Tess of the Storm Country (1922)

fine Mary Pickford vehicle

Mary Pickford stars in one of her greatest films ever, Tess Of the Storm Country. The plot moves along at a good pace even though the movie is two hours long; and the convincing acting impressed me every step of the way.

When the movie begins, we see the wealthy Elias Graves (David Torrence) who is aggravated, to say the least, by the poor squatters living on the shore of his land. One squatter who is particularly colorful is Tess Skinner (Mary Pickford), who loves her father who fishes in the sea. When Elias Graves cannot evict Tess and the rest of the squatters he tries to catch them breaking the law by fishing on the shore. Along the way we also meet Elias's daughter Teola (Gloria Hope) who plays a woman who is pregnant with her boyfriend Daniel 'Dan' Jordan's (Robert Russell) child. Just as Teola and Dan are about to be married, one of the squatters, Ben Letts (Jean Hersholt) kills Dan Jordan and frames Tess's father (Forrest Robinson) for the murder of Dan Jordan.

Well, suffice it to say that the plot gets fairly complicated; there are several subplots along the way. There is the issue of Teola's baby born out of wedlock; we see an innocent man framed for murder; and we see the tug of war between the squatters and Elias Graves. When Elias's son Frederick (Lloyd Hughes) falls in love with Tess, things get only more complicated when Tess eventually returns his love.

Despite it all, however, the movie never gets too hard to follow; and many topics are dealt with in very different ways than they would be today. For example, we see a slender Teola who is supposedly nine months pregnant flinging herself into the river rather than be caught bearing a child without a father. They didn't even show Teola with a pillow under her blouse to make it seem she was pregnant! My, those were different times.

But more than anything else, this is a strong Mary Pickford vehicle. We see Mary as Tess playing with Teola's baby, fighting physically against Ben Letts when he tries to molest her, and we see Tess sweeping the house to make it clean as she prays for her father to return from being in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Mary shines throughout this fine picture!

The DVD doesn't come with much in the way of extras; we get a scene selection feature and there is a filmography for Mary Pickford. I wish the print had been clearer, especially in the first 30 minutes or so of the film; but this is an old film and it's quite a good one at that so I can forgive it.

Overall, Tess Of The Storm Country is a fine Mary Pickford vehicle that also deals with many social issues of the day with grace and well crafted artistry. I highly recommend this film for Mary Pickford fans; and people who enjoy high quality silent films should be pleased as well.

Great job, everyone! Thank you, Mary Pickford--we will never forget you!
October 24, 2007

A compelling story

This is a really compelling drama, and a film that easily would have been in the running for at least one Academy had the awards existed in 1922. The basic outline of the story is that Elias Graves, an unfeeling capitalist, is trying to drive away the poor squatters living at the bottom of his hill. He lives in a lovely mansion with his two children (his wife is deceased) while they live in poverty and in shacks. This part of the plot is a compelling portrayal of the eternal class struggle and the exploitation of the poor and working-classes by the rich. Mary Pickford's character, Tess, has caught the eye of a number of the young men living in her neighborhood at the bottom of the hill, although she doesn't care for any of them. By far the most aggressive suitor is Ben Letts, who isn't a very nice guy, to say the very least. Ben eventually frames Tess's father for the murder of Teola Graves's fiancé Daniel. This not only devastates Tess, who maintains her father's innocence all during his incarceration and trial, but also Teola. Not only has Teola lost the man she loves, but she had also recently told Daniel that he had gotten her into trouble and they would have to be married sooner than planned. (Many modern audiences today, particularly the younger generation, wouldn't realise that that meant Teola was pregnant.) Mr. Graves himself has been out of town while these things have been going on, so this buys Teola some time. Meanwhile Tess and Frederick, Teola's brother, have developed feelings for one another, but a romance seems out of the question since they come from different classes. Trouble develops when Fred comes home from college and sees his sister and Tess together, with the baby who has since been born. He believes it is Tess's illegitimate child, and feels lied to and betrayed. He now believes she is an immoral woman. Things get even more complicated when Mr. Graves comes back to town. All in all, this is the stuff of compelling drama. (It would have been a nice treat if the original 1914 version of this story Mary did had been included as an extra, particularly since her leading man in that version was Harold Lockwood, and that is one of the few surviving films of this extremely popular but today all but forgotten actor.)

To many people in the modern audience, however, pivotal parts of the story may now seem dated. People today are so used to people having children without being married that it seems like a completely different world where it was actually a disgrace and a scandal to get caught in the family way, and then worse yet to have the child's father die before a wedding could occur. This movie never even uses the word "pregnant," and it does sort of suspend the modern person's sense of disbelief that Teola is never shown to actually be pregnant. She looks exactly the same at the beginning of the story as she does when Tess finds her about to about to take her own life and saves her, taking her back to her house so she can give birth. It's hard to believe that people once thought it was disgusting and improper to show a pregnant woman on the screen. I also found the story to be a little preachy in spots, with some rather heavy-handed Christocentric messages.

There's also the issue of the quality of the print. Obviously some of the frames are not in a very good state, but it seems clear that that is the result of disintegration of the film stock, not a blurry print that wasn't given a better digital remastering. People who complain too much about the quality of the print often miss the bigger picture, and it's not as though we should expect every single silent film to be as crystal-clear and beautifully preserved as 'Cobra' or 'The Garden of Eden.' Isn't it better this film still exists and is in pretty good overall condition than to have it lost or so far along in its disintegration that nothing can be done to save it? February 1, 2006

If You Don't Like This You Don't Like Pickford

This movie might subtly endorse bad hygiene, but I have to get over that. This is a must if you have seen other Pickford movies and liked them. If you haven't, it is still recommended as a beginning point.

Tess is the quintessential Pickford spitfire - a beautiful but dirty, intelligent but uneducated hellion. None of her emotions seem genuine; even in the serious parts of the movie she is emotionally detached from the story. That isn't a bad thing; how can one take such an implausible story seriously? Mary Pickford wasted her talent and most of her career on dated melodramas that are barely watchable today, but movies like these are gems.

Just consider one scene where she is seen peering through the bars of the rich antagonist's front gate, making monkey faces at him. And when she is asked how she got a hold of the bible that she moralizes from, she replies "I cribbed it from the church." [SPOILER] There is a fight scene where she is the damsel, but not a distressed one - she eggs the fight on, and when the hero begins to lose to the villain she gets impatient and smashes a chair over the villain's head. End of that.

The movie is far from perfect -- the characters are archetypal and the plot is too dramatic to happen in real life -- but the real reason to watch this is to see Pickford herself. Her personality, energetic disposition, and remarkably photogenic face carry this and nearly every other movie she's in. The plot and other characters are just a means to provide her with a showcase. If you don't like this movie -- and it's fair if you don't -- you won't like any Mary Pickford movies and I can't recommend them to you, either.

September 16, 2005

Beautiful

I was apprehensive when I first started watching this movie. I am usually not a big fan of 'heartwarming stories' with poor girls who prove their worth, but I wanted to see the movie Mary thought important enough to re-make.

This is an amazing film!

Although some of it has been damaged over time, like a blurry scene in the beginning that seems clouded over with water damage where Tess dances around, it is easy to understand and engaging. Mary Pickford handles the inspirational cliché plot with seriousness that allows many audiences to relate.

I definitely recommend this movie. Even if you aren't a fan of silent movies, Mary will grab your attention and you'll find it hard to look away. July 7, 2003

Marvelous Mary Pickford, A MUST

There is little doubt as to Mary Pickford's brilliance. As a silent screen star she was not the most beautiful nor the MOST dramatic, but she was by far one of the most marvelous stars on the silent screen. With expressions and mannerisms so refined and masterful and ability that far exceeded many of those around her she made any role a GREAT one.

"Tess of the Storm Country" is a masterful film. It really does show Mary Pickford at "top form" her acting is superb and her performance clearly does her justice. The film quality is not as good as some of her other roles that have been transposed to DVD but if you love Mary you MUST watch this movie.

Mary Pickford plays "Tess" a fisherman's daughter who lives in a shanty town just below the "hill toppers" a rich family whose patriarch despises his low brow "neighbors". With manipulation and cruelty he will do anything, even use his daughters would be fiancee to get rid of the shanty people to give him an "unrestricted" view of the water. Mary Pickford plays Tess with vitality, warmpth, and a certain rough neck edge that will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Tess eventually catches the eye and the heart of a rich young man, who... oh no happens to be the "hill toppers" college bound son. With classic twists and many developments "Tess of the Storm Country" will captivate you. Be aware that this movie has a heavy Christian theme and is quite "heavy handed" when doling out its doses of morality. There is little doubt as to the good vs. evil in this film and the ideal of sinners and repenters. However, "Tess of the Storm Country" is a certain MUST for all Pickford fans. October 16, 2001

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