Mary Pickford plays Maggie Johnson, a stock girl working in a 5 and 10 cent store who falls in love with a new employee (Joe Grant, played by Buddy Rogers). What she does not know is that Joe is really the son of the millionaire owner of the store: He has been sent by his dad to learn the business from the ground up, with no patronage. There must have been a strong demand for films with this kind of sujet. 1927 saw another one coming out: 'It', where Clara Bow played the female lead. Like 'My Best Girl', 'It' is a romantic comedy: equally good, but the humour is broader and character development is less subte. Pickford in 'My Best Girl' is enchanting - sweet, funny, down to earth, sensible and pretty -, and the chemistry between her and Rogers is obvious. No wonder the two of them ended up a married couple. Maggie's family (a collection of individuals where she appears as the white sheep) is hilarious: her parents (Sunshine Hart and Lucien Littlefield) just as well as her flapper of a sister (Carmelita Geraghty) with her penchant for dubious admirers. The direction is spot on. If there is a silent picture that you can enjoy today just as audiences did almost a hundred years ago, it is this film.
Review of My Best Girl
