All Dolled Up

King Baggot began making films for Carl Laemmle in 1909 and was a major star from 1910 to 1916. Baggot then gained renowed as a director in the 1920s and developed a reputation for making Universal's young female stars "look good". He had performed this service for Carmel Myers, although she was not considered a "starlet," but a very good actress. He had done the same for Marie Prevost, and was later assigned to direct Gladys Walton in both The Lavender Bath Lady and A Dangerous Game, The Lavender Bath Lady was certainly no "jewel," but a lightweight romantic comedy. At this time, Walton was working very hard for the studio. She made eight films in 1921 -- but with titles like All Dolled Up, High Heels and Short Skirts, there was some indication that she was more object than actress. It was apparent that the studio considered her window dressing -- and her role in All Dolled Up was, indeed, that of a window dresser. However it was a good story and the reviewers said so.

In a trifling but amusing story, a charming flapper, Gladys Walton, plays a humble salesgirl, she comes to the rescue of wealthy Florence Turner when the latter is victimized by pickpockets and blackmailers. Literally pummelling the crooks into insensibility, Walton earns a million dollar reward. Though she rises to the top of the social ladder, she remains as likable and down-to-earth as ever. All Dolled Up was the sort of fare that was eagerly lapped up by all the shopgirls and clerks in the audience, who believed that "There but for the grace of the screenwiter..."

Only a couple of Gladys Walton's movies are supposed to have survived, but I came across this title and discovered it to be a reconstruction -- about eight minutes missing, with three screens of text to replace them and the titles for the rest seems to have been translated from a foreign language by someone with a grasp of colloquial English. Nonetheless, it was pretty good watching.

Gladys is a spunky shop girl. When she spots a thief stealing rich Florence Turner's purse, she leaps on the crook. Miss Turner is grateful. Through a long, involved plot, Miss Turner sends most of her wardrobe to Gladys, who is mistaken for Miss Turner by kidnappers...

It's not really a comedy, except for the final sequence, when Miss Walton is throwing a lot of dishes at her kidnappers, but she certainly is a lively performer in a Universal 5-reel programmer. Miss Turner, however, seems to be yearning for the days when she was the great star of her studio, and seems slow and rather dull in contrast. Was this done in order to make Miss Walton more interesting, or did director Rollin Sturgeon feel that a director of lowly westerns for Vitagraph had no business telling the Vitagraph Girl how to play a scene?