Johanna Enlists

When the 143rd Field Artillery sets up camp in two of Fred Huntley's fields, his "plain daughter" Mary Pickford becomes the darling of the regiment.

It's not among the best and brightest of Miss Pickford's vehicles, although there's a lot of well regarded talent, from director William Desmond Taylor, cinematographer Charles Rosher, and Frances Marion scripting from a story by Rupert Hughes. There are lots of close-ups by Miss Pickford and interestingly composed shots of the regiment, but there is a lot of reliance on the charms of Miss Pickford, as well as early roles by Monte Blue, Douglas Maclean, Wesley Barry, and Wallace Beery. There's no denying the competence of every part of it, but it's more of a decent programmer for its star than an outstanding picture of its own.

I have generally scored Mary Pickford's films well. However, the score of 6, while about average, is definitely below average for her. Usually you get better than what you'll see in "Johanna Enlists"--a film with a relatively thin plot and lots and lots of patriotic nonsense.

The film begins on a rural farm. Pickford plays a girlish sort--much like she did in most of her films. However, this character is becoming a young woman (although she was actually 23 at the time Pickford made this film) and her thoughts are on love and a boyfriend. But, being in the middle of no where, her options are limited. In a cute scene, she asks God for help---and only seconds later, a US Army outfit strolls along and decides to pitch camp right across from the farm! Much of the rest of the film is devoted to determining who Johanna will get--the dashing officer (who she inexplicably disliked) or a young enlisted man. There is a bit of controversy involving two guys fighting over her, but frankly it was of little consequence. Then, at the end some blatantly patriotic stuff is tossed in to remind us that the US is involved in the war and that Pickford hates the dreaded Hun.

Basically this is an inconsequential film with a lot of hubbub about the war and patriotism stuck on, rather clumsily at the end. However, even with its shortcomings, it's always a delight to watch Pickford so I would still recommend it to her fans. But, if you aren't, she did make much better films you should see first like "My Best Girl", "Suds" or "Daddy Long Legs" (among others).

Constantly threatened with a "larruping" if she steps out of line, "Johanna" (Mary Pickford) lives with her ma (Anne Schaefer) and pa (Fred Huntley) on their farm in the middle of nowhere. She's bored and a bit hormonal and so imagine her delight when an whole army regiment turns up nearby to do some training. Instantly, she proves to be a bit of an hit and takes a bit of a shine to "Pte. Vibbard" (Monty Blue) but it's not that simple. "Lieut. Le Roy" (Emory Johnson) takes an interest in her and, well she's not so keen on him. What now ensues sees a bit of a struggle emerge between the two soldiers vying for position - seemingly regardless of her fairly obvious choice. Aside from Pickford owing the screen and Schaefer enthusiastically dishing out her beatings, this is all a rather unremarkable drama that disappointingly peters out. It even borders on the propagandist as it heads towards a distinctly "let's get the germ out of Germany" conclusion. On that score, there are two to pick from so stick around after the credits. As a story about a young person devoid of company and excitement it works fine, but there's not enough action and the comedy is just too predictable to make it stick in the mind.

VCI Entertainment in partnership with the Mary Pickford Foundation have released their second collaborative effort. The first was Pickford's Gothic masterpiece SPARROWS which dates from 1926. JOHANNA ENLISTS is from 8 years earlier and was made to capitalize on America's entry into World War I. Pickford was 25 at the time and was already identified with the series of "Little Mary" roles that came to define her career. The success of POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL and A LITTLE PRINCESS the year before had typecast her in the role of a young child or tween. Barely 5 feet tall and with her head of long curly hair, it was easy for Mary to play these parts but it later became a curse when that was all the public wanted to see her as. The 1912 D. W. Griffith directed Biograph short A BEAST AT BAY, which is included as a bonus, gives us the chance to see Pickford playing her real life age of 20.

By the time JOHANNA ENLISTS was made in 1918, Mary Pickford was the highest paid woman in America and the second highest paid movie star after Charlie Chaplin. She had her own movie studio and had complete creative control over her films which were released through Paramount. It was a year later, in an effort to eliminate the middleman and to maximize the earnings from her movies, that she and fellow artists Griifith, Chaplin, and her future husband Douglas Fairbanks banded together to form the appropriately named United Artists which gave them complete control over every aspect of their productions. UA's founding also helped to pave the way for several smaller independent companies as United Artists would release their movies which the major studios wouldn't touch.

JOHANNA ENLISTS is another coming-of-age story for Pickford. It takes place in rural America, a setting that Mary would later utilize in HEART O' THE HILLS (1919). As the movie opens, Mary's character is stuck in a dreary existence of endless chores on her family's farm. She daydreams of a better life which incurs the wrath of her mother as it causes Johanna to mess things up on more than one occasion. This all changes when an army division sets up camp in a nearby field to train soldiers to fight in World War I. Johanna quickly develops crushes on two of the soldiers (one of them an officer) who treat her as someone special while exposing her to knowledge of the world outside the farm. They both fall in love with Johanna and end up fighting over her. When the dust finally settles, she is made an honorary member of the battalion and then winds up with a third soldier.

While the movie is not one of Mary's best, this restoration definitely is considering that around 10 minutes of Reel 3 is missing. Production stills are used to fill in the gap and then the movie picks up where it left off. The rest of the footage is in excellent shape thanks to preservation from the Library of Congress and restoration by the Mary Pickford Foundation. VCI Entertainment continues their fine work in preserving mostly public domain films. Now if only VCI and the Mary Pickford Foundation could release a restored version of the original 1929 TAMING OF THE SHREW with Mary and Douglas Fairbanks (instead of the dreadful "improved" 1960s version), then that would be a real cause for celebration...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

I like many, but not all, of Mary Pickford's films. This one is a keeper. I described it above as "fresh." Despite its more than a century age it still feels fresh and vital. I find this far more entertaining than most movie and TV comedies today. I know how important that Ms. Pickford's WWI support was to her. That makes this even more endearing. She's in nearly every scene. She carries the movie beautifully. If you want to see why Mary Pickford's title was "America's Sweetheart" this is a pretty good place to find your answer.