''Daddy-Long-Legs'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film directed by Marshall Neilan, and based on

Jean Webster Jean Webster was the pen name of Alice Jane Chandler Webster (July 24, 1876 – June 11, 1916), an American author whose books include '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' and '' Dear Enemy''. Her best-known books feature lively and likeable young female prot ...

's 1912 novel '' Daddy-Long-Legs''. The film stars

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

Plot

A police officer finds a baby in a trash can, and Mrs. Lippett, the cruel matron at an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

where children are made to work, names her "Jerusha Abbott" (she picks "Abbott" out of a phone book and gets "Jerusha" from a tombstone). The orphan, who comes to be called Judy, does what she can to stand up for the younger children, frequently clashing with both Mrs. Lippett and the cold hearted

trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

. At one point she leads a rebellion against being served prunes with every meal and at another, steals a doll from a selfish rich girl to lend to a dying orphan. Years later, wealthy Jervis Pendleton, a mysterious benefactor, pays to send Judy, now the oldest and most talented child in the orphanage, to college. He insists, however, that Judy must never try to contact him in person. Judy calls him "Daddy-Long-Legs," and writes to him, however. Judy proves popular with her wealthier and more "aristocratic" classmates, and writes a successful book to repay "Daddy-Long-Legs" the money he spent on her. She is generally happy but misses not having any real family members to take pride in her accomplishments. Judy also finds herself caught up in a romantic triangle with the older brother of a classmate and an older man (who is, unknown to her, her mysterious benefactor). She eventually chooses the older suitor and is delighted to learn that he is her "Daddy-Long-Legs."

Cast

as Jerusha "Judy" Abbott * Milla Davenport as Mrs. Lippett * Miss Percy Haswell as Miss Pritchard *

Fay Lemport Fay Lemport (born c. 1901) was an American actress known for her role in ''Daddy-Long-Legs'' (1919). She appeared in three films between 1919 and 1920. A 1919 article said that she had received 39 marriage proposals in one month. After receivin ...

as Angelina Gwendolin Rosalind "Angie" Wykoff *

Mahlon Hamilton Mahlon Preston Hamilton, Jr. (June 15, 1880 – June 20, 1960), was an American stage and screen actor. He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of four children, with the rest of the siblings being girls. Census ...

as Jarvis Pendleton *

Lillian Langdon Lillian Langdon (November 25, 1860 – February 8, 1943) was an American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in more than 80 films between 1912 and 1928. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Langdon was a descendant of Montgomery Pike, dis ...

as Mrs. Pendleton *

Betty Bouton Betty Bouton (September 10, 1891 - ?) was an American actress from Pennsylvania. She appeared in 16 films between 1919 and 1924, with her last film being the Samuel Goldwyn part-Technicolor production '' Cytherea'' (1924). Early years Bouton gr ...

as Julia "Julie" Pendleton * Audrey Chapman as Sallie "Sally" Mc Bride * Marshall A. Neilan as Jimmie Mc Bride * Carrie Clark Ward as Mrs. Semple *

Wesley Barry Wesley Barry (August 10, 1907 – April 11, 1994) was an American actor, director, and producer. Barry began his career as a child actor in silent motion pictures and later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a direc ...

as Orphan Boy (uncredited) *

True Eames Boardman True Eames Boardman (born William True Boardman Jr., October 25, 1909 – July 28, 2003) was an American actor and scriptwriter. Born in Seattle, Washington, Boardman was the only child of actress Virginia Eames and action-adventure star T ...

as Orphan Boy (uncredited) *

Jeanne Carpenter Theo-Alice Jeanne Carpenter (February 1, 1917 – January 5, 1994) was an American child actress of the silent era

(uncredited) *

Estelle Evans Estelle Rolle Evans (October 1, 1906 – July 20, 1985) was a Bahamian American actress during the 20th century. Some of her most famous appearances were in the movies '' The Quiet One'' (1948), ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), and '' The Lea ...

(uncredited) *

Fred Huntley Fred Huntley (29 August 1862 in London, England – 1 November 1931 in Hollywood, California) was an English silent film actor and director. Fred Huntley made his theater debut at London's Covent Garden in 1879. After years as the leading ...

(uncredited) *

Frankie Lee Frankie Lee (December 31, 1911 – July 29, 1970), was an American child actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1916 and 1925. Best remembered in the 1919 film '' The Miracle Man'', he was the little boy on crutches healed by the phony fait ...

(uncredited) *

Joan Marsh Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Ear ...

(uncredited)

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: * 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated

Critical review

The plot uses a series of episodes, some separated by time gaps, many humorous, that often pose opposites, like rich and poor or male and female, to advance the story. The treatment of the orphanage is modern and not sentimental, the hard life there is not funny. However, Judy is not an active agent in the story in that, while trying to make the best of her situation, things happen to her beyond her control.

References

External links

* * *
''Daddy-Long-Legs''
at silentera.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daddy-Long-Legs 1919 films 1919 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films shot in California Articles containing video clips First National Pictures films Films directed by Marshall Neilan 1910s American films Silent comedy-drama films Silent American drama films Silent American comedy films