of pure relish when Stella stumbles, shocked and heartbroken, from her house is a classic.
Speaking of classics (and I DID say "spoilers" are included!), the night scene of Unity stalking Louisa (Manon) is one of the best-filmed and best-lighted sequences I have seen on film in ANY era. Walter Stradling's cinematography simply astounds me especially considering the time period. This was just three years after Birth of A Nation! Marshall Neiland and Stradling show a remarkable grasp of their craft and, of course, Pickford is Pickford. The rest of the cast is solid and the special effects are remarkable for the period.
As others have said, this would be a fine introduction to Mary Pickford, as well as to silent dramas in general. Thank goodness Lillian Gish and others convinced Ms. Pickford not to destroy her films! We would be so much poorer today, had she carried out her plan of having them destroyed after her death. Nearly 90 years later, this is still a movie that touches the viewer and one that shows an art form at its pinnacle.
I would never, ever, have recognized Mary Pickford as the disheveled Unity Blake. It just goes to show what body language, facial contortion, a little makeup and above all ACTING ability can do! Stella Maris certainly ranks as one of Ms. Pickford's finest works. She plays both Stella and Unity with equal aplomb. Marcia Manon is wonderfully devious as Conway Tearle's alcohol and drug-laden wife. One feels sorry for her early in the film, then comes to despise her later on. Her look of pure relish when Stella stumbles, shocked and heartbroken, from her house is a classic.
Speaking of classics (and I DID say "spoilers" are included!), the night scene of Unity stalking Louisa (Manon) is one of the best-filmed and best-lighted sequences I have seen on film in ANY era. Walter Stradling's cinematography simply astounds me especially considering the time period. This was just three years after Birth of A Nation! Marshall Neiland and Stradling show a remarkable grasp of their craft and, of course, Pickford is Pickford. The rest of the cast is solid and the special effects are remarkable for the period.
As others have said, this would be a fine introduction to Mary Pickford, as well as to silent dramas in general. Thank goodness Lillian Gish and others convinced Ms. Pickford not to destroy her films! We would be so much poorer today, had she carried out her plan of having them destroyed after her death. Nearly 90 years later, this is still a movie that touches the viewer and one that shows an art form at its pinnacle.