Tess of the Storm Country

Tess Skinner, played by Mary Pickford, is the daughter of a squatter living on the land of Elias Graves (David Torrence). Old Graves wants to get rid of the squatters, but his son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) falls in love with Tess. This is a story of greed, passion and jealousy: another squatter with an eye on Tess frames her father for a murder he himself has committed, Frederick's sister gets pregnant by her boyfriend and gives birth to a child, without her father knowing etc. Etc. There is really a lot going on, but then, with about two hours 'Tess of the Storm Country' is quite a long film. Director John S. Robertson (and Mary Pickford herself, who was a strong influence) therefore had time enough to focus on character development. That pays off: All the persons appearing are in one way or the other interesting, Tess of course first of all. Pickford got into that role with an increadible vigour. She is not just a tomboy (like in many of her other films); she is a wildcat - but at the same time vulnerable and sympathetic (at heart maybe even a bit too good to be true). The plot is complex but due to the excellent direction easy to follow. There are no plot holes whatever, and the whole thing is very well-paced, exciting and suspenseful. The film is also beautifully photographed, though some scenes have unfortunately become quite severely degraded. I watched a copy without any sound; it would be interesting to know what the original music was like (if there was any). All in all a very good film, well-worth watching.

America's Sweetheart,' Mary Pickford, played a vast array of characters in her long movie career. In the opening title of 1922's "Tess of the Storm Country," she states her favorite role was playing the daughter of a squatter fisherman, Tess Skinner.

Pickford took the role of Tess twice, originally in the Edwin S. Porter-directed work in 1914, a movie the actress had complained of his pedestrian direction. She was much happier with the second version, partly because of John S. Robertson, who earlier helmed the John Barrymore 1920 'Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde' film. Pickford also cited the advancements of cinematic techniques and technology taking place within the span of 1914 and the current 1922 times, making possible an aesthetic leap in improvement by updating a story she said deserved her second performance. The Grace Miller White 1909 novel received further adaptations in 1932 with Janet Gaynor and in 1960 with Diane Baker.

In the Pickford version, set in Ithaca, New York, a rich man owns property from top of the hill where his mansion sits all the way down to the shores of a big lake. That is where a group of squatters have set up a fishing village smack dab on his land. He's raised two children, now adults, a son who sides with the squatters, played by Lloyd Hughes in his first leading role, and a daughter, with actress Gloria Hope, who's madly in love with a law student. Pickford's spunky performance as Tess attracts the eye of Lloyd, the landowner's son. In real life, Hughes and Hope, meeting for the first time on the set, fell passionately in love and married soon after they finished "Tess of the Storm Country." Unusual for a Hollywood couple, the two remained married until Hughes' death in 1958.

The plot has every melodramatic device known in cinema: love, friendship, greed, murder, attempted kidnapping, an out-of-wedlock birth, sacrifice and a bit of comedy. Pickford's the glue that holds everything together. The actress was extremely happy with the positive reviews "Tess of the Country Storm" received. The accolades were especially appreciated after the disappointing negative ones said about her previous film, 1921's 'Little Lord Fauntleroy,' despite its box office success. 'Tess' was the only film Pickford appeared in 1922.

Tess of the Storm Country was a Mary Pickford vehicle I had intended to get for some time. I finally found a VHS copy for a reasonable price and got to enjoy it.

Mary gives her typical spunky, innocently sexy portrayal of a wrong-side-of-tracks girl who wins the heart of a rich heir. Only this time the stakes are higher: a false murder charge, an illegitimate child (and ensuing case of mistaken motherhood) and contemplated suicide.

One can see why Pickford wanted to redo this one. The story is a real morality tale, the kind that she loved to star in. The controversial topics aren't always spelled out plainly; a viewer has to pay attention and pick up on hints to catch everything that is being implied on first viewing – although everything is more or less explained in the end.

About the only negative remark I can make would be concerning Jean Hersholt and the dog. Hersholt, whose character, Ben Letts, looks to be about 6-2, 200 pounds (bigger next to Mary, of course!), is sent fleeing in panic when a 60-pound chocolate lab charges toward him! Then, to top it off (or maybe to justify his perplexing fear of the dog), it manages to pin him to the ground and somehow injures him so badly that he is still struggling to get up much later, as a bad storm hits! This is the same lovable lab that sleeps with Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) and cuddles with Mary! Yet Mary later throws boiling water in Ben's face, which barely slows him! OK, I've vented about Ben and the chocolate lab! Other than that, the movie was quite touching and certainly held my attention. Pickford's supporting cast was strong and believable. This is certainly among her better films.

I had never seen a silent movie until July 24, 2005. I had never seen a movie with Mary Pickford in it. I've seen thousands of movies. Very few are hypnotic to me. I found Last of the Mohicans and Unforgettable (Ray Liotta) to be hypnotic, so consider the source as you read this. I started watching Tess of the Storm Country on TCM just to see who this Mary Pickford was, who has been credited by many for launching Hollywood. I had no idea what I was in for. Two hours later, I snapped out of it, and realized I'd watched one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, playing a role perfectly suited to her. Imagine a movie fan in 1922, having never seen anyone that gorgeous and that expressive before. You would have to see her again and again. The setting was perfect for a girl that expressive. She was a poor squatter, couldn't speak the King's English, but you had to admire her. What a movie... time to start my Mary Pickford movie collection!

TESS OF THE STORM COUNTRY is possibly the best movie of all of Mary Pickford's films. At two hours, it was quite long for a 1922 silent film yet continues to hold your interest some 80 years after it was filmed. Mary gives one of her finest performances at times the role seems like a "greatest hits" performance with bits of Mary the innocent, Mary the little devil, Mary the little mother, Mary the spitfire, Mary the romantic heroine, etc. characteristics that often were used throughout a single film in the past. The movie is surprisingly frank about one supporting character's illegitimate child for 1922 and at one point our Little Mary is thought the unwed mother in question! If the Academy Awards had been around in 1922, no doubt the Best Actress Oscar for the year would have been Mary's.