Kiki

The transition from silent to talkies was a killer for most silent screen actors and actresses. The more they talked, the more audiences realized their acting abilities were pretty dramatically shallow. Some who had survived learned to say less and display more of a physicality between them and their co-stars.

It's a lesson Mary Pickford should have learned. Right out of the gate, 'America's Sweetheart' became enamored with dialogue. Her first talkie, 1929's "Coquette," taken from a 1927 Broadway play, features her adopting a southern accent. The film is filled with dialogue. But she was awarded an Academy Award Best Actress, where she lobbied the organization's judges for the win. Her next talkie was 1929's "Taming of the Shrew," co-starring her husband, Douglas Fairbanks. Another failure. Next came March 1931 "Kiki," yet another Pickford stage adaptation, this one from an Andre Picard 1918 play. In it, the actress adopts a French accent while the feature film is equally filled with lots of talking.

Pickford plays a chorus girl who has trouble learning her steps. She falls in love with producer Victor Randall (Reginald Denny), who still is in touch with his ex-wife. "Kiki" failed miserably in the theaters, partly because Pickford's loyal fans weren't used to her playing a brash, provocative showgirl who constantly wears tight shorts, who takes off her bra underneath her blouse while standing in front of Victor, and who sits in front of a male theater assistant in only her underwear slowly pulling up long nylon stockings one leg at a time. Her new on-screen persona failed to deliver box-office magic, creating a loss for United Artist studio she and her partners owned.

Today's viewers cite one particular scene where Pickford shines. Early in "Kiki" she gets a chance to display her comical dancing talents. The musical number, choreographed by Busby Berkeley following his Hollywood debut in 1930's "Whoopee!" consists of the 'Goldwyn Girls' and Pickford. The actress' physicality is a pure delight to see, especially her athleticism at the age of 39. She performs several pratfalls and stunts, amusing the on-screen theater audience, but causing much angst to the show's managers and the band's drummer. The 10-minute sketch, which is likened to a Lucy Ball skit, serves as a reminder why Pickford's silent screen movies were so popular. But once the number concludes, she descends back into a dialogue-filled yapper.

"Kiki" was Pickford's second-to-last film. An era was quickly closing in on one of early Hollywood's most influential actresses. For one brief sequence, "Kiki" viewers in 1931 were able to capture the enormous talents of Pickford, a trademark that earned her the nickname "America's Sweetheart."

In spite of its notoriety amongst Mary Pickford fans, "Kiki" is far from the disaster it is reputed to be.

Legend has it that this film was an attempt to sex up the Pickford image, with results so catastrophic that she appeared in only one more film. That "Kiki" was a resounding box office flop is irrefutable. But it proves to be an entertaining, fast moving comedy with a dazzling tour de force from its star.

There is nothing at all embarrassing about Pickford's performance. She may not be at her most subtle, and there is notable absence of pathos, but she gives a credible performance and seems much younger than her 39 years. Her French accent may not be all that authentic, but it is consistent.

And she has clearly not lost her knack for physical comedy. Indeed her entrance - being hurled into a room flat on her posterior - is as memorable as anything in the Pickford body of work.

The supporting cast is not up to much, and the direction flags at the mid point - though Sam Taylor does offer a fine opening backstage sequence. "Kiki" may not be the best comedy of its type, but its very far from a write off.

As we are now removed from the Pickford mystique, its much easier to see her performance for what it is, rather than as a violation of a hallowed image. Its far too late for "Kiki" to find a popular audience, of course, but it is certainly due for a reevaluation.

This is so like Mary Pickford.

Even in one her apparently not so good movies she deposits a number of special moments and some in this movie are totally enjoyable.

The long dance scene is wonderfully choreographed and hilarious, I had to keep watching it over and over.

People often forget that in the earliest talkies actors were hamstrung by the positioning and quality of microphones. It took them a while to work it out and for actors to work out how to free themselves up again.

This is by no means a bad movie. An enjoyable movie with some special moments and also great to see a different Pickford.

Pickford only made one more movie, mostly because external events and pressures were over taking her life. If only Fairbanks could have stayed true to Mary - we may have got a whole bunch of Mary Pickford movies and in a new genre.

In a woefully inept performance almost completely absent of charm and nuance Mary Pickford embarrasses herself in her second to last feature. Utterly miscast as a Parisian floozy she does everything but stand on her head to try and make us believe the unbelievable. She has one cute dance/clown number although even there she relies on googly eyed exaggeration to get the point across that the audience is to find her adorable. In this instance she isn't.

For a goodly portion of the movie she wears a stupid hat with a feather that seems to form a question mark, she should have looked in a mirror used that as a cue and asked herself why she'd agreed to disgrace herself in this dog of a film. Stay away!

Iam not a Pickford fan,and i have only seen her sound films.So i came to this with no precoceived notions.I thought that the first half an hour was fairly entertaining particularly the musical number.However when the scene changed to Reginald Dennys flat the film eventually dissolved into a tedious bore.Wildy overacted by Pickford clearly in a failed attempt to give herself a new screen image.Denny must have been chosen as a leading man as he would provide no competition in the acting stakes.After all who would want to fight over his affections.I see that 54 viewers out of 73 have given this film a score of 10.Well all i can say is that you must have been watching a different film.All i will say is if this film is so good why has it remain largely unseen.Even Halliwells description is "long unseen musical".I have given it a rating of 3 because of the first half hour.Otherwise it would have been a single digit!