The motion picture world was quickly changing - sound had reared it's ugly head and the kind of movies Mary Pickford made had suddenly become passe. She met the modern times and tastes halfway by putting up her curls to play 20 year old Maggie, "the million dollar baby from a five and ten cents store" and for the very first time she had the kind of boy meets girl love story that most of the movie going public were clamouring to see. Her leading man, Charles "Buddy" Rogers soon became the new man in her life, although when asked by her at his audition who was his favourite actress he replied "Norma Shearer" and years later he said Mary still kidded him about it.
To gain experience for her role as a salesgirl, she worked at a local store and, with horned rimmed glasses and hair pulled into a severe style, she served several customers before she was recognised. Taken from the story by Kathleen Norris (a popular fiction writer of the time), it is the story of Maggie Johnson who works in the basement of Merrill's Five and Ten Cent Store. The first chance she gets to be a real salesgirl, it is in vain for her customer, Joe Grant (Rogers), is only a worker who is starting that day in the store room under Maggie's supervision. Aside from the fact that he is really the boss's son, working his way (under an assumed name) from the bottom up, not to mention the fact that he is secretly engaged to Millicent (Avonne Taylor). That doesn't stop all the girls from the store making him a favourite but Maggie is the one he finds hard to forget. When she invites him home for a "pot luck" supper he walks right into the middle of a huge scene - wild sister Liz (Carmelita Geraghty) claims she wants to live her own life, her boyfriend Nick can't keep their date and then a policeman comes "making enquiries", all in view of Joe who is sitting on the porch. Of course Maggie doesn't realise Joe is the boss's son until - in a gorgeous scene, Joe disregards his mother's birthday celebration at the Mayfair and dares Maggie to come with him to the Merrill's house where they are served a fancy dinner by bemused staff who are given the high sign by Joe not to let on that they know him. Maggie even chides him about his improper use of spoons!! His parents come home and the ruse is over but Maggie finds her troubles only starting when she runs out into the rain. Her parents are frantically searching for her - Liz is in night court and Maggie is desperately needed to speak up for her, Joe follows her and his brawling gets on the front page!!! Of course the usual happens - Mr. Merrill offers her money to leave Joe alone and she goes into a big act (dancing to "Red Hot Mama", putting on lipstick, attempting to smoke) to prove she is a gold digger who has been after Joe's money all along - which, for me, falls completely flat because no one believes her for a moment. It is only when Pa Johnson takes charge - up to this moment they have proved a pretty incompetent family, relying on Maggie for everything, including cooking - that Maggie and Joe can happily sail off to Honolulu for their honeymoon.
There are so many nice "bits of business" - their first kiss in the storage box, when Maggie keeps knocking boxes off the back of the truck so Joe will keep running after her and when she pretends the scene between her family and the police are part of a play they are going to put on.
This was one of her most popular films and masses of movie goers rediscovered their love for "the girl with the curls" but Mary was going through some personal strains and she took a year off - the first vacation she had had since she started in films. As "Buddy" Rogers said "She was sweeter and nicer than any of them".
To gain experience for her role as a salesgirl, she worked at a local store and, with horned rimmed glasses and hair pulled into a severe style, she served several customers before she was recognised. Taken from the story by Kathleen Norris (a popular fiction writer of the time), it is the story of Maggie Johnson who works in the basement of Merrill's Five and Ten Cent Store. The first chance she gets to be a real salesgirl, it is in vain for her customer, Joe Grant (Rogers), is only a worker who is starting that day in the store room under Maggie's supervision. Aside from the fact that he is really the boss's son, working his way (under an assumed name) from the bottom up, not to mention the fact that he is secretly engaged to Millicent (Avonne Taylor). That doesn't stop all the girls from the store making him a favourite but Maggie is the one he finds hard to forget. When she invites him home for a "pot luck" supper he walks right into the middle of a huge scene - wild sister Liz (Carmelita Geraghty) claims she wants to live her own life, her boyfriend Nick can't keep their date and then a policeman comes "making enquiries", all in view of Joe who is sitting on the porch. Of course Maggie doesn't realise Joe is the boss's son until - in a gorgeous scene, Joe disregards his mother's birthday celebration at the Mayfair and dares Maggie to come with him to the Merrill's house where they are served a fancy dinner by bemused staff who are given the high sign by Joe not to let on that they know him. Maggie even chides him about his improper use of spoons!! His parents come home and the ruse is over but Maggie finds her troubles only starting when she runs out into the rain. Her parents are frantically searching for her - Liz is in night court and Maggie is desperately needed to speak up for her, Joe follows her and his brawling gets on the front page!!! Of course the usual happens - Mr. Merrill offers her money to leave Joe alone and she goes into a big act (dancing to "Red Hot Mama", putting on lipstick, attempting to smoke) to prove she is a gold digger who has been after Joe's money all along - which, for me, falls completely flat because no one believes her for a moment. It is only when Pa Johnson takes charge - up to this moment they have proved a pretty incompetent family, relying on Maggie for everything, including cooking - that Maggie and Joe can happily sail off to Honolulu for their honeymoon.
There are so many nice "bits of business" - their first kiss in the storage box, when Maggie keeps knocking boxes off the back of the truck so Joe will keep running after her and when she pretends the scene between her family and the police are part of a play they are going to put on.
This was one of her most popular films and masses of movie goers rediscovered their love for "the girl with the curls" but Mary was going through some personal strains and she took a year off - the first vacation she had had since she started in films. As "Buddy" Rogers said "She was sweeter and nicer than any of them".