Mary Pickford, silent film actress (SAYRE 7253)

''Johanna Enlists'' is a 1918 silent film comedy drama produced by and starring

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 ...

with distribution by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. The film was directed by

William Desmond Taylor William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, ...

from a short story by Rupert Hughes, ''The Mobilization of Johanna''.

Frances Marion Frances Marion (born Marion Benson Owens, November 18, 1888 – May 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter, director, journalist and author often cited as one of the most renowned female screenwriters of the 20th century alongside June Mathis a ...

, a frequent Pickford collaborator, wrote the scenario. The film was made at a time during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when sentimental or patriotic films were immensely popular. It was an early starring vehicle for

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

, the male lead opposite Pickford. The film survives in several prints, including one at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Johanna Renssaller (Pickford), an uncouth, freckled country lass, works from dawn until late at night. Her only love affairs were with the hired man and a "beautiful brakeman" on the railroad. The hired man proved to be married and the brakeman proved impossible. She prayed for a beau, and then a whole regiment of soldiers came along and camped on the farm. Everyone from Captain Archie van Renssaller (MacLean) down to Private Vibbard (Blue) fell in love with her, ate her pies, and sat in her hammock. She took

milk bath A milk bath is a Bathing, bath taken in milk instead of water. Often other scents such as honey, rose, Asteraceae, daisies and essential oils are added. Milk baths use lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, to dissolve the proteins which hold together ...

s and tried

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

style calisthenics and finally fell in love with Captain van Renssaller. When the troops moved on, she rode at the head of the officer staff.

Cast

as Johanna Renssaller *

Anne Schaefer Anne Schaefer (July 10, 1870 – May 3, 1957) was an American actress. She appeared in 147 films between 1911 and 1938. She was the aunt of fellow actresses Eva and Jane Novak. Schaefer was born to German parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herman Schafer, ...

as Ma Renssaller *

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 ...

as Pa Renssaller *

as Private Vibbard *

Douglas MacLean Charles Douglas MacLean (January 10, 1890 – July 9, 1967) was an American stage and silent film actor who later worked as a producer and screenwriter in the sound era. Early life and stage career Born in Philadelphia, MacLean was educated at ...

as Captain Archie van Renssaller *

Emory Johnson Alfred Emory Johnson (March 16, 1894 – April 18, 1960) was an American actor, director, producer, and writer. As a teenager, he started acting in silent films. Early in his career, Carl Laemmle chose Emory to become a Universal studio leading ...

as Lt. Frank Le Roy

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''Johanna Enlists'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut, in Reel 4, of views of a nude figure in a book.

References

External links

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Lantern slide
* 1918 films American silent feature films Films directed by William Desmond Taylor Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Rupert Hughes Paramount Pictures films 1918 comedy-drama films 1910s English-language films American black-and-white films 1910s American films Silent American comedy-drama films {{silent-comedy-drama-film-stub