The Delicious Little Devil

TCM broadcast this film in a grouping of Valentino films but the film really belongs to Mae Murray. I should add that Mae Murray seemed to be imitating Mary Pickford when she was in her comedy cups, down to gestures, mannerisms, facial expressions, it was uncanny. I kept visualizing Mary Pickford as I watched Mae, it was that strong.

The film is about a girl who is desperate for a well paying job and she tries out at a nightclub as a dancer. The proprietor is looking for someone "with a past", and Mae's character is a properly brought up young girl with no past at all. So she lies, pretending to be a notorious ex-lover of a duke, so that she will seem exotic enough to be hired. Her tryout test is a scream, I was laughing my head off. Eventually the real duke shows up and even though he knows she is not the same woman he had a fling with he still wants Mae. Valentino's character is jealous and a pursuit for the girl begins.

I really enjoyed the picture, and think you will too. Just don't expect the film to focus on Valentino, and you'll be OK with it. If it's true it will be included on the future Beyond the Rocks DVD it will find a whole new audience, which can only be beneficial to Mae Murray, since not a lot of her silent film work seems to be available to the public.

This film seemed to run at high speed, but it made the action more hilarious! Mae Murray was the real star, as in this case her eccentricity worked! She plays a poor shop girl impersonating a show girl. She whirls around like a dervish and struts like a diva! It was funny how she presented herself as a Mary Pickford look alike! Over the top works for comedies,wish she had done more of the genre! Poor Rudy had little to do except look beautiful though! But I'm not complaining! I know this was an early effort for him.I guess he and Mae remained friends as he was best man at one of her weddings! This is a cute little rarity, and Mae is a hoot! Fine supporting cast with Harry I.Rattenberry as the father and Richard Cummings as Uncle Barnley being particular stand outs.

I caught this 88 year old movie on TCM the other evening. Interestimg. Mae Murray, as others have said, plays a Mary Pickford dancing girl, and we have a glimpse into Rudolph Valentino playing a suave man smitten with her. Such a extremely dated film, and so fast..meaning everything looks like it is in full speed. Everyone is always running here and there,running all around, no one seems to stand still. And such a short movie, less than 60 minutes. In any case, it is a rare glimpse into movie making of so very, very, VERY long ago. Great to see these long gone stars of the so silent days of Hollywood. Silent film buffs and those familiar with the actors in this movie will have a treat; I am not so sure it will appeal to the hi tech generation of 2007.

This long lost film was rediscovered, restored and preserved at Nederlands Filmmuseum. My hats off to them! It is now companioned on DVD with the lost Gloria Swanson/Rudolph Valentino 1922 starring vehicle BEYOND THE ROCKS. TDLD stars Mae Murray for sure. She is a little hurricane moving from scene to scene in this routine Universal programmer of 1919. Murray's then husband, up and coming director and former actor Robert Z. Leonard, does the directing honors. Leonard keeps his wife and cast in a fast paced zip. The fast zip of this movie is no doubt due to the 24fps running speed on the DVD rather than the actual running speed the film was shot in which to me would seem more in the neighborhood of 18-21 fps. Even at the slower speeds the film still moves at a good pace. Most of Murray's starring vehicles of the 1920s are in archives or foreign collections unrestored, so it's hard to judge her career. TDLD was made at the beginning of her great screen success after a few years appearing in dramatic roles. This film shows Murray in all the raw material of her beauty and energy just before her great successes as a fantasy type queen in the 1920s. This film also gives up-n-coming Rudolph Valentino a significant supporting player part as a rich man's son who loves Murray. For once Rudy isn't playing the gigolo or thug that he was always being cast in. He and Murray got along and stayed friends even after Rudy's big success in 1921 with THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE and when Murray married a faux Russian prince in 1926 it was at Rudy's house. Luckily the TDLD survives in a decent enough 35mm print. Several highlights of this film include Murray getting in and out of a large sunken bath(much like Gloria Swanson in MALE & FEMALE that same year), several cheesecake shots of Murray by director Leonard showing her in near-nude see thru while changing costumes at a play, a funny scene with tall Gertrude Astor that involves talcum powder, a thrilling well choreographed car chase, Murray dancing around and running all while wearing large heeled pump shoes, and a short sequence involving soon to be famous screenwriter Katherine Hilliker as herself in name on a newspaper. Watching this makes one want to see Murray with Lon Chaney in the lost 1918 Universal film DANGER, GO SLOW also directed by Leonard. Audiences are going to discover Mae Murray, if they can find and view her films. This is more deserving of her than just glancing across a famous photo of her in some film book. Oh I must say one thing, the DVD copy has a resurrected original score performed by the Mont Alto orchestra and they do a marvelous job. Overall Mae does what actresses such as Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish wouldn't do, show a little (or a lot?) of cheesecake that verges on the daring when viewing the film. These were the days of no Will Hays or Joseph Breen or his Production Code. Nope, all of that lay in the future. Leonard also manages to imbue the film with some filmic technique where he obviously worm gears a pan across a room. If you're a silent fan, this is a rare glimpse at a once famous and beautiful silent film actress in her prime.

Always enjoy looking back at the past and how people enjoyed their favorite screen stars and the way you had to read lines through out an entire film. Mae Murray, (Mary McGuire) plays the role of a poor girl who has relatives who are very lazy and have big desires for food and she decides she wants to get a job as a dancer in a night club and assumes the name of a famous European dancer and goes on to make a very successful career. Mary meets up with Jimmy Calhoun, (Rudolph Valentino) in the night club she dances in and finds out he is the son of a very rich business man who does not like his son getting involved with a dancer and does everything he can to investigate this young woman. All these actors had a great magic in their expressions on the screen and their eyes all tell a story without any talking. Great look back at the past and great actors.