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Daddy-Long-Legs (1919 film)
Encyclopedia
Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1919
silent
comedy-drama
film directed by Marshall Neilan
, and based on Jean Webster
's novel of the same name
. The film stars Mary Pickford
.
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. 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."
1919 in film
The year 1919 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 5 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists...
silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed by Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
, and based on Jean Webster
Jean Webster
Jean Webster was an American writer and author of many books including Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy...
's novel of the same name
Daddy-Long-Legs (novel)
Daddy Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, through her college years. She writes the letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen....
. The film stars Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Plot
A police officer finds a baby in a trash can, and Mrs. Lippett, the cruel matron at an orphanageOrphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
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. 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
- Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
as Jerusha "Judy" Abbott - Milla DavenportMilla DavenportMilla Davenport was a stage and film actress, originally from Sicily. She was educated in Switzerland. Davenport appeared with her husband, actor Harry Davenport's repertory company for fifteen years....
as Mrs. Lippett - Miss Percy HaswellPercy HaswellPercy Haswell , frequently billed as Miss Percy Haswell or Mrs. George Fawcett to clarify her gender, was an American stage and film actress....
as Miss Pritchard - Fay LemportFay LemportFay Lemport was an American actress. She appeared in 3 films between 1919 and 1920.-External links:...
as Angelina Gwendolin Rosalind "Angie" Wykoff - Mahlon HamiltonMahlon HamiltonMahlon Preston Hamilton Jr. was an American stage and screen actor. He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland the eldest of three daughters and a son raised by his parents...
as Jarvis Pendleton - Lillian LangdonLillian LangdonLillian Langdon was a New Jersey-born American film actress of the silent era. She appeared in 86 films between 1912 and 1928.She died in Santa Monica, California, aged 82.-Selected filmography:...
as Mrs. Pendleton - Betty BoutonBetty BoutonBetty Bouton was an American actress. She appeared in 16 films between 1919 and 1924, with her last film being the Samuel Goldwyn part-Technicolor production Cytherea .-External links:...
as Julia "Julie" Pendleton - Audrey ChapmanAudrey ChapmanAudrey Chapman was an actress in motion pictures of the silent film era from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Chapman was educated in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, California. She went from a finishing school directly into movies. In The Money Changers she played the character of Mary Holmes in a...
as Sallie "Sally" Mc Bride - Marshall A. NeilanMarshall NeilanMarshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
as Jimmie Mc Bride - Carrie Clark WardCarrie Clark WardCarrie Clark Ward was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 62 films between 1911 and 1925.She was born in Virginia City, Nevada and died in Hollywood, California. She was married to J...
as Mrs. Semple - Wesley BarryWesley BarryWesley Barry was an American child actor in silent motion pictures. He later became a producer and director of both film and television. As a director, he was sometimes billed as Wesley E...
as Orphan Boy (uncredited) - True BoardmanTrue BoardmanTrue Boardman was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 137 films between 1911 and 1919 before falling victim to the 1918 flu pandemic.-True Boardman:...
as Orphan Boy (uncredited) - Jeanne CarpenterJeanne CarpenterJeanne Carpenter was an American child actress of the silent era.Born Theo-Alice Jeanne Carpenter in Kansas City, Missouri, Carpenter started her film career at the age of three. Her fame grew in the early-1920s as she made a series of successful appearances in films such as, Helen's Babies with...
(uncredited) - Estelle EvansEstelle EvansEstelle Evans was a Bahamian actress.She was born in Rolle Town in the Bahamas. After playing Calpurnia in the 1962 version of To Kill a Mockingbird she went on act in several other movies and television shows until her death in 1985.She was the sister of actresses Esther Rolle and Rosanna...
(uncredited) - Fred HuntleyFred HuntleyFred Huntley was an American silent film actor and director.Fred Huntley made his theater debut at London's Covent Garden in 1879...
(uncredited) - Frankie LeeFrankie LeeFrankie Lee , was an American child actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1916 and 1925.He was born in Utah, USA and died in Los Angeles, California.-External links:...
(uncredited) - Joan MarshJoan MarshJoan Marsh was an American film actress.Marsh was the daughter of Charles Rosher. She made her first film appearance as an infant in the Universal Pictures film Hearts Aflame , billed as Dorothy Rosher...
(uncredited)
See also
Other versions of the Jean Webster novel:- Daddy Long Legs (1931 film)Daddy Long Legs (1931 film)Daddy Long Legs is a film about an orphan who is taken under the wing of a wealthy benefactor. The original story, written in 1912 by Jean Webster, took in the social aspects of the wealthy compared with the upbringing optained in an orphanage...
, with Janet GaynorJanet GaynorJanet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel... - Curly Top (film), 1935 film with Shirley TempleShirley TempleShirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
based on the novel - Daddy Long Legs (1938 film)Daddy Long Legs (1938 film)Daddy Long Legs or Vadertje Langbeen is a 1938 Dutch romantic comedy film directed by Frederic Zelnik, based on Jean Webster's novel of the same name - one of several adaptations of that book .-Cast:...
, Dutch film - Daddy Long Legs (1955 film), with Leslie CaronLeslie CaronLeslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
- My Daddy Long LegsMy Daddy Long Legsis a 1990 Japanese anime television series based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs written by Jean Webster. The show was part of the container World Masterpiece Theater produced by Nippon Animation studios and was awarded the Excellent Movie Award for Television by the Japanese Agency of Cultural...
(1990) Japanese animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
TV series - Daddy-Long-Legs (2005 film), Korean film